Chapter 14

Fourteen

Everything was a whirlwind after that. Imber watched from below the dock as she slipped into the house and there was very little he could see from the water. But her father was a sneaky man, far more than his daughter likely realized. Imber could watch him far easier than he could his mate.

The professor had built himself more than just the one facility to keep all the items from Imber's people. His sister had come here to investigate after he'd told her what Alys had told him. It didn't take very long for them to put two and two together.

Obviously, Alys's father hadn't told her everything.

Which meant it was up to him and his people to find out the whole truth about what this man didn't want Alys to see. Easily enough, really, because her father had built himself a tank underneath the ocean to sit in.

Or something like that. Virago had only explained it in simple terms, and he thought it was long pastime for him to see it himself. It wasn't hidden, not really. Alys had never swum near their home or she would have seen it. Anyone could see it.

Her father had added another level underneath their home, and the majority of it was glass. Imber could see right through the walls and track every step the professor made. Though the man was deep in thought, he really should look up at the glass more often. If he had, then he would see Imber floating right beyond it.

Alys had said her people were dangerous. She told him about the many risks and how nervous she was about all of it. In some sense, he knew there was logic to her fear. He had seen what their machines had done to his home and how those creations had eaten up rock and mountains of land that stood in their way. He knew there were likely other creations they had made as well.

But if he were to meet one alone, without any of their metal warriors, Imber had no question he was the stronger creature.

So he stayed where he was. Unafraid that her father would see him on the other side of the glass, watching him. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted the old man to see him. To feel the fear that surely he should feel.

Eventually, however, he got nervous. Alys had gone into the home a while ago and still her father was down here. The old man surely could hear her upstairs, or at the very least, she had to be shouting for him.

His mate needed help. And this was the only person who could give her that help.

Angry now, he slapped his fluke against the glass. Hard. That made the old man jump high enough that all the papers in his hands were flung into the air. They fell like the ash and dust that remained of his home before the man realized there was someone outside his window. Someone who was much larger and significantly more dangerous.

Imber bared his teeth in a pleased grin as he watched all the blood drain from the old man's face. Fear flickered in his movements, and he looked over at the door before looking back at Imber. As though he thought the monster at his windows was about to break in and flood the entire place.

But Imber did not want to harm the old man. Not yet. Instead, he pressed a finger to his lips, as Alys had done to him once when he was talking too much, and then pointed up.

The professor clearly had no idea what that meant. Somehow his face turned even paler, like the inside of a clam shell. What a shame, really, because Imber enjoyed seeing the sun-kissed burnish of the achromo's skin.

Again, he pointed up, then gestured for the old man to leave.

That seemed to get the professor moving, because he bolted from the room like it was about to implode at any minute. Rolling his eyes, Imber made sure he was tucked away and out of sight from anyone above the water.

He should return home. He should go back to his people and make sure they were well. But he couldn't leave. Not yet, at least. He had to make sure that Alys was getting treated for whatever ailment bothered her, and then he could return to his people.

All he knew was that it felt as though he'd ripped out his heart when she walked away from him. He had seen the way she stumbled, the way pain had been laced in every single step, and he'd known in that moment he couldn't leave.

Not yet.

Soon, he would convince himself that she was in good hands.

He had no idea how long he waited. Coiled around the base of the building, he could have been there for days on end. Likely was, considering how stiff his tail was. Eventually, though, he peeled himself away from the cold stone and looked through the glass.

There was a sound there, and one that he'd been waiting to hear.

The clipped footsteps coming down the stairs were too many to just be one person. Which meant the professor was returning with another person at his side. Imber knew he should dart away from the glass and hide. Who knew who the professor was bringing? The other person could easily be someone who was meant to fight against Imber, to attack him or burn him as they had his people before.

It was a risk he was willing to take. Just in case the person on the other side of the glass was... was...

Alys came down the stairs and filled the room like a ray of sunshine. Her golden hair had been washed and brushed, and he could see it was just as beautiful as it had been when he'd first seen her. Those locks were shiny and smooth, falling around her head in a cascade of golden curls like a waterfall. Her skin was nearly back to normal, although there were still a few red lines at her joints that clearly hadn't healed just yet. But the dark circles under her lovely eyes were gone, and the bright expression on her face was full of life.

Just as he would always remember her. Because this was how she looked the first time he'd met her, and it was that first glimpse that had filled his soul with sunlight.

She was so beautiful that it was hard to breathe when he looked at her.

And her? She bolted toward the glass the moment she saw him. Ran for him, moving faster than he'd realized her kind could until she was right there. So close he could have touched her if there wasn't a barrier between them.

Just like the first time they'd seen each other, she lifted her hand and pressed it against the glass. So he mirrored her, wishing he could actually touch her.

He wanted to hold her and make sure that she was still really alive. He wanted to feel her against his chest, to know without a doubt, she wasn't broken. She wasn't still injured.

Though she still looked a little tired, she was now with him. He thought perhaps it had been days on end that he'd been here. His people must be wondering where he was, but he...

It didn't matter. He was with his mate.

All of his gills flared wide, and he knew his tail was already lighting up. He took a risk that someone might see him, but he wanted her to know without words that he was happy to see her. He wanted her to know that he'd waited for her. And he would continue to wait until the very end of time if that was what it took.

