“It wasn’t entirely my fault,” Merletta admitted, after several moments of silence. “But if it wasn’t for me, they would still be alive and well and with their families.”
Heath shuffled closer to her. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out a hand, placing it over hers where it rested on the sand. Merletta didn’t look at him, but he felt the slight stiffening in her body that told him she was as aware of the contact as he was. Then she arched her hand slightly, so their fingers were interlaced.
The indescribable rush that passed over him was so powerful he could barely gather his thoughts to respond. But the defeated look on Merletta’s face reminded him of their conversation, and he gave her hand a squeeze.
“You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything to hurt them.” His voice turned dry. “It was more the other way around, as I recall.”
Merletta’s eyes flew to his, her expression apologetic. “You’re right, they were the ones attacking you. I was angry with them myself at the time. Of course you’d still feel—”
“I’m not angry now,” said Heath, shaking his head. “Not at them. They were just acting according to what they’d been taught. I wouldn’t have chosen for them to pay such a price for their attack.” He looked at Merletta seriously. “But you didn’t make that choice, either.”
Merletta groaned. “You make it sound simple, but I can’t help feeling guilty.” Her expressive features set in determined lines. “If I can just find out what really happened, at least that might bring their families some peace.”
“Putting your life in danger to get a few answers won’t bring them back,” said Heath sharply. Alarm filled him at her familiar unyielding expression. “And if they really were killed to cover up the Center’s deceptions about humans and land, then finding out what happened to them won’t be a simple matter that gives a little closure. It will set your underwater world on fire.”
Merletta blinked. “It will do what?”
Heath sighed. “I think you know what I mean.”
“I do,” Merletta said, serious once again. “But do you really think I should just leave it? Just accept the lies and make no effort to tell everyone the truth?”
Heath frowned, barely aware of it as his hand tightened over hers on the sand. “I suppose not,” he said. “But I just wish someone other than you could be the one to uncover it.”
Merletta gave a hollow laugh. “So do I.”
Heath raised an eyebrow, looking her over. Something flickered inside him, some certainty that didn’t come from his normal senses. His power at work, perhaps.
“No you don’t,” he said, unable to keep a hint of accusation from his voice. “You don’t actually wish you could back off, and let someone else confront them. You’re spoiling for a fight, aren’t you?”
Merletta gave him a smile that was half grimace. “Maybe I am.” She shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it in those terms. It’s irrelevant, anyway. No one else knows all I know, and no one else is willing to fight back.”
“I doubt that’s true,” Heath mused. “There must be others. You just don’t have a safe way to find out who they are.”
“Maybe,” said Merletta, sounding doubtful. Her eyes were back on the western horizon. “I need to return to the water soon,” she said softly.
Heath followed her gaze, his heart growing heavy at the sight of the sun sinking in the sky. His minutes with Merletta were slipping away far too quickly. They must have been talking for two hours, and they hadn’t moved from their place on the sand.
He could still hardly believe Merletta was alive, let alone that he was sitting on the beach with her in human form, actually holding her hand. He wished he’d chosen a longer time than three hours when he asked his cousins to stall the captain. Of course, he had no idea whether they’d managed even that. But he felt he owed it to them to return in the time he’d set, if only so they were spared taking news of his disappearance back to his family.
“Are you expected back at the Center?” Heath asked, an edge to the question. He’d already expressed his alarm at Merletta’s decision to return to the Center and take her chances with whoever was behind all the lies. In total honesty, he was amazed she’d been back so long without anyone attacking her. He applauded her decision to get her bearings before making any moves, but he also found it a little hard to picture the passionate mermaid successfully keeping her head down.
“Not just yet,” Merletta said, removing her hand from under his. “But I’m getting dry. I need to dip in, just for a minute.”
“Getting dry?” Heath repeated curiously. “What do you mean? I thought you weren’t in danger from drying out.”
“I don’t think I’m in danger,” Merletta said. “But it’s not pleasant. It seems I’m not a true human, even in this form. On some level I’m still a mermaid. I can’t be away from the ocean too long without getting this irresistible desire to take in water. It starts in my throat, and it’s a dry, scratchy feeling. It’s especially strong when the sun is hot, or when I’ve been working hard on my walking.”
Heath stared at her for a moment, then let out a laugh. “You mean you get thirsty?”
Merletta frowned. “What do you mean by thirsty? I don’t know that word.”
Heath shook his head in amazement. “Of course you don’t,” he marveled. “Why would you, living underwater?” He saw her bewilderment and laughed again. “Sorry, it’s just so bizarre, to think of someone not knowing what thirst is. Humans need to drink as well as eat, Merletta. In fact, it’s a more urgent need.”
Merletta frowned thoughtfully. Heath was still amused by the absurdity of it, but he thought the earnest crinkle of her forehead was adorable.
“What do you mean you need to drink? I thought humans couldn’t take in breath through water.”
Heath shook his head. “Not breath. We don’t get air from the water. We drink the water. It gives our bodies…I don’t know. Moisture.”