No Mercy

An Island Somewhere, Present Time

Lyric woke pressed tightly into Niarthen’s chest, his hair covering them both so that her bleary eyes saw the sun through a film of green. She did not have a moment of confusion, even in her sleep she had registered their location in the war camp on the island beach, and she surfaced from sleep to awareness knowing precisely where she was and what was happening.

Niarthen grunted as he woke, and cleared his throat as he sat up, easing her carefully down into the sand. He sat with his elbows on his knees, looking out at the activity of the camp, and dragged a hand over his face before rising fluidly to his feet.

Lyric sat up and dusted off the sand, scanning the beach to see where Niarthen had wandered off to. She needed to pee but fuck trying to get out of the armour. Perhaps that was what Niarthen was doing – finding a convenient tree. She’d just do things the Mer way, she decided, and hold it until she shifted and could go into the water. She wasn’t