I wonder if the coastal cities of the Eastern Reaches would fear Fraser Connell, Scourge of the Seas, if they knew he had a soft spot in his heart for hippocamps he could sail his ship through.

From the personal journal of Ozora

Dean of Magics

The Bestiary

****

“So then, this idiot says, ‘I can ride any beast you can!’” Fraser shrugged, lifting his shoulders, and turning his head self-effacingly. “I just backed off and invited Drein to try. I didn’t tell him to do anything, and I damn sure didn’t expect the fool to take me up on it.”

How had I never known this Fraser Connell?

Five years ago he told me he lived with his nereid family before coming back to land. He didn’t go into many details. Just that he’d come above the waves out of duty to them and to avenge his mother.

I hadn’t asked for more. Back then, I’d just let him tell me the story he wanted me to hear.

I remember him saying he lived with an uncle who raised hippocamps towards the end. Gordon had confirmed it, telling me that’s why Fraser could be so confident about wrangling wild mares.

Because he’d done it before.

It made him twice as bad in my eyes back then, further justifying what I did.

But this Fraser, the one telling me of his youth wrangling and riding the massive sea predators, would never have done the awful thing I believed. Never would dream of capturing or selling hippocamps, making my long-held belief a lie.

Would he? The habit of hating him for five years was hard to kick. Time and greed did funny things to people. Had I ever truly known him?

He brimmed with elemental numin, now as he did back then. His gemmy turquoise and teal curly mop of hair likewise told of his nereid elder blood heritage.

It seemed those curls begged me to run my fingers through their silkiness. I gritted my teeth, trying to grind away the quick flash of desire.

I’d done a lot of that over the past hour or so.

Five years ago I believed Gordon because we discovered Fraser’s plans together. But everything I’d heard so far this morning conflicted with what we uncovered all those years ago.

Somewhere in their stories were truths and lies. I just wasn’t sure how to untangle them.

We lingered in the café after breakfast, and still sort of picked at the remnants.

“Let me guess, the mare savaged him?” I had to work at keeping my gaze on his face. Not let it wander to caress the hard bulk of his shoulders, softened under the folds of his drapey silken shirt. He’d changed in his quarters while I wandered the deck of Mayhem. As he climbed up the stairs from below in a billowy shirt under a light vest wearing breeches that clung to his thighs, my heart did that little flip. Damn, he’s hot, ran through my head on a loop.

Hearing stories from his time on his uncle’s ranch showed me a Fraser I never knew existed. This Fraser made me hungry to hear more. I nodded in silent encouragement, wanting him to keep talking so I didn’t have to. Pretty sure I’d only be able to stammer gibberish right now.

I couldn’t help it. My gaze lingered over his coppery skin as he leaned in propping his elbows on the table. Long, black, silky sleeves, folded and tied back, bared his forearms and biceps. My fingers twitched under the table, where I’d hidden them to stop myself from reaching out. I could only wonder if his skin still felt the same, surprisingly smooth for one always out in the elements.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Sitting across from him, training with him every day had not lessened his attraction. I tightened my belly to stop the tingles that fluttered there after being caught too long in his clear, blue gaze. Humor bubbled in those gorgeous eyes.

“Close.” Fraser chuckled. “He made it into the saddle even with her dancing all over, but then she whipped her head around faster than a striking sea snake. Got hold of his shoulder and yanked him off, but dropped him when I told her to. Uncle Luvon still beat my ass.” He leaned back against the tall wooden seat back and sipped his coffee, both hands cupping the sturdy brown mug. His eyes went hazy and distant just for a moment while he swallowed. I wanted, with heart-stopping intensity, to wipe away the sorrow that creased his brow.

As if he felt my energy shift, he put his mug down, then gave me his infamous grin.

“It was worth it to hear that son of a bitch squeal like a stuck grouper.” We both laughed, and the tension broke. “I let that mare shake him a few times too, you know, like a shark will?” Fraser split his face with a wide, toothy grin, shaking his head like a dog with a rat to show. “Just to prove my point.”

