Three Rings (The Fairytail Saga) (21 page)

‘Wow Link, so eager.’ Ivyanne’s voice carried to Vana’s ear. ‘I thought men hated romantic movies.’

‘Yes but there’s a clause to the rule-it’s not as deplorable if it’s filmed by this director or including DiCaprio.’

‘
Moulin Rouge
and
Titanic
also make it through the radar for the same reasons.’ Dalton agreed.

‘Ugh the
boat
one?’ Ivyanne replied. ‘I heard it’s
three hours long
!’

‘You
heard
?’ Lincoln sounded incredulous. ‘You haven’t
seen
it?’

‘No. Why would I? I’ve heard first hand accounts of what went down that day from mers who frequent those waters. One of my cousins was so devastated that there was practically nothing they could do for the people on board that she hasn’t spoken
since
.’

‘My aunt.’ Remi confirmed, piping up for the first time all day.

Vana turned around to see that the redhead had fallen in step with Ivyanne, Dalton and Lincoln. She’d been quiet the whole time, watching Lincoln and Ivyanne interact with a trace of wistfulness in her grey eyes, just as Lux had been watching them with envy. Vana understood why, of course-soon it would be Remi’s ten year wedding anniversary with her human, and such a milestone was shadowed by sadness-as mer/human marriages rarely lasted beyond fifteen.

To see Ivyanne and her human together, knowing that they had as close to
forever
as anyone could hope for, must have been tearing Remi up inside. And it wasn’t the first time she’d come to a mer celebration alone, either. Vana wondered what Michael told him, to cover her tracks.

‘She can’t stand to be in cold water now either. Last I heard, she was somewhere near Barbados. The problem was that there was nowhere to take survivors to, you see. Nothing she could do but watch.’

‘And doesn’t she think the coast off Newfoundland is haunted now?’ Ivyanne asked.

‘Oh she swears it is. She tried swimming there again about ten years ago, to put the memories to sea, as you might say, but she said there was too much dismay in the waves. Whatever that means.’

‘That’s actually how I’m starting to feel about
these
waters,’ Ivyanne said, squinting out at the silvery blue horizon bathed in a lemony glow.

Vana winced. That was a deep, depressing thought for such a young girl.

‘That’s awful.’ Lincoln said. ‘But Ivyanne, you should still watch the movie. Nothing will ever pull on your heartstrings just like it would.’

‘Not even you?’ Ivyanne teased.

‘Well...maybe me and an afternoon of Baz Luhrman at his finest. We’ll see, won’t we?’

‘We’ll see.’

Vana was about to smile but a movement from one of the top windows of her house that they were approaching caught her eye. She hesitated, staring up at what she realized was Ivyanne’s window.

‘What is it mom?’ Ivyanne asked.

Vana stared hard, but there was nothing to be seen. Her window was closed, and not even her curtains stirred in the breeze.

‘Oh, nothing.’ She said. ‘Your conversation probably just gave me the willies.’

‘Well we can’t have that. It’s a party!’ Lincoln stepped forward and took her papery hand in his strong, youthful one. ‘Now let’s go inside and watch a bunch of people kill each other, then themselves, shall we?’

Vana chuckled, her dark feelings brightening under the sunlight of Lincoln Grey.

⁓

Ardhi hadn’t known how capable of breathing almost soundlessly he was until the afternoon where he found himself imprisoned in Ivyanne’s mothers house, forced to listen to his loved ones laugh and joke with Lincoln, Ivyanne and Vana like everything in the world was just dandy and that they weren’t supposed to be mourning a certain someone.
Him
.

Betrayal caused his insides to clench and tighten, and with no other outlet for the emotion, he dug his overlong fingernails into the timber railing at the hilt of the landing and watched in disbelief as the new mer hierarchy settled in to watch a movie for the afternoon like a bunch of lazy humans. What had happened to beach bonfires and swims to distant islands? Since when had Baz Luhrman become a staple in mer culture? And for a fiftieth to boot!

