Well, awesome. They'd won!

Face down Lucy's ex? Check. Rout an army and install a new king? Double check.

Now it was time to hit the deck and stretch out for some well-earned tanning.

Actually, first, she had to get in touch with her parents. They thought they'd buried their only daughter at sea, and now she was about to emerge from the depths, reborn.

Ailan darted to Lucy. "Take this human cell phone." He cut the cord attaching her cell phone to her old BCD and pushed it at her.

No apologies? Well, whatever. She grabbed her phone. "Thanks."

He bowed stiffly and swam away.

Torun handed Jolan his trident. "Good wishes on your journey, my king. Some minds cannot be changed, but you have the patience to try."

Jolan clasped the trident. "By your honor, Warlord Torun, I will make this city into one you may return to with pride."

"We're looking forward to it," Lucy said. "Take good care of Lassie."

Jolan looked to Torun.

"The house guardian," he said.

"Lassie planted the seed," she said. "I guarantee it."

Jolan nodded. "I will venerate the house guardian as though he were my own son."

"Or daughter," Lucy said.

He blinked. "Ah. Yes."

They bid farewell to the new king and then ascended lazily to the yacht. "You guys and your 'I will only have a son' thing is getting old. You could have a daughter."

"A daughter would be an unfathomable blessing." Torun settled her arms around his neck and twirled them under the sun-dappled sea. "We do not remember because it has been so long. If a daughter were born, I believe she would change everything."

"When," she corrected.

He kissed her.

"Yes," he murmured, while their mouths remained connected. "When."

She heated. They'd been through so much together.

Lucy stroked his broad, strong body. How long had it been since she lost herself in his embrace in their castle?

He rumbled in agreement.

She twined her legs with his.

The water shook with the subtle slap of a warrior entering it. Torun tensed, but it was only Malem.

"A helicopter is descending," Malem said. "I placed the prisoner inside the glass cage."

"You removed the key?"

"I did."

Torun and Lucy swam to the ladder. He helped her out, then wrapped his waist with a towel while heading to the bow.

She upchucked water over the side as her sopping-wet clothes slapped her body. Malem stood by, probably watching in disgust.

"Is it always this bad?" she asked, gasping and coughing out cold phlegm. Tears burned her eyes.

"Yes." Malem averted his gaze. "It becomes less awkward. Well, perhaps not for you."

"Gee, thanks." She wiped her mouth.

They joined Torun at the bow. Lucy tied the towel around Torun's trim hips and tucked the end in the waist. It wouldn't hold up in a hurricane, so she stood in front of him as the helicopter touched down on the bow, just in case.

"Go get the prisoner," Torun ordered Malem.

The purple-tattooed warrior disappeared.

The helicopter blades rotated more slowly. Inside the helicopter, Van Cartier Cosmetics' mercenaries in tactical gear and body armor leaped out with large, deadly black guns. Behind them stepped two women.

The first was Elyssa. She wore a faded T-shirt, green capris, and tennis shoes with mismatched orange and yellow socks.

The second was Aya.

Lucy's gut tightened.

Aya was a thin, dangerous woman in a sharp red business suit. Her icy-blonde hair was swept back in a severe bun. Her clothes hung off her angular body, and her white heels clicked on the deck. She snapped directions as she crossed the helicopter pad.

Elyssa tripped behind Aya. Literally. As in, Elyssa slipped in a puddle of water, slammed against the deck, and bounced to her feet again, rubbing her elbow. She barely winced and wasn't flustered, as though it happened all the time.

Aya, for her part, didn't glance behind her. She focused one hundred percent on Lucy and Torun.

Another betrayal? Lucy tensed.

Aya removed her sunglasses and fixed piercing blue eyes on the couple. "Torun. We observed your distressed message on Facebook. On behalf of the home office, I apologize for any inconvenience you suffered at the hands of a Van Cartier Cosmetics employee."

Not a betrayal. Lucy began to relax.

Elyssa suppressed her smile. Her eyes sparkled.

Aya continued, "Our former employee Blake Edwards acted well outside his authority."

The company-hired soldiers forced Lucy's trudging, shivering ex up the stairs.

Aya's red lips curled. "He was terminated several hours ago. As soon as we reach the shore, we will cooperate with the Mexican government to prosecute his actions to the fullest extent of the law."

"Mexico?" He coughed and struggled in the mercenaries' iron grips. His face was pale and sickly. "Aya, baby. I'm going to deliver."

"You had a unique opportunity to make first contact and negotiate a mutually beneficial trade agreement." Her disgust flashed. "You failed."

His jaw dropped. "Mutually beneficial? They're not even human! They—" He dissolved in a coughing fit. Nearly drowning was rough on the vocal cords.

"Yes, because of your senseless prejudice, the mer of Sireno now believe we are callous, greedy murderers with a flagrant disregard for life, caring neither for theirs nor our own."

