“Uh, hell yeah, it does!” I’d pestered him for the past two days, trying to pry out where he was taking me. He hadn’t relented, and I knew now that none of my guesses had been right. When we’d ventured into another forest, less creepy and dark than yesterday’s, I’d expected a remote cottage for us to spend the night in, maybe a picnic, or another primal chase like at our mating. Not a lagoon with freaking mermaids.

Boy did good.

Though the primal chase would have been up there in second place.

I glanced over the sparkling blue waters, regarding the mythical creatures I’d hoped weren’t a figment of my imagination since I was a child. I’d read about their existence back at the palace, but having them in front of me, living proof that they weren’t just sketches on old paper, had giddiness welling inside me that was difficult to stifle.

There was a small group frolicking at the far side of the pool, splashing one another and laughing as if they hadn’t a care in the world. Others were braiding their hair or gliding under the surface of the water, nothing but blurred shadows, before leaping into the air and flipping on the descent. It was impressive, the strength in their glistening tails making it seem so effortless. They were all so wonderfully unique, their tails a range of sizes, shapes, and colors. No two were exactly the same. Even if their scales matched in shade, their fins took on a different pattern. The only discerning features they shared were cloudy eyes, the gills on their necks and ribs, and the fin-like ears that twitched with every little sound.

They were technically humanoid from the hips up, but distinct enough that they were unmistakably supernatural. They had a severe edge about them, a sort of haunting beauty that was almost magnetic. My gaze caught on the merman draped across the nearest rock, basking in the hot sun, his tail a shimmering gold. He turned his head, pale eyes locking on mine under a fan of fluttering white lashes, and I went rigid. A smirk graced his lips before he rolled fluidly onto his front, cascades of ivory hair sliding over his muscular back and shoulders. He flicked his tail, his ears flaring in what seemed like a flirty gesture.

Then, he winked.

My face heated, and with a jolt, I unfroze, taking a fumbling step back out of view.

“Shit, I’m being weird, right? Peeking through the trees, watching pretty men and women bathe?” I winced, having answered my own question. “I was just fascinated, but I didn’t mean to be gross.”