"So, how exactly are we supposed to get to Atlantis, of all places?" Neville asked, just a little baffled.
Actaea stood, turning to the shelf by the door. She rifled through old newspapers, worn out books, and recipe cards until she found an old pocket map. She brought it to the table, unfolded it between Kyle and Neville, and pointed to an area left of Portugal. "It's actually not terribly hard to get to. Most cruise lines leaving from any port in England headed towards the Carribean Sea or any part of the Eastern United States will get you close enough. Trust me, I've considered going to make peace with my sister for a long time, and why not do it on a cruise ship?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Then what?"
"Jump off," Kyle said, studying the map. "Will I be able to sense it or something?"
"A place like Atlantis? Yes. Anyone with nymph's or god's blood will be able to find it." Actaea folded the map back up and replaced it before sitting down with a sigh. "I don't like this. I don't want you getting involved in the affairs of the gods."
Kyle turned to Neville for a moment, as if she were looking for strength. He squeezed her hand. "I'd prefer none of this happened. But I am not going to sit back and watch this world crumble apart if there's even a slight chance I can change it."
Mother and daughter searched each other's eyes for a moment, perhaps having some sort of secret exchange Neville couldn't hear. But Actaea seemed to deflate. "Then do as you wish. Don't let them take advantage of you. Interact with Olympians as little as possible and other gods even less. Remind them that you are awake if they cause any trouble. Come home safe."
"I'll make it quick." Kyle moved around the table and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "C'mon, Nev. I'll show you my room. Well, the guest room, now."
Neville stood and took her hand, letting her lead him back to the living room and then to a side hall. The room was on the left, and inside was uncluttered as far as the rest of the house went. A comfy looking bed, topped with no less than four colorful blankets; a desk mostly occupied by books and what Neville guessed was a computer; two small but squashy chairs; and a stand with a television, which he was happy that he actually knew. He had spent extraordinarily little time in Muggle spaces, but no time like the present, when they were faced with the possibility of permanent magic-removal.
She shut the door behind them and clambered up onto the bed. "I know you have questions."
"Only a million," he said, hesitating for a bit before coming to sit down with her. She waited for him to ask, so he tried to pick a starting place. "Greek gods are not the only gods?"
Her answer was quick. "No. As I have been told, all mythology across the world has a basis in truth. Well, almost all—there are a few fakes. How close to the truth the myths are varies."
"So, Norse? Mayan? African?"
"All real in some way or another."
Neville wasn't entirely sure what his reaction was supposed to be to all of this, but he tried to accept it gracefully, taking a long, deep breath before his next question. "What did she mean when she said you were 'awake'?"
Kyle adjusted her position so she was turned to face him with her legs crossed. "Do my blue eyes freak you out?"
"I—No, I mean—It's strange but…"
"Well, they freaked me out. But they're symbols. Full-blood Nereids always have blue eyes. Nereid hybrids get them when they are 'awakened.' Basically, I had some Nereid powers I could use forever. Most hybrids get their full powers from practicing Nereid magic and proving to the gods that they're ready. I never practiced Nereid magic much, because I was relying on human magic and just supplementing it, so that's why I felt like my magic was weaker that day. When I tried to do the protection spell, I over-extended myself past what I could do with my 'basic' magic. That vision I saw? I was looking in on a private conversation between the gods, who were arguing about whether I was ready to be awakened. Their indecision almost killed me, but hey, now I have creepy blue eyes to show for it."
Neville took another look at those eyes. Honestly, yes, they had freaked him out that first morning he saw her. "So, you have more power, now?"
She cast her eyes down, looking like she was ashamed. "It's an old, old magic. Nereids aren't considered gods themselves, but they are children of gods. That gives them, and me, a more robust magical repertoire than humans. Before you ask, immortality is lost on Nereid-human hybrids."
She had that pained expression on her face, the same she had a few days ago when she was lamenting being a Nereid at all. So, he took both of her hands in his. "I don't know exactly how you're feeling, but you're still the same person you were before any of this happened. You're still Kyle."
"Neville, I don't want to be different. I just want to be an average, everyday, normal witch. I wish I was still Just-Kyle, but now I'm Kyle-The-Nereid."
"Who has to know?" Neville asked, giving her fingers a squeeze. "You don't have to tell anyone who doesn't need to know. If we end up solving everything, you can go back to being Just-Kyle. If we can't, then everyone ends up being a Muggle anyway, so it won't matter. Your mother has played the role of Muggle successfully for decades at least, so you can be whatever you want."
She sat up on her knees and moved closer to him, eventually just sitting directly in his lap and laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm not handling this well."
"I'm not expecting you to handle it well. I'm just asking that you don't say hurtful things to yourself." He wrapped his arms around her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, feeling so warm as she snuggled in more to him. "You're too strong to make yourself out to be weak."
