“What shall we sing tonight?” Damarian asks Zarya as he tucks the seaweed under her chin.

“I do not wish to sing tonight! I wish to hear about what will occur at the human mating ceremony.”

As though they have antennas that reach the sky, the twins hurry inside and sit down on either side of Zarya’s shell. “We wish to hear as well!” Syndin says.

Damarian and I laugh. “Well, it’s very similar to the mating ceremonies you have in the sea,” I tell them. “Damarian and I will declare ourselves to each other for all eternity. We will promise to love and cherish each other, no matter how difficult life gets.”

Zarya squeals and the twins look intrigued.

“Father will not allow us to swim too close to land.” Syndin scowls. “He is afraid humans will take notice of us.”

“Well naturally,” his twins says. “Not every member at the human mating ceremony is aware of our existence, is that not so, Cassie and Damarian?”

Damarian nods. “Syd is correct. I must stress how imperative it is that you listen to Father. Many of Cassie’s friends and family are aware of the children of the sea, but there are others who do not know. You must promise us that you will not venture too close to land. Zarya, Syndin, and Syd?”

“Yes, I promise,” Syd says.

“I as well,” his twin nods

Zarya pouts.

“Zarya,” I say.

She continues to pout. “It is not fair. I will be so close to land but will not be able to see anything.”

I tap her nose. “Of course you will. You have special mermaid eyes and ears that can see and hear miles away.” I glance at the twins. “You, too, guys. You’ll probably be able to see much better than the people on the beach.”

That seems to placate Zarya only a little. “The next time we will lay eyes on one another will be at the human mating ceremony?” she asks.

“Yes,” Damarian says.

She stares down at the bottom of her shell. “I am to understand that you and Cassie will visit the sea even less once you are mated as humans?”

Damarian’s eyes slowly move to mine.

“I don’t know, sweetie,” I say. “I don’t see why it should.”

“You must grow accustomed to Damarian and Cassie lessening their visits,” Syndin says to his sister. “Do you not understand that they have a more meaningful life on land?”

“Hey, hey,” I say. “That’s not true.”

“It certainly feels that way,” Syd mumbles.

Zarya stares at us with wide, curious, and sad eyes.

Damarian and I exchange another glance.

I sigh. “It’s hard, guys. For now, we just have to make do with how things are.”

Syndin’s eyebrows rise. “To what are you referring? Why should matters change in the future?”

Damarian and I exchange another glance, not sure how to answer this question, or if we even should.

“It is due to your fry,” Syd says. “I have heard you discussing this with Mother and Father many times.”

“Syd, please do not—” Damarian starts.

“What of your fry?” Syndin asks.

Now three pairs of eyes are locked on us, each demanding an answer.

Damarian takes my hand. “We are not certain whether the fry would be a child of the sea or a human. If she or he is a child of the sea—”

Zarya shoots out of her shell. “Then you will join us in the sea and live with us!” She starts somersaulting in the water. “That is wonderful news!”

“Zarya, we’re not sure—”

“Oh but I am! Yes, I am so excited! Dammy and Cassie will return to the sea with their fry and we shall all live happily!”

I look away. I don’t want to break her heart and tell her it’s possible our future children could be humans, or a mix—which I would rather not think about right now because my head will explode—but if I want to be honest with myself, I have a feeling that my baby—whenever I will have it—will be a mermaid. After all, as soon as I mated with Damarian I turned into a mermaid. Half the baby’s genes would be a mermaid, and considering I changed, it’s highly likely she or he will change as well.

The more I’ve thought about it, especially now after being back in the ocean and having the discussion with Damarian’s family, the more I want our children to be merpeople. I’ll miss my life on land and my family like crazy, but everything is so much simpler here. The merpeople don’t have many stresses like jobs and money, and they don’t have distractions like technology. They really have all the time in the world to spend together and live life.

I shake my head. I can’t believe the thoughts in my head. A part of me can’t wait to reach that point, but the other half is scared as hell.

Damarian gently grabs Zarya by the waist and tosses her back into her shell. “Mother will grow upset if she learns you are not in your shell.”

“How can I sleep? I am most thrilled!”

Damarian pulls the seaweed up to her chin. “It is possible our fry will be human.”

She shakes her head. “No, I am certain she will be a child of the sea, for Cassie is a child of the sea.”

My thoughts exactly. Zarya’s a smart little mermaid.

Syndin folds his arms over his chest. “Why are you so certain their fry will be female?”

“Of course she will be female!”

“I believe he will be male.”

She scoffs and gives him a what-do-you-know-anyway look.

“I believe she will be female as well,” Syd says.

Zarya beams while Syndin looks betrayed by his twin.

