Page 7 of Dry as a Fish (Chaos God Sugar and Spice Companion Shorts #3)

Chapter

Five

DELPHON

I failed.

I found my heartsong and I failed to convince her to stay.

I had her in my grasp, and I just told her that I understood that love couldn't be found without the willingness to let go, but I hadn't explained anything.

I was supposed to feed her and take care of her needs and make sure she felt comfortable and safe so that I could tell her that the song in my heart, the only one that mattered, would only ever be for her.

I knew I could keep her here.

I could come up with excuses, give her the run around until I had time to explain.

I could even sirensong her into complacency, and though my family would have some serious words for me if I did that, any of them would do it themselves if they thought my heartsong would even think of abandoning me to go back to the mundane realm.

But I couldn't do any of that .

"Okay," I said. I rose to my feet, and so did she. "I'll take you home now."

I left the half-eaten food on the table. I would clean it up when I got back. Then I would begin to put my things in order, should the worst come to pass.

"Can I visit you in the mundane?" I asked her.

"Why do you want to visit me?" she asked.

We walked out of the dining room into the living room, where my sister was standing next to the entry pool, tying a sarong around her body. Her face broke into a huge smile as she spotted Slone next to me.

"FINALLY!" she shrieked.

Orcalia flung herself across the room, her arms wide as she grabbed Sloane, sweeping her into a huge hug.

"Hold your kelpie there," Sloane laughed as she pushed my sister away from her.

Orcalia let her go, stepping back to clutch her hands together, bouncing on her heels in excitement. "I'm so excited to meet you! I'm Orcalia, Delphion's sister, but of course you know that already, and I don't know anything about you at all, not even your name!"

"I'm Sloane," she said, glancing up at me, then back at my sister. "I'm sorry, but I don't actually know why you are so excited."

"Because you're my brother's heartsooooong!

" Orcalia hummed out. "I can't believe you're a mundane.

This must be such a big experience for you, too!

Who knew? Mundanes! You're from the school, right?

That means you have a familiar? Can it swim?

Can you swim? I guess it doesn't matter if you can't because my brother is like the best swimmer in the whole city, that's for sure.

Not everyone can make it all the way upriver to the school, but he is there all the time trying to lure the kelpies away; those poor dumb things don't even know how much danger they are in.

Are you going to move in? Please tell me you're going to move in and not move out to your own place. "

"I... what?" Sloane said, her voice going higher-pitched for a moment.

"I'm taking Sloane back to the mundane right now," I said. "We can talk about it later."

"Are you going to meet her parents?" Orcalia squealed. "Like in those movies? Do you need to ask her dad for permission to marry her, or is that just an old-school thing? Sloane, would you want someone to ask your dad first?"

"You think me and your brother are getting married?" Sloane choked out.

"Well, of course, you're a mundane, that is what you do, right?

Here we have the heartsong ceremony, but it isn't a big deal like mundane weddings.

Could we have the wedding here? It isn't safe enough to bring everyone over to the mundane, but I bet we could sneak your parents over here without much risk since we're much less exposed here," Orcalia continued.

"Orcalia, we have to go," I said softly. I needed to get Sloane out of here before Orcalia made things any more complicated.

"I'm going to go back to the mundane, and your brother is going to stay here," Sloane said.

I winced.

Orcalia frowned.

"But he'll die," Orcalia said.

"Hold up," Sloane said. "What do you mean he'll die? What does she mean you'll die?"

She put her hands on her hips and glared up at me.

"I won't know if I come to visit you," I said. "We can figure out a way to have it not impact your life. "

Sloane let out a sigh and walked over to one of the armchairs. "Okay, I'm listening. What is a heartsong?"

"Oh let me tell her, please let me tell her please please please," Orcalia begged, launching herself into the chair next to Sloane.

She didn't wait for me to respond; instead, she reached out and grabbed one of Sloane's hands in both of hers.