“It would be a hard point to miss.” I chuckled, inwardly horrified. Not that he’d let his hippocamp attack, but that I agreed with him. Two weeks ago I’d have bet any sum that would never happen, me agreeing with Fraser Connell about anything. Yet, here I was, and he was right. The consequences were all on cousin Drein. “Did Uncle Luvon realize you’d let the mare give your cousin a few good shakes?”

“Why do you think he beat my ass?” Fraser spread his hands wide, mischief painted across his scruffy, half-day bearded face. “Still worth it.” That did it. That little-boy smile that did me in every time. “Drein never again tried to take my hippocamp. He was just jealous I was a better rider, and better at bonding with them.”

That’s what I wanted to hear.

“Can you tell me more about that bonding?” I asked him.

Okay, so I had an ulterior motive.

This morning, Cleobah and Cassyrra had told me more about their plans for this new mage school and that it had something to do with magical bonds. Cleobah described it as something like a witch having a familiar, “but with more numin. And talking.”

I wasn’t sure it would work, but they hadn’t told me all the details, only some. Cassyrra was confident, Cleobah more reserved. In typical sphinx fashion, she wouldn’t say why. Only sent me down to the harbor this morning with the hint to hurry if I wanted to see the real Fraser, and to ask him about hippocamp bonding.

“He’ll show his true self, but only if he doesn’t think you’re there.” She cautioned.

“So, spy on him?” Cleobah just lifted the corners of her lips a fraction. Cassyrra’s gentle mental voice added the suggestion Fraser and I search the city for spells and magic energies as practice.

++ He hasn’t yet engaged his magesight and doesn’t understand why it’s so important. Can you help him? I think if you two were to go searching the city together, he could learn much from you. ++ I’d considered the dragon’s words on my walk to the harbor to find Fraser and, now listening to him, I had a good idea why he couldn’t see the numinous energy.

“It’s … hard to describe.” Fraser’s eyes went soft and unfocused. “It’s this connection that you just feel.” He tapped his heart, then his head. “If you’re thinking about it up here, you’re doing it wrong.”

“Is it like when Cassyrra talks to you?” I asked. “Does the hippocamp talk to you?”

Once more, he picked up his coffee and leaned back, the wooden seat creaking as he shifted. A frown passed briefly over his face and he turned to look out to the street beyond the café’s window, watching the people flow past. I wondered if the question upset him when he answered.

“Hippocamps are intelligent, and they certainly think for themselves, but they’re not—”

He cut himself off before he finished his thought, and his eyes narrowed. Following his gaze, I realized he was watching a pair of sailors as they turned down the cross street, heading for the harbor.

Fraser leaned forward abruptly, setting down the mug. His fingertips tapped out a quick rhythm on the table. “I’ll, uh, be right back.” He slid across the bench seat and stood, then turned back, gripping the sides of the table with both hands and leaning in close to my ear.

“Do me a favor? Stay here. Please.” I’m pretty sure those were his teeth grinding together as he uttered the last word. “I’ll be right back, five minutes tops.” Then he spun and headed out the door and down the same cross street the two men had disappeared down.

“Dammit, Fraser.” I muttered. I couldn’t very well take off after him. We still needed to pay. He was out of sight before I could call the server over, but came strolling back up the street just as I was leaving the café.

“Did you catch them?” I asked.

“Old friends. Just wanted to say hi.” His answer was easy, breezy, but those tense lines around his mouth and the hard look in his eye said different. Unless I was going to flat out call him a liar, I had to accept his words.

“Let’s go back down to the harbor. I have an idea for getting your magesight to kick in.” I suggested.

As we walked back through the streets, there were just a few more things I needed to know.

“You keep saying you just felt it when you were working with the hippocamps? Could you feel other spells or numin underwater?”

He nodded. “I could sense them from farther away than here on land, too.”

I was hoping he’d say that. This might just work.

Since his senses were better in the water, why hadn’t we started there? It was a pretty simple idea and I wanted to test it out right away.

I also looked around for those two men he chased after as we strolled, but no luck.