Page 90 of A Kingdom Threatened (The Vazula Chronicles 3)

Heath laughed as well, leaping from one rock to another to get a little distance out into the water.

“Sorry. What I meant was, what are you doing here?”

Merletta bit her lip. “I know I’m imposing shamefully—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Heath cut her off impatiently. “You know I’ve been trying to get you to come here for months. I just wasn’t expecting you to swim all the way here!”

“I know.” Merletta grimaced. “Help me up, would you?”

She reached up a hand, and Heath gripped her arm, noting how cold her skin felt. With him tugging and Merletta propelling herself upward with her tail, she flew up out of the water more quickly than they anticipated. Heath caught her against him as she struggled for balance, and the next moment he looked down to see two bare feet on the rock beside his booted ones.

His eyes traveled back up more slowly, suddenly intensely aware of the fact that Merletta was pressed close against him. Unlike her, he was bundled up against the weather, but he could still feel the warmth of her human form, so different from the cool skin he’d grasped a moment before.

“Heath,” she whispered, as his gaze reached her face.

He didn’t even try to use his magic to see what was happening below the surface—her emotions were in her eyes. She seemed too overwhelmed to articulate it all, and he understood perfectly.

Keeping her locked in place on the rock with one arm, Heath lifted his other hand slowly and brushed a tangled lock of dark hair from her face. She shivered, whether from the cold or his touch, he couldn’t tell.

Merletta extricated one hand, placing it against his chest, the gesture more tentative than usual for her. Then she laid her head on his shoulder, something she’d never done before. The way she relaxed against him spoke volumes about her exhaustion. Just how long had she been swimming hard to reach him?

Heath shuddered a little himself. He’d held her before, but this was different. On Vazula, they were in their own world, straddling the line of land and sea, belonging to neither as they existed in a strange and surreal bubble. Having her not only in human form, but actually in his world, was a hundred times more potent. He felt intoxicated by the limitless possibilities stretching out before him.

“I can hardly believe you’re here,” he breathed.

Merletta lifted her head, giving him a weak smile. “Neither can I. But things got…bad. Very suddenly.”

A tangled mixture of alarm and guilt rushed over Heath. He’d been so focused on his euphoria at her unexpected arrival, he hadn’t even stopped to consider what horrors might have driven her to such a desperate flight from her home.

“What happened?” he demanded.

Merletta shook her head. “There’ll be time for that later. Suffice it to say, we needed somewhere safe to go. Somewhere far away from the triple kingdoms.”

“We?” Heath repeated.

As if on cue, another head broke the surface, this one wearing a disapproving scowl.

“Of course it’s him,” Heath muttered. “I should have known.”

“She knows how to stand by herself,” Griffin said curtly.

Merletta rolled her eyes, although—to Heath’s disappointment—she did maneuver herself out of his arms so that she stood on the rock beside him.

“Where’s August?”

“He’s here as well?” Heath asked, relieved Merletta hadn’t swum all the way from Vazula with just the overly possessive young guard.

Merletta nodded. “All three of them had to come. We weren’t sure if Vazula would be safe anymore. Plus, I don’t think Tish and I could have made the journey safely without their help. And Eloise’s, of course.”

Heath blinked. “There are six of you?” He should’ve brought more horses.

Merletta let out a sigh as she nodded, leaning slightly against him once more. Automatically, he slipped an arm around her, drawing her against his side. Griffin glowered at them, and Heath met his eyes unblinkingly, his own expression deadpan.

“I’ll get August,” Griffin said, sounding disgruntled. With a splash, he disappeared into the water.

“It really is cold, isn’t it?” Merletta said, sounding surprised.

A shiver ran over her lean frame, and Heath rubbed her arm with his hand. When another shiver wracked her body, he slipped his traveling cloak from his shoulders and draped it around her.