Welcome to “At First Sight Saturday.” Today’s guest is author, Alice Renaud, who gives us a ‘first sight’ scene from her book Mermaids Marry in Green and introduces us to hero, Jonathan, and heroine, Catha. Be sure to leave a comment to let Alice know your thoughts about the scene.

Excerpt: “Lady Caltha?”

The male voice made her jump. Someone stood at the entrance of the cave, a tall black silhouette against the moonlit sky. The buzz of concern in her mind grew louder. If a merman sought her out in the middle of the night, it could only mean trouble. She didn’t recognise the voice, so he probably wasn’t one of her Clan.

“Yes, I’m right here!” she called out. “Who are you? Benetynn? Regor?”

“Neither.” The man moved his hand, and a thin beam of torchlight appeared, illuminating a striking, chiselled face which she’d never seen before. If he wasn’t a Regor, a Benetynn or a Dooran, then he was no merman! The anxious buzz turned into a shrill alarm, and she shrank back from him. Damn it, she’d left her knife with her clothes outside the cave.

“Don’t be scared.” The man shone the torch on his hand. “Look, I’m unarmed. I come in peace.”

Scared? Indignation displaced her fear and she drew herself to her full height.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

She sounded firmer than she felt. She was in her aquatic shape. She’d been standing in the shadows, but what if he’d seen her? Sure, a few humans knew about the mermen, but they lived on the Morvann Islands and could be trusted to keep their mouths shut. She didn’t know this man, and she could tell by his accent that he wasn’t a local. She couldn’t allow him to discover the Clans’ secret.

“Can you switch that torch off?”

“I’m sorry, Lady Dooran.” The beam of light disappeared. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

His apology took the edge off her agitation. Whoever he was, he didn’t sound like a threat. “Stay where you are,” she commanded, and began to shift.

“As you wish, Lady, but don’t worry if you’re in your aquatic shape. I know about the mermen, and I’d never betray your secret.”

The man’s voice was polite and reasonable, but his words still hit Caltha like a gale-force wind. Cold panic invaded her throat, choking her. If humans outside the islands had discovered their secret, how could she keep her people safe? His promise meant nothing. One stranger in the know was one stranger too many.

What would her mother do? She’d get a grip, for sure. Caltha breathed in and exhaled, hoping she could expel the fear as she’d expelled the water earlier. Her people needed her to be calm and think.

“You can trust me,” the man said. At least he didn’t make any attempt to come closer.

Caltha tried to round up her scattered thoughts and put them in order. Who could he be? Some humans were drawn to the old legends of the islands that hinted at mysterious marine creatures—remnants of old folk memories, from the times when humans and mermen lived side by side. Perhaps the stranger had come to find out more. Perhaps he was bluffing … perhaps he didn’t really know about the mermen, but pretended that he did, so she’d reveal herself to him.

The idea calmed her a little. Maybe nothing was lost. She just needed to return to human shape as quickly as possible. If only the damn shifting process didn’t take so long. She had to keep the man talking, to distract him, so he wouldn’t be tempted to come deeper into the cave.

“Who are you, and how do you know my name?”

“Jonathan Wakeford, at your service, Lady. My friends call me Jonty.” In the greyish glow she saw him bow, an old-fashioned gesture to accompany the old-fashioned words. “May Seaborne gave me your name and told me where I could find you.”

Anguish released its grip on Caltha’s throat, and she gulped some air. This changed things. May Seaborne was a powerful sea witch on the mainland, and she was a friend of the mermen. Witches and warlocks were not like other humans. They were allies. If this man was friendly with the old witch, perhaps he wasn’t a threat.

“How do you know May Seaborne?”

Jonty answered without hesitation. “Through the man I work for. Ariel Wolfsbane, leader of the London warlocks.”

The remnants of Caltha’s fear evaporated. “I’ve heard of Ariel and his brothers. So, you’re a warlock, like them?” She stopped shifting, heady with relief. She no longer needed to hide.

Jonty cleared his throat. “I was. I mean, I am, but I no longer actively practise magic.”

A warlock who had given up sorcery? Caltha had never heard of such a thing. Curiosity pricked her, and she marched up to him.

“Switch your torch back on. I want to see your face.”

Yellow light surged. He turned the beam on himself. Now she could see all of him. His muscular frame wrapped in black leathers, his cropped blond hair, his cheekbones. And the deep scar beneath the stubble on his cheek.

He met her gaze. If it hadn’t been for the scar, and the slightly haunted look in his ice-blue eyes, he’d have been as hot as the movie stars she used to watch in the only cinema on Newrock Island. She had sometimes sneaked in there after school, in the days before her mother had died and the weight of leadership had descended on her seventeen-year-old shoulders.

She gave herself a mental shake. She couldn’t afford to let the memories overwhelm her. This warlock, or ex-warlock, could be bringing news of a threat, even if he were no threat himself.

“How could you stop doing magic? It must be like trying to stop breathing.”

“For you, maybe.” Jonty gave her a rueful smile. “For us humans, magic is something we can give up. Sometimes it’s better for us. And for those we love.”

The sadness in his voice touched her, and a tendril of compassion shot up in response. Something bad had happened, something that had turned him away from his magic.

Blurb: Caltha Dooran is the toughest, fiercest shape-shifting mermaid in the western seas. She has three Clans to rule, and no time for romance. But when a warlock, Jonty, turns up and asks her to come with him to London to capture a water monster, she can’t say no. In London, away from her duties, her attraction for Jonty grows… and they soon fall under each other’s spell. But will his past and her responsibilities pull them apart, or can they find the only true magic, the one that binds two souls together?

Available now: https://books2read.com/u/3LglAN

About Alice: Alice Renaud lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second and third books, “Music for a Merman,” and “Mermaids Marry in Green,” are out now. Alice has also contributed short stories for the BVS anthologies “Mystic Desire” and “Desire Me Again,” both available now. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

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