Chapter 11
Fian loathed to see his landbride—to see Kai—in that state. Worst, he wasn’t even exactly sure what that state was. All he knew was that Kai wanted to leave the magicked town and leaving it would do him good.
The farther he gets away from that spell the better.
Fian didn’t have many connections in the human realm—not any if he was being honest—but he was a valued freelancer for Demonic Designs, and when they had invited him to a company feast, Fian had found himself chatting to the most laid-back location scout demon in all the dreaming oceans.
Her name was Zazine, she was the oldest of six seahorse demon children, and she had come out to eat pan fried mushrooms with Fian, calling him My best womb-less buddy after four green algae schnapps.
Because of that, Fian called her.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Zazine, it’s Fian.”
“Oh, Fian! Want to get your suckers wet?”
“Well, not right now. And I cannot tell what you actually mean by that, Zazine. Listen, I’m in the human realm, and I need your help, urgently.”
“Is it about the carved cocks? Did they get loose and float to the surface over there?”
“What? No. Why would that happen?”
“I don’t know, but you’d be surprised what can happen when you build the kind of awesome seafoam attractions we build. Where are you?”
“A town called Salt Harbor. It is badly enchanted, and that has to do with why I need you. Oh, can you come in a car? And pretend you are from one of those driving services? And maybe can you loan me some human money? You know I’m good for it.”
She sighed. “Real friends only ever tell it to the waves, but just give me something to go on here. Did you sink a ship and need me for cleanup, anything like that?”
“What? No. I, uh.” Fian swallowed. He could feel his color shift. “I found someone. Someone special. Zazine, believe me or not, but I’ll make this human my landbride. He gifted me something, expecting nothing in return, and now…now…”
A sigh light as the incoming tide echoed from the other side. “You sound like my younger brother. But fine, I’m on my way. I’ll lie for you and pretend for you, but you’ll owe me drinks.”
“Of course, that works.”
“Ten minutes.”
She ended the call on her end, and Fian beamed when he walked back to where he had left Kai.
Except Kai wasn’t there.
It took Fian no more than maybe ten seconds to spot Kai. He stood outside the Jammery, looking at the front door and the lettering there that gave the opening hours and promised delicious jams and teas.
Nine to eight, seven days a week. Did he work here all by himself and make all the jams and teas by himself too? That barnacle must’ve made him. Oh, I should have throttled that human.
Fian stepped closer, relieved that Kai hadn’t gone far. “Kai?”
Fian’s pretty human turned, honey-brown eyes shimmering with moisture. “I moved. Fuck. Sorry about that. I just—”
Fian closed the distance between them though he moved slowly as if Kai were a clownfish about to hide himself away in the corals. But Fian succeeded, managing to place an arm around Kai’s shoulders.
He ached to shift and taste Kai. Tasting him would have made it easier for Fian to tell if Kai was truly all right.
There is still enchantment on him like an ugly human oil spill clinging to a seabird’s feathers.
The throttling spell is gone, but with what’s still there, it’s probably better if it washes away gradually.
Holding him in his dream seems to have done so much good already.
I cannot wait to hold him again next time he sleeps. Will he let me hold him then?
“It’s fine, Kai. I found you.”
Kai looked up at Fian. His eyes still threatened to overflow with salt, but they didn’t. Kai seemed too focused on Fian. Under normal circumstances, such tender attention would have forced vermilions and purples into Fian’s skin, but he kept himself composed. For Kai.
I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him everything, but in small doses. I promised to go shopping with him, so that is the most important thing right now.
“You’re really nice,” Kai said.
“I’m really nice to you.”
Kai snorted. “I’m some idiot selling jams and teas in this armpit of civilization. I don’t get what you want from me.”
“Want from you? Hmm. I never thought about it that way… Oh! I do want you to answer a…let’s say it’s a hypothetical question.”
“Okay?” Kai wiped at his eyes, then blinked at Fian expectantly.
“Hypothetically, if I had to go to a party-like thing where I was supposed to bring someone, a plus-one, you might say, would you come with me?”
Kai stared. Then he broke into laughter. So much of it coming out of that scrumptious mouth that Fian wasn’t sure whether he should be concerned or not. Well, I don’t think it’s a spell but—
“You want me to fake-date you in front of your family or something?”
Fian opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, then pursed his lips. “You are so crass for someone who gifted me jam.”
Kai trembled with laughter. He was bent forward, his hands braced against his knees. “You can have everything in there for all I care. I fucking hate jam. All my jam is your jam.”
Fian’s jaw dropped, but he couldn’t be sure Kai meant it, wasn’t joking. “But jam is so wobbly. You must enjoy the consistency of it at least.”
“Wobbly, hah.” Kai cackled. “I’ll fake date you, no problem, but I won’t pretend to like jam. Fake dating you is the least I can do for you kindly providing an escape route out of this town.” He looked up at Fian. “That is what you needed the fucking flip phone for, right?”
Fian straightened. “Well, yes! I called one of those drivers with their own car. She will be here in just a few minutes. Come, we should wait over there on Main. What kind of clothes were you looking to buy anyway? A swimsuit maybe? I know humans—some people—can get really cold when swimming in the ocean.”
