Page 93 of Of Magic and Rum
“Aw, Aranck. And you believed her?”
We agreed not to deceive each other, but this most certainly applied to no one else.
Another splash from the ropes, and there she is, my gorgeous sea nymph emerging from her domain. If Aranck has walked away, I don’t notice because I’m fixated on her—the shimmering scales, the fins on her arms morphing away, and the electric smile she gives when she spots me.
“Captain,” she coos, sauntering toward me.
Grabbing her hand, I pull her to my chest and run the back of my hand down her cheek. “Nymph. How was your swim?”
Anne lets out a relaxing sigh that rivals the sensation of warm water after being chilled to the bone. “Invigorating. I could’ve stayed in longer, but—” She curls her arms around my neck. “—I missed you.”
Involuntarily, I make atskingsound because I’ve grown increasingly envious of her ability to swim underwaterindefinitely and sprout a tail and fins as she pleases. I’ve also become jealous of the seas themselves, knowing I can’t trulybewith her there.
“Jack?” Anne peels back, squishing my face in her hands. “What is it?”
There’s no getting anything past her—damn bond.
Focusing on her skin, I trail the tip of my finger over the scales still visible. “It must be a euphoric feeling, freeing even, swimming like that without the need to come up for air and with your limbs tiring from the strain so quickly.”
Anne licks her lips, hesitating to say something. “Thereisa way you can have that too, Jack.”
My heart stops beating, and I’ve forgotten how to breathe or think.
Anne grabs my hand and leads me to the cabin, quietly shutting the door behind us. She has to sit me in my chair because I’m useless. “Because of your bond with me, you can become one of us. And—” She lifts my chin, begging me to look at her. “—immortal.”
I paw the armrests and stare at her. “One of you? What would I be?”
“A shifter.” She says this with such simplicity as if we’re talking about the weather. “You’d be able to shift at will for land or sea like my brother Triton. And it’s possible because of Poseidon’s power.”
Shooting to my feet, I pace the room and rub my chin. “And I could have a tail?”
“Yes.” Anne’s grinning now, patiently seated on my desk.
I stop and snap my fingers. “But I’d keep my legs?”
“Yes, Jack. You can shift as you see fit.”
“I’d be an absolute fool to turn this down. It’s a seaman’s dream. Apirate’sdream.” An uneasy feeling gnaws in my gut. “What’s the catch? There’salwaysa catch.”
Anne sighs and moves in front of me. “Immortality itself is the catch. You and I will live on forever, but the crew? Truffles? They will all meet their mortal ends.”
Truffles meows from his pillow, stretching and smacking his tiny cat mouth together. Laust flops on top of him, his mouth wide open and snoring, his ass perched in the air. His hand loses grip on an empty grog bottle, which clatters to the floor.
“Laust, however, will be with us through it all because he, too, is a supernatural.” Anne brightens at the sight of the little imp.
It pains me to think of losing Truffles, of losinganyof them, but I lost my parents long before immortality. I lost Duke. Eventually, I’d lose them all, no matter what, or they’d loseme. Choosing to be with Anne would mean an eternity with her. It means adventures with her forever, swimming the seas, and whatever the hell else a sea deity does.
“I want it, Annie.” I press my hands to her back and pull her against me. “I want you and everything that comes with it.”
Anne’s eyes fill with tears. “Are you sure?”
“Wait—” Holding a finger up, I eye her speculatively “—I can still be a pirate? Plunder, pillage, and murder upon necessity?”
Anne laughs, one tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. “I certainly hope so because I still wish for those things too. It’s why I chose to stay here.”
“Then, love—” I press a chaste kiss to her forehead “—give me a tail.”
“It’s not me who does it,” Anne whispers.
