“Don’t you think—”
“Yes,” she repeated. “I should have told people sooner. But then what?” She finally raised her head. “I get asked to leave? Or worse, told? My life is here. My business is here. And I have never hurt anyone. Never used those gifts.”
“Until now,” the fireman said.
“Hey,” Mattie snapped. “She told me.”
The sheriff shook his head. “That’s not helping her case.”
Ethan jogged down the porch steps and went over to where they were all standing. “What’s going on? Why does there seem to be a problem?”
The sheriff frowned. “This shouldn’t be discussed in front of a human.”
Ethan was sure the man had some greater interest at heart, but it was time to get over that. “Listen, I’m more involved in this than any of you, so you can stop with the human business. Besides, my mom has gifts, so I’m not sure I’m completely human anyway. Now can someone explain what the problem is?”
The sheriff shifted his gaze to the women on the porch for a moment, then back to Ethan. “It’s not how we like to do things. We try to protect the innocence of our visitors as much as—”
Ethan cleared his throat. “I live here.”
Pandora nodded. “He does, Hank. I sold him the house.”
“Well, then…” Hank looked at his brother, then back at Undrea. “We might as well go inside and figure this out.”
But Undrea didn’t move. “Are you going to arrest me? Am I in trouble? I want to know. I’ve been keeping this a secret since I moved here, always afraid this day would come, and now…now I’m not really afraid anymore. I just want to know what the consequences are.”
Ethan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Consequences for what? For saving me? For turning a succubus into goo? What are we talking about?”
She found her courage and looked at him, giving him a quick, sad smile. “The consequences of me hiding my true identity. I’m a siren. A potentially deadly kind of mermaid. Basically…a water succubus.”
He stared at her. “What?”
After a deep inhale, she nodded. “It’s true. Some say that’s where my kind come from. The union of a succubus and a merman.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter at this point, but I am a very dangerous creature.”
He snorted. “You’re about as dangerous as Bowie. Come on, Undrea. You saved my life.”
She smiled again. “I’m very grateful you see me that way. What remains is how the powers that be see me.”
Mattie slipped her arm around Undrea’s waist. “There won’t be an issue. We won’t let there be an issue.”
Pandora nodded and moved closer to Undrea. “That’s right.”
Hank put his hands on his hips. “I’m sure I don’t know everything that’s happened, but all I know is the Ellinghams have the last say on this. It’s their town. And ultimately, they decide who lives here.”
Then he cracked a smile. “If they disallowed those of us who might be considered deadly, there’s not a whole lot of us who’d still be living here. If Mr. Edmonds says you saved his life, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Undrea’s mouth came open. “I don’t?”
He shook his head. “You’ve never been anything but a good citizen, as far as I know. And aren’t you friends with Delaney?”
She nodded. “Yes, but—”
“Let’s call her right now,” Mattie said, letting go of Undrea to get her phone out.
“I don’t know,” Undrea said.
Ethan couldn’t stand seeing Undrea so worried. “If this Delaney can ease your mind, then call her.”
Undrea blew out a long breath. “Okay. Let’s get this over with. I won’t be able to sleep anyway.”
“I’ll do it. Then it’ll be official.” As Hank got his phone out and dialed, he walked a few yards away.
While he was doing that, Ethan took Undrea’s hand and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you. You saved me again. For good this time, too.”
“Except you’ve been exposed to my magic now.” She sniffed. “And that’s not a good thing, believe me.”
“I feel fine, so whatever you’re worried about, just stop.”
“You don’t understand. The sound of a siren’s voice drives men to madness. It causes them to—”
“Mrs. Seeley?” Mattie’s voice interrupted her. “Hi, this is Mattie Sharpe. I’m a friend of your daughter’s.”
Undrea whipped around in his arms and hissed at her friend. “Are you on the phone with my mother?”
Ethan wasn’t sure why that was a problem.
Mattie nodded. “We need some questions answered about Undrea’s powers. Namely how to save a man who’s been exposed to—”
Undrea grabbed the phone. “Mom? Mom, listen. Yes, but—no, I had no choice but to—no.” She frowned at Mattie. “Yes.” Her gaze shifted to Ethan, and her brows went up. “Really? I actually already did that. Long story that I will explain later. Yes. I promise.” She exhaled. “Thanks. Love you too. Soon. I will. Okay. Bye.”
She hung up and handed the phone back to Mattie, then stuck her hands in her back pockets. “My mom says that the way to break a siren’s spell is for the subject of the spell to ingest one of my scales. And since you already did that, there’s no lasting effect to me using my magic on you.”
“Yeah?” He still felt ninety-eight percent clueless about what was going on, but if she was happy, so was he.
Except she made a face that held some worry. “Although you’re still susceptible to obeying me when I use my siren’s voice.”
“Meaning?”
“If I tell you to do something using that voice, you have no option but to do it.”
He grinned. “Isn’t that basically how you got me away from Nina? Your magic was stronger than hers.”
Undrea shook her head. “That was just my regular mermaid magic. Apparently.”
He shrugged. “Whatever. I can live with it. So long as you promise not to abuse it.” He already knew she wouldn’t. She wasn’t that kind of person.
She gazed up at him. “Really? That doesn’t bother you? After spending two years in the thrall of a succubus, you could actually be with another woman who has the power to control you?”
He cupped her face in his hands and stared into her beautiful sea-green eyes. “You already control me, Undrea. You’re in my head constantly. I make decisions based on what I think you’d like. Even my cat is madly in love with you. I have been under your spell since the moment I met you, and that had nothing to do with magic.”
“But it did. You kissed me and—”
He laughed. “We both know that was CPR. This is a kiss.” He pressed his mouth to hers. They fit together as perfectly as if they’d been designed for each other. That was possible, wasn’t it? He didn’t know. Didn’t care. All that mattered was that Undrea was his.
He took a breath. “I can’t lose you, Undrea. I couldn’t take it. And Bowie would be distraught.”