The girl wasn’t swimming any more. Yann’s sonar gave him a clear picture of her
distress. She was flailing. Sinking.
Fear punched him between the ribs. Just a few minutes earlier, she’d been splashing in
the shallows, laughing and humming to herself. That music had rippled around him,
brightening his journey. Now the sea was snuffing that light out. No! He wouldn’t let it
happen. His webbed hands and feet churned the water, and he shot towards her like a torpedo.
Not this one, sea. Not this time.
She came in sight, slim and lovely, with long bronzed limbs and hair the colour of
sunshine. But her eyes were closed, her movements slow, hesitant, as if she were falling
asleep. His fear hardened into cold, sharp dread. He poured all his energy into the last
powerful strokes. He’d almost reached her, when his eye caught the shadow, beyond the
crystal surface, out there in the dry world. He sent a sound wave. It came back with an image,
and the icy blade inside him twisted: two-legged shapes on the beach. Humans!
If they saw him, they’d know him for what he was. His people’s secret, kept for
thousands of years, would be out.
The girl’s head vanished under the waves. To hell with that. He couldn’t let her
drown.
He grabbed her and dragged her back to the surface. She thrashed in his arms and
coughed up seawater. Intense relief swept through him as he hugged her to his chest. He’d
sworn he’d never again swim by and let a human drown, and he’d kept his promise. If the
young woman’s eyes remained closed, he might even get away with it. He wanted her to
breathe, not scream in horror at the sight of his dark grey face.
He looked up. The shapes on the beach had gone. Another miracle, or perhaps he’d
only imagined them. What if they came back? A fresh stab of anxiety propelled him through
the surf. He lay the girl down on the sand, cushioning her head on his arm. Her round breasts,
encased in the turquoise bikini top, rose and fell in a regular rhythm, but her skin felt clammy
under his hands. He scanned the beach in vain for something to cover her with, and saw the
motorbike. A sleek, sporty number, well camouflaged among the grass-covered dunes.
Shit. He retracted the webs between his fingers and toes, but his body would take at
least twenty minutes to shift from the aquatic shape to the human form. And even when it
did, what would the humans think, if they found him naked next to an unconscious girl?
They’d arrest him for indecent exposure, or worse. He touched the girl’s face with a
tentative finger. The thought of leaving her sickened him. But he couldn’t stay.
Her eyelids fluttered and she muttered a name. “Boris?”
As if in answer, a male voice tore through the air, from behind the dunes. “Alex!”
Yann flew towards the waves. Help was coming for the girl. She’d be fine.
He sped into the open sea, leaving the human world and human fears behind. He’d
saved her. That knowledge glowed inside him as he plunged into the depths. She was safe,
and his people would remain safe too. He sang as he rode the riptide, a song full of triumph
and laughter. Far away, the humpback whales heard him and picked up the tune. He’d got
away with it.
For now. His euphoria abated. No humans had seen him, but his people had sharper
eyes and ears. He shouldn’t even have been hanging around, in full merman shape, so close
to an inhabited island, but he’d thought he’d be OK. In late September so few tourists were
around, and locals had better things to do than go swimming in cold water. He sniffed the
current, tuned his sonar towards the Clans’ Islands. Nothing. With luck, no one would notice
that he’d broken the merpeople’s rules.
Again.
I like the cover
Thank you Gwendolyn! The artwork is by the talented Jessica Greeley at Black Velvet Seductions. I think she captured perfectly the mysterious and romantic atmosphere of the book!
Thank you Angie for hosting me and my book!
I want to read this book 🙂