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Bones crunched beneath Irin’s fatal touch. Screams echoed across the swells of the lake.
Irin pierced the man’s throat with her sharp fangs, then drank every drop of his blood. His movements stilled. She lifted a hand and using her sharp nails, tore into his flesh, peeling it apart piece by piece before shoving each layer into her mouth. Until only his skeleton peered back at her. To the outside world, the man would become just another who had vanished from his boat.
Suicide, they would claim. Drowning, they would cry.
Although for this one, his body would never be found.
Irin had been alone in these waters since the beginning of time. She could take the form of any sea creature she wished. Only once had she made the mistake of being caught when she’d chosen to grow in size to a great sea beast with a long curving neck and smooth silver flesh.
Lochness Monster, they had shouted. Kill it, they had demanded.
But she made sure the monster was never seen again.
Since that day, Irin had stayed to shifting into creatures beneath the water that weren’t as noticeable to villagers.
Swallowing her last bite of bloody meat, Irin pulled the dead man’s skeleton down to the bottom of the lake. She kicked her scaled legs but it wasn’t fast enough, so she sprouted a tail that would make the villagers above scream mermaid if they spotted her.
Irin’s pace picked up as she flicked her tail, swimming past colorful fish and striped eels. Her dark hair remained swept back, skimming her waist.
Once she reached the gritty texture of the lake floor, she broke apart the skeleton into smaller portions and buried them.
Irin’s hair floated around her as she swiped her forehead and studied a small shark circling an eel before swimming north. If she hadn’t recently eaten, it would have made a fine meal to tear into. Her eyelids fluttered and she angled her gaze to the hidden cave that had been her home for as long as she could remember. Flicking her tail, she swam to her cave and entered the dark space. She allowed her eyes to focus so she could see into the blackness. Nothing ever crept inside there—not even a single fish, as if they knew the danger they would face.
Settling her body into the sandy bottom, Irin stared at the bare walls around her. Nothing. She didn’t keep a single thing down here. Once, she had thought about collecting an object from each human she’d turned into a meal, but she didn’t truly care about such trinkets. Instead, she engraved the ceiling above with a mark after each kill. She would add another line in the morning, seeing as she was too tired and relaxed now.
Irin flicked her tail, letting it separate and shape back into her scaled iridescent legs.
Closing her eyes, Irin reflected about the kills she had made over the years and wondered what they had felt in their final moments of life.
Crackling rocks sounded from outside Irin’s cave and she peeled herself from her sandy bed. She had only woken to etch her kill in the ceiling, then laid back down to count each mark. Even though she knew how many were there.
Baring her teeth into a vicious grin, she kicked her legs and swam out of her cave. A scuffle brewed, farther away, between a salmon that was becoming another creature’s prey. The fish scattered as Irin slipped out from her home, but she easily caught a dark-colored one. Bringing it to her mouth, she tore into the fish, its blood and meaty flesh filling her.
Fish were foolish creatures and they should have remembered she was a predator. Her appetite rarely stayed satiated for long.
A shadow cast down above her and she peered up as a boat slowly skimmed the top of the lake. Irin ran her tongue along her teeth. She had promised herself she wouldn’t go to the surface for a while, but her body itched to go above. Curious. Hungry.
Kicking her feet, Irin slowly swam upward and broke the surface without a single sound. A small fishing boat bobbed on the water with no one in sight. But then a man stood, his back turning, and placed bait on his fish hook before picking up a net. He tossed the net into the water and returned to his fishing pole.
Wavy blond hair brushed the man’s tan shoulders, and the sun highlighted his bare muscular arms and back, his pants hanging low on his hips.
Irin licked her lips. Delectable. In more ways than one.
Bringing her arm up, she slammed her hand against the water before disappearing beneath the surface. Toying with her prey was a pastime she enjoyed.
Irin glided beneath the lake’s warmth to the opposite side of the boat and rose from the water. With a loud cluck of the tongue, she waited for the human to rush in her direction.
The man’s feet echoed when he bounded in her direction, his body leaning over the side of the boat. As the man’s bright blue eyes met hers, they widened in surprise. She gave him a closed-lipped smile, not wanting him to see her fangs just yet. His gaze roamed over her iridescent flesh, the silvery scales on the sides of her face and neck, along her shoulders.
“Mermaid,” he whispered.
Irin shook her head and continued to smile. Although she could turn into one, she was not a mermaid. She was only a creature of the lake.
Prying herself from the water, she climbed aboard the man’s boat. He stood frozen, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes trailed down her naked form. They always did. But sometimes the men or women would lunge at her, others fell to their knees, yet this man didn’t do anything. Only remained there as if waiting for her to vanish from his sight. She wanted to take him right there.
“You should go,” the man said in a rush.
Her brow furrowed. Go? No one had ever told her to leave before. They had either wanted to haul Irin back to shore and show her off to the village, or bring her to their home and keep her.
She shook her head no.
“I know how the world works, and they would use you to their advantage,” the man said softly, taking a step closer.
They would. They would either keep Irin locked in a tank or dissect her. She knew this specifically because she had been told once when a sailor had attempted to yank her to his boat’s deck by her neck. Before he could pursue anything further, she had ripped off his arm and ate it in front of him as he screamed.
She shrugged at the appetizing man.
“Do you have a name? I’m Collin.”
Irin nodded, then pointed at her throat. She understood the language of humans, but she couldn’t speak.
“Ah, I understand. Take a seat and let me get you a few things.” Collin smiled warmly.
She waited for him to grab a spear or another weapon, but instead he collected a bag from the other side of the boat. He removed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, then handed her a piece of fruit.
She studied its rounded purple form and stuck out her tongue.
