Chapter 117 An Old Flame
945words
My ocean mom, the queen, sat by the kitchen table like a normal person, dipping a chocolate-chip cookie into her coffee and indulging in her mushy offering.
At least, she tried to. She kept the cookie in too long in the steamy cup, that by the time she withdrew it and held it up to her mouth, the soft part broke off and plopped back into the cup, spraying a few droplets of brown liquid onto her face.
She hissed under her breath, placing down her half-eaten cookie and wiped her face with her hand.
I caught a brief shimmer of snowy scales on the back of her hand until she dropped it onto her lap and glanced at us. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"Not really." I admitted. "But my emotions are a bit under control now."
She eyed Kayn with suspicion. "How exactly did you two come to know each other."
"If you haven't figured it out yet, we are neighbors, go to the same school, and I'm best friends with his sister."
"I see." She didn't move her eyes from Kayn. "Your family has been exiled."
"We mentioned that, yes." Kayn tugged out a chair for me to sit, and followed by pulling out one for himself and sat down beside me. "Why?"
"Your mother explained to me what happened," she continued. "I'm really sorry your family had to go through all that."
"Did she tell you about the AOUB?"
She nodded. "Yes, she did. They both have someone important to us."
"Had, in your case," I added. "My half-sister is free now. That is, if that was her to begin with."
The queen nodded. "Let's hope it was her."
"So, how did you lose her?" I asked. "She's pure blood mermaid, right? Did you take her with you when you left?"
"Of course, I did. I wouldn't leave either my babies for anything in the world."
"The king must be pretty upset," I muttered.
"Likely, but I had no choice," she sighed. "If he raised her…Goodness only knows what would have happened to her. Probably just another arranged marriage…" She shook her head. "I don't want that for my daughters. I want you to both be able to make your own choices and be with whoever makes you happy."
I nodded in agreement. "Where do you stay, if you're not in the ocean any more?"
"Nearby," she responded vaguely, her eyes focusing back on Kayn. "Your mother told me a few interesting things."
Kayn stiffened. "She did? Like what?"
"You risked your life," the queen nodded toward me. "For my daughter."
"It was nothing, really," he answered. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat, if it ever comes to that."
She smiled. It was genuine and warm. "It makes me happy to know that she's safe."
"I am," I added. "With him."
"Good," she said, reaching for her half-eaten cookie and dipped it back into the coffee. "Has your mother ever talked to you about who you really are?"
"Huh?" Kayn blinked, looking confused.
"Not you," the queen's eyes flicked toward me.
"Now you call her my mother?" My brows shot up. "What changed your mind?"
"Adriane spoke highly of Sarah." It was all she said.
"No, she hadn't," I replied. "She always keeps hunting after cryptids, mermaids in particular, but I was always under the impression that she was doing it because she found them fascinating. But, turns out, there's more to her story. She also never told me I was adopted."
"I see." This time, the queen stressfully got the cookie into her mouth without it falling apart. When she was done chewing, she said, "I hope to meet her again."
"Eventually," I said.
"I understand," she peered at me. "Hopefully you'll learn to trust me at some point."
"We'll see."
She nodded toward the door, then turned to Kayn. "What's their story?"
"It's a miserable, long one," Kayn sighed. "Pretty much the same tune as almost everyone else we know. Human and merman love."
"Well, not everyone," I glanced at him and he cracked a smile.
"One positive thing changed for us," he peered at me. "Now we are legally allowed to date."
"Not really," the queen piped up. "Royals only marry by arrangement. It's not illegal to date outside of royalty, but we get exiled for it if it becomes serious."
I released a long sigh. "Can we just get a little bit of good news for once?"
"Tell me about it." Kayn reached for my hand under the table and squeezed it. "Hey, so, I'm making dinner. How does some pizza sound?"
"Oooh." I eyed him. "You're making us pizza?"
"You haven't had my pizza yet." He let go of me and pushed back his seat, shooting a hesitant glance. "Have you ever had pizza?"
She pulled a face. "Some microwave pizza. It was terrible."
"No, real pizza," he corrected, and she shook her head.
"There's a difference?" she asked.
I nodded. "If Kayn's making it, then yes, major difference. He's amazing cook."
The queen's eyes lit up in interest as Kayn beamed at me. He got up, leaned down, and believe it or not, stole a kiss while the queen, my biological mother watched.
I felt my cheeks turn hot as he straightened and the queen bit down a smile.
"Kayn, is there any more of these cookies?" she asked. "They are absolutely divine."
