“They said you can drink the water, too… if you want, I mean. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about the fact that you’re human.”
He cupped my cheek with his free hand while Rasha stared at me, listening intently. Hiro asked, “Is that what you want?”
I swallowed thickly. “Of course that’s what I want, but this is your life and your body, so it has to be what you want more than anything else.”
His lips quirked up. “You really want to spend the next few hundred years with me?”
“I mean, we’ll probably try to kill each other again at some point, but yeah, I do.”
He chuckled. “I do too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Bas, ‘course I do.” He kissed my lips hard and fast, then kissed Rasha’s cheek. “A chance at spendin’ centuries with my family? Hell yes.”
My chest grew warm at that. He’d called me his family. “That sounds perfect.” I kissed Rasha’s other cheek. “Are you okay with this, sweetpea?”
She nodded. “Yes, but Daddy said it’s underwater. How will we get there?”
“Rebe has a spell they’ll use on us,” I answered.
She nodded, and Hiro said, “I’ll go first.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “Rebe’s used it on me probably a hundred times. It’s safe.”
Hiro set Rasha on her feet, then grabbed my hip and leaned in so his mouth was right beside my ear as he rasped out, “Will ya stop talkin’ about the fuckin’ kelpie like they’re your best friend… stop remindin’ me that you were together. I’m barely holdin’ on here.”
“Okay.” I almost apologized, but honestly, I wasn’t sorry at all because I liked seeing this side of him come out, especially when his accent got all thick and sexy like that.
He snorted and shook his head, likely reading my thoughts. Hiro released me and stepped up to Rebe, saying, “We’re ready. You can do your spell on me first.”
Rebe grinned. “I have to place my hand on your forehead.”
“Have at it.” Hiro held his arms out for a second. If I didn’t know him better, I would’ve thought he was calm, but I could see the tension in his back.
Rebe put their palm on Hiro’s forehead and whispered a few words. I saw the spell shimmer around Hiro’s entire body before settling in place. It was almost like the air around him blurred for a few seconds, then covered him like a second skin. The spell not only helped you breathe underwater, it also protected your body from any change in water pressure.
Hiro shook out his limbs and met my eyes. “Feels weird, like somethin’s tickling my skin.”
“You’ll get used to it. It won’t feel so weird once we’re in the water,” I said as I stepped up to Rebe and grinned at them. “So you can use your hand, huh?”
Rebe lifted one shoulder. “What can I say? I used any excuse I could to get my lips on you.”
I snorted, and Hiro growled, but I waved him away and said to Rebe, “I can’t believe you told me you had to kiss my forehead for this spell.”
“I’m surprised you believed me.” Rebe grinned and set their hand on my forehead before muttering the spell.
The air around me shimmered and blurred before it settled over top of my entire body. Once it was in place, Rebe dropped their hand, and I shook myself out. Hiro was right, it did feel weird and almost itchy. It had been a long time since I’d had this spell on me, but at one time, it had been totally normal.
Hiro knelt down beside Rasha, then stared up at Rebe and said, “I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”
Rebe hummed. “I know you will, hunter. I only plan to help her. Once the spell is in place, she won’t need the oxygen tank.”
“Are you sure?” Hiro asked.
I said, “Yeah, dimples, the spell keeps oxygen in your lungs, so she’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Okay.” Hiro nodded.
Rebe pressed their hand to her forehead, the air shimmered, and it settled over her.
Rasha began shaking out her limbs, and Hiro asked, “You okay, peanut?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
I smiled and bent down to take the tube off Rasha and pull the bookbag that carried the tank off her back. After she took a few breaths, I whispered, “You okay?”
She nodded. “It feels the same, except itchy.”
“Okay, perfect. The itch’ll go away in the water.” I kissed her cheek as Hiro rested his hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?” It was a huge decision to make at only eight—almost nine—but we honestly couldn’t wait until she was older. She didn’t have the time. This poor baby. I didn’t want to lose her, but we needed to be sure.
“I can stay with you and Daddy, right?”
“Of course, sweetpea. You can always stay with us.”
She grinned. “I’m sure.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready to go?”
Everyone nodded, so Rebe stepped back, putting their feet in the water and throwing their cover onto the sand. I pointedly kept my eyes on their face as they shimmered in the sunlight, slowly growing in size as their skin became scaly and their face elongated into a horse-like shape. They stood on their fins, but I knew from past experience that they could only stand that way for a few seconds before it started hurting.
Stepping forward, I said, “Go on out, Rebe, we’ll be right behind you.”
They dipped their head in a nod, then leapt into the air, twisting around before diving into deeper water.
“Woah,” Rasha said.
I chuckled. “Wait till you see them and the other kelpies swimming underwater. They look like they’re dancing.” I stepped closer to Hiro. “Time to take your clothes off.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s really okay for them to see my runes?”
I nodded. “Rebe isn’t our enemy, and honestly, they’ve lived in Faela their whole life. When we first met, they only spoke Fae’lee, so I doubt they’ll recognize even half of what’s on your body.”
With a single nod, he stripped down to his bathing suit—and I pointedly looked the other way so I wasn’t rocking a boner on this trip underwater in front of my damn ex—so I did the same, and Rasha took her little cover off.
I knelt beside her and asked, “Are you ready? We won’t be able to talk in the water, not until we get through the caves to the spring.”
“Okay.” She looked nervous.
“Rasha?” I waited for her to meet my eyes before continuing, “I promise that I’ll protect you. Always. No matter what.”
She searched my face before nodding. She was still nervous, but my words seemed to ease her worry a tad.
When I stood, Hiro placed a hand on my upper back and pulled me in to kiss my temple. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he appreciated everything I was trying to do.
With a nod to him, I grabbed his hand in one of mine, then grabbed Rasha’s in my other and said, “We’ll have to sit on Rebe’s back and hold onto their mane as they swim. Kelpies swim really fast, so we’d get left behind otherwise.”
“Won’t that hurt them?” Rasha asked.