“Thank you for being open minded,” he said.
Sure - anything for the most handsome man on earth. How bad could sushi be? Besides the worms, I mean.
“Still worried about the worms?” He asked, as if reading my mind.
“Do you read minds?” I blurted.
“No. That’s Tammer’s gift and it’s pretty rare. It would be nice to have in some respects, but not in others. Can you imagine knowing what every man was thinking about your lovely wife? It’d be enough to make me want to attack them!”
“What is your gift?” I asked, not meeting his eyes. Instead, I focused on stabbing a lemon in my ice water with my straw.
“I have three,” he began and when I looked up, he smiled that gorgeous smile again. “What?”
“It’s nothing I guess. It’s just that Vitahl said normally merpeople have two gifts at the most. Why do you have three?”
“He’s right. Most are. But my biological father was from a line of purebred merpeople and so was my mother. When you’re from a purebred line, you usually have more gifts.”
“Okay,” I said stupidly and Thayde continued.
“Limus fell in love with her the first time they met and she married him. I know she didn’t love him like he loved her. He was nice to me, but never very loving as a father should be. When she passed, he remarried and had the twins Akin and Herra, and later Gavran. They’ve always been nice to me, but it was always made very clear that I wasn’t real family. When Limus got his own son,”
“Akin,” I interjected.
“Akin, he focused everything he had on him. I was left alone.”
“That’s so sad!”
“It is what it is. I haven’t let it bring me down.”
He swirled his water and took a gulp. Somehow, I didn’t believe him. It hurt him more than he let on.
“You shouldn’t have taken the punishment,” I blurted out, surprising myself.
The look he gave me was so sad.
“They know I’ve corded with you. They’ve always known you were coming. That’s why my father was angry when Elan brought you here. They knew that if I corded with my love, I’d gain my fourth power.”
“Fourth power? You still haven’t told me what all your powers are.”
“I will,” he continued. “They knew I’d change and they didn’t want me getting any more powerful. Also, they have an instant prejudice against anyone who isn’t purebred, which is stupid. Some of my best friends at university are Halflings.”
The word made me shiver. It sounded dirty and wrong. Thayde could see that he’d hurt my feelings.
“I’m sorry, Morgan,” he squeezed my hand. “I’m just trying to explain. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
I nodded.
“They believed everything Akin said about what happened, even though it wasn’t true and they took his word over mine because it’s easier for them to do what they want if it all happens how they want it to happen.” He watched me trying to understand. “Sorry if it’s a bit jumbled.”
A waiter brought us our plates. Staring down at mine, I couldn’t bring myself to mess it up. It looked more like art than food.
“It’s more art than food, isn’t it?” He took the words right out of my mouth.
“Are you sure you can’t read minds?” I asked.
“No, not that I’m aware of.”
“Where should I begin?”
“With this.” He eased his fork into a white rice-covered thing and brought it to my mouth. “This restaurant doesn’t force you to take huge, revolting bites. Instead, they leave you wanting more.”
I took the food from him. A most exquisite taste filled my mouth - one that I’d certainly never tasted before. It was heavenly.
“What is that?” I asked.
“You don’t want to know,” he said and took a bite.
I didn’t care what it was. It was delicious. Eagerly, I dug into my own plate. Each bite was sumptuous and seductive. I finished my plate before he did.
“Liked that?” He asked as he finished.
“Yes.”
“The longer you stay mermaid, the more you’ll begin to crave this food. It’s all we eat. We don’t eat anything cooked. Steak, chicken, and pork taste foul to us. One day, you’ll notice this too.”
“What do you mean, stay mermaid?” I asked, not understanding.
Thayde hesitated, then wiped his mouth.
“Halflings have the choice to stay or leave. Once they make the choice, it’s permanent.”
This was news! No one had mentioned this before. I didn’t say anything as the plates were whisked away.