Collin pressed a fist to his mouth and chuckled. “You don’t like fruit?”
With a shake of the head, she remembered their too sweet flavor. She had taken every variety from sailors over the years and she loathed them all.
From his pack, he pulled out a thick slice of jerky. She wrinkled her nose but plucked it from him. It appeared different than the ones she had tried before so she took a bite. A bitter taste filled her mouth and she spat it out beside Collin’s bare foot.
He watched her with wide eyes and handed her a bottle. “Drink some water at least. Unless you hate that too.”
That was something she wouldn’t deny. Beneath the lake’s surface, Irin relished gulping down water. But drinking it straight from a human’s container was always better. As she drained the bottle dry, she glanced up at the darkening sky and stood to leave, her appetite gone.
“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Collin asked as she dropped the blanket to the deck and peered down at the lake.
Without looking back, she smiled and dove into the water, wondering why she hadn’t killed him. She had never done anything like this before.
Irin awoke early the next day, venturing to the middle of the lake to wait for Collin to return. This time, she told herself she would kill him, but something inside her wanted to learn more about him.
When a shadow of a boat slid over the water, a rush of giddiness formed in her chest. With a smile, she swam toward the surface.
As she pushed through the liquid, her gaze found Collin, his hands resting on the edge of his boat. A grin spread across his handsome face when his gaze met hers.
“Do you like cooked lamb?” he asked. “I brought some. Maybe you won’t spit it out this time.” A deep chuckle escaped his well-formed lips.
Cooked... Irin drew herself up, Collin’s callused hands grasping her arms as he helped her into the boat. No one had ever done this with her—she had never allowed it, but she liked the touch of his warm hands on her flesh.
Same as before, he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, then brought her a plate with browned juicy meat. He cut it into thin slivers and pushed one inside her mouth, her tongue brushing the flesh of his finger. The meat was warm and bland, but she ate it anyway, all while thinking about the feel of his finger in her mouth.
Day after day, Collin brought different meats for Irin and she listened about his life, about him. The fishing store he owned, the sea paintings he loved to create. They were slowly becoming ... friends? He lived alone and something about that made Irin’s heart swim with joy. But not once did he ever try to bring her to shore, or kiss her. Even though her body wanted to press to his with his clothing barrier gone.
“I thought we’d paint today.” He smiled. “If you want to, that is.”
Irin studied the blank canvases and the assorted paints. She nodded with a grin, her fingers itching to dip into the liquid. While Collin painted the lake and its mountains using a brush, Irin created a multitude of colors with her fingertips.
He gave her another warm smile as he peered down at her canvas. “It’s beautiful.”
After Irin left Collin and ventured back into the lake to her cave, she stared up at her markings. For the first time in her life, Irin didn’t sleep—she thought only of Collin, his full lips, his deep voice, his kindness.
Irin took the last bite of flesh, blood pooling in the water around her. The shark had put up quite a fight but not long enough to exhaust her. No matter the size, Irin would always defeat her prey.
As a boat’s shadow drifted above, she grinned and swam past a school of trout to meet Collin.
After he helped pull her into his boat, Irin couldn’t hold it in any longer. When he leaned forward to wrap the blanket around her, she pressed her lips to his. A spark spread through her at the touch.
Collin didn’t hesitate as he kissed her in return, then, a moment later, pulled back, his hand nervously raking his hair. “I haven’t been coming here just so I could make love to you in my boat. Please don’t think that.”
Irin’s grin grew wider, and she leaned forward again, making it clear for him that she understood he wasn’t taking advantage of her. Her lips captured his, claiming. She slanted her mouth over his, and he matched her pace.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” Collin whispered into her ear, making her shiver.
In answer, she peeled his shirt over his head before she lowered him to the deck. Her fingers brushed the button of his pants, and he unfastened it as she yanked them down.
He drew her closer, about to roll her to her back, but she didn’t let him. Even though she trusted him, she still needed to have a chance for escape.
Heart pounding, she trailed her fingers down his cheek, his chest, then sank down on him with a silent growl, letting him fill her completely. She moved on top of him, increasing her pace as he tilted his head back and groaned. His eyes stayed shut while he gripped her hips, trusting her with everything.
When the pleasure washed over her and he spilled his seed inside of her, Irin knew she would remember this moment for all eternity.
She continued to meet Collin each day after that, their time filled with bliss she had never known, her skin against his, their lips locked together, their tongues tasting every warm inch of the other’s body.
But she knew it couldn’t last.
She was immortal.
And he was not.
Irin could have him now, but now was a fleeting moment—his entire life but a mere instant compared to hers. Her memories of him would have to be enough.
As Irin lifted off him, their bodies slick with sweat, pleasure and something far deeper consuming her, she knew Collin would do anything to protect her. How he would waste his life visiting her at the lake. She couldn’t let him do that. And she couldn’t let him go home and find a mortal female either. He was hers now, and hers alone.
Collin opened his arms to hold her, trusting her. His sweet eyes, his caring heart. Her smile mirrored his as she pressed a kiss to his soft lips, tasting him, remembering. And then Irin drove her fangs into his flesh, tearing open his throat, his blood pooling into her mouth, his flavor on her tongue. Collin coughed, his eyes wide, full of confusion, disbelief. Not once did he fight her, even as his breaths turned ragged. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words slipped out. Irin cradled his cheek, knowing this was the right decision as life slowly slipped from him, spilling further with each heartbeat. And then the light in his eyes was gone, and he stared blankly up at the darkening sky.
Irin wouldn’t eat him like she had the others. Because he was nothing like them. She pried Collin from the boat and drew his body down beneath the lake where he would remain with her forever, sleeping beside her, even when he became nothing but bones.
