Lucy’s friends were riveted by her exciting news, and Torun watched her swell with regal command as she explained her plans to collect more of the Sea Opals and guard her supply, keeping it a secret from evil credit-stealers such as her ex-husband until they had secured all of the treasures.

“In exchange, I’ve agreed to find women for Torun’s tribe,” Lucy told them, missing the important promise entirely. He would remind her of his claim on her later. “They’re short.”

Mel grinned. “Fantastic! You have to create a dating site and name it Plenty of Fish.”

“That’s already taken.”

“Oh, but it would be perfect! Sign them up.”

“There might be a rule about humans only. We’d have to read their Terms and Conditions.” Lucy’s mouth twisted. “But let’s be practical for a minute. This is all a little crazy. Isn’t it?”

Mel pursed her lips. “Hmm. I guess. But I have faith you’ll find someone with the technical skills to set up a tribe of good looking mermen.”

“What? No, I mean, the rest of it.” She clutched Mel’s hands, which were wrapped around Mel’s pineapple smoothie. “Tell me I’m crazy for going back out on the ocean all alone.”

He shifted forward. “You will not be alone, Lucy. You will be with me.”

She swallowed. “Yeah...”

“Not to worry.” Mel clinked her glass, despite Lucy’s hands around it, against Lucy’s watermelon smoothie in celebration. “Praise me. I found you some unpaid interns.”

“Good job! Who?”

Elyssa stared at the Sea Opal in Lucy’s hands and barely seemed to hear the conversation. “May I?”

“Hmm? Oh, sure.” Lucy handed over the gem.

Torun’s belly flipped.

The Sea Opal passed to Elyssa and Mel and back to Elyssa again. He had given the jewel to Lucy, and she was, therefore, free to do with it as she liked. Even give it away to another in front of him.

But he did not like it.

Lucy kissed him. She refused his claim. She promised to stand up to his Council. She planned for another woman to become his queen.

Had any warrior in a thousand years had to fight this hunger and confusion to claim his bride?

Then again, no other warrior had selected a modern bride. Torun would endure. His endurance would be rewarded in the end. It had to be.

The future of his race depended on it.

Elyssa turned Lucy’s jewel over in her palm, savoring its beauty. “These stones are magical.”

“They are mating jewels,” he corrected. “Are you also seeking a husband?”

“If I found the right guy.” She turned the sphere over and over. “Did you know these gems glow more brightly when certain people are in the room?”

Resonance. “Yes, we know it.”

“I was volunteering in the lab when I noticed … well, when someone noticed that the samples changed brightness. Just a tiny amount. You can’t see it with your naked eye.”

“Some can see it. It is a feeling in the chest.”

She fixed on him. “Yes. I thought I was crazy, but company scientists actually measured the brightness. And when it got brighter, those people experience stronger medicinal effects in our opal-infused cosmetics, like smoother skin and better healing from sun damage.”

“Sea Opals are the tears are our Life Tree. We are connected to it in our blood. When we find another who is compatible with our Life Tree, their soul will brighten. That is why we offer the Sea Opals to our brides. In their presence, her soul will shine.”

Elyssa turned the gem in her hand. “You can see it?”

“Yes.”

Being with Mel and Elyssa brightened Lucy. She laughed and talked a great deal, and that was why he did not forcefully correct her errors. But her light was fragile. Worryingly fragile. Now, Lucy finished the conversation with Mel and saw him conversing with Elyssa. Her light dipped.

He held out his hand to Elyssa. “May I?”

Elyssa handed the stone to him and exhaled.

He returned the stone to Lucy. “This is my offering to you.”

She flushed as her soul flashed, brilliant in her chest. “Yes. We all know. She can have it.”

“It is yours,” he emphasized. “This Sea Opal resonates with your soul.”

Lucy stopped objecting and returned the stone to her pouch, resting it against her heart.

Like compliments and reminding her of his claim, she needed the stone with her to shine. Until her soul returned to its natural brilliance.

His tension eased.

Elyssa sighed again. “So that was a wedding proposal?”

“Yes,” he said.

“No,” Lucy said, too quickly, flushing brightly. “It’s business.”

“Normally it is a wedding proposal,” he amended. “Lucy is the most beautiful, powerful, resonant woman I have found.”

Her friends stared.

She swallowed. “He’s just saying things.”

“Good things,” Mel said, warming to him. “Go on. Tell me more about this proposal business.”

“In the past, the bride had no choice of her husband. Our tribe always selected the worthiest male. Now, I have informed Lucy of my intentions. She will become my bride by her own choice.”

“And I’d love to, but I’m done with marriage.” Lucy laughed nervously and toyed with the pouch. “I promised to help Torun stand up to his town council and meet the right woman. That’s all this is.”

Heat pulsed under his skin. She would love to become his bride. This was the second time she had uttered those words. Some barrier prevented her. He would uncover the barrier, remove it, and then claim her wholeheartedly as his queen.

“So.” Mel plated her face with her hands. “If Lucy said yes, would she become a mermaid?”

“Stop.” Lucy lifted her pink watermelon drink. “He’s supposed to convince you he’s not crazy. Otherwise, there’s no going out Sea Opal-hunting. I have to take him to a psychiatrist.”

“Honey, Torun thinks you’re as great as I do. He sounds perfectly sane to me.”

“Oh my god. Wait.” Elyssa placed both palms flat on the table and scooted forward in her chair to the edge of her seat. “If a bride accepts, does she become a mermaid?”

“Don’t tell me you believe him now.”

