Chapter 13
FREDDIE
The Luminary
Silvertide Beach at night reminds me more of an oceanic cathedral.
The sand is pale as bone and stretches in a wide crescent.
More bioluminescent waves roll in with a glow so bright they cast real shadows, just like Liam said they would.
Hundreds of floating lanterns drift above the shoreline in a warm, golden glow, stretching from the forest and above the ocean to form a ring that goes deep into the ocean.
Maybe a hundred yards across, the lanterns sometimes dipping so gently into the water before rising back up as if in its own dimension.
The Luminary Circle.
The sea folk are everywhere.
Selkies in human form, their skin still carrying that sleek shimmer of something recently shed.
Merfolk who've shifted to legs for the night, moving with the fluid grace of people who aren't entirely comfortable with gravity. Coral fae with skin in shades of pink and rose and deep crimson, picking off small pieces of coral from their crown like shed antlers. There’s even creatures I don’t have a name for, the tall, thin beings with kelp-dark hair and eyes like liquid onyx, clusters of small luminous figures that might be children or might be something else entirely.
All of them are draped in fabrics that catch the lantern light, drinking from cups that glow, talking and laughing with the easy warmth of a family reunion.
Some even play a game with coral spirals in the sand, throwing… oh, they’re just playing horseshoe.
Kira finds me first, wearing a thin, iridescent dress that matches her skin, and her green eyes are bright with excitement. "You look incredible."
My hands pad at the dress that Nerissa, a selkie woman who runs a boutique that Liam took me to, made for me. Cream colored with a pearlescent undertone, and a scandalous slit that stop just before revealing too much. A sea glass hairpin holds my brown hair back from my face.
Honestly, at this point, I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to live outside of this place.
“Oh, thank you. Everyone looks so… ethereal. And have you seen my merman anywhere?” I ask. “I lost him.”
“We miss him.” Shellie is tucked away in a small pocket sewn into the dress, because I don’t want to mess around with the fragility of it when we’re so close…
Kira nods toward the water, and I scan the area until I finally spot Liam, who stands at the edge of the surf, talking to an older merman I don't recognize. His silver hair is loose tonight, falling past his shoulders, and he's wearing the same pearlescent cream fabric as me.
He moves while talking, our gazes connecting before he continues to stare me down as he finishes whatever he’s saying.
The look on his face is something I'm going to carry for the rest of my life.
It's not the careful mask or the friendly bartender or the man who says he can't feel things.
It's open, stunned, and hungry all at once. As he partially hugs whoever he’s talking to, he starts walking my way.
Not before a few mermaids crest from the ocean water to lie on rocks, their hair in wet, thick strands, sticking to their skin. And their tails.
I’ll never get over looking at mermaid tails.
I can’t wait to see Liam’s.
My merman crosses the sand to me, each step deliberate, touching someone’s shoulder when they’re about to bump into him. Then he’s before me, and even though it’s been a few weeks of just the two of us, I’m somehow even more bashful than before.
“You lost me,” I joke. “You can’t leave me unattended.”
His eyes move over me, slowly raking over the dress. His hand comes up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear on the other side. “You’re safe here… and I had to talk to one of the elders.”
Thalassa has been like an annoying fly right outside our window, pressing hard to get in but just can’t seem to. As long as I’m with Liam, there’s always been an edge of safety and protection. “So, she’s really not coming to this now? Because I kind of want to meet her—”
His eyes harden. “I’ve already told you that’s the least safe thing, even within this ring.”
“We can take her.”
Liam’s strict gaze falls right to the very pocket that Shellie resides within.
“No, you can’t.” With one blink, his eyes are back on mine.
“They said she’ll be outside the parameters today.
They even talked about creating a necklace for you that would protect you from her, in general.
She’s banned from coming, since, well, I’m pretty sure today will go against all of her wishes. ”
We’ve talked about this. About the threat of Thalassa extending beyond this. “Yeah, we can chat about that,” I say, my voice slightly higher pitched. “As long as it works…”
There’s a stiffness between us that contradicts the energy around, because we both realized that if this kiss fails… then we would have fallen into, well, whatever we are, before confirming we’re actual soulmates.
I did warn him plotholes were my achilles heel when writing.
“It will, sweetheart,” he assures, wrapping that strong arm around me as he pulls me into a hug against his warm body.
The Luminary unfolds around us like something from a dream I've been having my whole life and didn't know it. There’s copious amounts of food in the form of oysters, smoked fish, and colorful fruits I've never seen.
There's live music as people dance in the circle, barefoot on glowing sand, and all the while the lanterns gently drift and sway around us.
Liam stays close after that. His hand on my lower back, my shoulder leaning into his arm, the easy choreography of two people who've spent three weeks learning each other's rhythms. When someone approaches us, he introduces me simply: "This is Freddie."