Ardhi knew that it was Saraya’s birthday, and she was a big movie fan so the flick had probably been her call. Under normal circumstances, he may have understood, but in his present reality, understanding would mean sitting by and watching Ivyanne’s bright blonde curls bustle up against Lincoln’s dark hair in the pale blue light of the television, and the sight was enough to make his stomach roll. And the closer they got to one another, the sicker he became.

Why am I letting this shred me?
He wondered, eyeing the scene from his perch vehemently.
I knew this was coming. I gave my life, originally, so this could happen.

But then, a different voice in his mind responded :
‘Yes but you never saw it until now. Never saw Tristan’s hand on hers. Never saw Lincoln undressing her with his eyes. Never thought you’d live to see her physically affectionate towards another man. Now her sexuality is on display, you didn’t die and so you’re not mentally prepared to handle it.’

Ardhi shook himself off. Revulsion was one thing-but a conversation in his head was something he’d have to keep in check. Time was ticking away. Soon enough, he’d have to man up and deal with Ivyanne’s love life in person-he couldn’t afford to react like this. In fact, he needed to look graceful, and humble and completely non-plussed. They’d be scanning him for signs of hysteria and he couldn’t afford to show them a hint of his anguish. He was returning as a martyr-not for a moment could they allow him to glimpse his abhorrence for any man who laid fingertip against his Ivyanne’s flesh.

And so he remained where he was, frozen at the top of the stairs, observing the scene while silently wrestling the desire to die once more.

By the time the credits rolled, he knew three things: 1: he could handle minor demonstrations of her lust towards another man. 2: He could sit in perfect stillness for two hours and 3: He had to make his comeback
before
Lincoln crossed a line that Ardhi wouldn’t be able to deal with, with even the slightest shred of tolerance. If he couldn’t prevent Ivyanne and Lincoln physically manifesting their desires, then his personal body count was going to be be raised from one, to two.

He looked to see Lux giving Lincoln a sidelong glance, and his heart gave a hopeful lurch at the open admiration in her eyes.

Come on baby.
He pleaded his faithful nanny silently.
Nail him, so I don’t have to.

When the party was over, the landlubbers-Dalton, Marcus and Pintang (who was finally returning to work) Remi, Lincoln and Ivyanne jumped into Vana’s eight man speedboat and buzzed back to the mainland. Lincoln had promised to work the dinner shift to give Sherri a break, and Dalton had a headache from the champagne and wanted a nap. They passed several boats on their way in, and Ivyanne pointed out that Sunday afternoons were a very dangerous time for the mers to be swimming in the waters of the channel-especially on a day as calm as it was.

Ivyanne talked almost the whole way back, the animation in her face evident, standing at the centre console of the sporty little boat and steering like she’d been navigating waters for years. She had of course, only Lincoln had never imagined her doing so on a boat before. He was only really half-listening though, too distracted by her beauty to give her words his full focus. He was in awe of her, and a charge was running through him at the idea that he’d been responsible from bringing her back from the blackness Tristan’s death had pulled her into.

He stroked the panel of exposed skin between the hem of her floral bandeau swimsuit and the waistband of her black cargo pants reverently as she switched the subject to sailing. Apparently, it was more environmentally friendly, and she found it relaxing. Her dad had taught her how, and Ivyanne promised to show Lincoln one day on her own sailboat, which was moored in Airlie Beach.

One Day
. Lincoln was filled with the thrill of the promise those two words held. He wasn’t merely one of her options anymore-he was her
only
.

When they got to the marina, Dalton waved goodbye and trotted up towards the yacht club with Remi, who’s house was just around the corner from it. Meanwhile Pintang and Marcus made excuses about needing to ‘hurry back’ to the resort (though neither of them was due to work until the next morning) and took off before Ivyanne had even finished tying up the boat.

‘What’s that about?’ Ivyanne asked from where she squatted on the dock. ‘Is there something going on between those two I wasn’t aware of?’

Lincoln snorted. ‘I doubt it.’ His eyes followed the other two. ‘I’ve known Marcus for what...sixteen years? And I’m yet to see him hook up with a woman yet.’

