Linc! Edythe voice filtered through his anger, but it only fueled him to fight harder.
The male dug his fingers into his arms, curling beneath his scales to the skin beneath. Such a move was agony, but Linc did not release his grip. With a massive kick and twist, the male shoved him into the wall again and again. The cave dimmed as the delicate light-giving fungi were smashed into oblivion.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue-green scales streak toward him. The male who sought to beat him senseless rocketed away. A small form floated in front of him, her body turning to stay between him and the male.
It took Linc a moment to realize who he saw.
Edythe.
Somehow, she had accessed her change and covered her body in scales. His mind filled with her angry hisses and growls, and the haze that made him so dangerous lifted. His mate needed him.
Edythe. Get behind me.
The male treaded water, making a move to swim around her, but she darted in front of him. No.
The male startled, she was projecting her voice not only to him, but to the male who hurt him. My mate, she said, and the male’s eyes widened, his stance immediately changing.
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender before placing one hand over his heart. He looked at Linc and then back to Edythe. I apologize, female. I believed my son held you here against your will.
Her astonishment made her scales disappear completely, leaving her naked. Linc moved fast, scooping her into his arms and swimming back to the inner cave. You may follow in a moment, Father. First, I must explain things to my mate.
His father’s voice echoed in his head and, from the twitch Edythe gave, in her mind, too. Of course, Linc.
He swam quickly to the staircase, emerging into the cave to wrap a blanket around her trembling figure.
“Your father?” she asked through chattering teeth.
Linc watched her with concern. The change she’d forced on herself would leave her weak. She wouldn’t be able to regulate her body temperature for a while, and he’d need to watch her closely. He carried her to the bed, stacking pillows around her body and tucking another heavy blanket around her.
“Wait here a moment,” he commanded. He realized dried seaweed was the only food he had available. “Here. Eat.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”
He nodded, watching her carefully.
“I guess this answers the food question,” she said and took a bite. Her face cleared, and she took another bite. “It’s not so bad. Salty, and”—she cleared her throat—“dry. But it could be worse. I don’t suppose you have water?”
He did, and he brought it to her. Her hand trembled when she reached for it, so he held the glass for her. Her unease and worry clouded her mind. He kept his hand over hers. “You were not weird or ugly,” he assured her. “You were magnificent.”
“I was blue…,” she whispered, which made him chuckle.
“I think you had a little green, too.”
She smacked his arm, rolling her eyes, and he laughed. He heard a throat clear behind him and whipped around. “Father.”
Edythe sat up in the bed, pulling the blankets a little closer to her body. He didn’t move from her side, but watched the male, who he had not seen in years, walk carefully toward him.
“Why are you here?” he asked. His father could make his explanations and then he could leave.
His father’s eyes flashed to Edythe before settling back on him. “The humans saw a scaled creature kidnap a human woman and drag her beneath the waves.”
“Immediately you thought of me.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice.
His father made no excuses, only nodded. “Obviously.”
“Hey!” Edythe’s tone was outraged. “Linc would never kidnap me. He…”
“How else do you explain your presence, female?”
Linc growled, but she answered quickly, “Edythe. My name is Edythe. Not female. I’m here because Linc is my mate, and he protected me.”
“After you arrived to protect me,” he added with a pointed look at his father.
“The gods blessed you with another mate, Linc, to keep you from madness.”
He shook his head, reaching for Edythe. “No. This is the human I met fifteen years ago. She returned when she heard the marshes were to be destroyed. She worried for me.”
He didn’t miss the surprise on his father’s face. “She returned?”
She sighed, much like she had as a child. It was the sigh which contained every ounce of her exasperation. “Of course.”
A strange look came over his father’s face, and his voice spoke in his mind. You are lucky with your mate, son. She is fierce. My apologies for intruding on your courtship, but I had to make sure you hadn’t given into the darkness.
“I am lucky.” He would not let Edythe be excluded from the conversation. “Thank you for your apology. I would like to return to courting my mate.”
“A human dive team searches for her body,” his father continued, ignoring his dismissal. “Keep her here, where no one will find her.”