Chapter 6Cetius

Chapter 6

Cetius

My contact conch sent out another alert. The vibrations were slight but still enough for me to detect them through the water. I turned the shell around to see a reminder from Lago to read up on the information he’d sent me about humans and their transition to deep-sea living.

They were not like our kind. None of the species compatible with us was. The prevailing scientific wisdom said that our kind had lived on land millions of years ago. Back then, land covered most of our planet. Then over time the ocean grew, until only the very highest points were above water.

As the eons progressed, the waves eroded the portions still underwater, disconnecting the islands from the ocean floors and leaving them floating at sea. There were still a few islands attached by a narrow column, but they were slowly disappearing too. Just a few years ago, the column holding one of the largest islands on the planet broke, and now that island was forever adrift too, its course dictated by the currents like everything else on the planet.

I quickly shot back a message, thanking him and letting him know that I’d given it a look. That was only partly true. The document was ridiculously long, and while I’d given it a cursory glance, enough to know that for her safety I had to take it slow when returning her back to the surface, I hadn’t read it top to bottom. But I was sure Vera would be fine.

Aside from her shock at losing her voice underwater, we’d made it to my home without incident, and she was now safely ensconced in the air-filled room I’d made for her.

Humans were not nearly as rare as they once were here, and the company I’d hired to build the room was knowledgeable and well-reviewed. With so many surface dwellers living in our city now, building dry areas where they could rest and live comfortably was important. The gift of our gills alone wasn’t enough most of the time.

A knock on my office door had me looking up. My door was open, and Iravan looked surprised to see me at the office.

“Why are you here, Cetius?” he asked. “I thought you were welcoming your new female.”

Iravan was a childhood friend turned employee who worked with me at my grandsire’s business, Ebb Tide Trading. We supplied one-of-a-kind décor pieces and rare finds for only the most distinguished of collectors. It was born out of my grandsire’s love of travel and great need to see the open ocean and all the islands floating in the great unknown.

I had the need to explore as well, fueled by all the wonderful stories my grandsire had told me ever since I’d been a young spawn, and indeed I’d spent some time out in the open ocean when I was younger, but that was all behind me now. My job these days was to run the family business from the safety of Coral’s Deep. It wasn’t ideal, but I understood why my grandfather was leaving it to me and not to my older brother.

Algrim had…issues. I don’t know when it all started: we assumed it was not long after the attack on our females. Maybe it was losing first our mother and then our father in rapid succession. He became unstable and prone to fits of violence. He was still intelligent, but unpredictable. It made for a dangerous combination.

That was one of the reasons I had moved out and invited Cetia to live with me. I didn’t want him anywhere near her. It wasn’t that I thought our brother would actually hurt her, but…well, I couldn’t really tell anymore. Regardless, it worked out well for everyone, since Cetia wanted to be closer to the city center.

Thinking about Algrim made me sad. He hadn’t always been like that. He wasn’t the same brother I’d grown up with. But at least I still had Cetia.

“My bride is safe in my home. I sent Cetia to keep her company.”

“That’s nice, but not the same. She’s here to be your bride, not your sister’s.”

“I know.”

The plan had been to come into the office, find the information I needed, send it off to the vendor, and swiftly return home. But once I got here, I’d gotten another call. Then one thing led to another, as it always did, and somehow, I was still here.

“Give me your work contact conch. I’ll take over for the next few days. You should be with your new wife. She’s come a long way, and she must be terrified. Those who live on land usually have a hard time adjusting to being underwater. What type is she, anyway?” He held out his hand for my conch.

I handed it over very reluctantly. I was terrible at delegating.

“Human.”

“You are lucky. Humans resemble our kind closely enough. They don’t have tails or fins, but their upper bodies are attractive. Very attractive, with full teats that show off their fertility. My cousin was not so lucky. He was matched with a Gargii.”

I grimaced. Gargiis were round and shapeless and an off-putting shade of gray. They had tails, but they didn’t help them in the water at all. All in all, they were the least aerodynamic species our kind could be matched with. The only thing they had going for them was that they floated. But that too was a hindrance in an underwater city, and they had to have weights attached to keep them from floating away.

“My condolences to him.”

“Not necessary. He’s completely in love with her. He thinks she’s better than the tides themselves.”

“In that case, may the tides bless their union.”

What did I know about other species? Before meeting Vera, I’d thought humans strange looking, like deformed versions of our own species, missing all the parts that made us strong. They didn’t have tails to help them slice through the water. No fins to help them steer. They had neither scales nor spines to protect them from the dangers in the open waters and lacked the claws to help them hold on to the rocks when the currents were wild.

Also, their custom of eating animals that were already dead just felt wrong. Why would anyone want to eat something like that? Food should still be alive when you catch it.

But now that I’d met Vera, I could see the positive traits. Their skin was silky smooth in the water, and as Iravan noted, their torsos were like that of our females except more voluptuous, and softer.

It was as if their fertility was thrust right out, along with their rounded bosoms. The feel of Vera’s body as she struggled against mine had affected me greatly. Even now, the thought of her silky-smooth skin gliding against my scales had me fighting my vent, which wanted to open and release my cock. That kiss we had shared before I left wasn’t helping, either.

“Go, Cetius. Your female awaits. Don’t waste a special day like this working. Cetion wouldn’t be happy if he found out.”