Syd turns to us. “What do you believe, Cassie and Damarian?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to go down that road. You guys speak as if I’m pregnant. I won’t be for a very, very long time.”

“Not too long.” Zarya pouts again.

Damarian stokes her head. “The decision is not up for debate.”

“But you wish to have a female, do you not?” Zarya asks.

Damarian grins to me. “Yes, I admit it is my wish to have a daughter.” He quickly says to the twins, “And I will be as equally overjoyed to have a male.”

“And you, Cassie?” Syndin asks.

I look down at my flat stomach. God, I can’t even imagine what it would be like…I squeeze my eyes shut. No, I won’t think about it until it happens. Just the thought of it makes me want to throw up.

Damarian lifts himself off the floor. “The hour grows late. Cassie and I must leave before the sun rises.”

Zarya reaches for both our hands. “Must you leave so soon?”

I bend to place a big kiss on her forehead. “The good thing about being away from each other for so long is that our visits will be much more precious.” I give each twin a kiss, too. “Remember what we told you about getting too close to shore. Watch over your little sister.”

Syndin makes a face. “As though we have not been instructed this nearly every day since she was born.”

I laugh. “You two are really good brothers. Zarya’s extremely lucky to have you.”

The twins glance at each other, then grin widely. “Yes, we are great brothers,” Syd says. “Zarya is not aware how fortunate she is.”

I expect Zarya to mutter something along the lines of she doesn’t need brothers to be fortunate, but she’s fast asleep, her gills opening and closing steadily.

“Ah, she sleeps,” Syndin says. “We are at last at peace.”

I can’t help but burst out laughing. I give each one another kiss. “I can’t wait to see you all at the wedding—I mean, the mating ceremony. It means so much to both Damarian and me that you’ll be there.”

“Good night, Syd and Syndin,” Damarian says.

They nod and swim off to their room.

Damarian gathers me to his chest as we leave Zarya’s room. “Are you all right, my Cassie?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

He searches my eyes. “I fear the fry were too inquisitive—nosy. They should not have asked such personal questions.”

“You mean about our future kids?” I wave my hand. “I don’t mind it. I’m glad we’re able to talk openly about this. I just worry about Zarya. She has her heart set on us living permanently in the ocean. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

He places his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “I know what you feel, my love.”

“What?”

“You believe in your heart that our fry will be born a child of the sea, or that she will be born human and quickly shift.”

“I don’t know, Damarian—”

“For if she is indeed a child of the sea—”

“Damarian—”

“I will feel a tremendous amount of guilt.”

I take both his hands and lead him into our room, lowering us to the floor and scooting onto his lap. “Listen to me, Damarian. I’m not pregnant. I hope I won’t be for a while. I don’t know why everyone keeps bringing this up. Maybe because of Saeria, Dorin, and Kyteria. Or maybe because for the merpeople, having kids is the next step after mating. Whatever the case, we are not like everyone else. You’re the one who told me so many times that we’ll deal with whatever comes, when the time comes. You’re the one who’s always told me that whatever happens, we’ll be okay.”

Damarian looks away. “Yes, you are indeed correct. It has always been I who has been positive. But Zarya’s words…” He shakes his head. “I suppose I did not realize how complicated matters could be. It frightens me.”

I touch his cheek, forcing him to focus on me. “I know. It scares the crap out of me. But it also makes me excited.”

Some of the worry leaves his eyes and is replaced with glee. “Yes, I am beyond excited as well.” His eyes move to my lips. “Perhaps now is the opportune time to…”

I playfully shove him away. “No way! Not now.”

He laughs as he pushes me down on the floor and digs his lips into my throat. “Perhaps on our wedding night.”

“Now that is cliché.”

He sandwiches my hand in his and stares down at me with nothing but love in his eyes. “Whatever happens, I know that all will be well. Because we have each other. We have our love. We are bonded for all eternity. We have been through many obstacles since the moment we have met and that has only caused us to grow stronger. I am filled with much trepidation, as you are as well, but we need not be. We must take life as it comes and cherish every moment we have together.”

I raise my head a little off the floor so I can smash my lips to his. “Thanks, Damarian. I agree completely. We have gone through so much together, and our wedding will be another reminder of how much our love means to us. I know it’ll blossom even more in the years to come. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it. As long as we have each other.”

“Yes, my love. The only thing I wish to do right now is lie in our oyster shell with you in my arms, listening to the beat of your heart against my chest. Feel your soft skin on mine and kiss as many locations as I can. But we must return to land.”

I nod. “It’s easy to forget all the responsibilities we have on land when we’re in this magical place.” I give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s go.”