“You should want to know too, Lucy. You could end up as a mermaid.”

“Elyssa—”

“It’s for science. He knows about resonance.” Elyssa gestured at her empty drink vessels, accidentally tipping one over. “And I’ve had three margaritas. Go on, merman. Explain.”

Torun answered. “She drinks the elixir of the Life Tree. And then, yes, her body transforms to accept the sea.”

“What does that mean? Does her skin turn all swirly and gold, like yours?”

“The tattoos are not a natural condition. We add those as we acquire rank and honor.”

“So, no wild colors. How do you breathe underwater?”

“Gills.”

“Where?”

He indicated the small of his back. “Closest to the lungs.”

“That would make it awkward to sleep.” Mel shook her head. “Roll over on the bed and suffocate yourself.”

“You used to sleep with your face stuffed in a pillow,” Lucy said.

“Only after all-nighters. Or those dive trips you used to lead.”

“Or while training for triathlons.”

“Well, sure.” Mel patted her generous belly. “The pre-baby body. I’ll get there again. Someday.”

Elyssa ignored them, waiting eagerly for his answer.

“There are few beds under water,” he said. “No chairs, either.”

They all sobered, considering the no beds or chairs.

“So, you don’t have to go to the surface, like a whale?” Elyssa persisted.

He shook his head.

“That would help prevent you from coming down with the bends, I guess. Do you have a tail?”

“No.”

“Not even in the water?” Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “How do you swim?”

“I move my body.” He undulated, demonstrating.

Her eyes fixed on his feet.

His right foot stuck out from under the table near to her, and his gesture caused the foot to widen instinctively to a flat, cupped scoop. It threatened to burst the straps of the flip-flop Lucy had just exchanged paper money for him. Curse it. He could not break Lucy’s gift by inattention. He consciously flexed his foot back to the narrower, land-walking shape.

Elyssa’s eyes flew to his face.

The other women were joking and laughing to themselves, and hadn’t noticed his transformation.

Awe passed over Elyssa’s features. “You are. You really are a merman.”

“Yes.”

The star shining in her low cut, bare chest brightened, hot and warm as the island sun.

“And there’s more of you? An entire tribe seeking women to marry and transform into mermaids?”

“Only I disobey the Council and choose a bride from the mainland.”

Her star diminished. “Only you?”

How unsettling that these human souls were so volatile. Brighter than the starlight one minute, darker than the deepest cave the next.

“The Council fears if we break tradition and choose any bride, we will also leave Sireno for the abandoned city of Atlantis.”

“Atlantis,” she repeated. Her star brightened. “Of course.”

“A young, strong lord spoke of raising the sunken city. It was once a gathering place for mer and humans. With a single lever, the city rose above and descended beneath the waves again. There, any mer could meet any human, and choose.”

The others listened. Now that he had her attention, he spoke to Lucy.

“This young lord’s words inspired me. They inspired many, but others are held back by fear. Our tradition is not to reveal ourselves, and his plan will reveal us to all. Councils across the oceans have reacted harshly.”

Such as the punishment awaiting him if he did not soon prove his worth: castration, banishment, and execution.

“When will he raise Atlantis?” Elyssa made fists. Her cheeks burned as brightly as the star in her chest. “What can I do to help?”

“Kadir has been imprisoned in the deepest trench for his treason. A great many would have to rebel against their Councils, free him, and then rebuild the ancient city.”

Her star shone brightly in her shimmering green eyes. “Maybe your marriage to Lucy will inspire others to free him.”

Lucy sucked in a breath.

Warmth glowed in his own chest. Elyssa’s words moved him. Could his rebellion give back hope to the young lord who had brought him to his Lucy? Could it ripple beyond Sireno and inspire others to chase their loves?

“But,” Lucy interjected, sensitive as always to his emotional state, “I’m not going to be Torun’s queen, so he’ll have to find someone else.”

“You’re great together,” Elyssa protested.

“Torun needs a woman who can give him children.”

Elyssa tilted her head.

Mel rested her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Miracles happen. You’ll get pregnant when you least expect it. Trust me.”

“Yeah.” Lucy’s tone and distant look said she didn’t believe the words.

He needed to ask her—

“Speak of the little devils.” Mel rose and opened her arms. “Here we are!”

Two young ones hurried across the restaurant, calling for Mama. They clustered around Mel. She hugged them close and kissed their small faces.

Everyone rose from the table.

Her mate pushed a wheeled vehicle; inside rested a chubby, pink young fry who regarded the world with wide, blue eyes. Her mate greeted Mel first with a kiss, as was proper, and then said hello to the rest of them.

Torun tensed, but the hand the male held out to him was warm and friendly, and their shake, firm. Humans were different. This family lived by an honor code free of fear. Their young fry all shone with pure, blissful lights. They were secure in their mother’s love.

His throat tightened.

Beside him, Lucy also stared at the close family. Her pain and longing burned him like volcanic undersea currents. This was the family he wished for. She clearly wished for it too. Her hand squeezed the pouch holding his Sea Opal.

He touched her fist. “I will give you young ones.”

Her pain ebbed and then pushed back harder. She opened her mouth. No words emerged. Her lips tightened.

“Lucy, believe in me.”

“I told you. The problem isn’t you.”

“Then there is no problem.”

“Torun…”

“Explain.”

She would not run from him forever.

But she could run from him now. And she did so as she turned on her heels. “We don’t have time to discuss it. Our new team is waiting.” Lucy bid Elyssa and Mel’s family farewell and tugged him from the restaurant. “Let’s go.”