Chapter 38

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

Days had passed since Reid had last seen Nireed, perched on the gunwale of Nautic's factory ship. Work got in the way, and Hatcher's arrest, but now Reid was off duty, and he needed to see his siren. Make sure she was okay. Hold her, even if only for a little bit, if she wasn't. She had her sister and her friends and her pod, but he wanted to be there for her, too, in any way he could.

Reid hitched a ride offshore on The Lovely Lorelei . They couldn't enter mermaid territory, now officially a marine sanctuary, but Killian could get him close.

"Thanks for letting me tag along."

Killian was out on deck with him, watching as Reid triple checked his gear. "Does she know you're coming?"

"No. I'm hoping she'll smell me."

"All the way from the underwater city?" Killian folded his arms. "Not much of a plan."

"It's not," Reid agreed. "But I need to try. I won't go far."

Killian heaved a sigh, swiping a hand over his scruff. The captain hated this idea, that was plain to see. "You've got an hour. That's all I can give. If we don't work, we don't get paid."

"I'll take whatever I can get. And the tank can't hold more than that anyway."

"God help me. You and your sister sure find funny ways to stress me out."

This dive was more unnerving than the last. It was just him and the open ocean. No helicopter overhead, ready to yank him out at a moment's notice. No Lila tracking his location on GPS. No Lorelei in the water with him, showing him the way.

He wouldn't go far, or nearly as deep. Desperate as he was to see Nireed, he wasn't going to risk getting nitrogen narcosis again. It was still foolhardy, no doubt about that.

Reid descended to fifty feet and hovered there.

Waiting and hoping and utterly lovesick.

It wasn't Nireed who came, but his presence was noted. A small group of merfolk rose from the deep, green and blue light winking softly in the dark. They ascended to his level, but hung back, maintaining some distance.

He slowly, and clumsily, signed, "I'm looking for Nireed."

The group's collective bioluminescent brightened, and one of them began to sign back, a merman with golden scales, but his hand movements were fast, and Reid didn't recognize all the signs.

The merfolk watched patiently as Reid fingerspelled, "I don't understand."

This time, the merman fingerspelled the words, graciously keeping his movements slow. "Are you Reid?"

He nodded.

"I'm Aquilus. We'll get her for you."

The group returned to the deep, Aquilus leading the way, their lights fading and fading, until they winked out of sight. Reid checked his pressure and depth gauges and kept an eye on his watch. Ten minutes was a long time alone fifty feet below the surface, plenty of time to think and overthink, but to his relief, he saw a glimmer of amber, growing brighter and brighter as its bearer rose from the abyss.

Nireed streaked through the dark like a shooting star, and he braced himself for another tackle, but she mercifully drew up short, eyes wide with surprise and wonder.

"You okay, Starfish?"

Her expression softened, lingering traces of grief still there. Carefully minding his hose and respirator, she wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. As he hugged his girl back, her body heaved a sigh of relief in his arms, all the tension ebbing. After everything, finally some peace. She was safe and sound, at last. Her mission accomplished.

They stayed like that for a long time. Long enough that he had to start thinking about ascent. But he soaked in every single moment they had, imprinting the feel of her into his flesh—his breathing limitations would grant them so few like this.

Reluctantly, he drew back just enough to repeat his question, but this time, when he asked, "Are you okay?" her cheeks were glowing a happy amber.

"I am now."