“Cassie, my love!” Damarian scoops me into his arms and spins me around in the living room. “How I have missed you!”

I giggle as he splatters my face with kisses. “I was only gone for a few hours.”

“Yes, but every moment I am apart from you feels like eternity. Even after being mated to you for twenty four moons.”

I give him a heartfelt, passionate kiss. “I feel the same way.”

With me still in his arms, he carries me into the kitchen. “May I ask how it went at the dress shop?”

“Don’t worry about Mom and her superstitions. You can ask me anything you want.”

“All right. But she stated she would, ‘Do some serious damage to my manly parts if I were to lay eyes upon the dress before you walk down the aisle.’ She could not have been serious, could she?”

I feel my eyes pop out of their sockets. “She did not say that!”

“No?” He lowers me to the floor and scratches the back of his head. “Is it possible I heard that on the TV? No, I am certain those were your mother’s words.”

“I’m going to kill that woman.”

His eyes widen. Then they relax. “Right. That is a human expression.”

I gently slap his chest. “Don’t worry about any of this. Honestly, this whole wedding thing…” I walk over to the fridge and take out the orange juice. “It’s a bigger headache than it’s worth.”

“Pardon? Are you stating you do not wish to have one? I thought that was your wish, to be bonded as humans.”

I put the carton on the counter and walk over to him, gathering him in my arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I don’t want to be bonded to you the human way. It’s just a little different here on land. So many preparations and so much stress. It’s much simpler in the sea.”

He trails kisses down my neck. “I apologize for the stress. I am only glad that you and I will be bonded as humans. That is all that matters to me.”

“Me, too.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the table. “Please sit. I have prepared a meal while you were away. It consists of mushrooms. I am still not certain if I am fond of the taste of mushrooms, but the dish smells scrumptious.”

Even though Leah and I ate a late lunch only a few hours ago, my stomach rumbles at the mention of his cooking. “Thanks so much. I’m starving.”

He hurries to the counter for the oven mitts, opens the oven, and pulls out what looks like mushroom casserole. The aroma attacks my nose, making me sigh in pleasure and my mouth water.

“It smells awesome, Damarian.”

“Thank you. I only hope it tastes delicious as well.”

We dig in. My mouth explodes with all different flavors, but something specific stands out. I take another bite before I realize what it is. “Did you put…sardines in this?” I ask.

He beams. “That was my surprise, my love! I sought—forgive me, browsed—on the internet and saw that one can add fish to the dish.”

I return the smile. “Perfect for us.”

We devour what’s in our plates and go for seconds, feeding each other and stating over and over again how delicious this meal is. When we’re both leaning back in our seats ready to pop, I say, “I’m so excited to finally visit your family again. We’ve missed so many weeks because of my college classes and job. I bet Kyteria and Dorin have grown ten inches. And we’ve only seen Princess Saeria like three times. I can’t get over how beautiful her tail is.”

“Indeed.”

When I held Flora and Kiander’s daughter for the first time, I felt a rush of power pass through me. She is the heir to the crown and possesses an extreme amount of power. The sea witch told Flora that the princess will be the strongest creature in the whole ocean. It wasn’t just her power I felt, though, it was her heart. True and kind, with love for every creature in the ocean, even though she doesn’t know it yet. Her tail is made of all five colors of the clans, the most exquisite tail I’ve ever seen in my life. The castle hasn’t changed colors yet—it’s still comprised of different shades of sapphire—because she hasn’t yet reached eighteen, when she will become queen.

Since I’ve started surfing classes last week and it’s hard for Damarian to take off work, especially now in the summer season, we’ll only be able to visit Damarian’s family for the weekend. I wish we could spend more time there, but our schedules are always packed.

“I’ll do the dishes,” I offer, gathering the plates.

“It is okay, my love. I do not mind.”

“You made the food. It’s only fair that I do the dishes.”

“Yes, but it pleases me to serve you.”

I can’t help but laugh. We’ve been together for two years and still argue over this practically every night. I guess we both have so much love for each other that we want to show it in every way possible.

Damarian laughs, too. “You rinse and I dry?”

“Deal.”

Once I put the leftovers in the fridge, Damarian and I get to work. I love doing everything together with him, even something as simple as dishes. Standing at the sink, I get hit with memories from when Damarian and I first spent time together when he came back to land to get to know me. The first time we did dishes together, I opened my heart to him and told him how my father left me and how hard it was for my mom and me. Even back then, I felt like I could tell him anything and that he’d never hurt me.

The second memory is the time we shared our first kiss. Damarian wrapped an arm around my waist and gently backed me up against the sink. His lips were hesitant at first, but then they moved over mine in desperation, like he had wanted to do that from the moment we first met. It didn’t take too long for me to kiss him just as desperately and passionately.

Then we broke apart. There was so much doubt, so much fear, so much unknown. We’ve come such a long way, and now we’re going to declare ourselves to each other for all eternity on land. Many times I need to pinch myself to make sure this is real and not a dream.

We finish up the dishes and take showers so we can get some sleep before we leave for the ocean.

***

I’m woken up when warm lips are pressed to mine. I moan and smile, reaching for Damarian with my eyes still closed.

He jabs something soft yet slightly rough on my nose. My eyes fly open. “Little Penguin wishes to inform you that it is time we leave for the sea,” Damarian says. “You must leave for the sea before it grows too light, Cassie!” he says in a squeaky voice.

I laugh and hug the stuffed penguin, less than three inches tall, to my chest. Damarian always buys me something from the aquarium gift shop when I attend one of his shows. This penguin is extra special because he bought it for me for our first anniversary, when he took me to the aquarium and we swam with the whales and fed the penguins.

