Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Theo managed to get a few measly hours of sleep and woke with the sunrise.
Despite barely getting any rest, he was in a surprisingly pleasant mood.
He ignored the thought in the back of his mind telling him that it had something to do with a certain siren he was going to be spending the foreseeable future with.
He ate a small breakfast and banked the fire by the time the sun had fully settled in the sky. He looked around at the now bare campsite before turning back towards the water, wondering how and when they were going to proceed.
Theo knew the basics about sirens, but now his magical education was failing him.
Were they nocturnal? A lot of water-dwelling creatures were, or at least they were most active at dawn and dusk.
Theo felt himself start to get a little concerned that Lyra had gotten herself into more trouble during the night, and he hadn’t heard it.
Theo edged a little closer to the shore, Lyra’s sharp warnings to stay away from it ringing in his mind while his panic over her safety grew.
The rational part of his mind knew she was better suited to protect herself in the water than he was, but it didn’t matter when he imagined her bleeding again in the water.
She’d only had a scratch on her forehead, but the sight of blood on Lyra’s face had managed to make Theo go cold all over.
“Lyra?” he called out towards the river, peering over the shallows while trying to keep his feet on solid ground.
“Lyra?” Theo called out a little louder this time while taking a few steps closer to the water. There was a small splash a couple of feet ahead of him, and Theo froze.
“Lyra! Can you hear me?” Theo started running forward, his sneakers becoming waterlogged as he lost his footing on the wet sand. There was a second, bigger splash, and Theo’s eyes widened.
“Okay, um, fuck,” he started looking around and realized he didn’t have anything even closely resembling a weapon, “I’m coming! Ok? I think… Stay where you are!”
Theo was stuck in the sand, the water only knee-high, and panicking. He was convinced Lyra was fighting off some other terrifying creature of the deep, only a few feet away, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Ly—oh!” Theo called out for Lyra again, but he was swiftly cut off.
A heavyweight slammed into the back of his knees, causing him to fall forward into the river.
The shock of the cold, brackish water made Theo suck in a sharp breath, swallowing a fair amount of dirty river water.
A heavy weight was sitting on top of him, and his eyesight was blurred.
After a few paralyzing seconds that felt closer to an eternity, Theo wiped his eyes and blinked repeatedly.
He was sitting in the shallows of the river, soaking wet, with water up to his chest. Lyra was straddling him with her legs on either side of his torso, glaring at him with a raised eyebrow.
“What did I tell you about going into the water?” Lyra snapped, quickly removing herself from Theo’s lap, much to his disappointment.
She stood up effortlessly, with far too much grace for a human, even if she was wearing a mortal skin. Theo was struck dumb by the sight of the water and the morning light of the sun reflecting off her smooth skin, as if she were made of diamonds.
“Did you hear me?” Lyra demanded, wringing some of the water out of her hair. “What did I say about the water, Theo?” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down with an intensity that should’ve scared him more than it turned him on.
“Um, yes, I did.” Theo attempted to stand up but wasn’t able to move nearly as gracefully as Lyra could.
He eventually had to roll over to all fours and push himself up out of the wet sand and water.
When he finally got to his feet, he started to walk out of the shallows and slipped.
Theo held his hands out to stop his fall, but Lyra managed to grab his arm, steadying him.
“You really don’t have a pair of sea legs, do you?” Lyra’s gaze softened, even though her tone was still full of ire.
Theo shrugged, plastering on what he hoped was a charming and disarming smile.
“Uh, no,” Theo admitted, “but I do think I’m excused, seeing as there’s been a threat over my entire life relating to the sea.”
Lyra didn’t look impressed. “That doesn’t explain why you completely ignored what I said about going into the water.
” Lyra dropped her hand from Theo’s shoulder.
“You were only in knee-deep water, and I was able to knock you down and attack you. If I had been an angry selkie or a kelpie, that would have been all it would have taken. As soon as you go down and your body is under water, it doesn’t matter how shallow it is.
You’re gone. They’ll drag you out to the depths before you realize what’s even happening.
The water is dangerous, Theo.” Lyra’s voice picked up in intensity as she spoke, sounding almost frantic at the end of it.
Her eyes narrowed, and Theo wondered if she’d had any experience with the horrors she was describing.
“I understand.” Theo nodded eagerly, desperate to show Lyra he wasn’t looking for a fight. “It’s not going to happen again. I didn’t know what time you wanted to set out this morning. I got concerned waiting for you, and when there was splashing in the water, I thought you might be in trouble.”
Lyra froze, her face suddenly devoid of anger while an indifferent expression took its place.
“You went in the water because you were worried about me?”
“Yes,” Theo admitted openly, not wanting to elaborate because clearly, something he’d said had already spooked her.
Lyra was silent for a few minutes. Theo waited, refusing to move. Finally, she started braiding her hair and twisting it up.
“Don’t do it again.” Lyra shook her head. “You’re more of a liability in the water. If I’m in trouble, I can’t look after myself and you. I don’t need your male ego getting in the way, either.” She finally made eye contact with Theo. “Can you understand that?”
Theo tried to bite back his laughter, holding both of his hands up in surrender. “Hey, no arguments from me.” He pointed to himself. “Liability in the water, Virgo, likes jazz music and hates spiders.”
