I don't know how many of you have read 'You Have Wings?' but a *Kindle eBook* edition of the book is now available to preorder on Amazon! If you type in 'You Have Wings?' or 'Sianagh Gallagher' the book will come up!

'You Have Wings?' is set to be released on the 15th of August. I've chosen that date because I'm rewriting the book to suit the format and editing standards of an average book, not one that's online where every update is a new chapter. The book will, therefore, be 'new and improved' with better grammar, the story should flow properly, and it'll be FULL of sneaky foreshadowing for the series ahead ;)

Don't feel pressured to buy it, but I would thoroughly appreciate any reviews on the book and shares, or maybe even follow my author's page. Anything helps! :) 

(stay tuned to what's happening on Amazon. A paperback version is not that far behind!)

- Sian ;)

It was midnight when Kaerius needed a salt bath. A huge part of him was willing to go to the beach so he could swim in the sea for an hour, but he was in a hunter's home, and the shallow waters were not safe at night. Kaerius shuffled to the end of Rowan's bed and watched the human peacefully.

Rowan had headphones on and was studying. Sometimes, he lost track of everything when he was deep into interesting topics. Rowan kept forgetting Kaerius was even in the room. He remembered when he felt him, and his heart did a little dance of excitement.

Kaerius stopped trying to talk to him a few hours ago. Rowan wanted time, so Kaerius would give it to him.

Kaerius's skin felt tight as he moved to the bathroom and watched the white tub fill with cold water. Rowan had a large bath in his home. It was much bigger than the one at the hotel.

When the water almost reached the top. Kaerius's eyes drifted to the human again. Rowan was hunched over his laptop, lost in the screen. Kaerius reluctantly edged towards him. When he was close enough to tap Rowan's shoulder, he slapped it, not thinking it would scare Rowan.

It did.

Rowan gasped and pushed his chair back into the radiator. When he saw Kaerius standing with his hand still hovering in the air, Rowan relaxed and put a hand over his heart. "Sorry," he breathed, feeling his elevated pulse. "I forgot you were here."

"Salt," Kaerius said, and Rowan stood up, matching his height. "Bath."

"Ah," Rowan said knowingly.

Kaerius's eyes followed him to the other side of the room. Rowan pulled out a box of sea salt and gave it to him. "Use as much as you want. I'll buy some more tomorrow." Kaerius sniffed the box and went back to the bathroom. He felt Rowan's presence behind him. "This door leads to my mum's room," Rowan said, pointing at the door on the other side of the bathroom. "Lock it when you're having a bath. She can't see you, but you'd wish she could if she locked you in to use the toilet."

Kaerius's face grimaced until he poured the salt in the bath to force a nicer image in his head. "Human sleep soon?" he asked. Rowan's eyes looked a little red. Kaerius noticed that he rubbed them a lot when he was ready to sleep.

"I'll go to bed when you're finished with your bath. Don't rush, I'm not too tired."

Kaerius knew that was a lie. Rowan felt exhausted. Kaerius could tell because he felt it too. When Rowan returned to his desk, the sea creature's heart hurt for him. Even when Kaerius didn't deserve Rowan's attention, he was still kind and considerate and making Kaerius feel welcome in his home. Rowan really did have a good heart, one that was too pure to be close to Kaerius's veins of poison.

After his bath, Kaerius was reluctant to see his tail go, but he had to get dry. He could see Rowan from the bathroom, and his eyes kept closing. Kaerius put the shorts on and quietly slipped back into Rowan's bead.

"Human," he said when Rowan didn't notice him. "Sleep. Human."

Rowan turned and blinked at him through eyes that were ready to close for the night. "Oh, you're done. That was quick."

"Kaerius tired too."

Rowan pulled himself up from his desk ad his muscles begged to be stretched. Rowan yawned and extended his arms high above his head.

Kaerius's eyes automatically pointed to where Rowan's t-shirt rode up. He didn't want to stare, but Rowan was a handsome man. Kaerius had to hug the blanket a little tighter to stop himself from wrapping his arms around Rowan as soon as he got into bed.

Rowan felt himself sink into the mattress as soon as his head hit the pillow. Even after a few minutes, he could see Kaerius staring at him through the darkness. "I don't know if this is the safest thing, lying in the dark with someone who wanted to kill me."

Kaerius sighed. "Shut up and go to sleep."

Somehow, Kaerius's rough reply was reassuring. Rowan blinked in the darkness, beginning to overthink about the sea creature, but also feeling warm and fuzzy that he was right next to him. "This bond is really messing with me."

Kaerius wondered what he was thinking. He felt Rowan's anxiety.

"I'm thinking about how stupid I am to let you in my room right now," Rowan said and narrowed his eyes when he thought he saw Kaerius roll his own.

"I sorry," Kaerius said. "Rowan... let Kaerius prove I sorry."

"I will, but I'm allowed to be mad."

"I know that, but can you be vocal about it tomorrow. I'm tired." Kaerius thought before rolling over to face the wall.

"Only if you share the blanket."

Kaerius scrunched his eyes shut. "Get your own blanket."

"That is my blanket."

Kaerius huffed and unravelled it from around himself. To share it with Rowan, he had to get closer. Kaerius wanted his warmth almost immediately, and his skin tingled to feel his touch.

