The Merman's Kiss by Tamsin Ley

Author:Tamsin Ley [Ley, Tamsin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Twin Leaf Press
Published: 2017-02-27T18:30:00+00:00

Zantu sent out a thought, unsure how far the link might travel. He’d lost contact not far from the nest.

Nothing.

The brown-spotted sculpin he’d left to watch her was supposed to come find him if there was trouble. Not the best guard fish but more reliable than the capricious orange garibaldi fish who often served mermaids just for fun.

He jetted through the kelp, pulsing his sonic query ahead to clear the way. The kelp thinned as he exited Rubac’s territory and reached the ledge down to his own. He jackknifed over a lip of rock, shooting straight for his nest.

Shoving through the thick wall of kelp into the clearing, he smiled in anticipation. He’d never had a mate to come home to before. Inside the nest, he looked around, and his smile faded. Brianna? She was nowhere in sight. He added a sonic query.

Gone.

Of course she’d left him. That was what women did. He’d hoped a human would be different, but obviously not. Why would he believe she was any different from any other female? Yet a dark cloud of doubt enshrouded his soul. His nest was far from land. How could she expect to strike out on her own and reach safety? There were predators, riptides, mermaids, and other dangers. Without fins or tail she’d be at the mercy of the current. He had to make sure she was safe, even if she had left him.

He slid out of the nest and searched for the sculpin guard. Missing, of course. Creating a song for the simple creatures in the area, he asked the whereabouts of the human. As one, the creatures pointed toward the rock wall nearby. An orange garibaldi giggled and darted away, trailing a few friends.

A flutter of panic leaked through Zantu’s mind. He darted after the garibaldi through the rocks and between kelp, calling ahead with both mind and sonar.

Even with the current, she shouldn’t have drifted far. Where was she?

A brown-speckled sculpin poked its head from behind a sea fan on the floor, its mind relaying the feel of rising toward the surface and the pull of the stronger current. Sculpins were bottom dwellers, and the creature’s own instincts had overridden the directive to watch Brianna.

Zantu should have known better than to trust a sculpin to report trouble. Cowards, every one.

Another panic wave rippled through Zantu. Was the feeling his own or something he was receiving from Brianna? Speeding toward the surface, he called with both voice and mind. Brianna!

The panic in his chest grew stronger, and now he recognized it wasn’t all his. A word whispered through his mind. Help!

Brianna! Where are you?

As he entered a thick section of kelp, the words grew stronger. I can’t breathe. God, hurry!

He spun in place, searching the surrounding forest. He could detect nothing awry. The mind connection gave him no sense of direction. Can you sing to me? Call me!

No! There’s something nearby. I’m afraid. The kelp— her thoughts were muddy, but the panic remained sharp and clear.

Summoning a song deep in his core, Zantu formed a command to every creature within range.

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