Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The last of Theo's post orgasmic bliss vanished. Lyra shoved him further up the bank in an impressive display of strength for her wiry form, her teeth elongating as she hissed in the direction of the water.
Theo couldn't make out what Lyra was looking at, but he didn't ask questions. He scrambled up the bank, his fingers and feet digging into the sand as a horrid screech echoed through the night air.
It sent chills down Theo's spine, and he froze, turning his head back towards the water despite his fear. Whatever it was, it was out for blood, and Lyra had gone to meet it head-on.
“Lyra!” Theo screamed, making his way back towards the river.
No part of Theo thought himself a better fighter than Lyra; he was inclined to listen to her when she said to run, but the thought of her alone, fighting whatever it was that had crawled out of the depths yet again, didn't sit right with him.
Not when he could still feel the warmth of her body against his.
He got as close to the water as he dared, where everything was obscured by splashing waves and churning water. Theo caught quick glimpses of Lyra’s tail peeking from the water, or a gaping jaw, but none of the images made sense to him.
As quickly as it started, the chaos stopped, and the god-awful screeching ceased.
Lyra broke the surface of the water, her wet hair hanging partially over one eye.
She smiled at Theo enthusiastically and with a warmth he had yet to see on her face.
He couldn't place it, but instead of feeling accepted and excited by the mirth on Lyra’s expression, it was wrong.
A deep sense of unease settled in Theo's stomach, and he took a step back from Lyra as she started to walk out of the waves.
Lyra noticed his retreat, and her face contorted again, now into a desperate pout, and she lifted her arms out towards Theo.
“Theo,” she purred, her voice sounding melodic as a song, “Do you not want me now? Are your attentions so fickle?”
Theo would be lying if he said he was entirely unmoved by the plea, but it seemed so entirely out of character that he couldn't be sure. He'd seen Lyra fight enough already to know she wasn't going to come out of the water emotional and weeping for comfort. Not that he would blame her if she did.
“Lyra…” Theo took a step back, and then another, debating turning around and running for the treeline.
“You insolent little prince!” Lyra snapped her teeth in Theo's direction, swiping at him with an outstretched hand.
The second Theo decided he was going to turn and run, a sudden commotion broke out as another shape jumped out of the water, tackling Lyra beneath the waves.
“Fuck.” Theo hissed, still too afraid to make a decision. He knew it was better to do what Lyra said and run, but he had been running his entire life. Would his absence, instead of his actions, define all of the penultimate moments in his life?
His thought process was cut short when two bodies emerged from the water, locked in a vicious vice grip. It took Theo a moment to realize what he was seeing because both of the bodies looked like Lyra.
“Kelpies.” Theo hissed in realization, his fear compounding at the thought of Lyra struggling with a kelpie in the water.
They were notorious for shapeshifting, turning themselves into anything and everything that would appeal most to their victims.
A separate part of Theo's brain broke off and started running through all the potential reasons the kelpie would appear as Lyra while trying to seduce him.
He attempted to wrangle his thought process, but only ended up thinking about Lyra's smooth skin in the moonlight, at least until the twisting bodies reemerged again.
Theo was sweating with compounded energy, anxiety with nowhere to go, and nothing he could think to do to help. The kelpie had shifted back to its most natural state, with Lyra's arms locked around its thick, horse-like neck.
“Theo!” Lyra shouted, her eyes flashing red when she realized he was still standing on the shore. “What the fuck did I say? Run, you eedjit!”
The kelpie bucked and threw Lyra across the river, tossing her through the water as though she'd been launched clean through the air.
Theo watched in horror as her body crashed against the rocky coastline, another dull roar echoing over the water.
Lyra slammed against a boulder, her body crumbling on impact, and she slipped back under the waves as limp as a fish.
Theo's logical decision-making skills were hanging on by a thread, and the sight of an unconscious Lyra snapped the delicate balance in half.
Theo charged into the water without a second thought, which, in theory, was a very gallant and athletically impressive maneuver.
In reality, Theo awkwardly stomped and ran through the shallows until the water was deep enough for him to dive in, which took a few precious moments.
