Chapter 19
Nineteen
“I don’t know, Arabella,” Bonnie replied coolly. “Do friends chase down other friend’s ships?”
The mermaid tossed her hair, speckling the deck with droplets of salt water, before rearranging her lips into a pout. “This?” She cast a glance behind her at the other mermaids surrounding the ship and popping heads above the water. “This is a bit of fun.”
Bonnie hooked her hands on her hips, her expression unchanged. “We both know why you’re here, Arabella, but I don’t have the man you seek.”
The mermaid closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “But you have a man on board.” Her eyes flew open and flashed heat. “I can smell him.”
Cali snuck another look at Thrain, fighting the urge to roll her eyes as he struggled to untangle himself from the ropes. The mermaid wouldn’t be the first one to have said they could smell the dwarf at forty paces, but that was usually because he’d drunk too much brandy.
Bonnie took a step back and extended one arm toward Thrain with a flourish. “See for yourself.”
Arabella’s gaze snapped to the dwarf, and her eyes became slits. She tilted her body, so that she nearly draped over the ship’s railing, her shimmering tail arched behind her for balance. “Him?”
Thrain straightened under the mermaid’s scrutiny, glancing from the terrifying creature to Bonnie and then to Cali. “Me?”
Bonnie pivoted to face Arabella. “Are you satisfied that he isn’t your love?”
The mermaid’s shoulders sagged, and her tail drooped.
“It’s been so long that sometimes I think I’ve forgotten what he looks like, or I fear that time has aged him beyond recognition.
” She sighed and slipped down so that her forearms rested on the wooden railing. “But I know he wasn’t a hairy dwarf.”
Thrain’s brows knitted together into a solid line. “I’ll have you know, I’m precisely the right amount of hairiness for a dwarf.” He managed to cross his arms over his chest despite the rope ringing his body. “My cousin Rhoda has a bushier moustache than I do.”
The mermaid let out a mournful sigh, ignoring the dwarf entirely. “My love was tall and fair with eyes the color of a squall-tossed sea.” She drew in another breath. “And he didn’t smell of damp fur.”
Thrain opened his mouth again, but Cali shot him a stern look that told him to keep quiet.
Bonnie’s stance relaxed. “I’m sorry this isn’t your love, and I’m sorry yours hasn’t returned to the sea.”
Arabella rested her chin on her folded hands. “It’s been so long that I’m losing hope.”
Cali wondered how long it had actually been, and if the mermaid had any concept of human age. Was the mermaid princess searching for a man who was old and gnarled, or was he long dead?
The creature slid her gaze to the captain. “You were on land recently? Did you meet any man pining for his lost love?”
Bonnie rested a hand on the mermaid’s arm. “You know if I’d met such a man, I would have brought him to you.”
Arabella eyed her as if weighing the truth of her words. Finally, she gave an abrupt nod. “It’s true you’d have no use for him yourself.” She tilted her head. “I’m surprised you’ve allowed this man to join your crew.”
“He’s not joining my crew. He’s only here while we search for the hellkins that stole our jolly boat.”
The mermaid straightened, her notched tail flipping up and down. “Hellkins?”
“Yes,” Bonnie said. “Have you seen them?”
The entire crew seemed to hold their breath and lean forward as they waited for the creature to respond.
Arabella didn’t answer for several beats, and Cali was certain she was doing it for dramatic effect. Finally, she nodded. “We have.” Then she slumped back down. “But none of those men were my love either. His face might be hazier and hazier in my mind, but I know his skin was not red.”
Bonnie cut her gaze to Cali, who’d forgotten to take a breath, then back to Arabella. “Can you tell me where you saw them?”
The mermaid tossed her mane of lilac hair back and forth. “It was at least a day ago, but I can’t remember exactly where.”
Cali instantly doubted the truth of this, especially since the creature wouldn’t look at Bonnie.
Bonnie must have thought the same because she hissed out a breath. “Would it help jog your memory if I told you that my pantheri friend has traveled all over the Known Lands? If anyone has heard tell of your love, it would be her.”
Arabella’s gaze instantly found Cali. “A pantheri! And one with black-and-gray stripes.” Her eyes widened, as if she was delighted to see Cali or as if she already knew her. “Is this true, pantheri?”
Cali swallowed, hoping Bonnie wasn’t offering her up in service to a deranged sea creature. The way the mermaid studied her was unsettling, and her fingers twitched with the urge to grab her bow, but she forced a smile. “It’s true that I’ve been all across the Known Lands and met many men.”
Arabella straightened her arms, lifting her torso high above the railing. “And did you encounter any lamenting for a beautiful sea princess?”
Before she could answer, Bonnie held up a hand to stop her. “First, a deal.”
The mermaid groaned, reminding Cali of a petulant child being denied a sweet. “Fine. You want to know where to find these hellkins?”
“I do.” Bonnie held Cali’s gaze, her brows lifting. “And in exchange, my friend will tell you if she’s heard anything about a man with a lost love.”
Cali nodded, but then she stepped closer to the mermaid. “I know what it’s like to search for something you’ve lost for so long you barely remember why you’re searching. You help the captain, and I vow to add your lost love to my own search when I return to land.”
Arabella met her gaze, the heat fading to something softer and sadder. “I just want to know why he never returned.”
Cali understood the need to know—even if the answer wasn’t what you wanted—more than she cared to admit. “Then I will do my best to find out for you.” She touched a paw over her heart, thinking of what she would give to know the truth about her missing siblings. “I promise.”
“I accept your deal.” The mermaid dipped her head, then squared her shoulders and flipped her hair.
“The hellkins were headed for Claw Island, but they couldn’t control the jolly boat.
” A smile teased her lips. “When we found them, they were wrestling with the oars and being spun in circles. They looked fairly battered. That’s one fierce little boat you’ve got. ”
Laughter floated up from the mermaids below and joined the hopeful hum of the ship.
“After I determined none of them were my love, we guided them toward land.”
“What land?” Bonnie asked, her voice strung tight.
Arabella’s smile was terrifying as she flipped backwards and splashed into the sea. Cali rushed to the side of the ship with Bonnie and watched the mermaid resurface.
“Claw Island, of course,” Arabella called, her malicious smile widening. “I couldn’t deny our siren sisters their fun, now could I?”
Then she dove beneath the waves, and the other mermaids followed her, tails flashing before they sliced through the water and vanished.
Bonnie curled her hands around the ship’s rail and glowered at the roiling sea. “Hells cursed mermaids.”