by Dee J. Stone
She sniffs. “Bye.”
Tears well up in my eyes and drip down my cheeks. Damarian gathers me to his chest and kisses my temple. “It was the correct decision. Now Jace cannot harm her.” He wipes my tears with his thumbs.
“I hope she won’t tell him where she’s going.” I bury my face in his shoulder. “I won’t be able to bear it if he does something to her.”
Damarian rubs his hand on the back of my head. “Leah is a strong woman. I believe she will be all right. Perhaps Jace does indeed love her.”
That’s possible. Jace only found out he’s a sea serpent recently, but he’s been with Leah for a while now. I have to believe that he loves her enough not to hurt her. Dad did claim the sea serpents are overly emotional. Hopefully they love hard, just as much as they hate hard.
After soaking in as much comfort as possible from Damarian, pumping myself with courage and confidence, I untangle myself from him and get out of bed. “We need to find somewhere else to stay.”
Damarian gets up, too. “Do you know of a location?”
I shake my head. Nothing comes to mind. I don’t want to stay with anyone because I don’t want to put them at risk. Not that I have many choices, anyway. A motel is out because I don’t have a lot of money. Sleeping on the streets is not an option, either.
“Perhaps we shall enter the sea,” Damarian offers.
“Where will we stay? The rebels are out there. I’m pretty sure my father would have them search every inch of the ocean until they find us.”
Damarian rubs the back of his neck. “Yes, that is correct. But I may know of a safe location.”
“Where?”
A look of uncertainty crawls onto his face. “But we cannot remain in the ocean for such a long period of time. Your body requires you to shift to your human form.”
“We won’t hide there forever. We just need to stay there until…”
“Until when? What is the plan?” he asks.
“I don’t know! I’m just as lost as you.”
“I understand—”
“No, you don’t! All you’ve been doing since we got captured was just wait for me to act. I was the one who got you out of the tank. I told you to go to the ocean, but you came back and put your life at risk. I’m the one who got us to safety. You’re just sitting here, expecting me to make all the decisions! You’re such a coward.”
He gapes at me, unblinking.
My chest rises and falls wildly, my fists clenched. An uncontrollable rage brews inside me.
His eyes are filled with hurt and betrayal. “Why do you speak to me in such a manner?”
I continue to huff and puff. I glance at my hands that are balled into fists. I’m so…mad.
“Cassie?” he asks.
“I…I don’t know.”
Damarian takes a hesitant step toward me, spreading out his arms. I walk into them and wrap mine around his middle. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean what I said.”
I’ve never been so mad before. It’s like a monster was inside me.
A monster.
A sea serpent.
I push away from Damarian, but his arms tighten around me and he hugs me close. “It is all right, my love. We are both extremely frightened. It is my wish to be of more use, but I feel helpless.”
“I feel helpless, too.” I look up at him. “You are useful, Damarian. You’re here with me. As long as we’re together, we’ll be okay. I don’t think I could do this without you.”
His eyes lower to my lips. I know what he’s thinking—he’s not sure it’s the appropriate time to kiss. Not when we’re running for our lives. I stand on my tippy toes and smash my lips to his. His hands grip my waist and mine clutch his shoulders as our mouths move over each other’s in eager desperation. It feels like forever since we’ve kissed.
With our lips never leaving each other, Damarian lowers me to the bed and climbs on top of me. We continue kissing like there’s no tomorrow, like we’re in our own fantasy land where nothing matters but the feelings we evoke in each other. We moan each other’s name, our hands never leaving each other’s body. I want to go on forever, to go farther and farther, but a little voice in my head urges me to stop. As much as my heart begs me to ignore it, I can’t. Because if I want to have more experiences like this in the future—for the rest of my life—I need to stop.
I place my hand on his chest and gently push him away. His lips cling on to mine before he reluctantly pulls them off. “We…we can’t,” I whisper.
“I know.” He lays his forehead against mine. “Forgive me.”
“I want to so badly, Damarian. That’s all I want. But we need to find a safe place to stay in case my father or Jace comes poking around. And we need to look for answers.”
He nods. “You are correct. How I wish we could live in bliss, but we cannot.”
“We will,” I promise him. “One day soon, all of this will be behind us and we’ll live happily ever after.”
Damarian and I decide the best option we have is to go to Damarian’s secret location in the ocean. He tells me it’s close to shore. Since nearly all the merpeople haven’t been to land, it’s a safe bet that the rebels don’t know of its existence. Damarian stumbled upon it one day when he was living away from home. He loves exploring the sea.
Our hope is that we won’t have to stay there for more than a few days so I won’t need to return to land. We’ll try to speak with Damarian’s family as soon as possible to warn them about the sea serpents’ plan to invade the ocean, and to learn what we can about them.
“Jace could be waiting at the beach,” I say. “We’ll have to get in the ocean some other way.”
I don’t know how we’d return to land. Getting into the water is no problem, but getting out in our merpeople forms? But I can’t worry about that now. Maybe we’ll have no choice but to stay in the ocean until this whole sea serpent rebel thing is resolved. I’ll find a sandbar if I need to come to land.
