My head snaps back around and I shoot him an incredulous look. “Oh, really? Should I go and leave you in peace to hunt fish and birds?”
“No! Don’t… Don’t do that.” He pulls on my hand, his eyes brilliant. “You’re right. It’s terrible.”
A grin tugs at my mouth. “I would say. If you really are a King…”
“I am. I was.” It’s his turn to look away. “Though it seems so distant now it’s hard to credit, hard to recall what it was like. Living in the Opal Tower, in my palace in the lake, having servants cater to my needs, holding feasts and balls, meeting people all the time. Hunting on the grounds or in the water, meeting with other Merfolk Fae, forging alliances, protecting our borders. I gave my magic to the land and lake every morning at dawn and watched it flourish. The land and I, we were one.”
“So, were you always a merman? I thought the curse made you this way.”
“What most humans don’t know is that we Fae have a second nature. An animal nature. Our ears are a sign of it.” One of his pointed ears twitches, as if to illustrate his point. “Many Fae don’t shift, they don’t have enough power for it, but Fae Kings can and do. It’s the magic that binds us to our land, to the past, to the lines of power. But we can control it. We use it when we need it.”
“But now you’re stuck in this form.”
“Yes. I am.”
I gaze at him. He’s looking better than the last time I saw him, I think. Isn’t he? His hand is kind of warm in mine, and the flush on his cheeks makes him look healthy but… what is healthy for a merman?
“How is the wound in your tail? And why have you dragged yourself through the mud before coming out of the water?”
Even his cock is covered in mud, and yeah, my gaze keeps straying there even when I tell myself to stop.
“I’m fine,” he says. And as I look, his cock twitches and seems to swell where it’s lying against the blue scales. “Don’t worry about me.”
I blink, fire spreading over my cheeks, and turn my gaze away. “Right. Good. Excellent. Listen… I brought you something.” I reach behind me blindly for the basket, drag it closer. “Food and drink and… I know you don’t want a shirt but how about a blanket?”
He looks confused, giving me a slow blink. “A blanket to use in the water?”
“No.” I laugh. “When you’re outside. To sleep, for example. Don’t you ever stay on the shore? Don’t you get cold?
He shrugs. “Sometimes. And you brought food.” His gaze is on the basket. A growl echoes in the quiet and it takes me a moment to realize it comes from his stomach.
“You’re hungry.”
“What? No.” His jaw clenches. “Not at all. Had my fish and bird breakfast, thank you.”
But under the flush on his cheeks, his face looks thinner than it had last time, and the worry is back, knotting my insides.
“Well, I brought pigeon pie and cake, a shank of beef, some cheese and wine.” I reluctantly let go of his hand to unpack the picnic and lay it between us. “Sound good?”
“It sounds great. Damn.” His jaw works, a frown pulling his brows together. “I’m… Will you eat with me?”
I was about to say that I brought the food for him, that I eat plenty at the palace, that I’m worried he’s not eating enough, but something in those expressive eyes makes me nod.
“Of course.”
His pride, I realize when he smiles and reaches for the pie. Once a King, a powerful Fae. He doesn’t want to appear weak or in need. Makes me wonder whether he’d tell me if he needed anything else. Makes my heart hurt for him.
I try to keep my mouth shut as he falls on the food, obviously famished, but I can’t.
“Youwerehungry,” I whisper, and want to beat myself up for not bringing more food. “Not enough fish in the lake?”
“I haven’t hunted much lately,” he says around a mouthful.
“Why not?”
He looks away, frowning, chewing and swallowing. Something is wrong but he won’t tell me.
“Are you sure that wound is better?” I ask.