Lyra tilted her head and studied him. “I’m starting to see why Cliodhna wants to kill you.”
There was enough brevity in her tone that Theo knew she wasn’t serious. He grinned widely.
“You’re starting to like me. Admit it!” Theo desperately wanted to get through Lyra’s defenses and see what she was really like, when she was comfortable and carefree, even though a curse-breaking adventure might not be the time to do it.
Lyra rolled her eyes and ignored Theo’s question entirely. She pointed towards the trail that continued alongside the river.
“I’ll go on foot with you today after all. If other mermaids are going to try to come after me to steal your bounty, to your point, it’ll be easier to avoid them entirely. There are a few selkie women I’m familiar with in this area. They might be willing to help.”
Lyra started down the trail without any further instruction, adjusting some of the ties on her blouse. Theo slung his pack over his shoulder and obediently plodded along behind her.
“I have another question, if it’s not too insensitive to ask,” Theo piped up, and Lyra groaned exaggeratedly.
“Oh, good, and here I thought we’d have to spend the morning walking in peaceful silence.”
Theo bit his lip and hesitated for a moment. “We can, if that’s what you'd prefer.” Lyra looked over her shoulder, an expression halfway between confusion and admiration. She turned back towards the path.
“It’s all right. Ask your questions, prince.” Lyra sounded almost regretful. “Although I have no way of knowing if it’s insensitive until you ask. I have found humans and fae to be more cautious than merfolk, however, so you’ll probably be fine.”
Theo chuckled softly. “And if I do offend you?”
Lyra flashed him a smile full of fang. “My pact with your brother is about keeping you alive, not uninjured.” She sounded positively gleeful.
“Got it.” Theo was unfazed. “Where do your clothes go when you switch forms? Unless you were stashing a pair of trousers and a blouse somewhere on the shore.”
“Ah,” Lyra laughed. “Disappointed that I didn’t appear naked in the sea foam like Aphrodite this morning?”
Theo’s face went bright red, and he found himself starting to stammer.
“Uh, no. Of course not. Not that it would be a bad sight, or anything, like, you’re good-looking.”
“Just good-looking?” Lyra turned around to face Theo and stopped walking. “Don’t let the other maighdann-mara hear you. They’ll think I’m losing my touch.”
Theo scratched the back of his head, wholly unsure what to think. Lyra seemingly took pity on him and moved on.
“I don’t know how to answer that question. The clothes go wherever my legs disappear to, I guess.”
Theo nearly tripped over a downed log on the trail, entirely distracted by following Lyra.
“Well, that’s convenient, I suppose.”
“It’s the only thing convenient about maigihdann-mara.” Lyra didn’t offer any further explanation.
The rest of the morning was passed with a never-ending stream of questions from Theo, who asked about everything from mermaid customs to whether siren songs had ever been properly recorded.
He did trip and fall when Lyra revealed that a few popular musicians were actually sirens. It did make sense—there was no chance Adele was human.
Theo had run out of questions, and they were walking in peaceful silence when Lyra suddenly held her hand up, indicating for them to stop.
She turned around towards Theo and held her finger up to her lips.
Theo mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.
Lyra only rolled her eyes in response and turned towards the path.
They’d come to a small inlet, where a rolling stream was opening up into the river. The shores were decorated with several large boulders, which even Theo had to admit looked like excellent places for basking in the midday sun. Lyra pointed to one of the rocks on the far side of the stream.
At first, Theo didn’t see anything.
After a minute, the rock’s surface started to move. Theo sucked in a sharp breath as the seal that’d been sunning itself on the boulder pushed up into a rather human-looking sitting position. It had blended in so well with its surroundings that Theo didn’t realize it was there until it moved.
Theo watched in awe as the seal’s flippers briefly shimmered in the light, tapering into delicate fingers. They reached up to the top of its head and started to pull, and Theo realized what was happening. The selkie was shedding its pelt.
Theo watched in awe as the seal unzipped its fur as easily as a winter jacket, revealing a woman’s body beneath.
She slowly stood to her feet, stretching out her muscles, and stepped out of her fur like discarded clothing.
The woman bent down, picked up the pelt, and pulled it over her head.
Theo watched in real time as it shifted into a simple seal skin tunic.
He could hardly believe the statuesque woman standing across the stream had been a seal moments before.
Her eyes were huge and dark, her nose shaped like a button, her limbs long, corded with muscle.
The selkie’s hair was black as night, stretching all the way down her back.
Theo didn’t realize his jaw dropped until Lyra cleared her throat loudly beside him.
“Are you done gawking?” she snapped quietly. “Will I be able to introduce the two of you without it being a problem?”
Theo blushed and nodded aggressively, embarrassed that Lyra assumed the selkie so transfixed him.
She was stunning, of course, but most magical creatures were.
He didn’t think she held a candle to Lyra’s wild, feral beauty.
He was enamored with the magic—he’d never seen a selkie shed her skin before.
Now is probably not the time to try to tell Lyra that. Theo mused to himself. I don’t think she’ll take me very seriously. But… she did sound jealous.
A very male part of Theo preened at the idea that Lyra was jealous over his assumed preoccupation with the selkie. He decided to let it drop for now.
“Lead the way,” Theo encouraged, and Lyra turned on her heel, approaching the water’s edge to introduce Theo to his first selkie.