“Cetion doesn’t know she’s here yet.” My grandsire knew I had contacted Starlight Brides, but not any of the details.

“But he will soon, unless you teleported her directly to your bedroom. Better get back to her before Cetion shows up and starts bargaining with her for future great-grandspawn.”

Iravan was correct, of course. The significant attention we’d gotten on the streets meant that half the city probably already knew about her.

“You are right. I should go rescue her.” I picked up my personal contact conch and shut my terminal down.

Iravan chuckled. “Yes. Go do that. And once she gets settled, I have to meet her. I can’t believe my best friend is actually married.”

“You could always go to Starlight Brides yourself,” I suggested.

He snorted. “And risk getting matched with a Gargii? No thanks.”

***

I returned home too late. My grandsire had already found my little bride. I found him and Cetia in the library, showing Vera the journals he’d kept in his youth as he traveled the five seas. I wondered if he’d had time to mention great-grandspawn yet. I fervently hoped not.

“ There he is! I can’t believe you brought her home without letting me know and then went straight back to work afterward. That’s why we have employees, Cetius. You really need to learn how to delegate.”

“You’re right, Grandsire. And in fact I gave Iravan my work contact conch for the next few days so I can spend some time with my new bride.”

“Good, good. Get started on those great-grandspawn for me.”

Cetia looked ready to explode with mirth as she held in a laugh. If she was a few years older, our grandsire would be pushing her as well, but for now, she was immune to the ever-present pressure to repopulate the city and keep our kind from dying out.

“I don’t have long now, you know,” our grandsire said, erasing any traces of amusement from Cetia’s face. “I want to see all of you happy before I leave.”

“We are happy,” I said.

“Ya, completely happy,” Cetia echoed. She hooked an arm through our grandsire’s elbow. “Now let’s leave the newlyweds alone so they can get started on those great-grandspawn for you. We can head out to the market.”

I looked over at Vera, hoping this wasn’t scaring her away, but she just looked amused. It was only now that I noticed her color wasn’t as rosy as it had been before. I waited for my sister and grandsire to leave, then asked, “Are you feeling all right? You look a little pale.”

I took her hand in mine and was surprised by the wrinkling skin on her fingers. They had been perfectly smooth before.

“What happened?”

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Drat! I’d forgotten about her voice.

Gathering her into my arms, I whisked us down the corridor and into her room, the only dry refuge in the home. I probably should build a few more of them for her, even if she was only going to be here for a year.

She gasped in her first lungful of air greedily.

“What is wrong?” I asked her again.

“I think I’ve been in the water too long. I’m getting all wrinkly like a prune. I feel a bit dizzy, too. And I just realized I haven’t had anything to drink since arriving on the planet.”

“To drink?” My body naturally directed the water I needed into my digestive tract, and while I sometimes chose to imbibe flavored drinks as well, it certainly wasn’t a requirement.

“I can’t drink seawater. At least not the seawater on Earth; it’s too salty, and it will only make me even thirstier, dehydrating me. The seawater here tastes pretty salty, too. I need fresh water.”

Fuck. I really should have read through the information package Lago had sent me earlier.

“There’s a pouch of it I received as a sample somewhere. I will find it for you.” I slipped back into the pool by her door. “Stay here.”

Where had I put it? I checked the dining room, but it wasn’t there. Eventually, I found it tucked away in a desk drawer in my home office. I returned with the sealed pouch to Vera’s room.

She took it from me, fiddled with the packaging, and took a sip gratefully.

“I’ve seen these at the stores. I’ll send Seena out to get some for you while I read the info the healer sent me.”

She was still wet, and her hair dripping. She looked very uncomfortable.

Then I remembered the fluffy pieces of fabric on the shelf. I reached for one and handed it to her.

“Oh, towels! I didn’t even notice them. Thank you.”

I sat her down in front of the computer in the awkwardly shaped chair designed for a human body, brought up the files, and then had the computer translate a copy for her as well. I continued reading as she dried off.

According to the information there, her skin was not waterproof and took on excess water if she stayed submerged too long. Indeed, it would start to break down after a few days, exposing her to infections. Sure enough, I noticed the water had not beaded off her body as it did mine. And despite the towel, her hair was still damp.

The only places on her body meant to be constantly wet were apparently something called the mucous membranes. There was a salve that waterproofed her skin, and as long as she reapplied it every few days, it would keep her safe. Her need to ingest fresh water was also mentioned. Without it, she could die in a distressingly short period of time. I stared at the information in shock.

“I’m very sorry. I inadvertently put you in danger because I was so focused on my work that I didn’t read this through before you arrived.” I sent Seena a note listing all the supplies we needed.

“It’s okay. I didn’t know either. I’ve never been underwater for hours at a time until now.” She yawned. “I’m also very tired. I think all the excitement has finally caught up with me.”

“I too have had a long day. We will rest now.”

I guided her to the bed. The fabric of her garments was still damp, so I pulled at the ties at the back and sides.

She gasped and covered her breasts and crotch when the garments fell to the ground. Humans’ shyness about their natural bodies was strange to me, but she’d get used to being naked with time.

“The triangles are wet. You need to be completely dry,” I explained as I pulled back the dry sheets for her invitingly.

She clambered in, covering herself with the blanket.

Then I climbed under the sheets with her.