Mermaid Tear (The Fated #2)

40 | Inconceivable

One Week Ago

Despite how used to sirens Kain had become, the moment his eyes landed on Dalphie, their Dalphie, his mind went blank.

Over a month had passed since Erast, but not a single detail about her had changed. Her charcoal black locks still tumbled over her shoulders in long, weighted curls. They ended at the base of her open-backed, ankle-length gown, covering the expanse of tawny skin visible through the loose material. Her eyes. Gods. They were the weapon that drove thoughts from his head and heat into his cheeks.

Dalphie smiled and Kain nearly stopped breathing.

When he didn't move despite the minutes ticking by, her smile fell away and suddenly his mind was no longer full of cotton.

"Sorry. I hadn't anticipated that Rhode would run," Dalphie mused. "I would have contained myself back if I had."

"Th-that's--" Kain stammered, then stopped.

What was he going to say?

Dalphie sighed. "Well, it's fine. I was done here, anyways."

Between one second and the next, Dalphie seemed to cross the room. Which was impossible. But, she did it.

Her hand caressed his cheek as her thumb caught his jaw on the other side. His mind stuttered as she tilted his face, eyes seeming to memorize every detail about him. He had always found Dalphie mesmerizing, but this...this was overwhelming.

"Oh, how I wished I could stay," she murmured. "But, you are meant for bigger things. And I find you too interesting to risk my hand ruining a decade of effort. Do well, Kain. She is my binding. The sun is my fuel. The moon is my reason. The mother is my guarantee.

"But you. You are my sword. So do well, Hero. We are at the beginning of everything."

And with those mystifying words, Dalphie disappeared.

Kain's knees threatened to give. It was only his hand on the doorframe that kept him from collapsing. His eyes swept the room, searching for where the siren could have gone. But, there was nowhere. Only Melitta remained in the room. She sat on the edge of her bed with layers of her skirt scattered around her. Her pale face was flushed and her hand curled tightly around the corner of her headboard.

Her eyes met his, and hesitantly, she smiled.

"Sorry. I'm not quite ready to leave just yet."

Countless questions swirled through Kain's mind as he forced his legs to steady. Still clutching the doorframe, he straightened and attempted to organize his thoughts into words.

"Was that--"

"I am sorry. She has asked I not say."

"She--what?"

While the impossible haze of Dalphie's presence had disappeared with her, the mess seemed as indecipherable as when she stood before him, touching his cheek. His mind fumbled the details, struggling to find an explanation that it hadn't already reached. Afterall, there was an easy answer for it all. For why she had disappeared before, only to reappear now, before vanishing in front of his eyes. For why he had always found it hard to look at anything but her, as if she were an enchantment given life.

But, that was impossible, wasn't it?

"Melitta." As her name fell from his lips, Kain dropped his hand from the doorframe. He stepped inside so the door could fall shut behind him, blocking invisible ears from his question. She looked away, as if she knew what would come next and couldn't look him in the eye to answer. "Dalphie...that's not her name, is it?"