Rowan shuffled closer too, and the blanket was already warm and smelled like Kaerius. They laid next to each for a while. Rowan was hyperaware of Kaerius's elbow touching his. It tingled his entire arm.

When fifteen minutes of silence passed, Kaerius sighed again. "Should I go back to the sea so you can sleep?"

"But it's not safe for you at night."

"But you can't sleep with me here."

"It's not that, it's just... I just- I think I need to be closer. It must be the bond."

Kaerius was silent for a moment. He didn't know if he had given up hope that they could end the bond without causing harm to either of them. He was beginning to like Rowan, a human. Kaerius didn't know if he should just accept that the bond will pull them closer. For tonight, if he did accept it, they would sleep much better.

Without saying another word, Kaerius slotted an arm under Rowan's head and pulled their bodies together. He settled as close as he could get, resting his other arm around the human, keeping them connected. He felt Rowan's heart beating fast.

"We sleep like this or I go back to the ocean," Kaerius thought.

Rowan's face was squished up against Kaerius's shoulder. Their torsos, their legs, even their feet touched. There was nothing he wanted more than to close his eyes and fall asleep. He was angry and upset at Kaerius, but there was no point making himself suffer.

"Stay," Rowan mumbled.

His hot breath brushing Kaerius's neck was enough to make him tighten his arms.

* * * * *

Kaerius wasn't used to hearing birds chirping when he woke. He was used to quiet bubbles in his ears and the low murmurs of the currents. Kaerius was used to wrapping himself around Kelp vines or drifting to the top of an underwater cave. He wasn't familiar with the feeling of a blanket over him and cushions under him. He certainly wasn't used to a body so close that Kaerius couldn't tell if he was warm from his own heat or from Rowans.

His arms were still wrapped around Rowan; they hadn't moved all night. Kaerius's chin touched Rowan's forehead. The human breathed slow and snored softly. Kaerius wished he could see his sleeping face. Whenever Rowan looked at him now, his eyes were full of sadness and mistrust.

Kaerius clenched his hands and stretched his fingers. His arm that was under Rowan's head was numb, but his other hand felt tight. His skin begged for salty water. His legs cried to be a tail. Kaerius didn't want to move, but the more he thought about how constricted his skin felt, the more he noticed how sick he felt too. His body wasn't made to be out in the open. It was made for the depths of the ocean.

Kaerius held his breath and tried to slink out from underneath the human. Rowan groaned deeply, but without Kaerius there to hug, he curled up where Kaerius just lay, so he could still feel his warmth.

The Thalassic Mortal tiptoed to the bathroom and kneeled on the tiles to watch the water flow. He poured in a generous amount of salt and slid into the bath. The water took Kaerius's breath away. He smiled and sunk down until his entire body and head were under the water. He swished his arms and felt his legs knitting together. Kaerius's sharp teeth returned, as did his webbed fingers.

He stayed under the water until another head peered at him from the surface.

Kaerius sat up, and his black hair stuck to his forehead. "I didn't mean to wake you," he thought.

"It's almost thirty minutes past ten. I should have been up at seven," Rowan said, kneeling and resting his elbows on the side of the bath. "It's okay, though. I needed the extra sleep."

Kaerius watched him dip fingers in the bathwater.

"That's nice and cold," the human said.

Kaerius frowned. "It's too cold for a human. You think it's nice?"

"I love cold water. Always have."

Kaerius hummed a low note and looked away.

"What?" Rowan asked.

"Your dad said you're a sovereign of the sea. You like the sea more than any human. You even like how cold it is."

"And? Loads of people like the sea."

Kaerius moved his hands back and forth. "You should talk to your dad today. I want to know what he means when he says that you are a royal and not me. You're not a Thalassic Mortal. It doesn't make sense."

"I'll go to his house and talk to him through the letterbox," Rowan said, eyeing Kaerius's beautiful tail. "I'll interrogate him."

"Maybe you should be talking to your mother," Kaerius thought. Rowan's eyes were pulled to his in an instant. "Your dad said that she knows about what happened to royals."

"I'll ask him what she knows. There's no way I'm talking to her. She'll think I want to go hunting again."

Kaerius saw his discomfort. It wasn't good that Rowan's relationship with his mother was so damaged. Kaerius hoped that one day, his mother would stop being so horrible. "Rowan," he said out loud. "If we really do have to be soulmates for the rest of our lives, would you ever tell your mother about this?"

"I would tell her about you eventually, yeah. But I think the fact that you're another man will stress her out enough, so I don't really plan on telling her about this soulmate bond I have with a Thalassic Mortal unless she's really mean. I doubt she'd recognise you with legs anyway," Rowan said with a sigh.

"What if she did recognise me?" Kaerius asked.

"Then I guess I'd have to find somewhere else to live," Rowan said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter. We've never really been that close."

Rowan turned to grab Kaerius a towel, leaving the sea creature punctured with his sudden slice of anxious and nervous feelings. Kaerius wanted Rowan to stop lying to himself and accept that losing his mother would destroy him. A tethered relationship would rip Rowan's insides to shreds.

Kaerius already hated the woman. At least, if Rowan and himself were together for the rest of their lives, he could be there for the human through the heartache. It was the least he could do.

Kaerius knew it wasn't a matter of if Rowan's mother hurt him, but when. Kaerius would be waiting for that day, and it would give him great satisfaction to go after a hunter on land.