The kelpie, blessedly, had disappeared for the time being, which gave Theo enough time to swim over to the place he'd seen Lyra disappear under the water.
He wasn't a strong swimmer, but the most unathletic fae could still surpass Olympic mortals, so Theo made it to deeper parts of the river without a problem.
The moon was bright, casting everything in its luminous glow, and luckily, the water was clear enough for Theo to see Lyra's glittering tail beneath the surface.
He sucked in a deep breath and kicked his feet, propelling himself forward until he reached the bottom of the river. Theo wrapped his hands around Lyra's waist and fought for the surface, her tail, thick with corded muscle, weighing them down.
Theo's lungs were burning when he finally reemerged, choking on a gasping breath.
He kept his head on a swivel, looking around for any sign of the kelpie as he paddled towards the shoreline.
By some stretch of luck, it must have considered its foe vanquished when it tossed Lyra against the rocks and disappeared.
“Theo…” Lyra murmured, her voice sounding slurred. It sent a chill through Theo's body that outweighed even the freezing water. Lyra sounded as though she'd been drugged, which wasn't a good sign.
“H-hang on.” Theo panted, clamoring to his feet in the shallows, which was a difficult feat in soaking wet clothes while holding the finned body of a siren.
He stumbled towards their mangled campsite, Theo's bedroll kicked over in the sand. He awkwardly poked at it with his foot, attempting to right it enough before he was able to lay Lyra's body on the sleeping bag.
“Lyra?” Theo cupped her face, searching for another flicker of consciousness.
Lyra sucked in a sharp breath, her hand coming up to grab Theo's wrist with a feeble grip.
“H-how many times do I have to tell you?” Lyra hissed the words, her dazed expression swiftly turning to one of fury.
“Tell me what?” Theo didn't release his hold on Lyra, seemingly unable to imagine pulling himself away from her in that moment. He scanned her face and tried to find any hint of what had forced her to anger so quickly, even though this was fairly on par for Lyra.
“Do not try to get involved in a fight!” Lyra tried to wiggle out of Theo's grip, but her body didn’t want to move. Theo was so warm, and his skin against hers radiated across her whole body like a furnace.
“You needed help!” Theo looked at her in shock, unbelieving that Lyra was lecturing him for this now.
“What, did you think I was going to drown?” Lyra cocked an eyebrow at him. “Be serious, Theo!”
“Well, what am I supposed to think when I see you thrown against the bloody rocks?” Theo bit back, a bit of edge appearing in his voice that hadn’t been there before.
“Will you just accept help? God, are you always like this when someone tries to help you?” Theo scoffed, reluctantly understanding that he was more of a liability in the water but still rather indignant about Lyra's complaints, seeing as she had been the one knocked unconscious under the river's surface.
Lyra's expression flickered for just a moment. Something passed over her features that Theo couldn't identify. Regret? Sorrow? It was gone before he could attempt to decipher it any further, as quickly as their assailant had been.
“Don't worry about that. That's not the point,” Lyra rebutted, but her voice didn't have nearly half of the heat it had before.
Theo decided to table the discussion for now. They sat there in silence for another minute, neither of them willing to move away from the other but quickly running out of excuses for why it was okay to stay—despite the post-orgasmic haze they had been in when they were interrupted.
“Well.” Theo broke the silence, turning away from Lyra's piercing gaze and helping her sit up before releasing her from his grip. “Do you want to tell me what that was?”
Lyra nodded and then pointed towards the campfire, which had already been burnt down to embers.
“Get the fire going, and I'll tell you,” Lyra whispered, her voice still a bit groggy.
She didn't want to admit she was feeling cold.
She was never cold. The water and the depths of the sea and the lochs had always been her home; its frigid temperatures could never bother her.
She was immune to it. So why did Theo's touch feel so warm?
How did it feel so good? Had she always been cold and never realized it before?
There were too many things to think through, so Lyra decided to think through none of them.
She sat in silence, shifting carefully back to her most human appearance, tucking her chin on her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs.
