She’d been deep in the tunnels, though. Hermon had told their boss that he’d warned her about the crack in the glass and she said it wasn’t a big deal. Sure, she’d pointed out the giant scratch marks from the inside. She’d told them all about the monstrous undine that had attacked the glass and then blasted its way into their home.

Did anyone believe her? Of course not. They laughed right in her face and then sent her off to do grunt work that was a waste of her talent. But what did they care? She was now a liar on top of taking too many risks. An employee who wasn’t worth investing in.

She was going to scratch someone’s eyes out. It wasn’t too much to ask for a little god damned respect around here.

Careening around a corner, she swore under her breath as the air got even more thin. She wouldn’t be able to keep running if they ran out of air. She only had a few minutes.

Where were the crowds of people? Only engineers lived in this wing, but no one was so crazy that they would just ignore the blaring lights. And they’d all been taught from day one to not be a hero. Red lights? Run and leave your friends. Everyone for yourself.

She was going for the elevator. That was the quickest way to go, and probably everyone had gone the same way. Which meant there would be a line, but the elevator was quick. It always made her stomach bottom out when she rode it. That had to mean it could get them all out in time. Right?

Right.

Except then she saw the elevator at the end of the hall and her fucking boss was the last one in. She couldn’t mistake that giant for anyone else. And the red light at the top of the elevator meant the heartless fucker had turned the emergency on inside the elevator.

“Wait!” she shouted. “I’m almost⁠—”

The doors shut, and she was stuck down here.

“That mother fucking, god damned, bitch ass... Ugh!” Kicking the floor, she had to think about what to do next. The engineering wing was intentionally difficult to get out of, considering they had the most mishaps.

There was another elevator. A glass one that was definitely not repaired enough to ride yet. But it would have to do. She might have to hold her breath for a while, but she’d get to the upper levels.

The damn thing was outside.

Hissing caught her attention. Another leak? That would explain the emergency protocol, but... She turned just in time to see the massive black tail that hit her in the chest and sent her skidding across the floor. Her hip hit first, sending a bright spark of pain up her spine until she slid to a stop ten feet away.

And her jaw fell open as she stared at the massive undine crouched on the floor. His clawed hands scraped the metal, the screeching making her wince almost more than the glare on his strange features.

“You,” she hissed.

It was the same damn undine. The same one who had ruined her first dome work and then tried to kill her.

She couldn’t mistake him. That black tail and vibrant blue edges had to be uncommon in his species. Besides, his strangely handsome face mottled with anger and those black eyes glared at her with so much hate it could only be him.

And then he made a noise, deep and booming in his throat. She swore it was the same word she’d just said.

You.

They stared at each other, and she wondered if she’d have to fight him. Mira had the upper hand. This wasn’t underwater, after all, and he didn’t seem to be moving all that well. But then she saw him make a strange gulping motion with his entire body.

Was he... holding his breath?

Oh shit. Her eyes widened as she looked him over. It made sense that he’d be holding his breath. But she had the strange feeling he should be able to breathe like her. He had a similar face to hers. A kind of nose and a familiar shaped mouth. A chest that rose and fell outside the glass, but apparently not inside here.

No one had ever gotten their hands on an undine, dead or alive. No human knew how they actually functioned. They’d always thought undines were like fish. They had to be in the water to breathe. So… how long could he hold his breath?

It shouldn’t matter. He’d shattered her first big project, and somehow gotten himself stranded inside their building. He could rot like the rest of the fish for all she cared, but... it felt wrong.

This wasn’t just a fish. He was an intelligent, thinking being who had bested her even though she’d given him the damn answer. Letting him die felt like she was letting a person die, and that wasn’t who she was.

So now she had to get both of them out of here. Without either of them dying.

Because that was the easiest option, apparently.

Sighing, she coughed into her sleeve to clear her lungs before rolling onto her hands and knees. “Okay, big guy. I know you can’t understand a word I’m saying, but we need to work together to get out of here.”

His black eyes followed her every move, tracking her. He clearly didn’t trust her.

He had no reason to. Their kinds had been fighting against each other for centuries, if the legends were true. Undines killed humans out in the ocean. Humans killed undines whenever they got the chance.

Tit for tat, she supposed. One person hurt, so did the other. It was their way of life.

He could get her to that elevator outside these walls, though. And she could get him out of here. Her boss would probably fire her for it, but, hey. Maybe he wouldn’t figure it out.

This whole plan would require her to touch the undine, however, and he was looking rather sickly. Or that the sight of her made him want to vomit. Whatever it was, he was definitely more pale than he’d been just a few minutes ago.

Damn it, she had to stop worrying about the fish in front of her and figure out how to save them both. Okay, plan. Plan, plan, plan.

Mira frantically looked down the hall where she’d come from. If she flooded this area, none of the engineers would be able to return. All their things would be destroyed, and that meant, unfortunately, that the entirety of Beta would struggle to fix anything. They really needed better city planning.

So first things first...

Bolting back the way she came, she ignored the undine as it swiped at her legs with an ugly growl. The thing really hated her. Feral beast.

The end of the hall had one of the blast doors. It had never been used, because why would anyone seal the engineers into their home? Skidding around the corner, she slammed into the wall and hit the big red button. And then darted underneath the blast door back into the tunnel.

It sealed her in with the undine, with less air than before, so she was really running out of time.

Mira sprinted back toward the undine. He’d coiled around himself, hacking and coughing until he finally seemed to... leak? Water gushed out from his ribs and she was certain that he’d died. Maybe undines turned into goo when they passed and that was going to make this whole thing difficult.

But the water splashed out of him, rolling over her feet, and then he didn’t collapse. The opposite, in fact. He stood up straighter and those sealed nostrils flared as he took a deep breath of the limited air still in the tunnel.

“Oh,” she whispered. “You have two sets of lungs.”

Considering the dark glint in those black eyes, she had a feeling he was going to use the limited air he’d just gotten to murder her. He lifted those clawed, webbed hands, coiled his tail underneath him like a snake, and she only had a few seconds to convince him to stop.

“Hold on!” Mira shouted, holding up her hands as though that might give him pause. “Wait, wait!”

And for some strange reason... he did. He paused right where he was, his head cocked to the side, watching for her next move.

She backed toward the nearest panel of glass and pointed at it. Gesturing with her hands as she mimed what she was saying, Mira tried to explain her plan in the best way possible. “I’m going to break through this glass. The room is going to flood with water, and you’re going to pick me up and carry me to that glass box over there.”