Paradise

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I felt myself relax the slightest, especially when he removed his hand from my shoulder. "So, she'll be okay. That's good." I felt my face pinch in confusion. "But they were so upset. If the great dragon is constantly resurrecting everyone then why did they react so strongly? Wouldn't they know that it didn't matter if she was dead, because she could just be brought back to life later?"

"They're not the brightest creatures without that mental tie," he said. " They are prone to overreacting and drastic measures. And it will only get worse the longer they are without their siren leader."

"Speaking of their siren leader," I said, continuing my thought. "Couldn't they have just gone to him instead of pulling Robert out of my dimension?"

"They could have," the mer said. "But they saw an opening with your portal, so they took it."

"I guess that makes sense," I admitted.

"You look rather uncomfortable," the mer said to me. "Would you like me to get all that water off you?"

"How?" I asked.

"Just hold still," he instructed, and I was suddenly afraid that it would hurt. He lifted his hand, fingers pointing at me. I almost thought he wanted me to take his hand. Thankfully, I didn't make the move to do that, because I immediately felt the water pull from my dress and-- embarrassingly-- my undergarments; the soft cotton returned to its natural state. He even removed the water from my shoes and then my hair. It was probably the strangest sensation I've ever felt.

It completely woke me up.

I watched him form the water into a ball, his long, agile fingers shaping it as if it were made of snow instead of water. "Watch this," he said with a big grin as he opened up his hands and the ball of liquid floated above them. He then sent it flying into the lake with a flick of his wrist.

"Wow," I cried, my hands flying to my now dry clothes and hair, patting them excitedly. "Wow!" I repeated, laughing now, unable to hide my astonishment. It was hard to stay upset when I'd just witnessed the most amazing party-trick ever! It completely overrode my stresses and sad thoughts, pushing them back into the darkest corners of my mind. At least for now. "That is so neat!"

Laughing at my reaction, he then pointed a hand at Robert. I watched him pull every drop of water from the fabric of his suit and then his hair. Robert's curls bounced back, perfectly dry and just as lovely as ever. I gave a generous laugh that sounded very unladylike.

"That has to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" I exclaimed, watching as the other water-ball hit the lake.

The mer genuinely looked pleased when he said, "thank you ... not that I know what you mean by cool or neat, but it's just as well."

I laughed again. "It means it's good. You did a nice thing."

"Oh, so you don't think of me as a bloodthirsty killer anymore?" he asked, bearing a big grin.

I averted my gaze, still not completely comfortable with his enormous, sharp teeth. "I guess not," I said. "I mean, if what you said was true and all."

"It is," he said.

"Then ... I really should be thanking you," I said.

"You have already thanked me," he said. "Don't you remember?"

"No, I mean, I do, but I want to thank you for saving us," I said, forcing myself to look at him again. Thankfully, his grin had sobered into a soft smile-- fang-free! "You did save us back there, didn't you?"