Poseidia (9 page)

Unusual, ha,
nothing unusual at all.

“Everything looks to be
okay; I’ll check your eyes next. Roman did a good job, it is fortunate he found you,” he said, typing into the device.

“Yeah, I would have died. I didn’t realize sharks are so hungry for
… Mer,” I laughed.
I guess I was so caught up in the Connective explanation, I forgot to ask Lily about the Mer part. Just go with it.

“
It is dangerous out there for a lone Mer. You should always swim with someone,” he lectured. “Your new physiology will help you to recover faster from wounds, but they can still be fatal. Sharks are not to be feared—only respected. Humans are far more dangerous. You should also note our biochemistry is different from humans. Perhaps you are feeling the mood spikes already. Your emotions will level once you fully acclimate into our world. It should only take a few days, weeks at the most.”

“
Definitely feeling it already. One minute I think I’m crazy, then I’m happy,” I admitted. Remembering the attack, a new appreciation for being safe washed over me.

“
The swings are because we have more serotonin and neurotransmitters in our bodies. Your brain is not accustomed to the stimulation, and needs to work with your body to find a balance.”

“Whatever
it is, I can’t say I don’t love it.” I laughed. “The euphoria—it could be addictive.”
I could do without the constantly horny part, though.

“Oh, yes, it is quite different than being human.”
He traded equipment and examined my eyes with a light pen. “I can fix this with a laser—I’ll be right back.”

He
returned and placed large black goggles over my eyes. Lights started flashing, and after only a minute, it beeped, whatever the procedure was, now complete. It was painless, and we left soon afterward.

Lily led me back to my quarters
, explaining she had to meet with the High Council. Restless, I checked the door and both glass walls to see if they were locked. They were.

My mind free to wander, I considered what I might tell the police if I were to attempt living on land again.
Mermaid with psychic bumps. Great way to land in a mental hospital.
Only briefly did I wonder what David was doing. My time with him was beginning to feel as though it happened a million years ago. Another lifetime. Ultimately, I fell asleep remembering Roman’s arms.

Chapter
9

T
he next morning, I took a long hot shower to wake up. While the water
ran over me, I explored my new body. Heightened sensations were awakened with the flow of water.

Refreshed and excited for company, I paced the room while I waited for Lily. My heart leapt
when the door buzzed and she walked in. The need for skin contact was so acute, I was barely able to wait for her to set down the tray of food before hugging her.

W
hat is coming over me?

Lily didn’t seem
surprised, and held me for a few moments. “Good morning,” she beamed with her arms wrapped around me. Her hand went to the back of my head and cradled it, in a motherly way.

The embrace felt
as if I’d come home, a breath of fresh air in a previously dreary existence. She then touched our cheeks together, one side, and then the other, rubbing them together briefly in a circular motion.

It was almost as if I could feel her essence.
A comfort, that I’d known her forever and we were reunited. Euphoria seeped through her to me.

Strangest feeling ever. It has to be the neurochemicals or neurotransmitters,
whatever they call them. Or the Connective. Or both.

“
We have a lot to do today. Did you sleep well?” She held out a bag to me.

“I guess so.”
Not at all.
“What is that for?” I looked in the bag and saw a tight suit of some kind, and some running shoes.

“To train in. The more you increase your strength and endurance, the safer for you out of the dome.
Weeks of being unconscious have resulted in your body being weak and more vulnerable to predators.”

“Right, predators. I remember,” I
muttered, retreating to the couch. As I sat down, I unpacked the bag and shook out the suit to get a good look at it, running my hand over the thin silky material.

“You’ll find many of the changes to your body will be in physical strength and agility. We’ll see how
strong you are and work on your weaknesses.”

“I have a lot of those.”
After we ate a quick breakfast of seaweed, and hot herbal tea, I changed into the new clothes, grumbling the whole time. Lily patiently ignored me.

“Follow me, and I’ll show you to the Training Center.”

Sleeping or exploring all day was more tempting. I’d not been a fan of exercise on land, and couldn’t imagine a change of scenery would improve the prospect.

She led me outside and across a curved sidewalk
, taking me by a large building and onto the field behind it. A running track surrounded the field. In the center and on the far side, several people trained with swords and knives.

