And it even turned into a quiet morning. Which was good, because I was shooting early. In a bikini. It was actually even a bit cold, although we did get wraps while waiting for our turn.

Kanesha was still in bed when I left. I let her sleep. She probably needed it. There was a lot of laughing, talking, even a bit of splashing. No mermaids, though.

The shoot, in fact, went without interruption. We all headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch, more seafood. I called Kanesha and she joined us.

Nobody argued with it. I wasn’t the only person who’d brought a tagalong for this. We’d be here a few days.

I sensed trouble before anyone saw anything, as usual. Actually, what I sensed was the fyrhund, who had apparently followed me and was curled up on the grill.

But now he was alert, hopping off it and pointing at the ocean. I looked out there, and thought with a shudder of world serpents.

And of smaller sea monsters and dragons, of course.

“What is it?” Kanesha murmured.

“Upset dog.” If anyone heard that they’d think I was talking about a terrier that was, thankfully, yipping away on the beach.

“I hear it.”

But she knew I didn’t mean that dog. She knew I meant the one that wasn’t letting anyone see him right now. Except me. And perhaps her.

Then I saw the trouble. It was, indeed, a sea nymph, but she was walking along the beach looking gorgeous. “And her.”

Kanesha drew a breath. “I need to remember I’m taken.”

“She is something, isn’t she.”

Several of the other girls were now watching, most with jealousy and one with jealousy mixed with lust.

“She’s probably hunting hearts to break.” Or something. She was some kind of fae, I realized, which meant…

“She’s not a sea nymph,” I added.

“Mermaid?”

“Fairy.” I kept my voice really quiet at this point, hoping nobody would hear me. Of course, everyone was distracted by the very object of our conversation.

“Dangerous?”
“I think so. I’ll talk to her. Help me remember I’m taken?”

Because, well, a fairy like that could be dangerous at some levels even to me. To Kanesha…far more so.

She might well be looking for somebody to take to her undersea country for a hundred years.