Chapter Twenty
Damarian and I creep to the marina. The place is deserted, save for a few people on their boats. I put my finger on my lips, signaling Damarian to be as quiet as possible. Then we make our way to one of the boats.
Moral Cassie scolds me, telling me there has to be a better way, but I tell her to shut up. We’re not exactly “stealing” the boat. We’re borrowing it. We’ll leave it on the ocean where someone will hopefully find it and return it to the marina.
After making sure the coast is clear, Damarian and I climb into the boat and I start the engine. I cringe at the loud sound. My eyes survey the area for my father’s men or security, but it looks like we’re okay. I steer us away from the marina.
The area is pitch black. Damarian and I are sitting across from each other, but I can’t see his face clearly due to the dark. He seems to be absorbed in his own thoughts. Maybe he’s still processing everything I told him. Even I haven’t fully processed it. I don’t like the silence because it forces me to think.
“Too bad we didn’t have a chance to eat a few gummy worms,” I joke, though it doesn’t make me feel any better.
My eyes have adjusted a bit to the dark and I see the pained smile on his face.
Silence again.
“I so have a craving,” I continue. That’s a lie.
His eyes are pasted on the floor of the boat.
“Damarian?”
His head springs up. “Yes?”
“You okay? You seem to be deep in thought.”
“Forgive me. My mind is preoccupied.” He swallows hard. “Had I mated with Flora, my power would have been fully restored. The sea serpents would have tried to steal it.” He tucks some hair behind my ear. “You have saved the children of the sea.”
I stare at him. “Me?”
“Yes. It is due to you that I have not taken the throne. We have the opportunity to halt them.”
“Don’t make me sound like a hero. You never planned on taking the throne.”
I shake my head. “It’s because of me that they actually have the ability to invade the waters. Because I’ve awakened the dormant sea serpents inside them. If not for me, maybe they wouldn’t have found a way. Now…”
He puts his finger on my lips. “It is because of you that we can warn the children of the sea, my love.”
Maybe he’s right. I don’t know. This whole thing makes me feel queasy. I wish I could pretend it doesn’t exist.
“Are we close to the place?” I ask.
Damarian narrows his eyes at the dark waves. “I am not certain. It is difficult to determine the exact location from here.”
“I think we’re far enough from land. Let’s go in.”
We stand up and Damarian wraps his arms around me. I shudder. I have no idea what will happen to me once I hit the sea water. Will I grow a mermaid tail or a serpent one?
Damarian raises his eyebrows, asking if I’m ready. I nod. We jump in.
I’m tingly all over before the excruciating pain conquers every part of my body. Despite the profound pain, I smile. When it’s over, I fling my arms around Damarian and kiss him. I know there’s a chance my tail could change and that scales could pop up over my arms and face, but for now, I’m happy to be Cassie Price of the Sapphire clan.
Damarian searches the area for rebels. I do, too, but I don’t feel anyone. I touch his arm. “Do you see or sense anyone?”
“No. But the rebels learned how to conceal themselves from detection. We must be vigilant.”
I nod.
Linking his hand in mine, Damarian dives deeper into the ocean, taking me down with him. He doesn’t stop until we’re at the ocean floor. There are hundreds of different fish here, including crabs and other sea creatures. Damarian and I use the coral as a way to hide ourselves as we move closer to our destination. I have no idea where we’re going, but I trust him wholeheartedly. I tap into my mermaid senses and look back to see if anyone is trailing us. It seems like we’re the only ones here.
Damarian stops before a large rock that looks like a cave, but I don’t see an entrance. I give him a confused look.
“I believe we shall be safe here,” he says.
“There’s no way in.”
He looks to his right and left before swimming to a medium-sized rock sitting against one of the walls. From the angle I’m at, it looks like an ordinary rock. But as we move closer to it, I realize there’s a gap underneath it.
“I discovered it accidentally,” Damarian says. “I had dropped a fish as I swam past. It disappeared. I swam closer to study it.”
It’s really hard to see if you don’t know where to look. “It leads into the cave?”
“Yes.”
He helps me through the gap before coming in after me. The place is mostly made of rock, with fish swimming around. It’s larger than the one Damarian and I stayed in before I shifted to a human, but nowhere as beautiful.
“It’s perfect,” I tell him.
He takes my hand and leads me deeper into the cave, stopping by an area with many large rocks. They look like a wall. He swims behind them, to a rock with a flat surface. “This will help us avoid detection,” he says. He wraps his arms around my middle and lies down, placing me on top of him and tucking me close.
“The rock looks very uncomfortable,” I say.
“It is all right. It is my wish that you are comfortable.”
It’s too bad there is no coral here. The ones in the other cave were so soft. I kiss Damarian’s cheek. He’s so sweet for wanting to make sure I’m comfy. “Let’s rest for a bit before heading to the colony to warn the others about the sea serpents.” My eyes start to droop.
His fingers play with my hair. “Yes,” he says in a sleepy voice.
We’re both overly exhausted. Every part of me wants to jump up and rush to the merpeople and tell them about the sea serpent threat. But I’m just so tired.
It only takes a few seconds before I’m out cold.
