Page 23 of The Ocean's Heart
“Yes.”
“But when you found me, you were dry.”
He smiled, a secretive smile that lit up his sapphire eyes. “You have much to learn about the sea fae.”
“Then teach me.”
He lay down and patted the spot in front of him. “It will get colder soon. Best we create a cocoon of heat now.”
Wait…He wanted us to share? It had been different on the ship. I’d been about to freeze to death, but now…Now I was a little too aware of him and his…assets.
“Thalia? Your virtue is safe with me.”
But was his safe with me? I fixed a smile on my face. “Of course, I know that.” I quickly lay down before I could say something foolish, and he pulled a blanket over us both.
“Would you like me to tell you a little about my people?” he asked. “After all, they will be your people soon enough.”
“I’d like that.”
“Some sea fae can move between land and sea without needing to remove their vestiges. My human clothes become a part of me when I’m beneath the waves, and when I emerge, they too appear.”
“Do you have…legs underwater?”
“I can have legs or a tail. I can choose. But there are those that cannot. The sea fae are like humans in many ways, just as varied and different. Here in the northern waters, our body temperatures run hotter than in other sea realms because the water here is so much colder. But we can reduce our body temperature at will. We are born to exist in the ocean, but we may also traverse the land for short periods.”
“How short?”
“Hours for some, days for others. But we must always, inevitably, return to the sea, for without its embrace we die.”
“Can you speak beneath the waves?”
His chest rumbled in a chuckle. “Of course.”
“How?”
“Maybe I will show you sometime.”
“But wouldn’t I need to be beneath the waves too?”
“Yes.”
I turned in his arms, curious and confused. “I cannot breathe beneath the waves.”
His warm gaze tracked over my face. “When you are married to my son, then you will be afforded some of his abilities.”
“Wait…that’s possible?”
“You will be able to visit the undersea for a few hours at a time. I am sure Dylon will show you our kingdom, the place where your children will one day reside.”
My excitement cooled because it had no basis to thrive. I wasn’t the princess. I wasn’t royal blood, and there would be no children for me.
Once my deceit and duplicity were discovered, I would most likely be executed.
“You are afraid…” He lightly touched my cheek. “He will not harm you. I will see to it.”
I tucked in my chin, not wanting him to see the guilt in my eyes.
“I will protect you.”
