Page 2 of Making Out With Mermaids (Haven Ever After #6)
CHAPTER TWO
AMATHEIA
I ’m lost in thought, sketching out what I think the fancy new Grand Portal Station might look like, when Alessandro appears by my side. The handsome vampire smiles as he gently sets my oat milk seafoam latte to one side of my notebook.
He thrums his fingers on the picture I just started. “Looks like the new portal station. Am I right?”
Smiling, I look up and nod. He’s always so kind to me. And this is a little game we play. I draw things from the world I’m not allowed to explore, and he tells me if I got them right or not.
“Yep!” I grin up at him. “What am I missing?”
“Well,” he taps on the center of the drawing, “there should be a seating area here, and here. And don’t forget the gargoyle protectors above every haven portal door. They sit on tiny stone shelves and they’re so still, it’s almost as if they’re stone sleeping.”
Scoffing, I laugh and sketch a small notch in the brick for a gargoyle to sit and watch. Alessandro smiles and pats my shoulder in a friendly way.
“Catch my eye if you need a refill. I’ll bring it to you.”
Because it’s hard for you to walk.
Those are the words he doesn’t say. He doesn’t need to. Everyone knows I’m the peg-legged mermaid with the ill-fitting prosthetic. Uncle Caralorn won’t allow me a new one, although his reasons are complicated. My reasons for not fighting him on that topic are even more so.
Glaring down at the wooden leg that brings me so much pain, I force myself to refocus on the recent opening of the new Grand Portal Station. It’s a technical marvel, allowing monsters from any of the fifty-plus havens to visit any other without traveling through multiple portals to get there, which is how it used to be. As long as I can remember, every monster haven was connected to only one other. It was a security initiative.
No longer.
Bam . Take a quick trip to Santa Alaya to lounge on the beach or see the shifter queen play guitar.
Bam . Step through another portal to visit Rainbow, hidden in the human state of New York.
Bam. Bam. Another step or two and you can visit Arcadia, deep in the wilderness, home to shifters and trolls and giants.
So many places to visit. So many monsters to learn about. And I’ll never get the chance to see any of it. Uncle Caralorn’s unspoken rule is that I should be present but unseen—he’d rather his daughters be in the spotlight—and honestly, that’s fine. If I up and disappeared, he’d possibly be fine with it. But disappearing takes a lot of money, and I don’t have that.
Since I can’t see any of those places in real life, I resolve myself to drinking coffee and daydreaming about them. My daily coffee visits are the one thing Caralorn doesn’t begrudge me. He doesn’t agree with my time spent on land, but he doesn’t care as long as I complete my other royal duties.
The barista’s mate, Valentina, appears from a back room to clear the drop station of dirty cups and plates. She gathers them, but as she turns, Alessandro is there, waiting for her. His crimson eyes drop to her mouth, and he licks his lips. He says something low, under his breath, something only she can hear. I wish I had hearing like a vampire’s. He’s probably saying something deliciously erotic.
I want to hear that, to know what it would be like for a male to put that sort of attention on me. But it’ll never happen because mermaid society is too rigid for that, especially for the king’s eldest niece. Caralorn’s probably known who he planned to marry me off to since I became his ward, not that we ever discuss it. I pray we never do. I’d much rather fly under the radar than be shipped off to some far kingdom away from my cousins…well, one cousin in particular.
Alessandro gathers the dishes from his mate’s hands and guides her toward the kitchen. A second vampire appears in the doorway, eating them up with his gaze. Pietro, their mate. And if I’m right, there’s a dark elf, Diavolo, who’s been living upstairs with them recently, too.
Goddess Thalassa, I can scarcely imagine one mate, much less three hulking beasts such as those. Still, it doesn’t stop me from dreaming about it.
Returning my focus to my notebook, I sketch and draw for the better part of an hour, losing myself in the beauty of the art. If I had my way, I’d spend all day drawing or painting, and I’d travel nonstop. I don’t think I’d even settle in one haven. I’d bounce between them, creating art for the masses. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds for that. I barely have enough money to come to Higher Grounds, so I budget what little I do have to ensure I get this time at my favorite place.
Eventually, Alessandro appears by my side, dropping to one knee so our faces are at the same height. “Friend, you look lost in thought. I figured I should remind you of the time?”
Ugh. The time. I never allow myself more than a few hours at Higher Grounds. Any longer, and Caralorn will send his eldest daughter, Malakat, or one of his guards to find me. They’ll be assholes and make a scene, and I definitely do not want that. Especially after recent events. I was attacked and spent days catatonic in a tub at Doc Slade’s. My disappearance caused quite the mess when I eventually returned home.
Thanking Alessandro, I gather my things into my bag and stand to leave. Hobbling quickly across the beautiful café, I halt when a big figure stops my progress toward the door.
I look up into eyes the color of twin rubies. An elegant nose turns up at the end. Short, tapered ears and slicked-back blond hair remind me of our former Keeper, Abemet. In fact, if I added a little gray to Abe’s temples, this could be him. A hotter, slighter older version.
Curious.
That damned curiosity draws my eyes to his formal outfit. He wears slacks, a navy vest, and an unbuttoned collared shirt. Vampiric familial tattoos cover every inch of his neck and chest, disappearing beneath the fabric. It’s a struggle to pull my gaze back up to his face, but when I do, he smiles enough to show me both pointy fangs.
He grabs the door handle, turns it, and swings the door open, gesturing for me to move through.
“Please, allow me,” he croons, his voice lower than I would have thought. It’s smooth and silky, manly and yet elegant. His voice is sex, if pure sex and sin could be wrapped up into monster form.
“Thank you,” I manage as I exit the coffee shop, my cheeks flaming hot.
No sooner have I turned to head up the sidewalk than the handsome vampire appears by my side, offering his arm. “May I walk you to your destination…?” He pauses, suggesting he’s asking for my name.
“Amatheia,” I offer, “and no. That won’t be necessary.” Caralorn would shit a brick if he saw us together, given his hatred for all things land.
He laughs. “Ah, but some of the most fun things aren’t necessary at all. Another time, perhaps?”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, trying to figure out if he’s being serious. “Perhaps.” I can’t commit to any more than that. It seems like he’s being nice, possibly even a bit flirtatious. But I don’t have dalliances. And I’ve got to get home. So I turn to go, surprised when cool fingers gently grip my elbow.
The vampire appears in front of me again. “You didn’t ask my name.”
Any other monster saying this would make it sound like a threat. But this male? It sounds like a promise. His lips tilt up at the corners, his second eyelid flashing white over his red irises.
“Oh?” I lift my chin. “What is it, then?”
His eyes sparkle as he smiles big enough for me to see his fangs again. They’re so much longer than mine.
“Betmal. My name is Betmal.”
I clear my throat. “Alright, Betmal. Nice to meet you. I really must be going.”
He steps aside so I can pass. “It was a pleasure meeting you , Amatheia,” he says quietly, so quietly I almost don’t hear.
I can’t find anything to say as I hobble up the street and away from the handsome male. I’m not free to pursue him, or anyone. I’m a political pawn, trapped here, and the coffee shop is my only short-lived escape.
I wish things were different, but it is what it is.