Page 79 of The Nymph Prince

I felt him smile against my lips before he claimed them.

The burn lessened, but I didn’t pull away from him. I wasn’t done kissing him yet. His hand squeezed my ass and the sensation of his sharp nails ever so slightly pressing into my skin was highly arousing.

Oh, gods. One day, I wanted to take him while we were like this; him in his natural form. I wanted to show him that I found all parts of him beautiful.

My heart raced at the thought, and the breath he’d given me was lost. I kneaded the muscles in his shoulders as I clung onto him. His mouth found mine again. He was careful to pull away once giving me air, however.

Such a wise nymph.

“Open your eyes, mage,” Lorcan whispered.

Although we were under water, I’d heard him. I’d long since stopped asking thehowof seemingly impossible things.

I opened my eyes and looked up. The glow of the sun called to me. So close. Lorcan swam faster, shooting upward like a tree whose roots had sprouted. He was just as eager as I was to feel the sun again.

When we breached the surface, I sucked in a breath of fresh air. Real fresh air. Not whatever I’d breathed in Avalontis. And then there was the sun. Warm and…blinding. I had to lift my arm and shield my eyes from the rays.

Everything was so bright. Had it always been so?

We moved through the water at a much slower speed, and I looked at the mountain to the right of us. Tall and jutting from the sea. Green grass on the land up ahead ruffled with the breeze, birds sang their songs, the wind tousled my hair, and the smells—gods, the smells—it felt like years since I’d experienced them.

Lorcan’s heart beat against my skin, faster than before. Excitement gleamed in his eyes as he observed the land and looked at the sky.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “Almost feels like coming home.”

Nothing was more beautiful than him, though. Not the blue sky filled with wisps of white clouds. Not the grass or the swaying trees. His wide-eyed wonder and exhilarated expression was unmatched by everything else in existence. His pointed ears protruded from his hair, his eyes burned a brighter green, and even his teeth were sharper…yet, he’d never looked more striking.

I loved him with a fire that could never be doused.

If only I could tell him so.

The others surfaced next, and I finally got a look at their merforms. I’d seen Malik’s before; blue fins on his forearms and an orange and green tail. A dusting of black was around his orange eyes, like a mask.

Reif reminded me of the assassins: a black tail that had hues of silver, black fins on his arms, and a dusting of red around his eyes.

Troy’s tail was violet—the same shade as his eyes—and red fins were on his arms. He had a dusting of gold across his chest, reminiscent of the glittery paint he often used on his eyelids. He stopped swimming and gasped as he stared at the sky. His gaze darted from the sky and toward the land where his violet eyes grew even larger.

He must’ve been on sensory overload.

Lorcan smiled. “I told you, dear friend. Avalontis is a place of beauty, but this? This is paradise.”

“I prefer the north,” Eva stated before diving under the water and flicking up her green tail. Yellow fins were on her forearms and a shimmer of purple covered her upper back.

Right. She lived in Silver Falls where snow fell all winter long and the summers were mild. I knew not where we were at the moment, but given the warm breeze and the clearness of the water, I assumed it was near the Southern Isles. It was winter, but it wasn’t at all cold.

Once we were closer to land, I slid out of Lorcan’s arms and swam on my own toward the shore.

He chuckled and I heard a slapping of water as he dove under.

I grinned as he swam below me. His creamy skin seemed to sparkle below the water and his blue and green tail brushed across my legs. I moved my arms faster, kicking my legs harder. But there was no chance at beating him in a race.

The sea was his domain. He ruled it just like he ruled my heart.

The sand shone white under the sun and I couldn’t wait to sink my feet into it. I needed to feel the earth again.

Lorcan relaxed in the tide, reclining and swishing his tail back and forth. He wasn’t ready to be human again. I wasn’t ready to see him as such, either.

When the water was shallow enough, I stood and walked toward the sand. Lorcan gripped my ankle, and I fell down beside him. I laughed and stared up at the blue sky. He laid his head on my shoulder and vibrated with a laugh of his own.