They stared up at the stars from where they lay.
‘Do you really think this’ll work?’ she asked, flipping her tail. A woman of scales and fins and fangs, she turned to look at her companion, red eyes soft and curious.
Her companion smiled, cat ears perking forward, her furry tail curling along the ground. She rolled toward her partner in a rustle of silk and lace.
‘This will work because I love you,’ she said. ‘And because I spent a fortune on waterbreathing spells. And because anybody would be lucky to have me as a daughter-in-law, even the Queen of the Shadow Sea.’
‘Never thought I’d fall in love with a land-dweller,’ said the mermaid.
‘Never thought I’d fall in love,’ replied the cat. ‘But I hoped I would. And here we are.’
The mermaid leaned in close. ‘Here we are.’
—