Stolen Dream

Chapter Nine

Ziza knew she shouldn't do it. It was a really bad idea. Especially after the warning she'd just received that her life was in imminent danger.

Perhaps that's why she felt she didn't have anything to lose by meeting Ky. She did stay inside her new home until after dawn, but, once the sun was well up, she swam straight for the beach outside Ky's resort.

He was sitting on the edge of the beach, watching the water for her.

Ziza's heart did a strange little spasm at the sight of him. As though it had flipped or something. Impossible, she knew, but disturbingly real. Was that what falling in love felt like? she wondered to herself. Could she possibly be in love with a human?

Ky was coming towards her, the grin on his face as bright as the sun.

Yeah, she thought, she could be in love with a human. Ky wasn't just any human. He knew what she was and still wanted to spend time with her. He had braved the ocean alone—sharks and all—to make sure she was okay. To see her again.

"Hi."

She smiled at him, teeth and all. "Hi."

He glanced back towards the beach and nodded his head away from it. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Ziza nodded and followed his lead happily.

"Want to expedite matters like you did yesterday?" he suggested, offering her his hand.

"Sure." She took his arm and pulled him along until they were well away from the beach. She took him to a tiny island that was only really there during the day and sat on the edge of it.

Ky followed suit, settling down next to her and removing his goggles. "I wasn't sure I was going to see you again."

"Me neither."

"What happened? Why were you so scared?"

Ziza shrugged. "I was seen by one of my kind."

"So?"

"Well, I'm not really allowed to exist. I'm not like my family...or any other merperson for that matter. It's against our laws to be close to humans, to interact with them. I both live close and interact. I don't have a choice, but my parents couldn't be sure that it would matter to our leader, so they hid me away for my own safety. Someone saw me the other day and reported it."

He looked at her wide-eyed. "What's going to happen to you?"

She stared off into the distance and sighed. "I don't know for sure. The one sent to investigate me is my sister's m-soulmate, so she kept him busy while I got you out of there. When he came back, he asked me a bunch of questions and told me he was inclined to let me off with a few new rules and warnings."

Ky waited for the bad news.

"I'm not to spend more than an hour with any human."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, we'll have to head back pretty soon, then, huh?"

"We should, yes."

"Should?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, the rule is to keep people from learning my secret. You already know my secret."

"So, what's the harm?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

He smiled at her. "Works for me."

"Yeah, me too," she concurred.

They sat in silence for a time, just staring out over the water. Appreciating the beauty of the day. Something splashed in the distance, but otherwise there was just the sound of the water lapping against the shore, the occasional distant bird-cry, and the breeze.