Page 32 of Tempting Triton
Elena
Tensions ease with the Mer as we all get used to each other’s presence in the castle over the days following our return, and I think Triton is enjoying having more company around despite the awkwardness in the beginning. We dine together every evening after spending the days showing the new Mer around the island, and I enjoy getting to tag along and see what Triton used to do each day before I landed in his lap.
He’s been so busy showing them everything that the questions about the mate bond have fallen to the wayside. But I haven’t forgotten. The anxiety gnaws at my stomach at all the answers we don’t have.
It’s on one of our trips out to the reef to check the health of the coral and its inhabitants that I get fed up waiting any longer.Huffing, I direct my attention to one of the Mer. “What can you tell us about the mate bond?”
The Mer startles, looking between Triton and me, as if shocked I’m speaking to him directly and scared that Triton will retaliate if he answers.
“Don’t worry about him,” I say, waving at Triton. “We have questions, and I’m hoping you three have the answers?” I cock my eyebrow at Triton as if to say,If you’re not going to ask, I will.
The Mer clears his throat, and I see Triton blush slightly, his mouth twisting in a grimace as he looks at me sheepishly for having forgotten.
“Ah, well, between a human and Mer, it is a little different. Obviously, you know of the sharing of essence since you are breathing quite fine underwater—”
“Yeah, how long does that last exactly, before it’s permanent?” I butt in before he can continue.
Confused, he looks between us again. “It won’t become permanent. I mean, itcaneventually. But only after you perform a sealing ritual. Perhaps, you get longer between needing to do it each time, but it will always need doing.”
“Oh.” I look at Triton, and hope bubbles up in my chest. I could still see the surface if we don’t do the ritual.
“There’s a downside, though.”
“What is it?” Triton interjects.
“If you do not seal the bond and continue to share Triton’s essence, he will die.”
And that hope bubble bursts.
A whine works its way up my throat, and when I look at Triton, he curses, running his hand through the strands of hair floating around his head like a halo.
Stressed at our reactions, the Mer rushes out, “The essence is exactly that. It is part of us. Each time Triton shares it with you, he is literally giving you a part of himself.”
Pain. Pain in my chest, in my stomach. My heart fissures and cracks at the options laid out before us. Don’t seal our bond, Triton dies, or we separate and never get to be with each other. Seal our bond, and I’ll never get to be above the surface again.
“How do we seal the bond?” Triton’s voice is deep and gravelly withemotion.
The Mer clears his throat. “There are a few steps. One of you must save the other.” He ticks off his fingers one by one. “Blood must be shared without resulting in—” He looks between us awkwardly.
“Spit it out,” Triton growls.
“Without you being eaten. Sorry—” The Mer flinches in my direction.
I snort. Technically, I did get eaten.
“You need to successfully blow the conch.” He turns to me and gestures to the conch tied around Triton’s neck. “And then seal it with a kiss.”
They couldn’t even come up with a catchy rhyme. The fairytales have got it all wrong.
Triton and I lock eyes. “I believe we have already begun the sealing ritual without realizing.” A smile blooms on Triton’s face.
“I have tasted your blood.” Triton works through the list. Heat blooms on my cheeks. “When I first found you, it was because I tracked your scent in the water. A cut on your ankle led me to you, and my beast healed it with a lick.”
I choke. We were not thinking of the same thing. The mate bond has debauched my brain.
“You saved me after I was shot with the harpoon, pulling me to safety and healing me.”
“So, all that’s left is to blow the conch?” I surmise.