Ivyanne squinted up at him. ‘You think he’s gay?’

‘That’s my theory.’ Lincoln caught sight of Tristan’s boat bobbing five bays over and turned away. ‘Plus I heard Saraya talking about Bane’s coming out a few days ago when you were kind of out of it, and I swear, Marcus asked like, ten questions about him.’

Ivyanne got to her feet, dusting her hands off on her print skirt. ‘Really? Wow! I must have shocking gaydar.’

‘You pushed him and his lifeguard tower over, sweetie,’ Lincoln pointed out. ‘And yet did he yell? No. Trust me-straight men wouldn’t let a woman get away with that in public-royalty or not!’

Ivyanne smiled. ‘God that was a crazy day….’

Lincoln nodded, stepping towards her and taking her hand. ‘I remember. Especially that part when I came to yell at you about Marcus...and you tried to flirt your way out of it.’

‘
Tried
?’ Ivyanne asked archly.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. ‘Okay bowled me over and succeeded beautifully.’ He squeezed her hand, and they began to walk along the dock. ‘I can’t believe things have changed the way they have since. I was
so
afraid of kissing you. You were like this beautiful fantasy. Ever noticed that in dreams, when you get to the really good part-you wake up? I was afraid that if I kissed you-you’d vanish in a puff of smoke or something.’

‘In retrospect, I can’t believe it took you two weeks to kiss me,’ Ivyanne said. They reached the edge of the short jetty and stepped onto the sand.‘Every time you were near me, I was panicked, wondering if you would and how I’d react if you did.’ She glanced at him. ‘I still am.’

Lincoln returned her gaze. ‘I’m still terrified that you’ll vanish if I do.’ He looked up and motioned towards the beach. Her house was only the third one down. ‘It’s like I never have enough time with you, like there’s always some clock ticking. I want this walk to go for kilometers, but in twenty steps, we’ll be at your door.’

Ivyanne smiled. ‘We can walk for longer, if you’d like.’

Lincoln made a face. ‘I’d love to-but I promised Sherri…’

‘Right.’ Ivyanne sighed and pulled him up the dune, towards her place. ‘Then given how complex our lives are, we should just count ourselves lucky that we have hundreds of years together, not dozens.’

That thought cheered Lincoln somewhat. ‘So long as that doesn’t automatically mean a proportionate length of waiting.’

Ivyanne laughed. ‘I think we’ve already almost hit our limit on that one.’ She climbed the three steps to her door, then turned around on the front step, her fingers still woven through his. ‘Well…..’

Lincoln moved onto the second step. ‘
Well…
..’

Ivyanne blushed and ducked her head before peeking up at him through her curtain of fluffy, windblown hair. Her nervous smile was the most beautiful expression he’d ever seen. ‘Here we go again.’

‘Here goes what again?’

‘Me,’ Ivyanne said softly, ‘wondering if you’ll kiss me, and wondering how I’ll react if you do.’

Lincoln smiled and stepped up so that his feet were level with hers, trembling like a leaf in the wind. ‘Why are you wondering at all?’ he asked huskily, pulling her closer by the front of her shorts. ‘You knew what I was thinking while we were watching that movie. If you weren’t going to let me kiss you, you wouldn’t have let me walk you back here alone.’

Ivyanne’s hands gripped his forearms lightly, pulling him in. ‘You know me better than I know myself.’

Lincoln took that as another green flag and wasted no time in acting on it-he pressed his lips to hers, knowing this wasn’t a dream and that Ivyanne wasn’t about to disappear. She tasted sweet, like icing and champagne, and he wanted to devour her the moment her lips parted for his. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed her supple body against his, pushing her up against the door, not wanting there to be a fraction of space between them.

Ivyanne’s fingers tangled in the sides of his shirt, pulling him against her, gasping when his tongue explored her mouth more deeply, one of her legs wrapping around one of his, locking their hips together. That small movement caused Lincoln to see stars.

‘Don’t,’ he grunted, roughly freeing his leg. ‘Dear god Ivyanne...
don’t
make me want more if you’re not going to follow through...oh god.’