Page 18 of A Kingdom Threatened (The Vazula Chronicles 3)

Her answer came in the form of a large, winged shape, which descended and deposited a windswept but beaming young man on the rocks beside her. Merletta hadn’t even had the chance to greet Rekavidur before he once again took to the sky, continuing his recent habit of ignoring her.

She leaped to her feet, already dismissing the dragon from her mind as she stepped toward Heath. He beat her to it, covering the short distance between them in a few swift strides, his eyes searching her form as if checking she was unharmed and fully accounted for.

The memory of their last meeting surged into Merletta’s mind, and she half expected Heath to take her in his arms and pick up right where they’d left off when Reka interrupted them weeks ago. Instead he gripped her upper arm in apparent relief, his gaze warm and intimate as it rested on her face.

“Merletta,” he said, a smile curling his lips. “It seems my visions were accurate—you did survive your test.”

Merletta laughed. “I didn’t just survive. I passed. And managed to evade the armed guards waiting to murder me when I emerged.”

“What?” Heath’s already pale face seemed to drain of color, and his grip on her arm tightened.

“I had help with that,” Merletta amended, matter-of-factly. “If August and the others hadn’t intervened, I have no idea what would have happened.” She saw his bafflement, and shook her head. “But of course, you don’t even know about them surviving, do you?”

“Tell me everything,” Heath said, his eyes intense as they searched hers. As always, he gave her the impression that she had his full attention, like nothing in all the world was more important to him than her and whatever she wanted to say.

Impulsively, Merletta tipped herself forward, her arms going around Heath’s waist as she buried her face in his tunic.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

Heath froze for a moment, then his arms went around her as well, holding her in a grip that made her feel more secure than she had in weeks. Not for the first time, she knew a fleeting wish that she could stay here forever, on Vazula with no one but Heath, safe and removed from all the struggles of her underwater life.

“I’ve missed you as well.” Heath’s voice, low and throaty, interrupted her thoughts. “More than you can imagine. I’ve tried to watch you, but it often doesn’t work. I’m still learning to use my farsight.”

“Farsight?” Merletta pulled back, her heart lighter as she looked up at him. “Is that what your extra vision is called?”

Heath shrugged. “It’s what the dragons call their extra vision, and Reka seems to think mine is a version of the same thing.” His eyes twinkled at her. “Albeit a much less potent version, as he likes to remind me frequently.”

Merletta laughed, the sound enveloping them in the muffled stillness of the lagoon.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said softly. “It’s…it’s like magic. I desperately needed a friend, and I wished I could talk to you. But I didn’t really think you’d be here. It’s like you came in response to my call.”

“I did,” said Heath simply.

Merletta stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a little hard to explain,” Heath said, a touch evasively. “But I was using my farsight—training with Reka, actually—and I heard you call me. So I came.”

Merletta was still staring, not sure how to respond.

“Thank you,” she said at last. “For…for coming.”

“If it’s in my power, I’ll always come for you, Merletta,” Heath said.

When Merletta still didn’t respond—too overwhelmed to put her thoughts into words—Heath cleared his throat, a hint of sternness creeping into his voice.

“But don’t change the topic. You were about to tell me all about your test.”

Merletta nodded, taking his hand and tugging him back to where she’d been sitting. He offered no resistance, apparently quite happy to let her drag him along and pull him down as she once again sat. She dangled her legs in the water, and Heath did the same, pausing only to remove his boots.

“Your feet are much bigger than mine,” Merletta commented, her eyes passing between the two pairs.

“Well, I am two years older than you,” Heath pointed out.

“I’m about to turn eighteen, Heath,” Merletta laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to grow much more.”

Heath smiled, running a hand idly through the clear water. “Men’s feet are often bigger than women’s,” he acknowledged. “It’s like our hands, look.”

He held a hand up, and Merletta pressed one of hers against it, palm to palm. He was right, of course—his fingers extended much further up than hers. For a moment she stayed pressed there, enjoying the combined warmth of their skin, so different from the cool touch of merpeople when in their underwater form. The air seemed suddenly even thicker than normal for Vazula, and her heart picked up speed. Surely Heath felt it, too, the connection between them.