Chapter 57 Ocean Blues
983words
"Did you even hear what I said?"
"Yeah, I did." It took a few heartbeats before he glanced at me. "I don't know why Ember is so dramatic. It's nothing you should worry about. Right now, we need to make sure Graves doesn't find you. That is if he tries again, and it wasn't some mad coincidence that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The feeling brewing inside me didn't match his confident expression. "Thanks to our nifty new link, thingy, I know you're lying. You know exactly what Ember is referring to. But I'll let it slide, for now, because I have so much to process, and I don't know if I'm ready for another load of mermaid drama."
"Mermaid drama?" He cocked a brow.
"That's what I said."
"Sounds catchy," He sputtered a laugh. "But forget that, how are you feeling? You're handling all of this unusually well."
I shrugged. "Could be all those years of my mom and her craziness that prepared me for this day. I don't know."
"So, you still think we are way too...Wait, was it you said?" He took a moment. "Too flashy?"
"I don't remember saying that."
"You did. Maybe not exactly in those words, but it was along those lines. Although, I do feel it fits for the fae."
Kayn was smiling, but I sensed the desire for approval. He noticed I picked up on it, and his smile dropped. "I'm starting to hate this link we have."
"Well, it's not like I could see much underwater, except before I went unconscious. The whole glowing thing you've got going is pretty awesome."
I wasn't about to tell him I could stare at him for hours. It had the potential to become a new addiction.
His smile was back, and he got up from the boulder. "I have an idea. Come with me."
"That doesn't sound like a good idea." Could anything he had up his sleeve be a good idea?
He reached out a hand for me. I stared at it for a moment, hesitating.
"I don't know…" I started.
"Yes. You don't know what I've got planned. Come on."
Reluctant, I took his hand and allowed him to pull me up onto my feet. He led me outside, toward a small cliff plunging into the ocean.
I was about to ask him what he was planning to do when he started stripping off his clothes. I turned away, flushing. "Oh, hell no. I'm not going in there again."
"It looks completely different during daylight," he explained. "I promise, you won't regret it."
"How am I supposed to see anything when my face is stuck against yours?"
"Relax, you'll see," he chuckled. "Are you going in with your clothes?"
I sputtered a laugh. "I don't grow a tail, and there's no way I'm diving in naked."
"Suit yourself." I swear there was a pun intended behind his words. I was about to shoot back a catty retort when he grabbed me and leaped over the edge of the cliff, dragging me along with him.
A shriek exploded from my lips, and we collided with the water. In an instant, I felt Kayn's skin change beneath my hands, and panic set in when he pulled me deeper into the water.
I frantically pointed to my face, only to realize there was a bubble around my head that wasn't there before, and my face was dry.
I tested it by breathing out.
"You little shit!" I snapped at him, hearing my voice loud and clear echoing inside the bubble formation. "You lied!"
Kayn wasn't looking at me, but I knew he was laughing.
"You told me there wasn't another way for me to breathe underwater."
His grip around my hand tightened, and he tugged me down deeper into the water.
"You're like a five-year-old boy, seriously," I scoffed, but it was difficult for me to stay angry at him. In truth, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Kayn, in his full, merman glory. A subtle blow glow emanated around his frame, but it wasn't as bright as it was last time.
"Why do you glow?" I asked, knowing he could hear me.
"It's an indication of recently used magic. It also protects us from other underwater predators. Displaying our power scares them off."
"Okay?"
He turned his head, nodding toward me. "It also affects those it was used on."
I glanced down and gasped. "I'm glowing!"
Laughter bubbled from him. "That's nothing compared to what I want to show you. We're almost there."
We ventured further into the magnificent blue, and this time I could see everything.
Rays of sunlight pierced the ocean, discordant and bursting with stars.
Colourful hues of coral lined the moss-glistening rocks, and all shaped, and sized kinds of small fish darted past us.
I couldn't help but peer over my shoulder occasionally in case a shark or Kraken was lurking nearby.
Kayn squeezed my hand. "They won't go near you if I'm here. See, how the fish is fleeing the other direction?"
"Yeah, but isn't that normal?"
"Not for this part of the ocean. Like I told you before, my kind is the biggest predator in the waters."
"You're worse than the Kraken?" I couldn't help but glance at him with skepticism. "I find that hard to believe."
He arched a brow, grinning. His face erupted in inky veins in a flash, and his eyes, including the whites, turned a solid black.
"Kayn?" I hesitated.
He grinned wider, exposing sharp teeth that weren't there a moment before. He released my hand and darted further down into the water.
"Kayn!" I cried. "You can't leave me—what the hell are you doing?"