He knows that calling me his girlfriend has stressed me out, because I keep worrying that this won’t work, despite the way his presence is pure magnetism to me.
Despite the festivities, it’s like once the real fear of this not working sinks in… I can’t stop thinking about it. Tonight is basically a verdict.
“Nervous?" he asks. "About the kiss?"
"About what happens after." I look up at him. "If it works, everything changes. If it doesn't—" I trail off, looking away from him.
“Let’s go do it now, then.”
My heart slams against my ribs like I’ve taken a shot of adrenaline. "You said the shell's been wrong thirteen times."
"The shell has never spoken in my voice before." He pulls me closer, and god how I hope this man really is meant to be mine. "And I've never felt anything with any of the others. Only you. And no one dreamt about it.”
I press my forehead against his chest. The stillness where his heartbeat should be is so familiar now that I'd miss it if it changed—his body stiffens and I pull back, to which he looks over his shoulders.
“What is it?”
“I think she’s here. Beyond the border.”
I sharply inhale. “You said she couldn’t be here.”
Doing everything I can, I try to spot her by looking where he is. I scan many people as if I know what I’m doing. “Wait, what does she even look like?”
“Pale skin, dark purple hair.”
Out past the lantern line, in the dark water beyond the glow, something moves. A tall shape that surfaces just enough to catch the light. I see dark hair, and a face that's beautiful the way a storm is beautiful, and every nerve in my body fires at once.
Thalassa.
It’s like she’s sitting among a wave that’s a throne.
Liam’s arm tightens around me. “She can't get closer, Freddie.”
Thankfully the entire gathering seems to catch on to the grim arrival, carrying themselves with the quiet authority of people who've been doing this for centuries. They slowly face Thalassa, as if letting her know she’s not welcome.
“She’s not in good graces with the community anymore. Hasn’t been for a bit.” He looks down at me. "They’ve all decided to protect you. Well, because of me, but also they want this curse broken. It’s a negativity we don’t like in the cove. Guess it just took until now for it to turn into anything.
“Why did you date her?”
“I ask myself that all the time.”
In the distance, Thalassa's shape writhes. I can feel her fury from here, the shell beating hard against my thigh. The lanterns don't waver, and her figure dips back into the ocean.
“Come with me,” Liam says.
He guides me over to a small wooden dock next to a few palm trees, taking my hand and leads me to the water. “I haven’t seen you as a merman, yet,” I say, watching the water soak his pants as the edges of my dress darken from it.
I shiver slightly when a chill washes over me.
“Kind of hard when it requires me being in the water.” He takes us up to our hips, the chill water contrasting the warm air.
“I’m not one to beach myself on a rock. There’s ways to get you to join me in the water, though…
we’ll do it, soon. When this curse is gone and the water’s safer.
” I shiver again when a wave laps higher than the rest, goosebumps rising all over my arms. “I don't have a heart to give you right now," he adds with a faint smile, stopping me and placing a hand on my hip. “But it’s clear that it’s been yours since the day you walked into my bar. Since you bough it at Odessa’s.”
My own heart skips a beat, just wanting to kiss him and get this over with. To know if it’s safe to want him this badly. “Just let me kiss you before I can’t take it anymore.”
His grin widens to transform his face, and it’s almost heartbreaking to consider this not working…
I put my hands on his face to feel the sharp line of his jaw, the warmth of his skin.
I look into his honeyed eyes and see the man who cooked me eggs every morning and brought me bread when I forgot to eat.
The man who somehow feels entirely familiar, like I’ve known him my whole life and just forgot.
I kiss him with my whole name. Winifred Brown. The boring one. The real one. I kiss him with the fear still in my chest because it doesn't disqualify me, it just proves I care enough to be afraid.
The bioluminescent waves surge as the sand seems to shift beneath us. The floating lanterns flare bright enough to turn night into day, and a warmth blooms in my chest, spreading outward, as my dress lifts slightly while feeling Shellie leaving my pocket.
The salty breeze picks up as the warmth of his lips presses deeper into mine.
Something warm and golden pours between us, and with my eyes closed, I consider it as one of the lanterns, only until Liam gasps against my mouth. His hands grip my face and holds me still as he pulls back.
I pad my pockets for the shell. “Did it work?”
“Yeah,” he says, one hand moving to his chest as the other looks me over like he’s seeing me for the first time. His thumb traces my cheekbone. "I can feel everything."
Liam pulls me against his chest and holds me so tight I can feel the thumping of his heartbeat, right underneath my ear. I smile when I realize it’s racing.
“I can hear it,” I whisper.
He presses his mouth to my hair and breathes, and I feel six years of silence end in a single sound.
Thump. Thump. Thump.