“Warm up first, stretch, and then see how far you can run,” she
instructed, pointing to the track.

“This won’t last long at all,” I
mumbled, laughing at myself.

Feeling out of shape, I started with a slow jog, but gained speed faster than I
expected. My body was able to do more than when I was human, but I tired after several laps. Stronger, but still weak and slow compared to the other Mers, who ran laps around me at high speed.

Next,
we went inside the building, walking by open doorways revealing classes being held.

“We train and learn to continually adapt to th
e changing world,” she whispered.

“What is going on in this room?” I asked
, mirroring her tone, while I pointed to the people sitting on the floor with their eyes closed.

“This is one of our meditation rooms. Everyone utilizes this
space to clear their minds and stay centered. You have to learn to be free of all negative thinking and old issues before you’ll fully adapt,” she explained.

“
And what are they doing over there?” I pointed to the adjacent room. A large group of people moved beautifully in unison. The form flowed flawlessly and they seemed very calm and relaxed.

“This is another form of exercise. It’s good for our bodies to keep fit and healthy. This practice is gentle
—it tones and stretches. You’ll encounter many predators in the sea… and on land, you’ll need to outsmart, as you have learned.” She continued down the hallway.

“Isn’t there a way to avoid
them?”

“
Hunters are plentiful—the most dangerous of all being humans as they are prone to killing indiscriminately rather than due to hunger. But, yes, we do have ways of avoiding them, though nothing is full-proof. We have a smaller, secure netted-dome to keep the larger predators out—it’s safe for us to swim there. For our health, we need to swim frequently. Every day is best, but you could possibly go several days will no ill effects.”

“Also, i
f we have to go out of either dome, we have a tool we take with us that emits a disturbing frequency, encouraging certain predators to choose another meal. Do not fear sea creatures, you’re one of them now. There’s a natural and delicate balance to respecting life, one you will more fully grasp over time. But… again, there is no guarantee of safety. Learning to outwit your enemies is your first defense. Strength and agility, second.”

“Roman said we would die if we were out of the sea f
or an extended period of time.”

She
nodded, a barely perceptible movement, but didn’t elaborate.

Her lack of concern bothered me,
and my shoulders tensed accordingly. I cleared my throat in an attempt to give myself a moment of composure. “Roman and Lucas both mentioned this Mer thing.” Saying it made me giggle and I nervously tugged on a lock of my hair. I was still in disbelief.

Again,
answered with only the barest of nods.

Determined to get her to elaborate, I pressed, “But you guys all have legs. And when I bre
athed air, I regained my legs.”

“We have legs when we are out of seawater, breathing air and not water. The seawater has special minerals and elements, which trigger the transformation. It has to pass through your gills in order for your body to change. Some among us, the more powerful ones, have evolved with the ability to change at will,” she said.

“You mean some kind of shape-shifter? And that’s why I can shower and not transform into a… Mer—it has to be seawater.”

Back to the nod.
Does she think I already know this stuff? Or that it’s not important for me to understand?

Ok, try another subject.
“A netted dome, what’s that?”

“You’ll see later.”

“Will I be given one of those tools to keep sharks away when swimming out in the ocean?”

“
Predators,” she corrected, “and when we feel you’re ready.” Walking to a new set of rooms, she still maintained her cool aloofness about the daunting threats they lived with.

I followed her with my jaw set square, wearing no expression to give away my
impatience.
Just go with it.

“
This area is for weaponry training,” she waved her hand out.

Surprise brought me out of my
pout. My brain had formed the impression these were a passive and peaceful people.

Lily
must have noted my surprise. “This is a newer practice for us, but we have found it necessary to train ourselves in various forms of combat. With the increase in human population, the world has grown more brutal. It’s an unfortunate reality.”

“You use it enough to need this kind of intense training?”

“We need to be prepared for anything. As I’ve said, you have much to learn.”

I turned my attention back to the activity in the rooms in front of me. Inside the first room was Roman. My heart
traitorously skipped a beat at the sight of him.

He wielded a sword
effortlessly, instructing five people. As we drew closer, my mouth fell open in shock, and then I snapped it shut, remembering some tact.

