The Merman from the West Coast - Chapter 3

It had to have been a nightmare.

How else could I have understood White-Hair?

In my sleep, a hateful octopus seemed to ambush me, wrapping tentacles around my whole body until I could barely breathe. I jolted awake—and found an impossibly handsome face inches from mine.

Yesterday’s memories came rushing back. Pressing my lips together, I tried to crawl out of White-Hair’s arms.

A large hand caught my waist.

The world spun, and I landed against his chest again. His eyes were dark enough to make me tremble.

When he noticed my fear, he stroked my cheek soothingly.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll find you something to eat.”

My pupils contracted.

I—I could understand him!

As if reading the question on my face, White-Hair said, “The fruit you ate yesterday was a Tonguefruit. It lets you understand the languages of other races.”

That explained it. The question I most wanted answered escaped before I could think better of it.

“Do your people eat merfolk?”

“No,” he answered automatically.

I heaved a long sigh of relief.

“You’re merfolk?” White-Hair asked, belatedly processing my words. He looked thoughtful. “You’re not a jiaoren hatchling.”

Guiltily, I looked away.

If he had treated me so well only because he had mistaken me for a baby jiaoren… well, that wasn’t my fault.

While my thoughts ran in circles, White-Hair sat up on the bed. His powerful abdominal muscles shifted with the movement.

“What’s your name?”

He didn’t seem like a bad person, so I answered honestly. “Yi’er. What about you?”

White-Hair repeated my name several times, tasting each syllable. Then he smiled.

“Xie Mubai.”

Before I could respond, my stomach growled.

Xie Mubai paused, then turned and left to hunt.

Watching his sleek figure disappear, I rubbed my cheek and found myself thinking that Xie Mubai was a very good fish. If our homes hadn’t been so impossibly far apart, I would definitely have made him my friend.

Before I could devise a way for us to keep in touch, he returned dragging an enormous octopus behind him.

For some reason, I remembered my nightmare.

As if terrified I might go hungry, Xie Mubai worked quickly, cleaning the octopus and slicing it into fresh sashimi in no time. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than yesterday, so I grabbed a long tentacle and bit down without hesitation.

Its crisp, tender flesh wriggled between my teeth. I narrowed my eyes in delight.

Once I had eaten my fill, I bluntly told Xie Mubai that I wanted to go home.

He stopped cleaning the cave and slowly turned. His beautiful, androgynous face was hidden in shadow.

“You want to leave?”

His eyes curved, and his voice softened. The darkness I had glimpsed seemed like nothing more than my imagination.

“Do you know the way?”

I hugged my tailfin and thought hard. After a long while, my head drooped and I shook it.

Xie Mubai swam over and patted my head. “I’ll ask around for you.”

I looked up in delight. “Really?”

“Mm.” He fell silent for a moment. “Wait here. Don’t wander off.”

I nodded so hard my neck hurt. I wished he could return with the answer immediately.

I entertained myself with the treasures in his cave while I waited. The water outside slowly darkened, but Xie Mubai still didn’t return.

I pressed my lips together, picked up the luminous pearl, and swam toward the entrance. Everything he owned was here. He couldn’t have abandoned it—and me—and run away.

There was only one possibility.

Xie Mubai was in danger.

Several icy currents struck me as soon as I left the cave, making me shiver. He had carried me here yesterday, so I hadn’t had a chance to look around. Now that I did, the whole place felt sinister.

Holy crab! Why did Xie Mubai live somewhere so dark and isolated?

Muttering under my breath, I pushed aside the seaweed and searched for him. There was no sign of him anywhere.

I was debating whether to swim farther when the faint scent of blood rose from below.

I lowered my head.

A weakened jiaoren lay among the drifting weeds, eyes closed, a bloody wound torn across his abdomen. Schools of little fish had already gathered to nibble at him.

My pupils contracted sharply.

“Xie Mubai!”