Page 103 of A Kingdom Restored

“Quite possibly,” said Heath, humor in his voice in spite of the situation.

He was just so relieved to have Merletta with him, still in one piece against all the odds. He knew that chaos was still raging somewhere in the water beneath them, but there was no one else above the surface, and for a heartbeat, it felt like they were truly alone, just the two of them in the middle of a vast ocean.

Merletta’s tail moved steadily, keeping both of them afloat with ease, meaning Heath’s hand was free to reach for her face. Her hair looked like it had started in a braid, although now it bore little resemblance to one. It was almost impossible to believe that it had been only that very dawn they were fleeing Bryford. He laid his palm flat against her cheek, his fingers tangling in the hair streaming over one shoulder.

“We should follow if we want to see what’s happening,” Merletta said, her voice not quite even.

Heath nodded. “We should.”

But neither of them made any move to leave, and his hand stayed where it was. Unbelievably, impossibly, here they were yet again, and he was suddenly overcome by the desire to kiss her like it was the end of the world.

So he did. Sliding his hand around to the back of her head and snaking the other around her back, he crushed her against him, the cool of her mermaid skin searing him almost as powerfully as heat through his sopping clothes.

She responded in kind, her arms closing around his neck and the strokes of her tail faltering as she threw herself into the embrace. When they bobbed so low in the water that Heath got a faceful and came up spluttering, they pulled apart.

“What are we doing?” Merletta gasped, half laughing, half groaning. She gripped his arm, keeping him afloat with no evident effort. “The dragons are still slaughtering everyone, and we’re…”

She trailed off, and Heath squeezed her shoulder. “Elddreki is doing a better job of convincing the dragons than anything we could do.”

“Did you really find something?” she asked breathlessly.

He nodded. “We foundeverything.”

Merletta’s hand tightened on his arm, both hope and tension radiating from her. She cast a glance around the still-empty ocean, and Heath could understand her unease. It was too still after the chaos of a short time before. The dragon who’d been about to roast her was gone, but all that meant was that it was probably attacking someone else below.

“I need to see what’s going on,” Merletta said tightly.

Heath nodded, filling his lungs with air and following as Merletta dove beneath the surface. The salt stung his eyes, but he could see a long way through the murky water. He knew his vision was better than any other human’s would be in the circumstances. Understanding the role of his magic in his enhanced eyesight better than he once had, he encouraged his power to focus on his physical eyes. The clump of hovering dragons some distance below him came into focus.

Merpeople still fled in all directions, but he couldn’t actually see any dragons attacking. It seemed they were at least going to hear Elddreki out.

However superior his eyesight might be, Heath had no superhuman ability to survive without air. Merletta was swimming straight downward as sleekly as a fish, and he soon had to pull up to return to the surface. He’d traveled further than he realized, and his lungs burned as he propelled himself frantically upward.

Before he could reach the air, a familiar arm slid around his torso, pulling him the remaining distance at twice the speed.

“Sorry,” Merletta said, as he gasped in air. “I forgot for a moment.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Heath told her. “Go find out what’s happening. Just be careful!”

She shook her head. “I want to stay together,” she said simply. “If we lose sight of one another—”

“Who knows if we’ll be able to find each other again,” Heath finished for her. He understood, and he made no more attempt to convince her.

Merletta slipped her hand into his. “Come on,” she said. “Tell me when you need to come up for air.”

He barely had time to once again take a breath before she dove back under, taking him with her. He kicked half-heartedly, but soon realized it would be faster to let her pull him along. It was incredible to watch her move, here in her home environment. She’d never been so graceful, or so formidable. Heath could barely take his eyes off her. They made it halfway to the dragons, close enough to see that the beasts were gathering from the surrounding area, before Heath reluctantly squeezed Merletta’s hand.

She responded at once, turning upward with just a single glance behind. They’d gone only a few strokes, however, when a merman came darting out of nowhere, almost upon them before Heath even saw him.

He carried a spear, and it was raised in obvious aggression. Merletta let out a cry, changing direction so rapidly, Heath almost missed the nimble way she flicked her tail up and around, using it to deliver a solid blow to the merman’s outstretched arm.

He retained his grip on the spear, unfortunately, but he checked his advance, watching her warily. Heath’s heart hammered in fear—Merletta carried no weapon, and he knew he was worse than useless in their current environment.

Even as he watched, he could feel his body begin to panic at the lack of air. He glanced up. The surface was still several body lengths away. He’d waited too long to turn around.

“Your luck ends here,” the merman hissed, his blue eyes blazing as they rested on Merletta. “I know what you did to him up there on the land, and I will personally make you pay.”

Merletta ignored the threat, her eyes darting to Heath. “Go,” she told him desperately. “Swim for the surface.”

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