Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

CHIP

"Okay, up. We have got to go." I swam through the window and right to where he was still lying in my bed. "You haven't moved all day."

He lay in my bed with one arm lying at his side and the other over his head with his hand behind it. The muscles in his arms and torso were on full display, and even though I'd been seeing him like this all week, after last night I felt like it was the first time I ever noticed how beautiful he really was. His tousled dark hair drifted around his face.

His lips pulled up into a half-sleepy smile."My tail is broken, or did you forget that?" His words weren't sharp or cross in any way. They were said with a lazy ease I hadn't seen in him before.

Something had changed in him last night too. I just wasn't sure if it was the same way I had or not.

"I didn't forget." I swam over to the foot of my bed and sat down. "We're going to ride the currents."

His brow furrowed. "What's that?"

"Listen, after last night and all the things we talked about, I thought it was time you got to know what it's really like to be a siren." I wanted to reach out and grab his arm and yank him up out of bed . . . or maybe curl into his side and stay there all day with him.

But that was dangerous territory for my mind and my heart. I still wasn't sure where I stood with him.

"I know what it's like. You know with the tail, and the ocean, and all the swimming." He wiggled the tips of his tail to emphasize his words.

I moved up the bed and placed both my hands under his shoulders and gave him a shove. He rolled out of the bed and floated beside it. "Really? Was that necessary? Feisty today."

"Yes." If the sea only reminded Monroe of tragedy, then he would never see it for what it truly was and the fun it had to offer. "Because we are going to remind you just how awesome being a siren really is."

"And if I say no, you're going to drag me around anyways?" He smirked at me.

I nodded. "Yes, definitely."

"Then I guess I can't fight it. Somehow, I feel like fighting against you is like trying to fight the ocean from rushing up on the sand."

"Exactly." I hurried toward him and grabbed his hand. Before he could stop me, I tugged him out the window and around the outside of the castle."C'mon, you're adventurous. Prove it."

He rolled his eyes but was definitely smiling, and blushing. "So bossy today. Okay."

During the daylight, the sun shone down on it through the water and everything glistened and sparkled. My dad peeked his head out one of the windows of the castle. "Chip! He's supposed to be resting."

"He's fine," I yelled back. "Aren't you?"

Monroe gave him a small wave. "She said we're going to ride the currents . . . whatever that means?"

His eyes widened and his lips pulled up in a half-smile. "In that case, be careful."

"We will," I called back and gave Monroe's hand a squeeze.

A giant sea turtle glided by, and his eyes lit up and he followed it with his gaze. A school of fish circled us as we swam, brushing over our skin and tickling us with light touches.

Monroe chuckled and it made me smile. This was the point of today, to help him find joy in the ocean again.

I twisted in the water and guided us toward the first hidden current. It wasn't the currents the humans tracked and put on the television. This was for sea-life only. I could tell where it ran through the water because that part of the water moved faster and there were tiny bubbles moving as though they were in a tube.

Monroe reached out and put his hand in the current, bending and flexing his fingers. "That's wild."

"On the count of three, we jump in. Are you ready?" I wagged my eyebrows at him.

Excitement lit his features, and he nodded. "On three."

"One . . . two . . . three!"

I dove forward and dragged him with me. We instantly caught in the current and I let his hand go. He spread his arms wide and let the rushing water carry him.

"This is crazy." He wasn't wrong.

We traveled at an amazingly fast speed. I'd done this so many times before, but I forgot what it was like for someone who'd never experienced it. He twisted and turned his body in all different directions, letting the water carry him.

"It's one of life's simple pleasures." I put my hands behind my head and lay back like I was going down a slide.

He poked my side, and I giggled. "I could do this all day."

I glanced around to see where we were. "We could but we have to go."

"What? Where? Why? "

I grabbed his hand and flipped my tail propelling us forward and out of the current.

It took us both a minute to adjust to the calm of the deep sea. Monroe glanced around with narrowed eyes. "What are we doing here?"

"You can't tell anyone I brought you here." I swam forward, but he yanked me back. "What's wrong?"

"Chip, is this dangerous? Are you gonna get hurt?" He hesitated. "Because I very much don't want that."

"Don't start liking me now." I winked.

