Page 39 of Secrets Among the Tides
THE LITTLE GASPING NOISES SHE MADEagainst my mouth only spurred me on. What I’d intended to be just a press of lips against lips suddenly became something more as the blade of my making fell from her hand and clanged to the ground below. I used my tongue to push open her mouth and she seemed to melt into my embrace. The skin beneath my fingertips was soft, and I trailed them over her cheek, down to her throat, her collarbone. I left my hand there, trailing circles around her flesh.
And then she bit me.
I jerked away from her, pressing a hand to my lips in surprise. She was breathing heavily, the fast rise and fall of her chest was all I noticed at first. Then I looked into her eyes. Eyes that were as black as my blades.
“D—don’t do that again…” she stuttered, hand coming up to wipe at her mouth, as if she meant to get rid of the taste of me.
I smiled. “That your first kiss, little fish?” She was nowhere near being a little fish. This mer was on the taller side, with a strong purple tail and muscular arms and back. I noticed how she inclined slightly to the right, as if she favored that side more.
A single glance, and I saw every detail about her.
Her hair was purple, like her tail. Her eyelashes had been a dead giveaway. Her fingertips looked calloused, though the skin on her face had been soft. She was young, I’d guess nineteen, only three years younger than myself. And there was something absolutely fierce about her.
“You tadpole!” She bent down to scoop up her blade and hold it up, pointing at me in a threatening way.
I could have laughed in her face.
She didn’t know who she was dealing with.
Or maybe she did and just didn’t care. She did know my nickname, after all. It seemed my reputation preceded me. I looked at the blade that was a smaller, twin version of my own. I recalled the day I’d made them. Mine had been the first. I remembered looking at it and feeling a sudden crippling sensation of loneliness. So I’d made it’s twin. It’s pair. It’s mate.
I’d sold it soon after.
And now here it was again, being wielded by an angry, impulsive mer.
If that wasn’t a sign from the tides, I didn’t know what was.
“Put that down before you hurt yourself,” I smirked. “And tell me, what is your name?” She didn’t put it down and she didn’t offer me her name, either. Stubborn little fish. “Since I saved your life, I’d think you’d have the decency to at least give me some answers.”
She growled low. “I was trying to saveyourlife, you guppy!” I liked her already. “And if you could beat them all easily why did you let yourself get pushed around like that in the first place?”
“All part of the game, little fish.” I held my hands out at my sides in mockery. It was amusing, to watch her reactions.
“You’re supposed to be the Black Blade?” She finally sheathed her weapon, probably deeming me not to be a threat anymore, and crossed her arms against her chest. My eyes followed her every movement with burning curiosity. “You’re the one who freed mer from the Selection. The very first escapee in Thalassarin history?”
Ah, a title to be proud of. An outlaw to the crown. A criminal who sold blades like candy and who kept secrets more valuable than money. I was proud of who I was, and if I was not mistaken, there was a hint of awe hidden beneath the blatant disgust.
“The one and only.”
Her dark eyes shone beneath the bioluminescent lighting of the alleyway. Yes, that was praise there. She just didn’t want to admit it.
“I expected more.”
I chuckled, but didn’t take offense. “Did you expect a phantom? Sorry to shatter your illusion, but even us legends are mere mermen.”
“So,Black Blade,do you have a real name?” She leaned her back against the wall casually.
“Do you?” I countered.
“Maisie,” she replied slowly, if a little cautiously. Good. What a foolish thing, to throw your name around to strangers. Though even if she hadn’t told me, I would have known it by the end of the night anyway.
But for her, I would be honest. “Elias Blackfin, at your service.” If I had a hat, I would have taken it off to bow.
“Elias…” she repeated quietly. I liked the way my name sounded coming from her lips. I liked it a lot. “Well….” She straightened, adjusted the strap of the bag over her shoulder. “Thank you for your assistance. I really do appreciate it.” She gave a little wave and started to swim away.
That wouldn’t do at all.
I blocked her exit, placing my body too close in front of hers. She startled back, shot me a glare. “You can’t leave. Not when you still owe me.”
