Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

Arges

It took him far too long to figure everything out. He returned to his home, still hoping that Daios might have been there. But his brother was suspiciously absent, as were more of the members of his pod.

A bitter ache churned in Arges’s belly the longer he was with his people. He knew that there was some undercurrent of disrespect, but he didn’t know how to deal with it. His people had never not trusted him. They’d always looked to him to lead.

Now, after he had taken the job that their own Mitéra had given him, he was suddenly an outsider. People didn’t want to be around him. They tugged their children away from him when he moved through the coral city. They even glared when they thought he wasn’t looking. Did they forget how he had just saved them? Did they think he had forgotten how they used to treat him?

But perhaps it was her scent. Even he could smell her, no matter where he went. She clung to his scales as a constant reminder of what he had done and what he planned to do.

Still, it took many days for him to ease Mitéra’s mind and to make sure that his brother wasn’t returning. He hated that he had to leave his kairos alone to do so. It made his stomach churn and his hearts beat in his chest a little too hard. He wanted to go right back to her. To stand guard outside of that dome, and maybe that was how the original owner had felt.

He’d lied to Mira. There were no rumors about anyone living there, nor had he been aware of its existence. He’d asked the sea to guide him to where she would be safe, and it had brought him there.

Outside of the home, he’d found two skeletons. One that was clearly of her people, the bones of her legs had been eerily interesting. And laid out next to her were the bones of one of his own kind. A massive male, with a tail nearly twice as long as Arges’s, speaking of his age and power. They had been curled up next to each other, almost as though the sea didn’t even dare move their skeletons. Together, even in death.

But when he had looked into the dome, he had seen there was much of their life still there. So much that his kairos could live on, and perhaps even thrive on. So he had decided to move their bodies. Even if it was against every part of him, he moved them so his Mira would be safe.

Perhaps his people could smell the death on his hands as well.

Troubled, he started the long journey to where he had hidden Mira. It took even longer for him to get there, namely because he doubled back multiple times, trying to shake anyone who might follow him. He hated to bring anyone to this place, considering the awe in her eyes when she had seen everything inside the glass dome.

He’d felt like he had done something right for the first time in a very long time. Her eyes had been so wide, so pleased with what he’d found. And he’d felt his gills raise and his chest puff out in pride.

He had taken care of her. Provided for her in more than just the way that his people had stolen mates in the past. She was safe for the first time since they had come here, and that was... rare. For her, for her kind, for even his people. It was hard to ever be safe in the sea.

His thoughts were so scattered, he hardly realized what he was doing until he made it all the way back to her dome. Swimming above it, feeling the warmth of dim sunlight on his back, he hovered above her small bubble of air in the ocean.

She’d cleaned, he noticed. Perhaps she’d come out here with her rebreather on and rags in hand. But a majority of the algae had been scrubbed off the glass, giving him a perfect view into the dome.

Arges had thought she would notice him, but she didn’t. Not at all.

Instead, his little captive kairos puttered about the dome. Completely and utterly ignorant that he was above her.

Her arms were laden with green fronds, and she was clearly talking to Byte. Wandering about with those fronds, she gathered more and more, stacking them on top of each other as she chattered. But what she wore captivated him far more than the movement of her lips. Instead of her usual wetsuit, she wore a bright blue dress. He’d seen humans wear them before, the fabric cupping underneath her breasts and lifting them in such a tantalizing way. The flare of fabric around her waist moved like waves around her body as she shifted, swinging this way and that with such lovely movement.

She was so stunning. Even though his people might never understand his infatuation with her, he understood now why there had been one of his people laid out with one of hers. There was an undeniable connection between the two of them. One he was done fighting against.

He laid himself out on top of the glass, watching his shadow spread across the room she stood in. She jumped, everything in her arms tumbling to the ground before she looked up to see him laying there.

Twitching his tail, he grinned through the glass at her. And he watched the most lovely smile split across her face in return. She waved for him to come underneath the dome, to join her in this home he had found. He almost wanted to tease her more. To stay laid out where he knew his tail was most impressive and his muscles were very obvious.

He just wanted her to look at him. That’s what it all came down to. He wanted her to look at him and see temptation just as he did with her.

Still, maybe this wasn’t the right moment. He still had no idea how she felt about his kind now that she’d been here for such a long time. She was in this new home where he had brought her without asking if she even wanted to be here.

There were so many barriers between them, and he didn’t know how to start ripping them down.

Or perhaps he did. Because he slid off the glass and underneath the dome, only to lift his head out of the water and find her waiting for him. There was no hesitation in her gaze or her words as she spun in front of him.

“What do you think?”

Up close, he could see the tiny details of the stitches. Just like his mother used to do in her tapestries. Tiny, neat rows of stitches made by a loving hand. Each stitch came together to depict waves on the hem of the skirts, rising up into little white foam near Mira’s waist. She held onto the edge of the fabric, lifting it just slightly with the movement so he could see the delicate bones of her ankles all the way up to what she called knees.

Ah, his damn gills were fluttering again.

Clearing his throat, he gave her a little nod. “You look well.”

“Well?” She shook her head at him, clearly disappointed by something he’d said. “Men. It doesn’t matter if you live underneath the sea or in the cities, you never say compliments easily. This is the first time you’ve seen me out of a wetsuit and that’s all you have to say?”

