Then the reason he is here shuts the door to the SUV. Emma must be done changing into her swimsuit—and hopefully it’s a swimsuit that covers her well. After his slipup today, he can’t risk letting her stroll around in just any state of undress at the moment. Even the law didn’t hold him back this afternoon when he had her in his lap, intending on doing just exactly what he shouldn’t. But Emma views his self-control—what’s left of it, anyway—as a rejection. He’s explained to her about the importance of the law, even though he’s been questioning the importance of it himself.
It seems to him that Triton and Poseidon wielded superstition rather than reason when they concocted the law all those centuries ago. That they scared their subjects into subjection instead of reasoning with them. Grom is different, Galen knows. He’s open-minded, taking what the humans call a progressive approach. And Galen has a suspicion that Antonis is, too, if the way the Poseidon king eagerly embraced the idea of a Half-Breed granddaughter is any indication.
But the Royals have already pushed the old law to its limits by accepting Emma into their fold. Adhering to all the other aspects of the law now is more important than ever if the Royals are to regain full trust from the kingdoms again. From the Archives. From the Commons. From the ex-Loyals, Jagen’s brood of followers.
There is no room for distrust if they are to keep the kingdoms united.
Galen knows there will come a time when humans will discover them. Grom knows it, too. And when that happens, the Syrena have a better chance of surviving if they work together. No more silent wars. No more rebellions by those who can tickle the ear and not follow through with their promises. If there was ever a time they could not afford dissension, it would be now.
Galen is drawn from his thoughts by the sound of Emma’s bare feet pressing into the leaves. With each step she takes, his blood seems to heat up, to flow more freely. The tension melts away from him, and all those kingdom problems are absorbed into the air to rain on him another time. Because right now he has Emma.
He thinks of what she said in the car. About their “deal.” She’ll wait for me if I wait for her. But is there a real reason to wait anymore? He shakes his head. Of course there is, idiot. If not for the law, then to keep the trust of the kingdoms.
He smiles as the sound of her footsteps becomes the sound of her stumbling, then gasping. She’s not nearly as graceful on land as she is in the water. Maybe he could show her that, how much more she belongs in the water than on land. How much easier it is to live in the oceans than to come ashore and build relationships with humans who will eventually die and—
“Wow, look at those clouds,” she says from behind him, sloshing the water as she wades in. Then slender fingers lace through his, and the rest of his anxiety hitches a ride on the strengthening wind. “Will we be safe in the water?”
He presses a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, which is the only safe place for his lips to be at the moment. Before she can pout, he pulls her deeper into the water. To his relief—and his disappointment—she’s wearing a one-piece swimsuit and has also opted for a pair of matching shorts. “We’ll be fine.”
“Outswim lightning, can you?” Half of her sentence is above the surface, half is below. She giggles when her voice distorts for a brief moment.
“I’m not saying I can outswim lightning,” he says, pulling her in deeper and deeper. “But I’m not saying I can’t, either.” After all, the Gift of Triton makes me faster than any other Syrena alive. He knows if Emma were in danger, he’d give lightning a fair race.
For a split second, the tendrils of Emma’s hair interlace with the tendrils of the last of the sunlight tickling the surface of the spring, and suddenly she’s enveloped in a halo of gold warmth. It’s all Galen can do to remember how to breathe. If he’d known spring water could be this glorious, he would have sought it out sooner.
“What?” she says. “Is there something behind me?”
“Now I know why humans bring cameras everywhere they go. You never know when perfection will sneak up and show itself to you.”
She eases closer to him, but he keeps an arm’s length between her body and his. He turns away from her, hoping to redirect her attention from what he knows she will see as a rejection, and to focus it on what’s below them. “There’s a cave entrance down there. Do you see it?”
She nods. “Do you think it’s safe to go in?”
He laughs. “Since when were you concerned about your own safety?”
“Oh, shut it,” she grumbles as they near the opening.
Still, he motions for her to stay behind him. “If anything is down here, then I want it to be busy eating me while you’re getting away, angelfish.”
“That’s not your decision.”
Galen pauses. He knows it takes a moment for Emma’s eyes to adjust to the darkness of the deep water, and when they enter the cave completely, even the occasional glow of lightning from the surface won’t be able to find them. “Better?” he says after a few moments.
She answers him by trying to swim ahead. He reins her in to his side, closer than is wise, and yet not as close as he’d like. The heat from her body seems to jump at him, even through the cold current and his thick skin. And since when did heat send shivers through me? “Fine,” he says, more exasperated with himself than with her. “We’ll go together. But I swear by Triton’s trident, if you try to get in front—”