Seated out on the veranda, Neville watched Kyle and her mother disappear under the waves. He watched as those waves themselves grew and shrank, changed, flowed backwards, stood still, and then returned to normal. For the first fifteen minutes, his heart was pounding. Watching someone go underwater and then not emerge was absolutely terrifying, even if he knew logically that she could breathe. When she had come above the water, seated precariously on a big, watery mound as her mother instructed her, he was able to convince himself she was fine. That made the next few hours go by more comfortably.
The door opened and slammed shut, and Duncan, pipe in hand, came to sit in the chair next to Neville.
"You get used to it," he said, gesturing with his free hand out to the vast ocean. "You get used to a lot of things you never thought you could get used to."
Neville leaned back in the chair, glancing over at Duncan as he lit his pipe and puffed away happily. "How did you find out Actaea was a Nereid?"
He blew out a big puff of smoke and laughed. "When I proposed to her, she told me she had a secret to tell me before she could accept. She said she didn't want a marriage based on lies. Would have found out anyway. I'm getting old and she never will."
Neville wondered how hard that must be, for both of them. Duncan would age and age, just like any human, and Actaea would have to watch him die. Her children, too. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, boy. I accepted this life a long time ago, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My wife and children are everything to me, and I would do it again if you sent me back in time. The only thing I would change is to treasure them more in the early years." Seemingly reading his mind, he continued, "As for her… We discussed it before having children. When you've been alive for millennia, death stops being so scary. I won't be the first husband of hers to die, and they won't be her first children to die. She came to terms with mortals a long time ago."
"Still, it can't be easy."
"It's not. She remembers them all, and she mourns for them in her own way." He took another long puff on his pipe, watching as his wife tried to show Kyle how to stand up on the water's surface. "She never forgets a birthday."
Kyle struggled, getting halfway up onto her feet and then falling back into the water. A dozen times at least she failed to get fully up on her feet, and Neville imagined that frustrated look she probably had by then. But, finally, she stood up, shaking here, a foot slipping there, until she was completely upright, arms outstretched. She walked, unsteady at first, and then more confidently. There was something awesome in that sight, something about her power just clinging to his bones. He had barely noticed that she had walked completely back to the shore, soaking wet and shivering, but proud.
He stood up, wanting to go down to meet her, but Duncan reached over and grabbed his wrist.
"Boy, I need you to understand something." He looked sternly at Neville, who swallowed back his intimidation. "You and her, together, is not an accident. All nymphs are selective, but none as much as the Nereids. She chose you, and I trust her. Don't betray that."
Neville nodded and gave a mumbled, "yessir," before Duncan released his arm and he was free to join Kyle. Out on the rocky shore, Actaea was instructing Kyle.
"Will the water to go back where it belongs. The water will give you your desires, as long as you can tell it what you need." Actaea demonstrated, holding her hands so they were just hovering over her chest, and in seconds her clothing, skin, and hair had dried. Kyle watched, nodded, and emulated her mother. It took quite a while longer, but the water began to disappear in patches until she was dry and comfy again.
She gave a little wiggle of pride at her accomplishment and turned to Neville. "It's like going to Hogwarts all over again."
"How do you mean?" he asked, taking her hand when she held it out for him.
"Maybe it's different when you already know about magic, but when you're a Muggle-born, your first year at Hogwarts is… well, magic. It's so exciting and new and it opens up a whole world you knew nothing about." They started back towards the house, Actaea already up by her husband and waiting for them to come inside.
"I can see that," he said, noticing once again how breathtaking she looked with her hair unbound and—
He connected the dots.
"It's the water," he said, suddenly stopping and just gawking at her.
"What are you talking about, Nev?"
He shook his head. "I just realized that every time you're in or near the water, it's like you start to glow. You're always beautiful, but the water… When I look at you, I get this floaty feeling and I want to kiss you more than usual. You thrive near the water."
Kyle fought back a smile, looking up at him with expert doe eyes. "If you wanna kiss me, you're welcome to."
He discreetly looked up at her parents, both very much within sight. "Your parents are watching."
"Not only are my parents well acquainted with the concept of kissing, you're also thirty. So kiss me."
He grinned at her jab and, still a little awkward about being directly in front of Actaea and Duncan, leaned down to press his lips into hers, that floaty feeling only amplifying.
Later that night, he got a taste of the Muggle world. She took him out to see a movie, having to debrief him on etiquette and customs. He whispered pop culture questions in her ear several times, but he could get by enough that he enjoyed himself more than he expected. They took a long walk afterwards, both of them smelling like popcorn, and she showed him a lot about the world she grew up in. It was pleasant, even romantic, but they were only putting off the inevitability of tomorrow.