“No. Not yet. I was friends with two Naiads in Leihani,” I said, wondering at the ease in which I’d just confessed their existence. “But I didn’t know I was one until I met Thaan.”
“And Thaan is one as well?”
I chewed my lip. Thaan had all but revealed himself as a Naiad to Kye. Pheolix and Selena, too. Would there be consequences for confirming what they were? “Make your best assumptions,” I answered slowly.
“You were born this way?”
“I was human-born with Naiad blood.” I frowned, realizing how little sense that made. “Selena woke the Naiad in my veins after I came here.”
“Does it hurt?”
“When I change?” I laughed. “It did the first time. It doesn’t now.”
“What else can you do?”
I leaned against his pillows. “You already know the extent of it. We call seductionincanting, and any human that’sincantedis avacous. I can call to water in the air or the sea and bend it to mywill. I heal fast, unless it’s a broken bone.” I glared at my ankle. “And my sense of smell is sharp.”
Thrust out of the slit in my black dress, Kye ran a finger down my un-splinted leg, sending a warm shiver to my toes. “Can I see it again?”
“I don’t see the harm. Once this splint comes off.”
“Does it pass on?”
I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”
His finger stopped. His eyes flicked to mine.
My eyes widened. “Genetically?”
Kye raised a shoulder, a half-smile on his lips, but something sad in his gaze.
Unsure what to make of that, I swallowed. “Yes. Does that bother you?”
“Not at all. I’m just...” He scrubbed the side of his face again. “Not sure I want children.”
“Oh.” Pillows behind my back, I stretched my spine, suddenly at a need to shift my weight. “I suppose these are the things you don’t talk about ahead of time when you’re forced to marry someone.”
“Do you?” He glanced at me, and I watched his chest still as he waited for my answer.
“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “I’ve never thought of it before.”
“Never?” Kye looked at me as though I’d told him I’d never breathed air. “Not once?”
I gave an uncomfortable laugh, the differences in our upbringing once again thrust before us. “I never thought I’d be married, Kye.”
“Well, you are.” He smiled again, though the scent of worry tinged my nose. “So, I suppose it’s something to think about.”
“If you’re afraid I’ll leave because you don’t want children, you can stop. I’m not going anywhere.” My fingers twitched, and I grabbed the mass of waves behind my neck, twisting my hairinto a rope with both hands. “When Naiads mate, they mate for life.”
“Ah.” Kye pursed his lips. “What a relief that we’ve stopped every time we’ve come close. You might’ve been stuck with me forever.”
I kicked him with my good leg. “I am stuck with you, you idiot.”
He grinned at that, catching my foot and folding his arm over it to lean on me, the shadow of his beard tickling my knee. “Leihani, don’t take this the wrong way, but let me explain the meaning of the verbmatingto you.”
I shoved him away with the side of my foot. “Get off me, you stupid prat. Naiads mate in two ways. The first is what you’re thinking of.”
He raised a brow, inviting me to continue.