Roman
was mouthwateringly beautiful as he moved, so much more than handsome.
Why hadn’t I noticed before?
Now in a different setting and light, details about him, which had escaped me before, made themselves known.
Is it because my sight works better now?
My eyes traveled over his bronzed body, taking in every visible detail.

M
uscles rippled underneath a short, black, and well-worn wrap, showing off a generous amount of his toned thighs. Knee-high leather boots scuffed against the soft flooring.
Where did he learn to dress? The Middle Ages?

Scars crisscrossed his bare chest. When he moved closer to us, he flipped his long, dark brown hair from his face. A scar crossed his face on the left side, from his temple to the bottom of his cheek,
standing out from his bearded stubble. His hair had hidden the scar in our previous encounters. The darkness of the cave, and my poor eyesight, hadn’t helped.

What happened to him?
How come he didn’t heal himself the way he did me?

He spun around and around,
nearly dancing with his sword, as if it was an extension of him, his muscles bunching and elongating as he turned. The brutal look on his face was enough to scare anyone into submission.

Roman
must have sensed me staring, as he stopped mid-turn, holding his sword above his head.

I held my breath as our eyes met.

He didn’t move a muscle or utter a word, confidence brimming from every pore of his body. Finally, he turned, fully facing the doorway we were standing in. The movement sent a jolt of desire straight to my loins.

What is wrong with me?

A slow and mischievous smile crept across his face. I broke the tension, bowed my eyes, and blushed.

“Roman instructs all weaponry training. This class is called Sword Form,” Lily said. “He is gifted.”

“I can see that,” I muttered.

He sank his sword into the
rubbery clay floor between his legs, embedding the tip. His eyes licked me up and down, lingering on my body for an eternity.

M
y heart hammered fiercely inside my chest, understanding he was a predator and I was prey.

“She didn’t run away today?” He turned his attention to Lily, not speaking to me.

I hated to be spoken about in the third person, treating me as though I was invisible. It was a huge pet peeve of mine.

“Because I’m tired of playing f
etch with this one,” he continued.

“She’ll be joining your training today. Take it easy on her,” Lily
admonished.

Today?
My eyes widened in fear. I had no grace or strength to do this.
No way. He will rip me apart.

His eyes locked with mine. “She will, will she? She’s puny. She won’t last a week.”

Good job. Intimidated to infuriated in two heartbeats.

Anger crept up my neck, and I blurted, “Don’t speak about me as if I’m not standing right here. If an ogre
in a skirt can do it, I’m sure I can. And why are you wearing a skirt anyway?” I bit my tongue, stopping myself from saying more. Defiantly meeting his eyes, not showing weakness, even though I’d made a fool of myself.
Don’t let him know you think that.

He stared at me and then laughed
a deep hearty belly laugh. “It’s for easy access, my dear.”

Heat coursed
through me as I stood there, at a loss for words, distracted by my body’s raging desire.

He then turned back to his class and resumed his instruction
, ignoring us.

Lily
nudged my hand to lead me out, but before we were out of eyeshot, I glanced back at Roman. Probably sensing my gaze, he peeked back at me out of the corner of his eye and winked.

Great.
Now I looked stupid and trivial. I usually filtered those sorts of ramblings before I said them.

Lily
led me back to the first room and we sat in on a meditation class. After, we did yoga and stretched before lunch. My muscles ached and I ambled after her. It was busy, but a good day, until she dropped me off in Roman’s class and left.

Roman stalked a
round the sword training room, barking orders at people. My mind devilishly wandered back to our encounter in the cave, remembering my fantasies. His head whipped around and caught me staring at him, causing my breath to hitch in my throat.
I don’t want to be here. He makes me feel… angry with myself for being attracted to him.

I hadn’t thought I missed him, but my body told me
otherwise. A new surge of heat crept up into my belly, and I turned my head to focus on something else.
What is wrong with me?

“Don’t stand there. Get to work,” he
commanded, the sweat glistening off his broad shoulders.

E
mbarrassed, I walked across the room, and examined the swords leaning up against the wall. Unable to maintain a clear thought with him so near, I pretended to know what he wanted me to do.