***
Damarian shoots to a sitting position, knocking into me and causing me to roll off him. I massage my head.
“Forgive me.” He pecks my forehead. “But we have a visitor.”
My body stiffens. “Someone’s here?”
“It is all right.” He gets up and swims out from behind the rocks that have been concealing us and smiles. “It is a friend.”
I get up, too, and peek out. A baby great white shark floats a few feet away. “Fiske!” I wave both arms frantically, so glad to see him. I surge toward him and throw my arms around him, pressing my cheek into his rough skin. “How did you know where we were?”
His eyes move to Damarian before returning to me. Damarian asked me to come.
“Thanks so much!” I squeeze him tight.
Shoney could not make it.
My arms drop from around him. What happened?
His eyes look regretful. He swims toward Damarian and nuzzles his nose into his neck. Damarian rubs his head. I move closer to them. Is she hurt?
They have closed off the colony, Fiske says. No one is allowed to enter or leave.
What is the reason? Damarian asks.
There are rumors that an ancient enemy of the children of the sea has returned. Kiander and Flora ordered to close the colony. They are preparing for battle.
Damarian and I exchange a glance. Syren must have told the king and queen about me. They all probably think I’m a spy and will lead the other sea serpents right to them.
Battle? Damarian asks.
Yes. Many more have joined the Guard and more sharks have been enlisted. Fiske looks at me with a sad expression. Shoney has been assigned to another child of the sea.
What? But she’s my shark. Mine. Do they not consider me one of them anymore?
It was her wish to leave with me, Fiske continues. But due to her large size, she was unable to escape undetected, as I have.
We must travel to them at once, Damarian says. We must inform them of all we have learned.
“I can’t go with you,” I say, my throat tight. “They’ll kill me on the spot.”
“Cassie—”
“Don’t you see, Damarian? I’m the enemy.”
“No.” He shakes his head quickly, like he’s trying to throw my words out of his head. “You are not the enemy. When they see you are with us, they—”
“Stop. Please.” I turn around and swim away, tears entering my eyes and mixing in with the ocean water. It doesn’t matter where my loyalty lies. I can’t change who I am—who I will become. My father said it’s inevitable that I will change into a sea serpent. What if my mermaid side can’t fight it off? The merpeople will never trust me. I can’t even trust myself. That unrelenting rage I felt earlier when I blew up on Damarian scared the crap out of me. It was like someone else was controlling me.
Damarian’s at my side, pulling me to his chest. “My love, you will not transform into one of those beasts.”
I hiccup against his chest. “How can you be so sure?” I whisper.
He gently pushes me back and nods at Fiske. “We are heading to the colony.”
“What?” I ask.
“I will not accept this.” He motions toward me. “That you are…that you will…” He swallows the rest of his sentence. “I need to speak with Father.”
Fiske swims closer to us. Damarian, it is not wise to bring Cassie along. The Sentinels will not hesitate to attack her.
My tail feels like lead. I suspected they would kill me, but now that Fiske has confirmed it…
I will not allow them to harm her.
They will, Damarian. I assure you they will.
Damarian’s eyes move to mine. The pain inside them is so strong I can almost touch it.
She will be safe here, Fiske says. It is not easy to access the cave.
“I cannot leave her.”
/> I rest my head on his chest and close my arms around him. “I’ll be okay. The most important thing right now is for you to tell your family all we’ve learned. They don’t know the sea serpents are with the rebels. You need to tell them.”
“Cassie.” His voice is laced with tears. “You are the most important being in my life. I cannot abandon you.”
“You can’t abandon your people, either.”
“I know.” His arms come around me and he lifts me a few inches so he can press his cheek against mine. “It pains me to leave you here.”
His touch only strengthens my resolve that he should go and leave me here. Because his touch means everything to me, and I want to be able to feel it every day for the rest of my life. “I’ll be okay,” I assure him again. “Like Fiske said, it’s hard to find the entrance to the cave.”
His arms are trembling and his heart is racing at an unnatural pace. We’ve had to separate from each other many times in the past, but now it seems more difficult. Maybe because the future is such a big unknown. Is there really going to be a war between the children of the sea and the sea serpents? War equals death. The sea serpents thirst for revenge. Revenge is a powerful thing.
“I wish we did not need to part.” Damarian voice is soft against my ear. “I will return to you, my sweet Cassie. I promise I will, as quickly as possible.”
I caress his cheek. “Don’t worry about me. Just make sure your family and everyone else is safe.”
He kisses me before turning to Fiske. Is it not possible to ask other sharks to keep guard for Cassie?
Fiske shakes his head. It is unlikely they will be able to leave the colony.
What of sharks that are not in the colony?
Fiske eyes Damarian carefully. Are you referring to rogue sharks?
Are there any you trust?
Fiske’s eyes move to mine. I would not trust them with the one you hold most dear, Damarian.
Damarian lays his forehead against mine. “It is that I worry about her so. It would put me more at ease if she were well guarded.”
My hands creep up to the back of his neck, where I wrap my fingers around it. “Damarian, you need to trust that I can take care of myself. I know how helpless you feel when you can’t protect me—I feel the same way when I can’t protect you. But I can take care of myself.”