"Too late," he muttered, though I wasn't sure if I'd heard him right or if I heard what I wanted.

Because it was too late. Something had shifted between us. Gone was the angry tension and in its place was something new, something exciting. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I liked it.I wanted to see where it would take us. When I'd asked for that truce that night we played sardines, I only did so because we needed to be friends. For Pickles and Dawson. For our company. Yet this wasn't how I thought friendship with Monroe would feel or look.

I couldn't help but smile at him. "No, it's not dangerous, but if you tell people, this place will be filled with sirens, and I like to have a place to hide every once in a while."

"Is this another secret spot of yours?"

"Maybe." I winked.

He grinned, then pretended to zip his lips shut.

We swam forward and the seafloor began to glow. Veins of lava traveled deep below the ocean floor, yet they still emitted that orange glow. Bubbles rose from them like vents in the bottom of a hot tub.

Monroe held his hands out. "The water is warmer here."

I swam over to drift into the bubbles. "If you lie here, if feels like a thousand kisses over your body."

His eyes widened. "A thousand kisses, huh?"

"That's right." I closed my eyes and let the warm bubbles run over my skin and scales.

"What are these?" When I peeked my eyes open, his skin was all aglow from the dark lights and tiny bubbles clinging to him.

I twisted my hand around and the bubbles rushed to the surface. "They're called hydro vents. Lava flows under them. They're all over the ocean, usually closer to the underwater volcanoes."

"Have you ever been there?" The golden flecks in his eyes nearly glowed as they reflected the warm light.

I knew Monroe would love the underwater volcanoes. And I found myself dying to show them to him. I apparently enjoyed seeing him happy. It was weird.

I cleared my throat. "Oh yeah, it's awesome, but I can't take you there until your tail is fully healed. If there's an eruption, we'd have to get out of there fast. Plus, they're less warm bubbles and glowing light and more black smoke and spurting lava. They're beautiful in a dangerous kind of way."

"I think that would describe everything in the ocean."

I giggled. "Fair. Fine, I won't take you?—"

"No, no." He shook his head and waved his finger in front of me. He had a mischievous grin on his face. "You're taking me. You can't drop underwater volcanoes on me and then not follow through."

"Fine, but in November. I don't want you to miss any more of spooky season than you already are."

He twisted around in the bubbles to face me. "We should've done this from the beginning."

"What? Drag you to the ocean floor against your wishes?" I nodded. "I considered it, but Dad would've been pissed."

"Ass." He chuckled and splashed a little wave into my face. "Besides, the nacho cheese in the popcorn was pretty good. So was knocking me into the pool."

My face fell. "No, I actually feel bad about that one. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"Meh. I started it with making you shift."

"Yeah, true. Jerk move, butthead." I stuck my tongue out at him. "But I don't know how I thought throwing you into the pool backwards was going to end well."

"But like . . . if you really think about it . . . who turns into a whale?"

I threw my head back and laughed. "No one could've predicted she'd choose the whale."

He chuckled and shook his head. "In a way, I'm glad it happened. Not that I like being hurt, but it forced a pause on our ridiculousness and gave me the last few days with you."

"Don't go getting sweet on me now." I pushed my hair out of my face. "I wouldn't know what to do with that."

I would but I was terrified I was reading this wrong, that this was just Monroe being friendly.

"Fine, I won't compliment you for being better than me and initiating that truce." He rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'll take credit for that when I tell Dawson and Pickles. Yes. Yes, I think I shall. Go, me."

I reached out and wrapped his fingers around mine and pulled myself closer to him. Bubbles rose up all around us, and his hand drifted over my hip. Warmth surrounded me and his eyes bore into mine. My body was flush with his. I felt his heart beating against my skin.

"Chip, I?—"

I rose up and pressed my lips to his. His grip around me tightened. The taste of his tongue invaded my mouth. It was cool and minty. I found myself lost in the feeling of the two of us together in this perfect moment. My heart hammered in my chest and excitement fluttered deep in my stomach. I pressed my fingers into his skin, and he flinched back.

I glanced down at him. "Oh no, did I hurt you?"

"Worth it," he mumbled.

