She turned her body in the water, forcing herself to look, even though that was the last thing she wanted to do. She didn’t want to see the giant shark, the sharp teeth, or the nightmare that likely waited for her. But when she turned, she saw nothing. Not even the dark shadow before she bumped into something equally hard.

She screamed. Her rebreather sent out a wave of bubbles that obscured her vision. She kicked and fought against the tentacle wrapped around her waist, completely lost to her panic as she swore she felt sharp teeth breaking through her skin.

But then...

Then a voice rumbled in her ear. Like a song of peace and quiet, insisting that she settle in his arms.

And oh. It was Arges.

She relaxed in his grip, easing her spine against his chest and feeling the flare of his gills against her ribs. She shouldn’t find such relief knowing that it was him. He was still a dangerous undine who had attacked her people countless times and she shouldn’t want to find comfort in him, but... she did.

At least in this place, knowing what she did, she knew he would keep her safe.

That was a strange enough feeling without the shadow that loomed in front of them. Not a shark, after all. Another undine.

Yet again, she wished she could ask him questions. Had he stolen her without the knowledge of other undines? Did this one want to get rid of her? What reason did he have to kidnap her and then hide her from his people? Because his arm was banded around her stomach, and he dragged her even closer into himself, like he could wrap his body around her and keep her safe.

The undine in front of them was badly wounded. She felt her face crease in worry as her eyes skated down his missing arm that leaked black blood sluggishly into the waters around them. And he seemed to be struggling to breathe. His gills were flared far wider than she’d ever seen Arges’s, and his eyes kept closing for longer times than a blink needed.

Tapping her hands on Arges’s forearms, she said, “Arges, he’s injured.”

The arms around her waist flexed, tightening at the sound of his name. The other undine lurched forward, rocking at the name as well. They said short words to each other, the farthest from song she’d ever heard from an undine.

They were angry? At each other or at her?

Mira felt like this was a rather important bit of information that she needed to know. If this undine wanted to kill her, then she had to get out of here. Arges could protect her, but he shouldn’t fight this injured undine on her behalf. She didn’t want him to...

More shadows joined them. Two others who floated down from above. One with bright yellow slashes, another with purple lines like veins throughout his entire body.

Then they were all talking. Saying so much that it made her ears hurt. But some part of her said yes, talk more. Byte had to be listening to everything being said, and this was a good amount of conversation for it to translate.

Please, she thought. Please be listening, Byte.

Finally Arges jerked her behind him, and she floated into the kelp. Maybe he didn’t mean for her to get so far from him, but she wanted to put some distance between herself and the wall of angry undine that all glared at her like she was an invasive species of algae.

She supposed to them she was. A new and disgusting plague upon their people.

They all gestured to her often. Their claws slashing through the water so quickly they became a blur. Colorful tails whipped behind them, carrying them closer and closer to Arges, who seemed to be more than ready to meet them in the middle. She’d never noticed he had spines down his back, but they rose now and she couldn’t help but fear that they were raised in her defense.

She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of a stupid engineer who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And then it just all... stopped. The undine missing an arm seemed to faint. Of course, they were in the water, so he just floated up. His tail drifted toward the surface while his body hung there, strangely graceful, almost upside down, as though he were asleep.

The other two were quick to gather him up, and then they all disappeared into the kelp.

Shoving the billowing mass of her own hair out of her face, she stared at Arges in shock. He looked back at her, those odd features seemingly conflicted before he snapped his tail and then he was upon her.

His claws scooped underneath her chin, and she was certain this was the moment he killed her. Obviously, he’d told the others he would follow them after he dealt with her.

But he didn’t snap her neck. He didn’t sink those claws into her skin, either. Instead, he turned her head from side to side, searching for... injuries? Why would she be injured?

Arges turned her face left and right again, moved her around so that he could run his hands down her spine and waist, making sure she was well before he leaned back and stared down at her. Then that melodious voice, singing to her and saying something that she had no idea how to decipher.

“Arges!” she said, hissing out a breath when she finally took a second to look at him.

There was black blood coming out of him, too. His shoulder looked like it was a mess, all ragged looking meat and sharp edges. She hovered her hand over the injury, not touching in case there was some rule against that or if her suit would make him sicker.

“You’re hurt too.” She looked up at him through her stupid goggles and tried to convey her worry.

But he said nothing in response. He just looked back at her, and she felt something inside her click into place. She cared that this strange creature was injured. Even if they couldn’t understand each other, she now considered him a... friend.

OceanofPDF.com

Twenty

Arges

His safe place for her, the one area in the entire ocean where he thought she wouldn’t be found, had proven to be flawed. Any of his people could smell her from a mile away. She had a scent that wasn’t found otherwise in the ocean, and clearly they all knew where she was.

It was time to move her again.

But first, he had to make sure that she was safe. That his insane brother hadn’t injured her. When Daios had struck her, Arges thought he’d lose one of his hearts. She’d looked so limp, flying through the water before striking the stone hard enough to make him wince. She must be bleeding. Or perhaps one of her brittle bones had snapped.

He had no idea how to heal her kind. He didn’t even think they could be healed. The People of Water were a hardy bunch. He’d broken countless bones himself. A significant amount of them were still broken in his tail and they would never be fixed. But they didn’t hurt.

He could still use his body without having to stop and heal himself, but he knew it was very different for her people.

Running his hands down the delicate bones of her spine, he counted each of her ribs before grunting in frustration. He didn’t know how many ribs she was supposed to have, so this wasn’t getting him anywhere. He couldn’t even ask if she was all right, because they couldn’t converse with each other.

Mira grabbed his hand on the next pass down her body, holding the web pinched between her fingers so he had to look at her. “I’m fine,” she said, squeezing his webs a little too hard. “I’m absolutely fine. No one hurt me.”

“Good,” he said quietly, knowing that she couldn’t understand him. “Because I would have turned the waters black with their blood. I don’t care that he’s my brother, or that the others have been in my pod for years. They do not understand the value or the worth of your life, kairos, and I will not stand for their mistreatment of you.” Brushing his fingers gently through her hair, he added, “You are dear to me now, Mira. I fear I have brought you into a world where you can only meet your end.”