How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Eight: The Cursed and the Cure

~Chapter Eight: The Cursed and the Cure~

"Not anymore."

I want to ask what he means, but something about the sudden quiet that settles over the others sitting at the table, and the feeling of wrongness clue me in that something I will not like is about to happen. Abruptly rising from my seat, I make for the exit at a fast walk. Or, I would have, had Nero's hand not caught my wrist. He pulls me back down into my chair and clasps his hand with mine. I fall still, suddenly unsure of how to react.

Why does he feel–

"Father," Nero says, not taking his eyes off me, "Atasah and I haven't discussed anything yet, so please allow me to explain it to him after breakfast."

Explain what? Is this what he wanted to talk about?

I look away from our joined hands to eye the king, who does not look happy. However, he nods in acceptance despite his obvious displeasure. "The sooner, the better," he says, and it sounds almost like an order, but there is a definite lack of direction given.

Breakfast cannot end fast enough. I am quick to extract my hand from Nero's and leave the dining hall the moment my plate is empty, which took more effort than it should have, as my appetite fled the moment the king implied what he did. Nero does not hesitate to follow me out, but he does stop me as soon as the dining room door closes behind him. "Atasah, please stop," Nero requests, making me hesitate.

However, the short pause his request gives me is all Nero needs to catch up to me, and my hands once again end up in his. Warmth spreads up from our joined hands through my arms, and I am almost tug away from him again in surprise. His hands feel much like my fire does. Only...there is no fire.

There's no way that's possible...

"Are you listening?" Nero suddenly asks, drawing my attention away from his hands and up to his face. It takes me a second to realize that he had been talking the entire time. I merely shake my head, which prompts a sigh from him. "You can't leave. Yet."

I blink down at our warm, joined hands before eyeing his face in trepidation. Miracle or not, I am not sure I like what he's saying. "What're you talking about? Why can't I leave?"

"Yesterday, we formed a bond. As my soulmate, you are considered a part of the Mer royal family," Nero says, and I can feel my brow furrow in confusion. Mer can feel it, too? "However, as my soulmate, it is expected that you will live...here. With me. In the palace."

I lean back a little, but I do not try to pull my hands from his just yet. "So, you won't let me leave?"

"If you do not wish to be my soulmate," Nero says, and there is genuine pain behind the words, "then you may leave, and neither I nor my family will pursue you."

If I leave permanently, I doubt I'd live for more than a month now that I know what this warmth-without-fire feels like.

"And if I want to be your soulmate, what then?"

"Then you may visit land – under supervision, of course, as you will be a member of the royal family and, thus, need protection. However, you cannot fight in your war," Nero says, and I tense up.

When I try to jerk my hands away, he holds fast. "I have responsibilities. I can't just ditch them because I found–because you want me to," I snap, cutting myself off when I almost reveal something I probably should not. Not yet, anyway.

"You're only thirty-one, Atasah," Nero snaps back, sounding agitated. I open my mouth to remind him that I do not age like Mer apparently do, but he cuts me off, "I know that you're an adult, but thirty-one years is not enough time to have gained experience in battle to fight in a war the size of what our reports have told us."