Chapter 7

Seven

Standing in front of her father's office, Alys froze with her hand frozen and ready to knock on his door. She didn't want to do this. But she also didn't have a choice.

She'd heard the conversations. She knew what their people were planning to do, and she couldn't stand here and let it happen. Or at the very least, she needed confirmation that her father wouldn't actually let them destroy so much of the ocean.

She didn't even know if it would affect Imber and his people. But did it matter? Her people needed a safe place to live, but that didn't mean they got to destroy everything that stood in their way. That wasn't how the world should work. Not everything had to be a battle. Sometimes, it could just be a quiet ask and an understanding that of all the things that happened, there were people who were willing to help.

Still, she remained frozen. Afraid of what would happen if she asked her father to tell her the truth.

Because what if the truth was what she feared?

"Come inside, Alys," her father's warm voice called out. "I know you're out there."

Something melted inside her. Her father had always been a good man. He was the first one to show her the ocean and convince her to let it sink into her soul. He loved it just as much as she did, and he'd proven that to her countless times.

Of all people, he knew how important it was to maintain the glory and original beauty of the sea. He loved it. Deeply. They'd been on countless explorations together, just the two of them in his submarine where he named every single creature that they passed, every shell, even the currents that pushed their ship this way and that.

So she went into the room with her shoulders stiff and her jaw tight. Ready to argue for the place they both loved.

Her father sat at his desk, his glasses dangling from his neck while he poured over all the architectural designs that were likely for Alpha. His room was a mess, as always. Filled to the brim with objects they found on their dives, shells and coral and countless skeletons that he'd meticulously wire wrapped and then displayed. There was only one window in his room, but it didn't let in much light with the volcanoes like they were today. Instead, he lit the room with countless whale oil lanterns that turned everything orange and red.

He looked up at her, those eyes wrinkling at the corners because they always did when he saw her. His entire face lit up whenever his daughter walked into the room.

She remembered someone asking him about that once. And he said that his greatest discovery had nothing to do with the sea, but with the life he had made. Because no matter what he found, or what he made, his daughter would always be the first person who mattered.

Tears pricked her eyes. It was hard to think of her father as a bad man when he was the one who had been there for her. But she knew that he also wanted to make sure this city was everything that anyone had ever expected of him.

She loved him. Even through his faults. Even though maybe he was focused on this a little too much.

Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes and slumped into the chair in front of her father's desk. "Dad..."

"You seem upset."

"I've been listening through the walls," she muttered. "I overheard everything you and the General said to each other. And I... Dad. You can't do this."

Her father leaned back in his chair. She could see how hard it was for him to pull himself away from his work. Even when he looked at her, his eyes flicked to the small details on the pages in front of him. His mind didn't want to stop thinking about all the things that he needed to figure out. No matter how hard he tried to focus on her, he would always look first to his work.

It had been this way her entire life. Alys shouldn't feel so bad about it. When she was little, it was fun to work with him. She enjoyed going out to the sea and listening to him ramble about all the dreams he had. That he would be a great man who no one forgot.

But now, she saw the flaw in it. He was a man obsessed.

"Why?" she asked when he didn't reply to her. "Why do you want to ruin something so beautiful? Something you and I have dedicated our entire life to exploring?"

"We're not ruining all of it," he replied. But she could see the shadows in his eyes. Even he didn't believe his words. "Just a small section. Carving out an area for our people to live will not be easy."

"No, it won't. But I don't think the General is being honest with you. You don't need to have cameras and weapons pointed in every direction. What could possibly hurt us in the ocean?"

She knew what could hurt them. The undines were long and strong. They were powerful in a way no human could ever be, and she wasn't even all that confident her people could fight them off if they tried to attack. She knew, without a doubt, that should be a concern.

But she also respected Imber. She saw the beauty of his kind and understood that her people were trying to take over his home. They had to understand that there were people already there, and so the respect they had to have for the undines needed to come first.

She said none of this to her father. But when she looked at him, she could see a lie forming on his tongue so easily.

He...

Without thought, the words fell from her mouth. "You know."

Her father looked surprised. "What do I know?"

"About them." She shouldn't even be saying this.

What if he didn't know? What if she was letting her father know about this secret species and suddenly all of this might be her fault?

Could she trust her father with the knowledge that Imber's people existed? Would he run to the General and let that terrible man know that there were other things they had to worry about, and things that didn't have to do with structural integrity?

Her father slumped even more in his chair and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alys, I'm only going to ask this once, and I need you to tell me the truth. Where have you been going all these afternoons?"

A little bell of a voice in her head said that she should lie. He didn't need to know where she was going. What if this was a trick? A trap? What if they locked her up, and they refused to let her see Imber again?

But this was her father. And she loved him. Trusted him. Even though he had done some questionable things as of late, she knew, in his heart, he was a good man.

"I've been meeting with the sea," she replied quietly. She stared into his gaze, hoping he knew what that meant.

"Exploring?"

"Talking," she corrected. "And exploring, I suppose. But mostly talking."

She could see that he understood what she was saying. He knew that she meant she had conversed with the people under the sea and the spark of adventure in his eyes was so familiar it made her heart thud in her chest.

"How?" he asked.

"Beta."

"A translation chip? But we know nothing about their language."

Alys shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I gave him a copy of Beta. And he brought it home with him."

