Impulse (25 page)

Marko squeezed my hand and drew me around to his other side, glaring at his sister. ‘Ignore her, Miranda, please. She lives to stir.'

‘I'll try,' I said, exhaling noisily.

He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me close, so that we walked hip to hip. I slid my arm around his waist, threading my fingers through the belt loops of his pants.
So much had been going on that there hadn't been time for us to just be together, and I missed him. Marko's touch was probably the one and only thing that could take my mind off the fact that our lives were riding on my interpretation of some old pictures found on a wall.

I was balancing on the edge after all. Blake would be proud.

‘It seems so thin and transparent,' I whispered to Marko, as we stood outside and stared up at the statue of Kraja, who now carried the large crystal moon in her arms. It had taken hours for the men to transfer it from the ballroom to the statue.

‘It's hollow, that's why. It's tough as iron, though, being light crystal,' Marko assured me.

‘But in the picture—' I moved in closer so that nobody else could hear me. ‘It glows in the picture, as though it's a real moon.'

‘Look at it, Miranda.' Marko stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist so that I fell back against him. ‘It does glow; maybe not as powerfully or as white as the real moon, but it still glows.'

Sylvia stepped up to the podium, practically beaming. The swarming crowd cheered and clapped. It was obvious, from all the swaying and laughter, and the red cheeks, that the people had already begun celebrating.

As long as they don't start making babies in the street
, I thought.

‘Kraja's moon has been restored, thanks to my brother,' she looked at Marko and nodded, ‘who is now, once again, your king, seeing as Damir has abandoned his post.'

Cheers erupted. I turned to smile at Marko. He smiled back, but his entire body was as rigid as the Kraja statue.
He hadn't forgotten the events of the last two days as easily as the people of Marin seemed to have.

I hadn't either. Sylvia, though she'd kept her bargain by reinstating Marko, was not to be trusted—nor the guards. As I watched the entire city party around the statue, I realised that we were back to square one. My moon idea had done nothing but create a false sense of security. If it worked, fine. If it didn't, then, I couldn't even bear to think of the result.

Marko looked down at me and sighed deeply, his face softening into a real smile.

It was then I realised that the only certain thing in my life now was Marko. As I stared deep into his eyes I had the weird urge to tell him that I was in love with him; suddenly, life felt extra short.

‘Thank you for this,' he said, playing with a stray lock of my hair and then stroking my cheek with his thumb.

‘But we don't know if it will work.'

‘Yes, but at least it will buy us some time—months even—until I can figure out a way to fix everything that is wrong with Marin.'

I nodded. ‘I just hope Lauren's okay.'

He frowned and sighed. ‘I should never have brought her to Marin.'

‘It's not your fault.' I reached up to stroke his cheek the way he was stroking mine, his unshaven face rough against my fingers. ‘She told me how she threatened to expose Marin to the world if you didn't bring her,' I said, shrugging. ‘So don't feel bad.'

A train of revellers danced their way between us, urging us to become links in their chain. Marko grinned, so I put my hands on the shoulders of the last girl and Marko held my hips as we moved along in a long winding trail. Then
his strong hands were gone and I was spun around by a twenty-something guy who swept me into a springy sort of dance. A quick glance around and I discovered Marko dancing with a smiling, middle-aged red-haired woman. He shrugged and grinned over the tops of people's heads at me. I grinned back. He was at his most beautiful when happy.

My dancing partner twirled me around the fountain so many times I started to feel queasy and dizzy, so I sat the next dance out, resting on the stone ledge of the fountain. From there I watched Marko switch partners, the women fighting over who got to dance with him next. I could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to escape their clutches.

‘Miranda!'

I waved back at Lily, who was dancing with Robbie several metres away. She whispered something in his ear and he waved me over, a huge smile on his face. But the crowd was too thick, and, when I got halfway across, a man whisked me away doing some kind of bouncy jig.

By the time the dance ended, Lily and Robbie were gone, and I stood, in the middle of the revellers, searching for them. Just as a dark-haired woman seized me by the wrists and urged me to dance, I felt a gentle tug on my hair. I disengaged myself from the woman's grasp before spinning around to find Marko standing there.

‘Finally,' said Marko, taking my hand in his and drawing me away from the crowd. We climbed over the stone ledge of the fountain and ducked beneath its thin, watery veil. ‘I missed you so much,' he said, beads of water dripping down his face.

‘Come here,' I whispered, sliding my hands around his neck. ‘And I'll show you how much I missed you.' Before
he had a chance to respond, I drew his head down and rose up on my tiptoes so that I could press my mouth to his.

He groaned softly, in surprise and what I hoped was pleasure, as I moved my lips hungrily over his and slipped my tongue into his open mouth. I tugged his shirt from his trousers, so that I could feel the heat of his smooth skin beneath my fingers.

The kiss intensified at my touch. Marko crushed me to him as his tongue tussled with mine, and his hands moved up and down my back, stroking me. I pressed my breasts against him and he moaned and kissed his way down to my neck, his ragged breaths making me wish we were alone and in my room.

‘We should stop,' he whispered into my hair. ‘I don't want to; but we should.'

‘Okay,' I said, after I'd caught my breath.

He straightened up but kept his hands on my waist.

The way he was looking at me, through his lashes, made me want to kiss him all over again.

‘Stop looking at me like that,' I said, over the sound of the fountain rushing. With the fountain drowning out the intense revelling going on all around us, it was as though Marko and I were safely cocooned in our own universe.

‘I want you, Miranda, like I've never wanted anyone before,' he said, his eyes intense and his expression serious. ‘I want us to be together. Always.'

‘I feel the same.'

He sighed and nuzzled my hair, sliding his hands down to my backside.