"We can track them to their home," he protested weakly. "Take what we want! Strike—"

"No, Blake Edwards, we cannot." Aya studied him like the worm he was. "Winning an interspecies war underwater would be harder than a nuclear strike on the far side of Saturn. And there's no need to even consider it. Your inability to understand this, in addition to your criminal activities, is the reason for your termination."

"Aya!" He coughed as they dragged him away.

"Do they have hospitals in prison?" Lucy asked as they watched his rough loading into the helicopter. "He's at risk of pneumonia, and who knows what else."

Aya frowned coldly as though she didn't care.

Elyssa, the so-far silent partner, hurried to the helicopter and spoke to the crew.

Aya fixed her gaze on Lucy and held out her hand. "Lucy Shaw. Your exceptional videos brought light to a terrible crime."

Lucy shook Aya's hand. This was the woman Blake had supposedly left Lucy for. Now Lucy realized the truth. Aya was younger, harder, and more driven than Lucy would ever be. And Aya was smart. Smart enough to know Blake was all talk, smart enough to respect herself, and smart enough not to get taken in.

"So what now?" Lucy asked, pulling back her hand.

"I can offer you a flight back to the mainland."

"I don't fly."

"Or"—Aya glanced around—"you're welcome to take my yacht back to the harbor. You can relax from your ordeal. I'll leave a captain."

"Leave me." Elyssa returned from speaking with the helicopter crew. Her tennis shoes only slipped a little on the deck. "I'll drive."

Aya turned slightly. "That's not wise. The report to my mother—"

"You turn it in."

"Lucy's your employee. You deserve the credit."

"I don't care about credit. Not this time." Elyssa's determination seemed to say, not anymore. "Auntie can think whatever she wants. I'm sailing with Lucy."

Aya pursed her lips.

Elyssa laughed and threw her arms around Lucy. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Her fierce kindness filled Lucy with gratitude.

Had she really once imagined fixing Elyssa up with Torun? Torun had assured her he wasn't interested. Obviously, neither was Elyssa. Lucy had fabricated the interest because she didn't have confidence in herself or in his love.

Now she did.

"After you're rested, you have to tell me everything." Elyssa drew back. "What the city was like, and how you were, and how they were, and how you transform, and—"

"I'm not very good at transforming, and it's going to stop working soon."

"Your powers are permanent." Torun's deep voice resonated with comfort. He pulled Lucy firmly back into his arms. "You projected the power of the Life Tree to soothe the cave guardian and protect our warriors. Only mer queens can summon this power."

Elyssa's eyes glowed. "Cave guardian?"

"Giant octopus," Lucy explained.

"Really? This is kind of strange, but I always wanted an octopus as a pet."

"Me too!"

"My dad said I'd be better off with a pony."

Lucy laughed. "My dad didn't say that."

Elyssa clasped her hands. "I know this is sort of fangirly, but I lived for your Facebook posts. When they stopped, and we thought something happened to you, I was crushed. I mean, I was hopeful because I met Torun, but it was a small hope. Today, when we found out you were still alive and it was all true, was one of the happiest days of my life."

Lucy's eyes watered.

Elyssa had invested so much faith in her. She must have been horrified to lose touch, and yet her carefree, sparkling laughter now promised that she'd never truly given up hope.

And she never would either. No matter the situation, she had Lucy's back. Lucy knew this and would have hers too.

That was the kind of faith Elyssa inspired in people. She was a dreamer, a klutz, and irresistibly sunny. Her enthusiasm silenced even her icy cousin Aya.

Disaster had brought her friendship into Lucy's life, but Elyssa was the silver lining to the storm cloud.

Lucy cleared her throat. "I'm glad it all worked out."

"Me too! Oh, you have no idea—"

"Yes. We're all very glad Lucy is fine." Aya took a deep breath and smiled at Lucy. Her expression seemed colder after Elyssa's genuine, unguarded warmth. "So. Looking ahead..."

Elyssa quieted and stepped back into her cousin's shadow. Her enthusiasm was clearly on hold. She sparkled with barely repressed excitement and would surely erupt as soon as Aya finished.

"Lucy Shaw, we'd like you to come back to Van Cartier Cosmetics."

Ah. The very words she'd longed to hear. Firing her had been a mistake. Blake had been wrong. She'd been right.

"You and your associate, Torun."

"Speak to Lucy." Torun kept Lucy squarely between them. "I am an exile and in no position to negotiate."

Aya shifted her jaw. Clearly, she'd been hoping to move forward with a trade agreement for Sea Opals.

Elyssa's cell phone rang. She fumbled the device, then turned aside and spoke quietly into it.

Lucy focused on the past. "I lost everything," she told Aya.

"You can have it all back. Same house, same car."

"Same research vessel?"

"Anything you want."

As the daughter of the company president, Aya could grant those things. And despite Lucy's earlier anger, Aya hadn't really been the one to order Lucy fired. Someone in HR, about fifty jobs lower than her, had called Lucy in for "the conversation."

