Page 60 of The Nymph Prince

“I knew he’d ask questions and I wasn’t ready to tell him the truth,” I answered with a sad shake of my head. “How can I tell the man I love that I’m destined to be a monster?”

The revelation that I loved him only made me feel worse. A moment that was supposed to be happy was tainted by my poor actions. It was my lot in life, I suppose, to bring pain to those I cared about most.

“I’ll speak with him,” Eva said, and her chin trembled. “I would never take his mate from him. I know how special those bonds are.”

“Mate?”

Blue eyes widened, and she pressed her lips into a line. “It is not my place to tell you.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Now is as good a time as any.” She blew out a breath. “Long ago, nymphs mated with mages. Both are magical beings; one of the sea and the other of land. They were made for the other, a perfect balance between earth and water. Many consider it folklore now, for nymphs are on the brink of extinction and mages are much the same. The mages whodolive do so in shadow. The war between beings of magic and those without tore apart many mated pairs.”

“How?”

“Once bonded, you become an extension of each other. When many mages went dark, so did their mates.”

“Nymphs became evil?” I asked.

“I believe you’ve heard the tales of sirens?” Eva asked. “They were gentle nymphs once, but when their mates went dark their souls darkened, too. They then used their voices—much like Lorcan’s ability—to lure sailors to their deaths. They sang to draw them in, and then they carried them to the depths of the sea to be drowned.”

“What became of the sirens?”

“King Triton had them killed,” she answered in a sad tone. “Humans who heard stories about the sirens started a war on the sea in retaliation. Many innocent mermaids and mermen were murdered. The king dealt with the threat to protect his people.”

“So nymphs only bond to mages?”

“Yes,” she answered. “While both nymphs and mages can fall in love with others, they can only be truly bonded to each other. Lorcan’s mother loved King Triton, but he wasn’t her soulmate.”

There was so much information to take in.

“What happens once a nymph finds their destined mate?” I asked. “And how do they know it’s their mate?”

“Once that happens, an unbreakable bond is formed.” A crease formed between Eva’s eyes. “I take it you and Lorcan have known each other for a while?”

“Aye,” I answered. “He began following theCrimson Nightnearly a year ago. Many times I knew he was following the ship without even havin’ to see him.”

Eva nodded. “That’s the bond. He felt that draw to you, as well.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“The myths were read to me as a child, and I’d found them fascinating. But I know you and Loo-loo are soulmates because I can sense it. Only those truly attuned to the energy of life can sense such a thing,” she explained. “As a physician, and also as a child of magic, I feel the balance of life because I’ve devoted so much of my time to studying it. Each of you bares a mark, one invisible to the naked eye. It’s imprinted on your souls. Have you two been sexually intimate yet?”

Not as confident as Lorcan about the casual mention of sex, my face heated. “Aye.”

“Well, that explains his possessiveness over you,” she said, nodding. Her blue eyes focused on my face. “When he thought you betrayed him, it made him irrational. The connection becomes stronger once two destined mates join as one.”

“Then why did I hurt him?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I have been just as possessive of him, too?”

“I’m not sure, but I suspect it’s because you’re still fighting it.” Eva leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. “With your uninhibited powers, him being that upset made you impulsive. The bond isn’t fully complete yet.”

“How do we complete it?”

“By mating in both of your true forms. And speaking a vow from the heart,” she answered. “Once that occurs, you will be able to sense his life-force no matter where he is in the world.”

Mating in our true forms?

As her meaning became clear, my eyebrows lifted. “You mean have sex while he’s… in his merform?”