Rory lunged forward and slapped his palm over Fionn’s mouth. ‘Just. Fucking. Give me a minute.’
Anguish rolled off Fionn in waves. It was alarming to see this proud, arrogant prince reduced to a state of misery.
There was a weight crushing in on him, crushing Rory through the bond. A terrible boulder of responsibility, of needing to do the right thing. To do his duty. To protect his kingdom.
And the largest stone of all was Fionn’s concealed admission that he didn’t want to sell himself for it.
He thinks he’s failed me,Rory realised numbly.Or failed his kingdom. Maybe both.
Rory pulled his hand away and replaced it with his mouth.
Kissing underwater, like breathing, turned out to be also kind of sloshy. Water rushed past their lips and rippled against Rory’s tongue as he slid it into Fionn’s mouth.
Breathing itself wasn’t an issue, however. With their gills doing all the work, Rory quickly understood that they wouldn’t have to break for air. He doubled down, grasping Fionn’s perfect face with both hands and endeavouring to ram his tongue as deeply as he could.
Fionn’s arms crossed over his back, locking him in. He mirrored Rory’s attack, forcing his tongue away before delving his own past Rory’s lips.
Fucking hell,Rory thought, literally and figuratively floating.He catches on quick.
They remained entangled like that for a surreal amount of time. The soul bond pulled taut between their flesh: a strangeexchange of physical and emotional communication happening behind the kiss.
When they finally parted, Rory was dizzy with the effort of separating his own emotions from Fionn’s. He was adored and admired. Wanted deeply. It sent warmth fizzing through every part of him.
‘So, we’re running away together, right?’ Rory sang, half-joking and half deadly serious. After all, what other options were there, now? He couldn’t go back to his old life like this. Disappearing into the ocean depths was an increasingly attractive option.
Unexpectedly, Fionn recoiled. ‘I want to. But I don’t know if I can abandon my people.’
‘Sounds a bit like they’ve abandoned you, if you’re being married off to some other tribe.’
‘It is an honourable duty.’ Fionn stiffened up, singing like he was reciting from a script. A falter in his voice let on that he didn’t believe it. ‘A great service to our people.’
‘Then why don’t you want to go through with it?’ Rory was genuinely curious. Duty seemed to mean everything to Fionn.
‘I…’ Fionn’s shoulders slumped with shame. He seemed to be wrestling to find an answer he was willing to give. ‘If I am being truly honest, it is because I wanted to do something more worthwhile with my life. To mean something more to my people than the payoff to a bargain. Because I do not feel like I have worth, if that is all I am.’
It was an answer that hit Rory like a punch to the ribs. He ran his hands over Fionn’s tattoos, inwardly shocked by how natural it felt to touch him. ‘How could anyone be more fucking worthy than you? Aren’t you a warrior and a monster killer and all those other things as well?’
Fionn pulled Rory’s hands to a standstill in the blank gap over his stomach. ‘I wish I was. But in reality I am only allowedto patrol close to home. The real monster hunters venture into the far reaches beyond our kingdom, where I have never been. My worth beyond representing a figurehead is only a fanciful dream on my part. I am sorry—’ He let go of Rory’s hands. ‘—that I might have deceived you in thinking otherwise.’
‘I don’t understand how you can speak like a book of poetry and still sound like a complete idiot.’ Rory huffed, or tried to, finding water rather than air expelled from his flared gills. He wished he had words that could compete properly with Fionn’s. ‘Your worth isn’t defined by how useful you are. And you’re not worthless if you don’t fit somebody else’s plan for you.’
Rory slowed down as he said it. Why had it taken so long for this to sink in? Hadn’t he called himself useless, worthless, for years? Echoing the disapproval of people he didn’t need to prove anything to.
‘Just as well we’re chasing our own fates, isn’t it?’ he continued, looking into Fionn’s eyes again. ‘So are we running away together, or what?’
Fionn darted forward and kissed him, a fast but electric connection. ‘May I take you somewhere first? I would like to introduce you to my friend.’
‘Sure. Lead the way.’ Rory’s heart fluttered. Being introduced to someone felt kind of serious. But there wasn’t much that he could imagine himself saying no to at this point. He was amped up, high on adventure and ready to explore more of Fionn’s world.
They swam off together, almost hip to hip, a natural shoal of two.
Chapter Twenty-One
On approaching Neacel’s cave, Fionn pulled Rory aside for a word of warning.
‘I am afraid I made some poor comments the last time I was here. It might be better if I greet him first before introducing you.’
Rory’s smirk told Fionn that he wasn’t totally surprised. ‘I’m sure I’ll be fine outside for a minute. There aren’t any sharks around here, are there?’