Glancing at the clock, I see it’s four AM. Damarian’s right—we need to get to the ocean before the fishermen start their early catch.

I reach for the bag of essentials I packed last night. We have the ability to shift at will, so we don’t need to dry off as quickly as possible, but it’s nice to have towels when we return. We’ve packed three bags of gummy worms for Zarya, Syd, and Syndin. The other kids are too young to enjoy them yet. And I also packed spare clothes just in case.

We lock hands as we trek to the beach. It’s been a while since Damarian and I have walked here together, since I was busy with school and my teaching assistant job and he spent many hours with the whales. With our hands linked, everything feels much better—the cool breeze whooshing through my hair, the feel of the saltwater-filled air gathering on my exposed skin. The ocean calls for him much more intensely than it does for me, since his true form is a merman, and I feel it. It causes me to also have an undying need to leap inside.

We turn toward our special spot, one with many rocks where most people don’t venture to. I check my right and left, backward and forward, to make sure no one is around, and Damarian does the same. Once I’m sure the coast is clear, we undress, and I bury the bag in the sand. We climb onto the rocks, hold hands, and leap into the ocean.

Before Damarian and I learned how to shift at will, the extreme pain that accompanies every shift hit us immediately. But now we have the ability to enjoy ourselves in the ocean in our human forms.

Damarian throws me onto his back. “Take in some air, Cassie,” he calls over his shoulder.

 He dives into the water. He pumps his legs hard as he swims deeper into the water. A few seconds later, he uses all his energy to launch himself through the surface. He doesn’t have as much strength or speed as he has as a merman, so we only manage to do a small flip before plummeting back into the water. He quickly gathers me in his arms. “Epic fail. There is only so much I can do as a human.” He frowns, then his face lights up. “Would you like me to shift into a child of the sea so that I may cast you toward the sky?”

He’s always thinking of ways to make me happy or excite me. There are no words to describe how much I love this guy and how much he means to me.

I tap his nose. “How about I shift into a child of the sea and toss you toward the sky?”

His face shines so bright it’s like he snorted a light bulb up his nose. “That sounds marvelous! I will feel as though I am close to the space.”

Closing my eyes, I focus on transforming into a mermaid. The sharp pain starts at my legs, and it feels like they’re being torn apart. It travels up the rest of my body, as though I’m completely engulfed in flames. I thrash around, making sure not to hit Damarian. After thirty seconds, it’s gone and in place of my legs is the beautiful sapphire tail I love and cherish.

Damarian wraps a hand around my waist and sweeps me toward his body, resting his lips on the side of my face. “Even after all this time, it hurts to see you in so much pain.”

“I don’t care,” I murmur as I stroke his cheek. “Because it means I can have a life with you.”

“How lovely you are, my sweet Cassie. How much love I have for you. You are the most remarkable being in the world.”

I shake my head. “You are.”

“No, it is you.”

“You!”

“You!”

“It is you, my love,” he says before closing his mouth over mine. Just as he’s about to deepen the kiss, I place my hands on his chest and gently push him away. “Don’t think you can win this by kissing me to shut me up.”

“Oh, but I can.” He leans in for another kiss.

I once again push him away. “The fishermen and surfers will be out soon. I want to toss you in the air so you can get a feel of what it’s like to leap out of the ocean.”

Many years ago, the merpeople weren’t afraid to jump out of the ocean because there were no satellites that could detect them. Now, parents instill in their kids how dangerous it is. When Damarian was in my pool the first time he changed in front of me, I was mesmerized by how he leapt. Since we don’t have a pool anymore and Damarian does his weekly shifts here in the ocean, he hasn’t had the chance to leap, something he loves to do very much. I want to give to him as much as he always gives to me.

“All right, my Cassie,” he says. “But if I am too heavy…”

“Please. I’m a mermaid and you’re a puny human.”

He laughs. “Yes, but my true form is still that of a child of the sea. I may still be too heavy for you.”

I hold out my arms. “Just get in here, you overly considerate Sapphire.”

That makes him laugh again. As soon as he’s right before me, I take him in my arms. I slightly dip into the ocean. Not because I can’t handle his weight, but because I didn’t realize how heavy he is. Even as a human, he’s got a sick amount of muscles.

He pushes aside some hair that’s sticking to my forehead. “Thank you for doing this for me, my love.”

“You’re always finding ways to make me happy. Now it’s my turn. Are you ready?”

“I am ready.”

“Take in a breath. And here we goooo!”

I dive into the water, pumping my tail as intensely as I can, swimming deeper into the ocean. We’re not too deep in the water, so I can’t get that much momentum. I kick my tail into the sand and launch us toward the surface. As soon as we break it, I throw my arms upward, flinging him toward the sky. He raises his arms as though he’s trying to touch the sky, the moon, the stars, space.

When his body starts to drop back toward the ocean, I hurry to get in the right position. I want him to land in my arms so I can shower every part of his face with kisses.

This time, I’m ready for the weight. His entire face is brighter than the sun on the sunniest day. I laugh and cover every inch of his face with my lips. But Damarian has other plans, because he frees himself from my hold, spins me around, and lowers me until my back floats on the water. His leans closer to brush kisses over every inch of my exposed skin.

“Damarian,” I giggle as his lips tickle the spot on my waist where skin meets scales. “Damarian!”

He stops and hugs me tight against his chest. “Every morning, I wake up with a smile. Because it means I have another day to spend with you.”

I snake my hands up until they lock around his neck. “Another day, another week, another month, another year. Because we will be together forever. Always.”