Page 32 of The Merman’s Betrothal (Outcast Hearts #2)

For a split-second Rory thought Fionn was taking the piss, but the merman sounded so genuinely puzzled that he had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

‘ Who gives birth to new mer-people then? ’ Rory asked as patiently as he could. ‘ If the men lay the eggs then who… ? ’

‘ We all have eggs and bowers. I knew you weren’t listening when I explained this before. We all have the same equipment. ’

Without meaning to, Rory let his gaze drop to Fionn’s crotch. ‘ You mean you could… You could give birth with an egg if… Is that what you’re saying? ’

‘ Yes. ’ A trace of irritation entered Fionn’s song. ‘ So could you, for that matter. You don’t need to sound so shocked. ’

Christ. The egg thing again. It had been tough enough trying to understand why the mer-king ought to have some arrangement that was different to everyone else. Was there no end to the weirdness of merman reproduction?

But Rory’s mind had already shot past all this, galloping at a hundred miles an hour over the implications of a single-gender society.

It occurred to him immediately that men-attracted-to-men was the norm here.

Not something to hide, or even downplay with complicit banter and off-colour jokes, like Graham often did.

They all had the same parts, so anyone could love anyone here, free of judgement.

Fionn waved a hand in front of his face. ‘ You have gone strange again. ’

Rory licked his lips. ‘ Unbelievable, ’ he sang hoarsely.

By now, a couple of the mermen below had spotted them.

Rory and Fionn were still drifting by the stones, a good distance away from the tower and probably not easy to spot, but Rory guessed his pale skin stood out against the dark ocean.

A small knot of the blue men gathered, heads bowed in conversation, sending occasional glances their way.

‘ Am I allowed to be here? ’ Rory asked nervously.

Fionn followed the direction of his worried stare. ‘ Ah. I, um… I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s not wise for us to be seen together just yet. ’

He carefully tugged Rory backward through the stones. Rory was happy to follow, and even happier to withdraw from a space of attention.

So, there really was a whole underwater castle lying at the bottom of the Minch. Practically a city too, it turned out.

Swimming high off the seabed so they’d be harder to spot, Fionn gave Rory a tour around a group landmasses that he quickly realised were the Shiant Islands.

They were a useful landmark in the Minch, close to the Isle of Harris where Rory and Fionn had rescued the turtle.

Aside from puffins and gulls, the craggy mounds were uninhabited. On land, at least.

Underwater, it seemed this was where most of the blue mermen made their homes.

They utilised the natural sea caves at the feet of the islands or dug burrow-like homes into the seabed itself.

In this way the Minchmen lived spread out from one another, yet bound close by the central point of the islands.

Rory swung between fear and awe as he took all of this in. There was a whole-ass country down here on the seabed, thriving right under the nose of humans sailing above. And that was before he even accounted for the wildlife.

He stopped frequently. Fionn waited with admirable patience while Rory crept closer to watch a spotted dogfish skim over the seabed, or a lobster poking out of its hidey-hole, or the migration of a spiky herd of sea urchins.

Minchmen were difficult to find in these outer reaches. Fionn explained that many of the locals were foragers who would roam far and wide across the Minch, keeping their presence scattered and difficult to detect.

When they did happen upon a merman—who Rory was always too late to spot, thanks to how well they blended with their surroundings—Fionn was careful to make a swift getaway before Rory could be noticed.

‘ Will you get into trouble for being with me? ’ Rory asked after the third time this happened.

‘I t is not normal to bring a human into our home, no. ’

‘ I thought we’d established I’m not totally human. ’ Rory pointed wryly at his gills. ‘ But I meant more us being… uh… together. In a soul bond-y way. ’

Fionn’s cheeks flushed. ‘ Truthfully, I don’t know how everyone will react to that. ’

‘ I thought you said it happened all the time. Humans and mermen. ’

‘ A long time ago. Not so much, any more. Besides… ’ Fionn looked away. A tangible wave of guilt flowed from his side of the bond.

‘ What? ’ Rory narrowed his eyes. ‘ Are you hiding something? ’

‘ Perhaps we should move on— ’

‘ Fionn. ’

The sound of his name stopped Fionn in his tracks. It occurred to Rory that he’d never addressed him by name before. It felt weirdly personal, like he’d just crossed another invisible boundary.

Rory got hold of his tongue and continued the song. ‘ Fionn, I’m here now. I won’t pretend I’ve made up my mind about everything, but I’m as close to all-in as I can be. So if there’s something I should know, you ought to trust me to handle it rather than make the decision for me.’

He felt Fionn’s emotions billowing through the bond, giving away more than he wanted it to.

It was tinged with the same out-of-place insecurity that Rory had glimpsed before—what did Fionn, of all people, have to feel insecure about?

Yet still, there was this looming sense of inadequacy that reared over Fionn like a shadow.

For a startling second Rory thought he could even taste it in the water.

‘ I have not been completely honest, ’ Fionn began heavily. ‘ Or rather, I have omitted an important detail. ’

Christ, he did like to waffle. Rory refrained from waving a ‘speed-up’ gesture and crossed his arms instead.