"He?"

She nodded.

Her father let out a long breath. "So he brought Beta home and spoke with it?"

"For days on end, I assume. It's not a complete mapping of their language, and I did only have Beta create one before it turned itself offline because I didn't want anyone else getting their hands on the language without knowing what they might do with it." Strangely, she felt rather defensive about her plan. "I thought of everything, Dad."

"I can tell." He stood from his desk and then held out his hand for her to take. "I need you to see something."

That pit in her stomach continued to tighten as she followed him out of his office. Together, they left their home and walked down the boardwalks that brought them closer to the city. Not that it was much of a city anymore. They had a small gathering of the richer folks here, while everyone else had tried to live in the mountain towns.

It hadn't worked to save them. The air was even thinner up there, filled with ash and dust from the volcanoes. At least the storms didn't hit them like they hit the people on the coastlines, though. That's why they all lived in floating houses. Theoretically, their houses rode the waves that came in.

She'd still seen people lose their houses time and time again, though. And their lives.

Her father brought her to one of the homes that she'd always thought was storage and then pulled out a set of keys. Quickly, he unlocked the building while looking around them like someone might be following them.

Or perhaps that they would get in trouble if anyone caught them.

"Come on," he said, hastening her with his tone. "Let's go, Alys."

Together, they snuck into the darkness of the building. She was shocked to see what was beyond.

A room full of artifacts. Spears. Tools that surely were only used by Imber and his people. Strange looking skeletons that she quickly realized were one of the undines. The tail was so long, though. Longer even than Imber. There were so many creatures in here as well. Deep-sea species that she had never thought to see in her life.

There were even art pieces. Woven tapestries and necklaces like the one she hid underneath her thick sweater. So many pieces of his people's life, all held up in storage.

"What is this?" she asked. "Have you known about his people for a long time?"

"A very long time," her father replied. He strode into the center of the room, his hands tucked behind his back. "This is why the General wants to clear out everything around Alpha. He wants to make sure that none of them can get close to the city without him knowing."

"They aren't violent."

"Oh, but they are." With pursed lips and a furrowed brow, he turned his back to her and instead faced a spear that was longer than she was tall. "They have attacked us before. Most of the attacks were on the subs that have been scouting out an area for us to live. There are certain areas that they are much more protective of."

"Probably because that's where they live," she said. "Dad, can't you see this is wrong? We can't just move into where they have their homes and families. I don't care if Alpha's location is perfect. We can't build there."

"You cannot stop progress, Alys."

"Progress?" She felt nauseous even thinking of the word. "It's not progress, Dad. It's displacing a group of people who have never given us any trouble."

"We need a place to live. We need to go under the sea, and if we don't, we will all die." Her father's expression remained troubled, though. She knew he was bothered by this choice. "If we don't do this, then we may be the last humans alive on this planet. We will all be wiped out."

"There has to be another way."

"It's too late." Her father's shoulders rounded in, and she knew he would not change anything that he was doing. Not for her. Not for the undines. Not for anyone. "The plans have already been designed. I've already approved all the safety measures, and there is nothing I can do to stop it now. The General has what he needs to continue forward, with or without my help. But if I continue to help, then at least I can be assured that the city will be safely built. No one will cut corners. It won't flood or crack as we have always feared it would."

"You're going to destroy their homes," she said one last time. Tears dripped down her cheeks, and she tasted salt on her tongue. "These are people, Dad. They have a language, intelligence and kindness. Imber is..."

He interrupted her. "Imber?"

"That's his name."

"It is a good name. I hope he has been kind to you." Her father turned around, and she saw there were tears in his eyes as well. "Tell him to run, Alys. Or whatever it is that they do. Swim far away from here, because if he doesn't, then his people will die. The General will stop at nothing to get what he wants. You have little time left to convince them of that."

"Dad," she whispered, begging him to tell her this would not end the way she thought it would.

"When you see them, tell them I'm sorry." He shook his head after the words, as if he couldn't quite believe himself either. "If I could do something, I would stop it. Maybe if I had the foresight to see where this would have ended up. I know... I knew who the General was and what he would expect from my work. But this was the greatest design of my life and I got caught up in it."

"Dad, you have to stop them."

"I can't." A single tear dripped down her father's cheek. "Even if I tried, lovely girl, there is nothing I can do. I could rip my designs out of their hands and burn them, but that wouldn't stop them from building the city. It's too late. I was blind, and now I will hold this guilt for the rest of my life."

She took one step back. Then another. Another. Until there felt like an entire ocean between herself and her father.

He watched her movements with sad eyes and a heart that broke just like hers. "You'll tell them I'm sorry. Won't you, Alys? Warn them and then tell them that I am so, so sorry."

She didn't have it in her to say that she didn't think apologies meant anything when their homes were going to be destroyed. They would have to share an entire ocean with a species of creature that wanted to kill them, and she didn't know that Imber's people were equipped to handle people like hers. People with guns and technology that far outpaced their own.

Swallowing her tears, she bolted away from the building. She left her father in that treasure trove of discoveries that had led to this moment they both knew that there was no coming back from. As she slipped into her submarine, uncertain if anyone had seen her flee from that place, she couldn't get the General's face out of her mind.

"Beta?" she asked, waking up her droid to help her pilot the ship. "Take me to him."