Kai’s eyes flicked to Fian’s, and he got a thoughtful look on his face.
Perhaps he was remembering last night, or perhaps he was hoping for yet another night like it.
Fian hated that he didn’t know, but whatever the case, he was ready and willing to throw himself at his landbride’s nets, and as far as Fian was concerned, Kai so much as looking at him counted as a net he was more than willing to get all tangled up in.
“I don’t think I ever went swimming here. I know the ocean is basically down the street, but I just never went.”
“Oh?”
Kai shrugged and fell in step next to Fian, walking back to Main Street with him.
“I don’t know. I think Nick didn’t like that? I’m not sure why. The beaches around here aren’t too bad, are they?”
“Not at all.” Fian cocked his head. “What do you like in a beach?”
“Never thought about it. The sound of the ocean isn’t terrible actually. But there’s a lot of trash these days, and dead jellyfish. I wouldn’t want to step on anything and end up in the hospital to get a tetanus booster and stitches.”
Humans really are fragile. When he comes to live with me at least part time, I’ll have to make sure my beach is pristine.
And I will need a first aid kit. The Human Liaisons Unit has a course about emergency measures for humans too.
I’ll have to ask Mikano to let me take it even if I’m not an agent.
“I’ll guard you from all jellyfish, and as you saw, I’m rather good at keeping things clean. That includes a beach.”
“Okay,” Kai said, and because of how they moved, close, their steps not quite evenly paced, he bumped into Fian’s side.
The back of Kai’s hand brushed against Fian’s. Fian’s heart beat faster. He ached so badly to shift and wrap Kai securely in no less than three of his arms.
That was not an option, not yet, and so Fian was bold. He turned his hand and reached for Kai’s, took it in his.
“Oh,” Kai said.
“What? Is it not good for me to hold your hand?”
“No, it’s—”
Car noises interrupted them, and a big, tall truck sped down Main toward them.
Fian spotted Zazine behind the wheel, the seahorse grinning and waving at him.
“Is that your Uber? It’s yellow.”
Kai was right. The truck-car thing was very yellow indeed.
“Don’t you like yellow?”
Kai shrugged. “Wouldn’t get a yellow pickup is all.”
“Oh. Well. This was what was available.”
“I was not complaining. Not at all. Let’s get out of here.”
Fian would never tell a dreamer to their face, but in his opinion, humans were just not graceful.
He had watched them sleeping, had sometimes watched them on their boats or lazing around on islands and yachts.
The grace of merfolk, they had not. Any sea toad was more graceful than a trained human swimmer, and yet when Kai climbed into Zazine’s pickup car, Fian was enchanted.
Chiefly, he was enchanted by the excellent view of Kai’s butt, though that seemed basic and demeaning, and honestly, everything about Kai was as wonderful as finding just the perfect piece of driftwood on the shore.
“Hi,” Zazine said. Her dark eyes closely examined Kai before she looked at Fian, who climbed inside the car quickly and closed the door behind him.
“Hey there. Sorry, he’s Fian,” Kai said.
Fian was confused by this, but Zazine was playing along, nodding and putting her car into drive. “So we’re going…”
“To the mall,” Fian said. He knew humans liked going there although it had been more popular maybe a decade ago, maybe two.
“Exactly,” Zazine said.
Kai turned to Fian, looking up at him. “Really, thank you for this.”
Fian’s heart felt as if it were about to melt like human chocolate. He leaned forward, reaching around Kai to grab his seat belt. “You’re welcome.” He pulled the belt around his landbride-to-be and clicked it home. “But you have to help me buy a phone too, remember?”
Kai beamed, and Fian loved that there were no more tears waiting to spill from his human’s eyes. “I’m actually really looking forward to that.”
Fian had never once been to a mall. Smaller stores here and there to get those human things he owned, yes, but a mall was something else.
“This isn’t actually all that far away from Salt Harbor. I don’t think I’ve ever been here.”
Kai had his hands in his pockets and his shoulders up. Fian couldn’t easily read that emotion, but he figured keeping up with Kai’s long strides and not leaving his side would be enough.
“Sometimes when you find a good thing, you loathe that it took you so long. But maybe—you know what? You are right. I definitely wish you had given me jam before yesterday.”
Kai stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I didn’t use to make jam.” He looked around. “Let’s head in there. I really need pants.”
And Kai, that wonderful, magnificent, delicious human freed a hand from his pocket and reached for Fian, pulling him along across the smooth white floor.
Fian followed, stunned. The mall was noisy, much more like the human realm should be. Salt Harbor really was too quiet. Here, there were young humans around and old ones, loud ones and those just minding their own business. A group of adolescents ran past just ahead of them.
All of them can see us here, holding hands.
Fian had studied humans. He had possibly read more than a few human books, tasting ink as he eagerly turned pages, and he knew what it meant. Public displays of affection are good. Before, it wasn’t even a minute, and it was just us, but now, in front of all these people? He likes me!
Fian smiled, happiness threatening to unravel his human complexion.
They walked past a mannequin group display, and looking at the blandness of those dolls helped Fian steady his own color, but it was a close call.
As it was, he might have slipped a sucker onto the palm of his hand, but he wasn’t sure.
Kai, at any rate, gave no indication that anything was amiss at all.