‘ While our soul bond is certainly real, and my feelings for you are real, there is a political matter I have failed to mention that might have unforeseen consequences and I— ’

‘ Can you get to the point? ’

‘ I am betrothed. ’

Rory wasn’t sure that he’d heard correctly. ‘ You’re what? ’

‘ Betrothed. Promised to another. I am due to wed— ’

‘ Fucking hold up. ’ Rory’s DeepSong clanged with his choice of words. ‘ Are you telling me you’re already seeing someone? What the actual fuck, Fionn? ’

He hoped Fionn could feel his anger through the bond. At least, anger was what Rory tried to focus on. It was much easier to deal with than betrayal. Than admitting that this might actually fucking hurt a little bit.

‘ I do not know them! ’ Fionn sang desperately. The water vibrated with his dismay. ‘ It is an arranged marriage to someone I have never met, from a tribe of Redfolk who are completely separate from our own people. And I do not want it, Rory. Please believe me, I have never wanted it. ’

Rory’s rising fury softened to a low simmer. He needed a minute to process this.

Unfortunately, his silence turned Fionn into a cloud of anxiety. ‘ Rory, I did not wish to burden you with this. ’

‘ Fine. ’

‘ You must understand I was given no choice. ’

‘ Uh huh. ’

‘ But it is a fate I intend to escape, and I want you to know that I— ’

Rory lunged forward and slapped his palm over Fionn’s mouth. ‘ Just. Fucking. Give me a minute. ’

Anguish rolled off Fionn in waves. It was alarming to see this proud, arrogant prince reduced to a state of misery.

There was a weight crushing in on him, crushing Rory through the bond. A terrible boulder of responsibility, of needing to do the right thing. To do his duty. To protect his kingdom.

And the largest stone of all was Fionn’s concealed admission that he didn’t want to sell himself for it.

He thinks he’s failed me, Rory realised numbly. Or failed his kingdom. Maybe both.

Rory pulled his hand away and replaced it with his mouth.

Kissing underwater, like breathing, turned out to be also kind of sloshy. Water rushed past their lips and rippled against Rory’s tongue as he slid it into Fionn’s mouth.

Breathing itself wasn’t an issue, however. With their gills doing all the work, Rory quickly understood that they wouldn’t have to break for air. He doubled down, grasping Fionn’s perfect face with both hands and endeavouring to ram his tongue as deeply as he could.

Fionn’s arms crossed over his back, locking him in. He mirrored Rory’s attack, forcing his tongue away before delving his own past Rory’s lips.

Fucking hell, Rory thought, literally and figuratively floating. He catches on quick.

They remained entangled like that for a surreal amount of time. The soul bond pulled taut between their flesh: a strange exchange of physical and emotional communication happening behind the kiss.

When they finally parted, Rory was dizzy with the effort of separating his own emotions from Fionn’s. He was adored and admired. Wanted deeply. It sent warmth fizzing through every part of him.

‘ So, we’re running away together, right? ’ Rory sang, half-joking and half deadly serious. After all, what other options were there, now? He couldn’t go back to his old life like this. Disappearing into the ocean depths was an increasingly attractive option.

Unexpectedly, Fionn recoiled. ‘ I want to. But I don’t know if I can abandon my people. ’

‘ Sounds a bit like they’ve abandoned you, if you’re being married off to some other tribe. ’

‘ It is an honourable duty. ’ Fionn stiffened up, singing like he was reciting from a script. A falter in his voice let on that he didn’t believe it. ‘ A great service to our people. ’

‘ Then why don’t you want to go through with it? ’ Rory was genuinely curious. Duty seemed to mean everything to Fionn.

‘ I… ’ Fionn’s shoulders slumped with shame.

He seemed to be wrestling to find an answer he was willing to give.

‘ If I am being truly honest, it is because I wanted to do something more worthwhile with my life. To mean something more to my people than the payoff to a bargain. Because I do not feel like I have worth, if that is all I am. ’

It was an answer that hit Rory like a punch to the ribs. He ran his hands over Fionn’s tattoos, inwardly shocked by how natural it felt to touch him. ‘ How could anyone be more fucking worthy than you? Aren’t you a warrior and a monster killer and all those other things as well? ’

Fionn pulled Rory’s hands to a standstill in the blank gap over his stomach.

‘ I wish I was. But in reality I am only allowed to patrol close to home. The real monster hunters venture into the far reaches beyond our kingdom, where I have never been. My worth beyond representing a figurehead is only a fanciful dream on my part. I am sorry— ’ He let go of Rory’s hands.

‘ —that I might have deceived you in thinking otherwise. ’

‘ I don’t understand how you can speak like a book of poetry and still sound like a complete idiot.

’ Rory huffed, or tried to, finding water rather than air expelled from his flared gills.

He wished he had words that could compete properly with Fionn’s.

‘ Your worth isn’t defined by how useful you are.

And you’re not worthless if you don’t fit somebody else’s plan for you. ’

Rory slowed down as he said it. Why had it taken so long for this to sink in? Hadn’t he called himself useless, worthless, for years? Echoing the disapproval of people he didn’t need to prove anything to.

‘ Just as well we’re chasing our own fates, isn’t it? ’ he continued, looking into Fionn’s eyes again. ‘ So are we running away together, or what? ’

Fionn darted forward and kissed him, a fast but electric connection. ‘ May I take you somewhere first? I would like to introduce you to my friend. ’

‘ Sure. Lead the way. ’ Rory’s heart fluttered. Being introduced to someone felt kind of serious. But there wasn’t much that he could imagine himself saying no to at this point. He was amped up, high on adventure and ready to explore more of Fionn’s world.

They swam off together, almost hip to hip, a natural shoal of two.