Chapter 34: Who Knows How Long That Would Take?

Harmony seemed intrigued. "Sounds like what Brennan and I are trying to do with the merfolk."

Brennan looked over at the sound of his name. "What were you saying about me?"

"Castian is studying how to make businesses sustainable. I'm sure that's right up your alley, Mr. Marine Biologist."

The water fairy turned to him in interest. "Really? I'd like to hear more about that if you have the time. I had no idea elves were interested in that sort of thing. I would be happy to have you in our think tank once we get it officially up and running."

Castian blinked at him. He hadn't expected to get further involved with other races of fae. Coming over here today had been a fluke; he only did it because Harmony invited him and he hadn't been able to say no.

There was no real reason to refuse Brennan's offer. It was related to his current field of study and it could potentially help the business he and his classmates wanted to start later on.

"Sure," he found himself agreeing even though he never would have imagined something like this happening. "I don't have time now—I need to get going when I finish my food—but I can come by another day. I assume you'll be here indefinitely because of Talori."

"Not quite indefinitely. I'm back to work on Monday so I'll only be here in the evenings and on weekends," Brennan explained.

Harmony looked at Castian curiously. "Do you have time two Saturdays in a row?"

Not really but he would make time. He might have to do more homework on weeknights to make up for today anyway. One more week wouldn't be a problem. It was in his best interest to get involved in the water fairy's future think tank.

"I'll manage," he said confidently.

He finished the last of his lunch and wished them all farewell before heading out to meet his project group at the University of Miami's library. They had reserved a study room for several hours so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"You're late," Filverel Herhorn pointed out.

"My apologies. I had another meeting," Castian said as he sat down. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing of true importance. Were you meeting with humans? You are dressed like one," Theodred Farraday noted.

"…no. I was meeting with some rather casual fae."

"Don't tell me—werewolves. They're as casual as it gets. No dress sense whatsoever," Filverel said disdainfully.

His assessment of werewolves wasn't wrong but Castian didn't like the implication that Harmony didn't have any dress sense. She was clearly capable of looking nice based on how she normally dressed on Fridays. She simply cared more about the lack of restriction to her movements when she was in the zone.

"No. A rather eclectic group involving a witch, a water fairy, and a mermaid, actually."

Theodred raised an eyebrow. "That IS rather eclectic. I didn't think mermaids ever came to the surface."

"This one is here laying low for a while and is staying with the water fairy," Castian said with a shrug. "Enough about my meeting. We are here to work on our project, are we not? It is irrelevant."

"I suppose so," Filverel agreed.

"I don't understand how you of all fae got involved with a mermaid," Theodred said shrewdly, unwilling to let it go just yet.

"Isn't it obvious? His witch must have dragged him into it. There is no other logical explanation."

"I forgot you had a witch. I have a witch but she never tries to involve me in her business. Why is yours? That goes outside the bounds of our agreements with them."

"That's why I prefer elvish women," Filverel said matter-of-factly. "They never get involved in anything strange and are overall much easier to deal with than witches. I've done my duty already and never want to again."

You are reading story MerMade For Each Other at novel35.com

Theodred rolled his eyes. "Easier to deal with? My witch is as easy as can be. You have your eye on Gaelira, don't you? How is not giving you the time of day considered easier to deal with?"

Filverel scowled at him. Castian didn't butt into their argument because what they had been saying didn't sit well with him.

Harmony wasn't forcing him into anything. He was the one who originally offered to go along with her to help get Talori to the witch coven because he hadn't wanted to reschedule.

He didn't feel that he had been dragged into this. If anything, he volunteered. He could have said no at any time if he truly hadn't wanted to be involved. These two didn't seem to understand that and he wasn't sure how to explain it to them.

"Quit arguing," Castian said with a sigh. "We need to get to work or we won't get anything done today."

The other two agreed reluctantly and they got to work but he couldn't shake the strange feeling he had when the others were talking as though Harmony was inconveniencing him. That wasn't true even if he had been a little thrown off lately.

===

Brennan used his entire week off to get used to having a mermaid live in his apartment. He was so used to living alone at this point that it was strange having someone around again. Especially someone so talkative.

It was different when he was visiting her. Now he was surrounded by his things in a space that was familiar while having unfamiliar experiences.

It wasn't that he disliked it or anything. It was just strange…and somewhat inconvenient.

Talori couldn't move around on her own very well. She had learned how to use her arms to operate the wheelchair but his apartment wasn't exactly wheelchair-friendly so a lot of the time he had to pick her up and carry her where she needed to go.

She couldn't get dehydrated so she had to not only drink a lot of water but couldn't go more than five or six hours without sitting in a tub or tank to soak it into her skin. It had become easier for her to sleep in the bathtub so she didn't interrupt his rest, especially now that he was going back to work.

Brennan also ended up going to the witch coven every day rather than every couple of days but that wasn't a problem even if he was hearing a lot of the same information over twice. He was as fascinated by everything Talori had to say as Harmony.

His friend's mind worked differently than his so she managed to come up with questions he never would have thought of asking. That was a major bonus of hanging around the two of them even if he wasn't saying much.

He wasn't the only one who seemed to be doing more listening than talking when the two most enthusiastic fae he had ever met got together. Harmony's elf boyfriend—who he hadn't even known existed until the night he asked for help getting Talori to the witch coven—talked even less when he was around.

Brennan still felt horrible for interrupting. He knew how witch/elf relationships worked and it was incredibly embarrassing knowing exactly what he had interrupted with his call asking for help.

He had thought that would be the end of it though. Witches and elves didn't interact more than they absolutely had to even if they did use the human labels of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" to make things easier. Everyone knew they were only relationships of convenience.

That was why he had been more embarrassed than surprised to find out what he had interrupted. There was no reason for Harmony to tell him she had a boyfriend because they weren't in a real, committed relationship.

So the real question was why Castian showed up again the following Saturday and the two of them were surprisingly chatty with each other at lunch. Brennan was undeniably curious but it wasn't his place to pry. Maybe the elf had some interest in merfolk as well and that was why he was there. He certainly agreed to be involved in the think tank he, Harmony, and Talori were planning to set up easily enough.

That would make a huge difference for conservation efforts once it got off the ground. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be possible until they had Talori's brother on their side once he gained power. All of the ideas in the world would be useless without being able to implement them.

Who knows how long that would take? Talori was going to be here indefinitely. It could be weeks…months…years…even decades.

Brennan wasn't prepared to have her stay with him that long but he had made his promise. He desperately needed merfolk help if he wanted to fix the ocean's problems and it was the only way he would be able to ensure their cooperation.

He might be stuck in Florida longer than he originally intended but supposed that wasn't the end of the world. Of all the places he had lived, this was one of his favorites. He wouldn't mind staying longer than he had intended.

Not that he had a specific expiration date in mind either. He usually stayed in once place until he had a valid reason to leave. A breakup…a better offer…feeling restless.

How could he possibly get a better offer than the opportunity to work with real merfolk to make a difference for the part of the world he cared about most? His original home was gone.. Lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds were disappearing at an alarming rate but there were plenty of water fairies to care about that. Who cared about the ocean? Most humans certainly didn't!

You can find story with these keywords: MerMade For Each Other, Read MerMade For Each Other, MerMade For Each Other novel, MerMade For Each Other book, MerMade For Each Other story, MerMade For Each Other full, MerMade For Each Other Latest Chapter