Chap 24
For a moment Wade simply looked at her.
Then he smiled.
"Alright, Penny."
Together they disappeared beneath the sea.
Above them, on the shore, Prince Sebastian remained exactly where he was.
Waiting.
Wade grinned and they dove beneath the waves.
It didn't take long for the gown to become a problem.
The heavy silk drank the sea greedily.
Pulling.
Dragging.
Trying to claim Penny for the ocean floor.
Penny struggled to keep hold of Wade as the yards of embroidered fabric wrapped around her.
Wade stopped in the blue water.
His hand cupped her face.
Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.
A slow breath of air.
The gown billowed around them like a crimson jellyfish.
Wade pulled back just enough to glare at it.
"The king's gown is trying to murder you."
Penny laughed.
Or tried to.
The sound escaped as silver bubbles.
Wade smiled.
The sight of her never seemed to get old.
Not the wild hair floating around her.
Not the ribbon dancing behind her.
Not the way she always looked at him as though she expected him to have another terrible idea.
His fingers brushed her cheek.
Then he kissed another breath into her lungs.
Longer this time.
His lips lingering.
Reluctant to leave.
Penny's eyes remained fixed on him when he finally pulled away.
The same look she had worn standing at his gate.
The same look she wore in his dreams.
The same look currently destroying his ability to think.
Dangerous woman.
Wade wrapped an arm around her waist.
Then spun her through the water.
The laces gave way beneath practiced fingers.
The gown immediately blossomed around her.
A cloud of red silk trimmed in white.
For one brief moment Penny vanished completely.
Wade laughed.
Then plunged an arm into the floating disaster and found her.
Pulling her free.
Straight into his arms.
Another startled burst of bubbles escaped her.
Wade immediately kissed another breath into her mouth.
Purely practical.
Mostly practical.
When he pulled away, Penny still had her face tipped toward him.
Eyes closed.
Waiting.
Wade swallowed.
Very dangerous woman.
He snagged the floating gown before it could drift away.
Hooking it over a branch wedged between the rocks.
"We'll grab that on the way back."
His hand found hers again immediately.
Not letting go.
Then together they swam deeper.
The sunlight faded above them.
The sea opened around them.
And the crimson ribbon followed behind Penny like a bridal train.
They settled upon a sandy shelf beside a ridge of stone.
Around them the sea exploded with color.
Coral.
Sponges.
Sea fans.
Schools of silver fish weaving through shafts of sunlight.
For a moment Wade simply watched her.
The sea belonged around her.
Not the palace.
Not the throne.
Not the gowns.
The sea.
His hand slipped into her hair.
His lips found hers again.
Another breath.
Another taste of air.
Reluctant to pull away.
"We should have brought my sister."
Penny tilted her head.
Wade smiled.
"A witness makes old sea magic behave better."
Penny tapped her chest.
Then began humming.
The sound vibrated through the water.
Through the stone.
Through the sea itself.
Wade immediately frowned.
"That doesn't seem concerning at all."
The humming continued.
Something answered.
Far away.
A deep vibration rolled through the water.
Wade looked into the blue distance.
"Woman."
His eyes narrowed.
"If you've summoned a shark I may never forgive you."
Penny smiled.
Then pointed to her lips.
Wade laughed.
"So demanding."
He leaned forward and gave her another breath.
Then something brushed his back.
Wade nearly launched himself into another kingdom.
He spun.
A massive shape emerged from the blue.
Scales.
Horns.
Ancient eyes.
The sea dragon settled onto the sand before them.
Penny immediately swam forward.
Of course she did.
Wade watched in disbelief as she patted the creature's nose.
The dragon closed its eyes.
Then bumped her gently upward through the water.
Like a dog greeting its favorite person.
Wade stared.
Then looked at Penny.
Then back at the dragon.
Then back at Penny.
"Of course."
Penny blinked.
"Of course you have a dragon."
The dragon opened one eye.
Offended.
Wade immediately raised both hands.
"My apologies."
The eye narrowed further.
"I meant majestic sea guardian."
The dragon seemed to consider that.
Penny was laughing.
Wade pointed at her.
"This is exactly the sort of thing you would have."
The dragon settled beside them.
Watching.
Waiting.
Ancient and patient.
Wade slowly took Penny's hand.
Then looked toward the dragon.
"Excellent."
The dragon blinked.
"I just need you to witness a small amount of extremely questionable decision-making."
The dragon's expression somehow became even more judgmental.
"That's fair."
Wade settled Penny upon the sandy bottom.
Her bare toes touched the sea floor.
The moment they did, he felt it.
The ocean.
Not around him.
Through him.