‘You feel wonderful, actually,' he moaned, raining kisses down my neck and pressing me against him, hard. ‘And though I hate it, it's probably a good thing we're still
sleeping in separate bedrooms. I don't think I can control myself when I'm with you.'

He drew away and kissed me lightly on the forehead. ‘I wish I could ask you something right now, but I can't—' He stared down at me, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. ‘Because I might scare you away if I do.'

My heart hammered against my ribcage, and when he drew me in tight and squeezed my body close I could feel the thudding of his heart too. The cosy cocoon of the fountain, the sound of the rushing water, combined with Marko's heady scent—which made my knees weak every time I breathed it in—made me want to stay there, in that moment, forever.

‘You can ask me anything,' I whispered.

He locked eyes with me—his desire-filled, the pupils dilated.

‘I want to,' he said, ‘but I can't; not yet.'

I wanted him so badly in that moment that, if he had asked me to be with him, right there, I would have said yes.

Marko stroked my hair, and I rested my head against his chest. His heartbeat was soothing, and I found myself yawning and feeling sleepy. We sat on the stone ledge and I lay my head on his lap, falling asleep to the comforting sound of the fountain, which was like falling rain.

I woke to hear Marko's voice vibrating through his chest. Robbie and Lily were with us beneath the fountain. I sat up and rubbed my face.

Lily stood near the fringe of the fountain, her blonde hair raining down her back like a silvery waterfall. The white, floaty dress she wore made her look ethereal, like a beautiful water sprite.

Leaving Marko and Robbie to their discussion, I got up and joined Lily. She turned and smiled.

‘Hi, Miranda,' she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. ‘We thought we'd lost you forever on the dance floor.'

‘I kept getting abducted by crazy dancers.' I yawned. ‘I think that's why I'm so tired.'

She laughed, revealing perfect white teeth. It made me wonder if they had dentists down here.

‘You look happy,' she said, with a knowing smile and a fleeting glance at Marko.

I nodded. ‘I am happy; really happy, in fact.' I elbowed her arm. ‘But you can talk. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful couple than you and Robbie.'

‘Thanks,' she said, staring back at Robbie with a soft smile. ‘I have to agree with you there.' She turned back to face me, her blue eyes widening slightly. ‘Do you think the moon will work?'

‘I hope so. Not just for the sake of babies but for Marko, too.' I lowered my voice. ‘I'm worried it's not going to work, and that Sylvia is going to punish Marko.'

‘Rumour is that Sylvia wanted your sister's baby.' Lily leaned in so that the boys couldn't hear. ‘A guard overheard Sylvia and Damir make a deal.'

‘What sort of deal?'

‘Sylvia wanted a baby and Damir wanted to be king, so he could make as many mermaids as he likes. He wants to make an entire harem of mermaid wives—
a city of mermaids
, he said.'

I shivered from head to toe and my stomach swirled like I was going to be sick.

‘What do you think will happen to Lauren once she has the baby?' I put a hand to my mouth, fully realising the danger my sister was in.

Lily gripped me by my shoulders, her fingers cool against my warm skin.

‘Lauren is safe while she's with child. Don't worry. We have plenty of time before the real danger starts.'

‘What if she never returns to Marin? What if she and Damir stay on land?'

Lily snorted a laugh and let her hands drop to her sides. ‘Hardly; the man is obsessed with the ocean. He'll return soon enough. Besides, the compulsion will bring them back, no matter what.'

I ran a hand through my damp hair, my fingers catching at the knots.

‘If the moon works, then Sylvia can have her own baby and she'll forget about Lauren's.'

Lily frowned and visibly shuddered. ‘Sylvia has always said that the only man she'd ever have babies with is Robbie. That he is the only physically perfect man in all of Marin.'

‘I remember thinking she had a thing for him, last year,' I said, thinking aloud, but when I saw the look on Lily's face I added quickly, ‘but I get a strong vibe that Robbie only regards her as a sister.'

Lily shook her head. ‘I hate that she has power. I hate that she can threaten us with our lives, threaten Robbie and force him to—'

‘No way! Robbie would never agree to something like that.'

‘I know, I know. I'm being melodramatic,' she said with a sigh, before looking at Robbie. ‘But I don't want to lose him. He might be partially blind, but to me he's perfect.'

‘I agree,' I said, and added, grinning, ‘in a totally friendly, non-Sylvia-ish way.'

Lily laughed, and the sound drew Marko and Robbie towards us.

‘Nice to hear conversation over cat scratches,' said Robbie with a smile. ‘Last year you two hated each other.'

Marko laughed and made a cat noise. ‘Shame, really; I love a good catfight.'

Lily and I rolled eyes at each other. It was so nice to have a female friend—especially now that Lauren had turned on me.

Lily seized my hand and looked at Marko. ‘Is it okay if I borrow Miranda for a while? I think she deserves some fun.'

Marko put his arm around Robbie's shoulder. ‘Should we let them?'

‘As long as they don't break too many hearts out there,' said Robbie, his face deadly serious.

Lily playfully slapped his arm. ‘You can talk; what about that girl who kissed you half an hour ago?'

‘What?' said Marko before punching Robbie on the arm.

‘The poor thing had to express her imploding inner joy somehow,' Robbie said, shrugging.

I laughed, my heart squeezing with absolute happiness to see Robbie and Marko behaving like best friends again.

‘Meet me at the base of the castle steps,' said Marko, before planting a kiss on the back of my hand. His lips against my skin made me feel so hot I almost blurted, ‘I can't wait!' but I kept my cool. ‘Okay. See you there.'

‘Stay together,' said Robbie, his expression serious and pained, as though he hated the idea of not having Lily within reach.