"Not funny." I looked down at his tail to see if it was in a weird position or something. The wounds had closed, but maybe I'd reopened them. He looked the same as he had a moment ago though.

"Look at that," he purred and pulled me back against his chest. "I'm okay."

When he leaned in for another kiss, I ducked under his arm. "Oh no you don't. You're too fragile for me."

" Fragile ?" He licked his lips. "Only one way to test that theory out."

I wrapped my hand in his and began to swim back toward the current. "We have more dangerous things to do."

He groaned. "Why do I not like the sound of that? You're not taking me to see sharks feed or something, are you?"

"God, no." I shuddered. "I don't think I could take that. I was going to take you to see the puffins."

"Puffins? Like the birds with the huge beaks that like to jump off cliffs?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's so much fun, and I love the puffins. They're just so cute."

We jumped back into the current, and it swept us back into motion.

Monroe pursed his lips and nodded. "So, puffins?"

"Stop saying it like that." I swatted at his arm. "They are cute."

But he wasn't looking at me, he was looking off into the distance. He pointed toward a dark cloud out in the water. "Umm, what's that?"

My stomach sank. "That's um?—"

Before I could finish, a tiny seal dove into the current and back out again. Its huge black eyes looked absolutely terrified. I glanced toward Monroe, and without hesitation we jumped out of the current. There in the water was that tiny seal being chased by a shark. It twisted and turned trying to get away.

"I thought you said no shark attacks," he said, his voice rising in panic.

"Right, like I planned this!?" I swam toward the seal without a single plan.

Monroe grabbed my arm. "What are you going to do? You can't just jump in front of a shark."

"I mean . . . can't I?"

"That's madness."

But neither of us would've expected what happened next. The little seal crashed into Monroe, and he wrapped his arms around it, holding it close to his chest. The shark came right at us, so I grabbed his upper arm and dragged him back toward the current. The shark hurried after us. I dove into the current and it caught us, sending us shooting away. But the shark followed, and it was gaining on us. The tiny seal quaked in Monroe's arms and pressed his face to his chest.

"Follow me!" Monroe gritted his teeth and flapped his tail.

He shot out of the current and back into the water. I hurried after him, about to catch him, when the shark shot over our heads and got caught in the current. It twisted and turned, trying to swim against it, but he was too caught in it.

I sucked in a deep breath. "That was very stupid. Awesome, but stupid."

His chest was heaving with breaths as he cradled the seal close. "Thanks?"

A hint of red drifted up from the seal and Monroe froze. "Is he hurt?"

I bent down and examined its little belly. There was a deep scratch over his side that was dripping blood. "Oh no. He's hurt."

"We need to get back. I have some of my bandages left in your dresser by your bed. We can put that on him for now." He cradled him in his arms like a baby. "We have to get him to Nash to make sure he's okay, then we have to find his mom and return him."

"Um, Monroe, I don't think . . ." I swallowed thinking about that dark red cloud I'd seen in the water before. It was awful but part of the animal food chain, the structure of their world. "I don't think we'll find his mom."

"Then I'll take care of him." He said it so simply, like that was the obvious answer.

"Umm, okay?" I glanced down at his arm and side. The deep scratches were gone, and there were only fine pink lines left in their place. "Your wounds healed really nicely, so maybe the bandages will help him too."

"Now is not the time to ogle my body, Chip." He chuckled, then gave me a wink. "But really, we do have to get him to Nash. What's the quickest way home?"

Home? Him referring to the castle as home caused my heart to flutter with the dangerous hope that Monroe could possibly start to love the sea that much in such a short period of time. It was enough to break all the caution in my heart and let myself give in to these feelings I was trying to ignore. But seeing him so tender with animals was not helping. If I wasn't careful, I could really start to like Monroe in a way that could be catastrophic.

I motioned to another current lower beneath us. "That way."

He tentatively gave his tail a little flip and headed toward it while keeping his eyes on the little seal in his arms. It was so tiny, with little gray speckles over its body and big wide black eyes.

"What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know. But the little guy looks like a Sylvester to me." He looked up at me, and when he met my eyes, all I could see was care and concern for his new friend. "What do you think?"

I thought it was a ridiculous name for a seal, but I kind of loved it because of that . "Sylvester sounds like a perfect name to me."