78. The Stranger
Chapter Seventy-Eight
The Stranger
H er scream comes close to bursting my eardrum as we plummet from the cliff into the crystal-clear water below.
She clings to me, squeezing me as if that will stave off the impact as we hit the water.
I keep hold of her as we hit the water, our bodies sinking deep.
With a power-ful kick, I propel us back to the surface.
“What the fuck!” she sputters as we breach, wiping her eyes.
“Did I scare you?” I ask with a chuckle.
She releases me to tread water and sends a splash of water my way, her lips twitching with mirth.
Placing my hands on her waist, I pull her back to me.
These last couple of weeks have been torture, and now that she is near, I am unwilling to let her go.
Thankfully, she comes willingly, eagerly wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing close.
Leaning in, I hover my lips over hers before moving my mouth to her ear.
“Hold your breath.”
She frowns but obeys.
I pull her under the water with me, drawing a rune on us to give us air around our mouths and noses as we sink down to the sea floor.
Even at the bottom, the clear water allows light to penetrate the depths, illuminating the kaleidoscope of colors all around us.
I release her, but I take her hand and point toward the glowing city in the distance.
It’s one of the most popular outpost cities among the mere people and is normally strictly off-limits to others.
Her face lights up, and she squeezes my hand as we swim in silence.
Her eyes constantly dart to me, checking on me.
No doubt she’s still in disbelief that I’m here.
Not as my avatar, but with a glamour. One that lets her touch me, explore me, taste me.
I’ve worked tirelessly on this glamour since I last saw her, preparing for this moment.
Paradis might be shielded from the prying eyes of those who constantly monitor me, but it is far from infallible.
It’s a risk for me to be here, to show my hand, to hint at a weakness that could be exploited, but I couldn’t stay away.
We make it to the outskirts of the city, and though the mere immediately turn defensive, I hold up my hand, showing the crest of their queen on one of my fingers.
They relax and even gesture for us to come closer, merchants scrambling to display their wares for the new and unusual visitors.
They take the time to entice us, pulling us in with an explosion of color and textures, from jewels to algae to shells.
Nestled against a natural sea formation, it blocks the currents from blowing through the marketplace.
I know if we go farther and deeper into the next crevasse, we’d see the glowing crystal palace of the Mere Queen, but I have no interest in encountering her on this trip.
Summer’s gaze bounces around, trying to take in everything around her, her eyes glowing with the knowledge she’s gaining.
I look forward to the day when I can travel the realms with her and see everything differently.
There are so many places I want to take her.
To see her joy as she takes them in for the first time.
“Would you like to shop?” I ask, the sound muted through the air bubbles but coherent.
She nods excitedly, releasing me to swim closer to the merchant stalls.
I guide her to the first stall. They are selling various rare seaweeds.
There are bundles large and small. Many are used in food.
Some have medicinal uses. Others are useful for building.
My lips twitch as I remember the last time we walked through a market in another realm.
Though Hell and Atlantis could not be more different.
Summer and I could not be more different from how we were then.
The next stall offers bottles of algae, the locations from where they were harvested written in the Mermish language, a script composed mostly of dots and lines. Even when spoken out loud, the language is closer to a click of the tongue than others.
Summer stops at the next stall, pointing to a small pair of silver earrings that look like tiny pixies, no doubt salvaged from a shipwreck.
The oceans of Atlantis connect to every body of water from every realm.
The crushing darkness and pressure at the deepest depths create their own natural portals, drawing many things here.
Some of the more powerful mere folk can even travel through these crushing abysses to other realms.
She touches the earrings reverently as the merchant hands them over, and I pull out some shells I brought to barter with, exchanging them for the earrings. Taking them from her hand, I place them into her ears.
“Beautiful,” I murmur.
Her smile flutters and dies at my touch, but her eyes darken with need.
I turn back to the stall and trade for the ring that matches the earrings. Sliding it onto my smallest finger, I hold it up to show her. “There,” I say, loving the outward physical symbol of being connected to her.
Linking our hands, we continue down the stalls, and just like in Hell, I lean over and whisper into her ear about the bartering system and translate the Mermish signs.
She tries her hand at bartering, but the merchant winces, responding in the common tongue and giving her the item for free since she’s so bad at it.
She laughs, and I kiss her hand, smiling.
“Anything else catch your interest?” I ask as we reach the end of the market.
She looks me up and down, and I catch the sparkle in her eyes. “Maybe.”
My lips twitch, and I glance toward the surface. “We should head up soon. We have the dinner tonight.”
She nods, but darts away from me, heading toward a small clearing where some of the mere folk are doing some shell harvesting. They startle a little, but she smiles at them reassuringly as she collects some black and white shells. Thankfully, she is picking the common ones that are worth nothing.
“Collect away, princess.” She smiles brightly and places the shells she has already collected into the mesh bag I conjure for her. “Are you planning to make something from them?” I follow her, holding the bag and watching over her, just enjoying her excitement.
“Maybe,” she says secretively, concentrating on her task.
Once she has filled the bag, I place my hand on her hip, stopping her from collecting more. “Princess, it’s time.”
Summer nods and takes the bag from me, holding it tightly. As we start back toward the surface, I keep my hand on her hip as we swim. When we breach the surface, the bubbles pop, and the runes fade from our skin. We swim for the shore until we can stand in the shallows.
She slicks her hair back from her face, running her fingers through the long mass, revealing the delicate points of her ears.
“Sit with me tonight,” I nearly blurt, any finesse I claimed to have burning to ash in the wake of the jolt of lust that sizzles through me.
“Isn’t the seating assigned?” she asks, her light blue eyes locking with mine.
I cup her cheek. “Sit with me anyway.”
Her breath shudders at my touch, but her eyes never leave mine as she nods.
“Go,” I whisper, sliding my thumb over her bottom lip before slowly dropping my hand. “I’ll see you soon.”
She pulls away and walks back up the beach to collect her cover-up, glancing back at me a couple of times as I stand in the shallows watching her.
Our eyes connect one last time before she vanishes into the hotel, leaving so many words left completely unsaid.