Like a drowning man finally reaching air.
Like coming home.
The ancient magic answered.
The currents slowed.
The dragon settled behind them.
Watching.
Witnessing.
Wade looked into Penny's eyes.
Trying very hard not to think about how beautiful she was.
Failing completely.
"All of me into you."
The water stirred around them.
"And all of you into me."
The dragon's great tail shifted against the sand.
"For all eternity."
His fingers slipped into her hair.
"Let the sea guard our union."
He pulled her gently closer.
"And the ocean guard our love."
Then he kissed her.
Not a breath of air.
Not this time.
Penny felt the ancient, magic rush into her.
The sea magic poured through Wade and into her.
She gasped.
And suddenly she was no longer standing upon the ocean floor.
She stood before a crystal palace beneath the waves.
A young merman raced through its halls.
Laughing.
Wade.
She saw his mother.
His father.
His many sisters.
His brother.
A thousand tiny moments that had shaped him.
A scraped knee.
A first hunt.
His first kiss.
The first time he had looked beyond the sea and wondered if he could be the one to find their lost sister.
The loneliness.
The waiting.
The endless years trapped within a vampire kingdom that was never truly home.
Then she stood once more before a gate seeing herself.
Covered in mud.
Twigs tangled in her hair.
Berry stains on her fingers.
Offering fruit.
She felt his amusement.
His curiosity.
The first spark.
Then the second visit.
The king's gown.
The ribbon.
The crushing certainty that he had waited too long.
The walk toward the ballroom.
The fear.
The king.
Then seeing her again.
Hope returning.
The realization that she was already married.
The heartbreak.
The determination.
The impossible idea that perhaps he could still save her.
The memories rushed onward.
Until they carried her all the way to this moment.
The dragon.
The sea.
The wedding.
The man kissing her as though she were something precious.
Something worth fighting for.
Then suddenly she was back.
The ocean floor.
The coral.
The dragon.
Wade.
Penny opened her eyes.
The world tilted.
Too much magic.
Too many memories.
For a moment she couldn't separate herself from him.
His joys.
His fears.
His hopes.
All of it echoed inside her.
Wade smiled softly.
Relieved.
Happy.
Then he swayed.
Just slightly.
Penny reached for him automatically.
His colors looked dimmer now.
As though he had taken a lantern from his own window and placed it in hers.
And for the first time since she had met him
Penny understood exactly how much Wade loved her.
His fingers drifted up her neck.
Stopping just behind her ears.
"You should be able to talk now."
Penny's fingers slid beneath his.
She felt the soft flutter of gills.
Her eyes widened.
Wade smiled.
Softly.
"A wedding present from the ocean gods."
Tentatively she opened her mouth.
The seawater entered.
Not choking.
Not burning.
Simply there.
Like breathing sunlight.
Wonder filled her face.
Then she launched herself at him.
Wade barely had time to react before she crashed into him.
Kissing him.
The force of it sent them tumbling backward onto the sand.
He laughed against her lips.
Or tried to.
The sound was stolen by the water.
Only then did Penny notice how not only pale he looked but how much weaker he seemed.
How much magic he had poured into her?
How much of himself now echoed inside her heart.
The crystal palace.
His family.
His loneliness.
His dreams.
His love.
Everything.
She touched his cheek.
And finally understood.
"All of me into you."
The water stirred. Listening.
The ancient magic had not gone far.
"And all of you into me."
The dragon lifted its head.
Watching. Waiting.
Penny's fingers traced the line of Wade's jaw.
"For all eternity."
A curious current curled around them.
"Let the sea guard our union."
Her forehead rested against his.
"And the ocean guard our love."
Then she kissed him.
Not for air.
Not for comfort.
Not because the magic demanded it.
Because she wanted to.
A soft humming escaped her.
Just as she had once shared Wade's magic with Alyrina to preserve his sister's life.
Only now she understood what she was giving.
The song flowed from her.
Into Wade.
Into the sea.
Into the bond between them.
His eyes closed.
The water brightened.
The colors of the reef deepened.
The dragon's scales shimmered.
And Penny felt her memories answering his.
Her village.
Her mother's laugh.
Storms rolling across distant waves.
Berry stained fingers.
The first time she saw a strange merman behind a gate.
The excitement.
The curiosity.
The dreams.
The kisses.
The hope.
The fear.
The impossible wish that somehow all of this could work.
Wade drew in a sharp breath.
His eyes opened.
The muted colors returned.
Blue brightened once more through his tail.
The sea answered.
And for one perfect moment beneath the water,
Neither of them belonged to kings.
Or kingdoms.
Or ancient magic.
They belonged only to each other.