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He wondered if they would consecrate a stone and jar of sea water in the back yard as an altar to a sailor lost at sea, just like his mother had; set for Alba’s father, starved to death on a northern ice-locked ship then eaten by crew mates who inevitably died right alongside him. Alba used to shudder at the thought; but since returning home years prior knowing what it was like to fear for one’s life on an ice-locked ship in the north, knowing what human flesh tasted like on his own tongue, he’d realized to die first was actually a blessing.
Forcing himself to focus on how familiar didn’t mean good. Familiar didn’t mean safe.
He’d never been enticed by the sea before. Not once. To finally know what so many sailors heard before giving in to the call that tempted them—and for it to happen to him while all alone, isolated, with hardly a soul knowing where he was— It was nothing but beauty—and dread—and heartbreak, at forcing himself to ignore it. Gut-churning, soul-rocking heartbreak, distressing enough that Alba burst into tears with how badly he wished to turn and race back out to hear it again.
His mother used to scold him for always being in a rush, telling him ‘take that bone from your teeth; good things come to those who wait.’
“I prefer pretty redheads like you.”
“And what sort of things were those?” the merrow’s eyes widened, a wicked, exasperated grin spreading over his face. “Clearly not enough, ‘else you wouldn’t be tempting me like this, wickie.”
“The sea feasts most enthusiastically on the land’s most unwanted offerings,” he said.
“I want to mate with you. To make you my caller of the shore, just like merrow once did with the humans of Moon Harbor. So that you are only ever made weak by my own song, and you allow me to cross onto the shore, uninhibited by the warding bonds and traps alike that they have in their waters. Is that clear enough?”
“I will protect you from harm, from the sea and on land, with this act. So be it.”
“Don’t fight so much, sailor. It gets me excited.”
“There’s nothing to hide behind this time,” Eridanys said once his skin was bare for Alba to touch, trailing his tongue up the side of Alba’s cheek and kissing where the silver hair grew from his temple. “No sea or waves or night—I get to see and touch every inch of you for however long I like.”
“Which hole would you prefer I fuck first? Or would you rather I fill both at once, again?”
“You—were made to be fucked on your knees, sailor,” Eridanys told him, gripping the headboard with the hand not pinning Alba into the bed.
“I should have fucked this mouth of yours first,” he said, gazing down at Alba through eyelashes like he was hardly more than a meal to enjoy. “But your ass is too needy—begging for more by the way your hips are moving. I’m not even close to done with you.”
“Grip me harder than that,” Eridanys grunted into Alba’s ear, words laced with satisfaction. “I’m going to fuck you—until you can’t take it anymore.”
“I—!” he barked, but gulped that back, too, finally managing a new approach: “I would like for you to tell me when you’re uncomfortable! So that I can take care of you! That’s all! Don’t make me say it again!”
“I will rely on you. Alright? You can rely on me, too.”
“Don’t you dare drown me,” he threatened into Eridanys’ ear. “I’ll haunt you for every day you’re still alive.” “Promise?”
He turned, meeting Eridanys’ eyes. Even in such low light, the siren glowed like the moon herself; brighter than the mosaic, more stunning than even the goddess depicted there. It left Alba breathless, even more than the water that refused him air. And such a beautiful, breathtaking thing—was looking right back at him, as if there was a chance in the world Eridanys could ever think the same of someone like Albatross Marsh.
“I would have still put my eyes on you and failed to ever look away again. I would have still made you mine any time I spotted you. From any shore.”
“God—Neptune save me, I will gut any man who ever lays a hand on what’s mine.”
“You feel so good, Alba—” he said between gasps, words spilling out like he never expected them. “I want to be the only one—who ever says your name, inside of you, knowing you, Alba, Alba. My caller of the shore—Mine, only mine—”
Take the bone from your teeth. Good things come to those who wait.
“My sea prince,” the siren finally whispered hoarsely. “My caller of the shore. I thought just of you to keep my sanity.”
“I wish to live for you as well,” Eridanys said breathily. “It’s going to be alright, Alba. We’ll still find a way—to have a life together.”
“You’ll get your revenge on the Warren family right along with me,” he reiterated. “We’ll enjoy the taste of him together.”
“I love you,” he whispered, pulling the man closer. “I love you, I love you. I want you, I want to be with you, anywhere else than here.” “I’ll go wherever you are,” Eridanys responded, breath tickling the hairs on the back of Alba’s neck. “With you I’ll always stay, Albatross. Prince of the sea.”
