Enchanted Ever After. Robin D. Owens

an extra talent. Lathyr has a touch of elven blood.”

      As did her Aric, and Jenni herself.

      She hesitated, doubts still creeping.

      “You were right to call him to scan Mystic Circle,” Aric said.

      “Yes. I had a strong feeling about Kiri.”

      “Did anyone else have the potential?”

      “Dan. He might be able to transform.”

      “Dan, but not Frank?” Aric matched her gaze.

      “Dan is fully human, Frank has a touch of air in his ancestry. I’d rather just stick to fully human right now. We don’t know how other innate magics might react.”

      “So we won’t be recruiting Dan or telling either of them about the project.”

      “No. They’re a couple and good together.”

      Aric’s smile was slow. “As we are.”

      “Yes. Lathyr is handsome in a mer way, but not nearly as attractive as you. I don’t care for pale blue and shimmery skin. Though the ears are cute.” With a low chuckle she rose, sliding her hand to grasp his. “Let’s go upstairs and have a private party.”

      “Sounds great.” He paused. “How’s the game making going?”

      “Despite my whining yesterday, I’ve got a handle on it. I’ve decided not to make it too real. We’ll have control.”

      Another grunt from Aric. “Good. Now let’s concentrate on us.”

      “One last thing,” Jenni purred.

      “Yes?”

      “What else have the royals decided about that you aren’t telling me?”

      He swept her up into his arms. “They’re involved in another scheme.”

      “More important to them than me and my game, and even the Meld of tech and magic.” Jenni nodded. “Thought so. What?”

      “Establishing a permanent gate to another dimension.”

      Jenni gasped again, and her husband, her lover, showed his true talent in taking her mouth with his and making all thought drain away.

      * * *

      Lathyr slipped into the muddy lake, changing his form to full mer with genuine relief. Traveling through trees with Aric had dried Lathyr’s skin even more. Now his legs melded together into fintail, his skin scaled and his bilungs pumped as they converted from air-out-of-water atmosphere to air-in-water, and his sex was tidily tucked away and protected. He sighed out greatly relieved bubbles as water caressed him. Cracks in his scales, even a few scrapes, stung, adding a whiff of blood to the lake. Fish would come and investigate, as would his host, a very grumpy naiader—minor water Lightfolk. And there he was.

      You are back, the naiader sent mentally and with emotional vibrations that moved through the water. His accent was terrible, as if he’d always lived on this continent, never been oceangoing at all. Lathyr hid his pity, though the man had not hidden his disappointment at Lathyr’s return to the lake.

      Indeed, Lathyr said, swirling a little curtsy, inclining and twisting his torso, slipping his fintail to the side. And I have requested another domicile. He’d politely asked Aric to forward the suggestion that Lathyr be close at hand to Kiri during her testing, and Aric had agreed to pass the notion on.

      The naiader’s heavy nostril frills showed in pride. Mine is the greatest lake in this city.

      I hope to stay in the house that the Eight royals keep at Mystic Circle.

      On land! In human form!

      That is correct.

      Shuddering from scalp to finpoint, the naiader backswam a yard or two. Lathyr had gotten the idea that his host had not transformed into his human shape for a long time, and this seemed to confirm it.

      A sizzle zapped through the lake—great and powerful magic. The Water King, Marin Greendepths, had arrived, a large and heavily muscled merman.

      Well, sniffer, I heard you don’t like the ambience of this lake. He spoke telepathically and with mer signing in the brown murk, then spurted air and laughter. Lathyr held himself courteously stiff, tips of his tail fins digging into the mud to anchor him. He didn’t know why the mer king was in the middle of a continent, or whether other royals were at Eight Corp headquarters in downtown Denver, and didn’t ask. The Water King had a sense of humor bordering on cruel.

      Lathyr moved his head so hair would cover his face, helping mask his expression. The king’s long green-blond hair streamed behind him. He had enough magic to be arrogant with it.

      I thought to make a change, my lord, Lathyr said, keeping his head lower than the king’s. Due to his elven blood, Lathyr was taller than most mer and only an inch shorter than his king and had to keep track of his posture at all times.

      This is a hole, the king said. Humans destroyed it as they do most things, he sneered, lips curling.

      Yes, my lord.

      Scratching his hard-scale chest, the king said, Landlocked. Dreadful. He pushed power out in a huge underwater wave.

      Lathyr swallowed a nasty air bubble with water that seized in his bilungs. He kept the pain from showing, the effort to process the air.

      The King of Water smirked.

      The naiader shot to the bottom of the bed, facedown, breathing dirt, then pushed backward until he was near the bank, nearly out of sight of the king.

      The King of Air requested a meeting at Eight Corp. The full Eight are here.

      Maybe the evil Dark one had sensed that. Lathyr was suddenly glad he was very low status. No reason a Dark one would be after him.

      The Meld Project, to combine magic with human technology, goes well, actually making more magic. Just a trace for now, but soon...The king smacked his lips; the tiny scales of his body rippled. The intricate pattern of his ridged scales gleamed silver against pale green skin. There is more magic in the world, and more magic here. I will be pleased when it cycles through the water to the reaches of the oceans.

      Lathyr kept his mouth shut.

      Our other plans progress. The vibration of the man’s thoughts and feelings carried a dark richness imbued with pleasurable secrets. Lathyr didn’t believe the royal was thinking of humans becoming Lightfolk. Some other plan delighted the king.

      The king rose a little in the murky water. We have agreed Lightfolk numbers are still below optimal. His jaw clicked shut. Therefore the project that involves you has been approved for eight years.

      Not much time, but maybe enough for Lathyr to win a permanent estate and home. A home of his own would be a sanctuary, a place where he could be completely himself, with no one to please or impress.

      The king’s tail flexed with muscular power; the magic that flowed from him actually cleared the water, giving more visibility. I am pleased that one of my subjects can contribute to this situation. That your power was augmented.

      From the corner of his eyes, Lathyr saw the naiader twitch. That one didn’t believe the king’s last statement, either. But at least the royal merman wasn’t actively hostile.

      The King flicked his fingers. You actually wish to live on land in that Castle? Water snorted from his nostrils. As if a few rooms and two turrets make a castle, a palace. Not even enough rooms for my own retinue let alone my lady’s or anyone else’s.

      Keeping his head low, Lathyr said, Yes.

      A massive shrug sent the water rippling. We royals come to this wretched place as needed. We have purchased a compound closer to Eight Corp’s headquarters and raised a mansion with four separate wings around a common hub. Cloudsylph has the half-breed Fire Princess balance the place as necessary, perhaps monthly. Another shrug. We prefer that place.