She absentmindedly stroked her fingers across her skin, still always somewhat enamored by her own body when she didn't have a tail.
Theo dutifully stoked the fire until the warmth spread throughout the clearing.
He said nothing, only sat down and looked at Lyra expectantly.
“It was a kelpie,” Lyra sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Nasty things. I'm sure it got wind of the bounty on you too.”
“Shit.” Theo ran a hand through his hair. Despite the blessings they'd received and the prince's protection they carried with them, it seemed that the queen of the banshees’ offers were too tempting for many.
“We're never going to make it if we keep getting attacked like this,” Theo muttered, partially to himself. “Even with this ruse that you're taking me to Cliodhna, too many people want to claim the bounty for their own.”
Lyra didn't respond. She stared at the flames, watching as they flickered in the night. She'd always despised fire, something so opposite to the water, but now she was intrigued by its warmth. A misplaced affection that was drawn out of her by Theo, but it was a realization she wasn't ready for.
“I’ll text Emmett,” Theo volunteered, feeling ashamed, as if they were already admitting defeat. “Maybe they'll have a better idea of what to do.”
Lyra made a noncommittal noise and kept looking at the flames. Her betrayal was sitting heavily on her shoulders. She knew there was no way she would be able to hand Theo over to Cliodhna now, but it would mean her sister's death.
A small part of her brain was screaming for her to tell Calum, tell Theo, tell someone, and see if they would help her.
But why would they? They didn't know her, and if she told them, she'd have to admit her original intention was to see Theo murdered by the Queen of the Banshees.
The very thought made Lyra's stomach churn so violently that, for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick all over the beach.
But how did she find a way out of this that saved her sister?
Calum might want her head for the deceit, and she couldn't blame him for that, but maybe she could appeal to him as an older sibling?
Theo tucked his phone away, finished sending a message to Emmett, and directed his attention back to Lyra.
She could feel it like a spotlight, or the sun at midday.
“I have a question.” Theo broke the silence.
Lyra smiled softly, unable to keep her stoic expression, and nodded. “Go ahead then, princeling.”
Theo shifted his weight while he got comfortable in front of the fire, and Lyra admired the way his cheeks blushed in the dim lighting.
“Why were there two of you in the water?” Theo asked, his blush almost a permanent feature of his face now.
“I’m sorry?” Lyra sat up straighter, her heart beating a little bit faster in her chest.
“There were two of you.” Theo motioned to the river, as if that would illustrate his point. “I didn't know what or who you were fighting. I didn't know it was a kelpie. I thought there were two of you. For a minute, you called out to me. Or was it the kelpie?”
Lyra’s heart dropped to her toes. She had been moments away from being ill, but now her stomach flipped in a much different way.
It couldn't be… could it?
“You're saying that you saw two of me in the water when I was fighting the kelpie?” Lyra could barely get the words out, but she repeated herself, needing to hear Theo confirm it one more time.
“Yes.” Theo started to look concerned. “Is that bad?”
Lyra's lip curled into a smirk, then a grin, before shifting into a full-blown smile. She wasn't alone in her feelings after all. And now, more than ever, some way or another, she would have to tell Theo the truth as soon as she found the words.
“A kelpie,” Lyra drawled out the words, savoring the moment, “shapeshifts into whatever form its victim will find the most desirable.”
Lyra watched with unparalleled glee as understanding, then horror, washed over Theo's face. He buried his head in his hands, his flush intensifying.
“Oh god.” He groaned while Lyra started to laugh. He sounded like a teenager caught with a crush, and Lyra was loving every second of it.
“Don't be bashful now, Theo.” She grinned, scooting a bit closer to him around the fire. “You must know now that I find you attractive.”
Theo didn't pick his head up but muttered something into his hands, sending Lyra into another round of giggles.
“I think it's endearing,” Lyra whispered when she was able to catch her breath. She slipped her hand into the crook of Theo's arm and tugged his hands away from his face.
“Do you promise?” Theo asked sheepishly.
Lyra responded by pressing a swift kiss to Theo's cheeks and watching with glee as his blush deepened yet again.
“I promise.”