Magic Potions and the Merman’s Lure by SJ Sanders

Keri:
As a member of the divination branch of the Durmont family, I am a failure and disgrace to the Thane-Durmont line. With no skill at foresight or any form of divination, I have little choice but to move forward to discover where my own powers lie and where my gifts may lead me. Thankfully, as an employee of the Arcane Society, I have nearly unlimited resources available to explore my interests further and yet before I can, I am called upon to put my skills to work with the arrival of a merman-like Aquana. Outside of his perplexing problem of needing a supplement to help him live with fewer restrictions on land, the Aquana himself is a mystery, one that the Society is determined that I study. This fate binds us together day on end and yet, despite the dangers presented in lore, there is far more to the male than what exists in mere mythology. He is kind and considerate with a sweet playfulness that tugs at my heart and soul even more than his alluring song. There is no denying that he possesses a great potential to be dangerous… but I cannot ignore that there is an even a more intimate risk presented to my heart. But with this incredible pull, what is a witch to do?

Ro:
Having reached an age to seek out a mate, I left my familial pod and have avoided the flirting grounds of the females of my kind to search for a mate among the human populations. It is this quest that has carried me northward along the coastal shores until arriving finally in a small town that calls to me. Although I was certain from the very beginning that I would find my mate here, it is a happy coincidence of fate that, by running out my supplement, I am brought right to her. Her pheromones call to my lure, the core a male Aquana’s energy that allows him to tie himself magically to his mate, and I am both utterly prepared and determined to possess her heart and soul—but what do humans know of such things? A patient hunter waits and so I will take my time to coax my mate. Yet how can I face her when I discover that the supplement may have damaged me in a way that will ensure I can never mate with her? Is this relationship doomed or is there a chance that the bond will grow as it should so that I can finally claim her? And even if I do, will Keri be able to brew a new potion that can guarantee me a place by her side forever?

This 82k novel is an expansion from the original novella published in the Monsters in Love Lost in the Depths Anthology.