"A heartsong is the most special connection one can have with the person who is perfect with you, whose harmonies complement you in a way that you can never find with anyone else ever again and when you find them your heart sings the heartsong only for them and if you find them and they refuse to sing the song with you then your heart will slowly wither and die and it is the worst thing you can possibly do to another. "

"So fated mates," Sloane said, her voice devoid of emotion except for the slightest quiver in her voice, like she was holding back a flash flood.

"Definitely fated to live a long life of happiness with someone who is perfect for you in every way you can imagine," Orcalia said.

"It doesn't have to be anything," I said. "If we just visit with each other every so often, it will be fine."

"You were going to take me home to the mundane, when I don't have the ability to get back here, and let me wither away and die if you got hurt on one of your forays into the school?" Sloane asked, her tone still flat. Her hands clenched into fists.

"You're a mundane," I said. "It won't affect you the same way it affects me."

"I can feel it," Sloane said, putting her hand over her heart. "If I can feel it, then won't it work the same for me as for you?"

Her confession stole the breath from my lungs.

She could feel it?

"Yes! That's amazing! It will!" Orcalia interjected. "I thought maybe with a mundane it would be one-sided and only he would feel it, but if you can feel the heartstrings thrumming, then it is a real heartsong connection."

I thought the same as my sister, that maybe as a mundane, my heartsong was one-sided.

"Delphon," Sloane said, her voice soft. "Were you really going to take me home without explaining any of this?"

"I thought I would take you home and you'd agree I could visit you and then eventually I wouldn't have to explain it," I said. "Because even if you didn't feel it, I would do everything in my power to win your love."

"Awwwww," Orcalia sighed, clasping her hands up by her cheek.

"Fine," Sloane rose to her feet and gave a firm nod.

"Fine?" I asked, slowly rising to my feet as well.

"Fated merman fiance, only we'll say that the Lord brought us together," Sloane said. "That works better than I ran away to join a devil college."

"Lord of what?" I asked. Then I caught up with the other word she said. "Wait, you want to get married?"

"She won't if you ask her like that," Orcalia scolded.

"Fake fiancé with vitiligo might work," Sloane said as she eyed me.

"Especially if you wore more clothes. Just to get me back in the door.

I need to stay at my parents until I figure out what I want to do next, and if I show up with no explanation.

.. just trust me, it will be better for me if you come along. "

"Don't go anywhere, I will be right back, I have something you will need!" Orcalia rushed out of the room.

"Is this actually what you want?" I asked.

Sloane stepped closer to me and looked up at me through her lashes. For a moment, my heart stuttered as she put her soft hand on my chest, her skin cool against my radiating heat .

She spoke in a low, quiet voice, a deep red flush spreading across her cheeks with her words.

"From the moment you kissed me, I keep thinking of riding you like a mechanical bull.

I have been so hot and bothered by you, part of me actually was hoping you would have your way with me, and that part of me is both not helpful and also desperate to have you on me and in me.

If you had thrown out a sob story about dying without me rather than agreeing to take me home, I probably still would have wanted to get with you, but you didn't, and your attempt to just give me what I wanted was so, so much hotter. "

She flushed a deeper color and bit her lip as she looked up at me, and I was certain I was having a heart attack.

"At least that is what I would say if I actually wanted to marry you or was the kind of person who said things like that," she said as she stepped back and put her hands on her hips.

I felt the absence of her touch like I'd been on land without sight of water for weeks, a craving for something I didn't know how badly I needed until it was gone.

"You’re not the kind of woman who says things like that?" I asked.

“I was brought up right," she said.

“I think the kind of woman who says what she is thinking is the kind of woman who was brought up right,” I said.

She pressed her lips together, narrowing her eyes as she stared at me for a long moment.

"Can you muck a stall?" she asked.

"I can do anything," I replied, still reeling from the whiplash of her words.

"Good," she said. "I hope you aren't allergic to hay."