“I’ve seen you out of the silver suit,” he reminded her. “I have seen you in many different ways.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not before we could actually speak with each other. And certainly not before you knew I was a person and not just some horrible human intent on destroying the ocean.”

She had a point, but that really changed nothing. She was still an achromo, and he had seen her in clothing, as she liked to call it.

Frowning, he looked her over a little more before replying, “You are beautiful in a strange way, Mira. I have always found you to be intriguing, no matter what you wear. Although I will admit, the silver suit you wore before does make you feel a little more familiar to me.”

“Familiar?” That grin never budged from her face. “Why would you ever wish for me to be familiar, undine?”

And he supposed she was right. He didn’t want her to be familiar. He wanted her to be... her. Holding out his hand for her to take, he gestured for her to come closer. “There is more in this area that I would like to show you, kairos.”

“And ruin this dress? I just found it!”

He sighed. “Then find another, Mira. I wish for you to return to the sea with me.”

More than anything. He felt out of his element here. This strange bubble was not safe for people like him, nor did he wish for her to remain in it for too long. Some fearful part of him worried that if he let her leave the grasp of the sea, and perhaps the grasp of his arms, that he would lose her to the land and the air once again.

“Fine,” she said with a flirty grin. “Let me change, though.”

He watched her walk up to the second level where the bed was and pull curtains shut. The great swaths of fabric hid her from his gaze, or at least, she thought it did.

He couldn’t see details, but he could see the silhouette of her body. The sun blasted through the glass behind her, and he watched as she pulled that fabric off her body. The long lines she revealed were graceful in her movements, and so tempting in everything else. He moved forward slightly, leaning his arms against the edge of the pool and resting his cheek against a forearm.

The shadow of her figure shifted, and his eyes caught on the shape of her hip and the strange triangle of light between her legs. He could stay here and watch her forever. And though there was the temptation to duck underneath the water and peek at her from outside the glass of the dome, he remained steady where he was.

Someday soon, he hoped, he would see the rest of her. Perhaps she would let him discover the secrets of the differences between them. Maybe she would let him spend hours indulging himself on all the parts of her body that he so readily wished to see.

Not only because he was curious, but because he wanted to hear the sounds she would make while he lingered in soft shadows and hollows of skin.

When she finally pulled the fabric back again to reveal herself, he was treated to yet another clothing item that he’d never seen before. Pale fabric poked out from beneath a layer of brown skirt. Straps held the white fabric to her legs, weaving up her torso where she had strapped her welder, the ties of her breathing apparatus, and her goggles.

She ran her hand down her stomach where the many straps crossed and smiled. “This is called a corset. It’s an old style, so whoever used to live here must have been from a long time ago.”

Considering the state the skeletons were in, he wasn’t surprised. There had been a long time since anyone had remembered this place existed.

“Are you ready?” he asked, wanting to get away from those dark thoughts of death and destruction.

“Sure.” She marched over to him, all confidence and bravado, before pulling the device over her mouth. Her goggles she left on top of her head, and she wore strange boots on her feet.

“Why do you have those on?” he asked.

“They’ll keep my feet warm, and I won’t have to use your gills this time.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t find any fins here, unfortunately. Otherwise, I might be able to keep up with you on my own.”

All the spines down his back rose in shock that she thought she could keep up with him, but then he noticed the grin on her face and the teasing glint in her eyes. “Kairos,” he muttered, already tired of her talking. “You would never be able to keep up with the People of Water even if you had one of your devices strapped to your waist.”

“I am an engineer, Arges. I have all the time in the world to create whatever I want now.” She held out her arms, clearly expecting him to pull her into the water with him. “Now, where are we going this time?”

For a moment, the vision of their future played in front of him. It was the same expression she wore. The same device on her face. The same laughter that bubbled out of her very being and floated through the air. And though they were not underwater, nor was she pregnant, he couldn’t help but think of it.

Yes, this was very much the right choice. He didn’t want a future without her in it, even though there were countless things he had yet to discover. He looked forward to learning more about her, and her kind, but mostly he just wanted to see her smile like this.

She wiggled her fingers in the air, still waiting for him with her arms outstretched. “Well, undine? Do I have to get in the water myself, or are you going to be a gentleman?”

“What is a gentleman?” he asked, sliding his hands around her waist and not even attempting to stop his gills from fluttering this time. He drew her into the water, leaning back so she was forced to rest against his chest. They floated there for a few moments, together, staring at each other with obvious surprise in both of their gazes.

Finally, she cleared her throat, but he didn’t miss the way she smoothed her hands along his chest. “A good man, I suppose? Someone who helps others, and goes out of his way to make them comfortable. I don’t really know, to be honest. It’s just a word we’ve always used for men who are kind to women.”

“You humans and your names for everything.” He snorted, lowering them into the water and keeping his arms around her so she was close to him at all times. “The People of Water call that being a good person. That is all. There is no name for someone who is kind, that is the expectation.”

“So what do you call someone who isn’t kind?”

The water closed around her head, her blood red hair floating around her, and he caught her gaze. She squinted her eyes a few times, blinking in the saltwater before he watched her gaze clear and she could see everything he could see. Without the goggles. Without needing the help.

Oh, he had never known she could be more captivating, and here she was. Starting to acclimate to his world without needing her devices and he... He was undone.

“Arges?” she repeated. “What do you call someone who isn’t kind?”

“Dead,” he replied without thinking. “We call them dead.”

With the shadow of his aggressive brother trailing them, he drew her away from the dome and toward the open sea.