Her father stood awkwardly behind her. Though there was a muffled quality to their voices, Imber could still make out what they were saying.

"So this is him?" her father asked.

"This is Imber, Dad."

"Imber," her father repeated, as though trying to press the name into memory. Then he did something that Imber didn't expect. The professor walked right up to the glass and cleared his throat. "We haven't been officially introduced, but hello. My name is Jasper Fairweather, and I've heard quite a bit about you."

He blinked at the old man, surprised that he was so bold when the last time he'd seen him, the man had run up the stairs, tripping as he went. "Any family of Alys's is family of mine. If they're brave enough."

Alys eyed him before repeating the words to her father, word for word. Even the last bit that he had intended to be nothing more than intimidation.

Jasper swallowed hard, his throat working before he nodded. "It's not as easy as you make it sound, I'm afraid. There are more people at risk here than just you or I. I'm sure you know about the city we intend to build."

"My home was destroyed, old man. I think we know your people are out to kill mine."

Again, Alys repeated it, although she gave him a glare before adding on, "We were there when the droids started clearing and flattening for Alpha. His people were living there, Dad. More than that, there were some of his people who were injured. It's not right what is happening."

"I already told you I cannot stop it." Her father staggered over to a large box covered in paper and sat down behind it. "There is little I can do. I could sabotage the architectural plans, but all that would succeed in doing is murdering countless people. The city would implode, and their home would still be gone. But on top of it, there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of our own people dead."

"You shouldn't have designed it in the first place," Alys hissed.

"I know." Her father looked first at her, then at Imber on the other side of the glass. His gaze lingered where their hands were still pressed together, his voice shaking as he replied. "I know there was so much I could have done differently. It's why I'm not suggesting that I go back with you. My darling, there is nothing I can do now. I have to go down with my own ship."

"You aren't a captain, Dad."

"No, but I am the person who created the destruction. I'm not going to ask him or his people to forgive me. I have done something that is unforgivable." Her father leaned forward, his fingertips pressed together against his lips. "But perhaps there is still something I can do for my daughter. The only person I have ever really loved."

Silence fell then.

Imber wanted to ask what the old man was talking about. How could he help Alys? The ocean would forever wear at her body, and though he suspected there was some form of magic to what the achromos did, he didn't think it was possible to change her body into something else.

Alys let her hand slip from the glass as she turned to her father. "What do you mean?"

"You cannot stay here." The old man looked defeated as he said it. "The General has already heard about your sub returning, ripped apart and without its pilot. There are too many variables at your return, and the man is already ridiculously suspicious about your friends coming and ruining his new city. You cannot be here. No one can know that you are."

"I know that," Alys replied, taking a step closer to her father. "I just didn't know where else to go."

"You need somewhere safe to live."

Of that, he agreed. Imber swam to the window closer to her father, a little farther from Alys. "I agree with that. The ocean will kill her, old man. So what are you suggesting?"

Alys made a grumpy noise at him and then did not translate what he had just said. "Dad, I tried to live with him under the water. You, of all people, know what the ocean can do to our bodies. It's just not possible for me to live there."

"And you cannot live above the ocean either."

Imber frowned, his eyes darting from achromos to achromos before growling, "And why is that?"

This time she translated for him, and Jasper turned to give him a look that clearly said her father wasn't pleased with his daughter's chosen mate. "We are all going under the sea for a reason, undine. There are many risks to staying above the water now. Our world is slowly dying. Between the storms, the volcanoes, the plagues, all of it. It's sweeping across this world and there is nothing we can do to stop it. The only thing we can do now is to hide."

"Then hide above the water," he growled.

Jasper looked to his daughter for translation, then sighed. "I wish it were possible. There is nowhere left for us to hide. I could build my daughter a small home here in a few months, but within a year, it would be destroyed. For her to safely stay in touch with you, it has to be near the sea. And if it is near the sea, then the storms will rip it apart. She would die. Do you understand that? Above the sea, there is nowhere for her to safely live. And there is nowhere for us to go other than under the waves."

So that was the problem. Her people were dying out, and they were fleeing in whatever direction they could to stay alive.

It posed a problem. Because he did not want to kill any species without cause, but he also did not want to share his home. Not with so many creatures who had no sense about them.

He grunted in understanding and then said, "Then you must bring the air to her."

Alys translated, and her father nodded. "My thoughts exactly, undine. We will bring the air to her and that will be my parting gift to my daughter. A love letter made of metal and all the parts that will be needed to keep her alive into old age. Perhaps beyond. I have hope that maybe someday, our kind will see to reason that there is more we can give each other than battle and war."

Imber did not share the same hope. Namely, because he didn't believe it was possible.

Their kinds were designed to fight each other. To battle until the bitter end, until there was nothing left in the ocean but blood and salt.

Still, he nodded for the old man's sake, and for Alys's.

"Dad," she whispered, and he saw that Alys's face had paled as well. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to build you a home, my dear. An escape pod unlike anything else." Her father seemed even more tired as he said the words. "But it will take time. Time that you need to stay here, hidden, so no one knows what I'm going to do. And then, at the last moment, I will set you free."

It made Imber's stomach roll, but he knew it was the best decision. So he swam closer to the window again, waiting for his mate to put her palm to the glass. "I will find you," he said to her. This time, he made the promise. "And soon, my love, my mate, you will be home again."