Lucy looked back at Torun. He rested his hand on the small of her back, supporting her fully without pushing her in any direction. His aquamarine eyes trusted her judgment.

Her judgment said not to rush in.

"I think I need a few days of vacation." She captured Torun's free hand and interwove their fingers. "Maybe a few weeks, actually."

Aya donned her sunglasses and focused on her cell phone. "I'll have HR contact you next Monday."

"Monday's too soon." Lucy leaned against Torun. "We need to think about our options."

Aya paused. "When can I schedule you?"

Lucy would need time to set up the dating site, speak with other women about the mer, and orient Torun to her air-breathing world. He could probably do fine now, but she wanted to be around, as in Cancun, to experience new things with him. Not back on the job Monday morning.

Elyssa returned with her phone in her hand, her eyes bright.

"I'll contact you," Lucy told Aya.

The businesswoman sharpened. "Are you entertaining another offer?"

"Of employment?"

"Because we would like you to strongly consider coming back to us," Aya said. "Van Cartier Cosmetics has been researching the medical benefits of Sea Opals for decades. We're uniquely positioned to turn these gems into health products for the betterment of mankind."

Lucy nodded. "Health Products For Betterment" was a company slogan, and Aya recited it without flinching. Aya and Elyssa both believed in it with clear eyes.

"As the only human who has successfully partnered and lived among the mer, you're in a unique position to assist us." At Lucy's continued silence, Aya added, "You will, of course, be properly compensated for your new duties."

"Oh yeah?" The exhaustion was beginning to drain her. "Hm."

"This yacht, for example. It could be yours."

Wow. Lucy straightened. "You'd give me this yacht?"

"Sign on the dotted line."

Oh. The yacht was worth way more than her old house and car. Wait, wait, wait. Aya was offering to give this to her? Right now?

No matter what, Lucy couldn't go back to her old life. Everything had changed.

With Torun beside her, she'd figure out a way to do everything. She'd pay off all her bills. She'd make the right choices. There was no need to rush.

"Thanks. I'll contact you when I'm ready to negotiate."

Aya stopped smiling. "We really need an answer—"

"Aya! Relax." Elyssa stepped on her cousin's white designer high-heeled shoe. She was playful but also pointed. "I'm sailing Lucy back. She can't get away."

Aya's frown deepened. "This will only take a few minutes."

"Great, but Lucy already said she wanted to do it later. If she or Torun have any questions about your offer, they can ask me."

"But—"

"They've been through a lot. The nice thing to do is let them relax."

Aya's smile slowly returned. A business smile, plastic. "Yes. Thanks again for your service. Lucy, Torun."

Aya returned to the helicopter. The military men climbed aboard. The engine noise increased, the propeller turned, and they took off. Then only the three of them remained on the deck.

Lucy sagged against Torun. It was finally over.

"Sorry. She gets really focused. I'll get the engine started." Elyssa headed to the wheelhouse. Wasn't that nice? She was giving them space, kindly sensitive to their needs.

Malem appeared behind them and said, "I have spent these last minutes arguing with a man that I cannot sign away our Life Tree. The fact that I do not own it was the least of his concerns."

"Aya Van Cartier." Lucy stared after the helicopter, now just a black dot in the sky. "She's pretty awesome, right? She definitely takes no bull."

"Formidable," Malem said. "Do all these air-breathing women shine as Lucy and Aya do?"

"No." Torun softly stroked Lucy's hair. "Many darken when they approach the water. I have seen it. These women love the ocean, all of them."

That was true. And for all of Aya's tough business acumen, something had flashed in her expression as the helicopter lifted off. Something like longing. She was vice president of a large corporation, but that material achievement didn't soothe her cold heart.

The yacht engine rumbled beneath their feet.

Malem stepped back. "I must return to Sireno. I will convey what passed this day to Jolan."

"King Jolan," Lucy said.

Malem sucked in a breath. He'd been guarding Blake when the transfer of authority occurred. "King Jolan. Very fitting." To Torun, he said, "I forgive you for breaking the ancient covenant and finding a mainland bride."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Someday, I will tell your son or daughter of this conversation."

"Daughter?" Malem snorted. "Perhaps you will. After the events of these past days, I believe almost anything." The purple-tattooed mer shook himself as if from the dream, nodded to the both of them, and slipped over the side of the yacht.

"Oh my gosh, was that another one?" Elyssa ran to the railing. She searched the empty waves. Her cell phone almost slipped out of her hands. "Whoops!" She grabbed it to her chest, finished her search, and turned in disappointment. "He's gone. All the mer are gone."

"Not quite," Lucy reminded her. "Torun's not going anywhere."

Elyssa brightened.

"Was there a reason you returned so swiftly?" Torun prodded. "Even before you saw Malem, you were running."

"Yes!" She smacked herforehead and pushed the phone on Lucy. "I can't believe I forgot. Mel's on thephone with your parents!"