Chapter 7
Maelis
The first thing I noticed when I woke was a steady hum and the feeling of cool air on my face. A mask was strapped over my face, offering sweet, refreshing oxygen.
The second was the argument.
“She needs rest,” Paul was saying, his voice tight with authority. “And you need to go. You’ve done enough already.”
“No,” came the reply, low and rough as the sea at night. The alien. The finman. I still didn't know his name. “I will not leave her.”
I blinked against the dim light until the room swam into focus. The infirmary was no bigger than a broom closet with a bed shoved in, cupboards along one wall, and a humming oxygen cylinder at my side. Rain rattled the small window, proof that the storm hadn’t yet blown itself out.
I'd only been in here a few times, mostly to accompany resort visitors who'd got sunburnt or who'd got in touch with jellyfish. The only time I'd ever needed medical care myself had been a large scrape on my arm sustained while diving - I'd misjudged the distance between me and a coral.
But I did know the nurse, Tyrone, very well.
He was a shy guy who rarely joined the staff parties, but I'd had many friendly conversations with him.
When it was just the two of us, he came out of his shell.
Now, he was fussing with a clipboard but throwing anxious looks at the two men squared off beside me.
Paul, damp and red-faced, blocking the door as though he could bar a wall of muscle with his sheer disapproval.
The finman stood tall and immovable, seawater still dripping from the algae clinging to his shoulders.
My saviour.
The memory came back in jolts: the cave collapsing, the blackness closing in, his mouth sealing over mine, warm air flooding my lungs.
The terror, the trust. His arms carrying me through the storm as if I weighed nothing at all.
I dimly remembered lying on sand, but then it all went blank. He must have brought me here.
“I told you, she’ll be monitored here until the weather clears,” Tyrone said briskly.
I was proud of him for standing his ground.
“Once it’s safe, she’ll need to be flown out to a hospital.
Hyperbaric chamber, just in case. But right now, rest and warmth are all that matter until the storm clears and the airport reopens. ”
“I can watch her,” the finman growled. “If her heart changes, I will hear it. If her breathing falters, I will know.”
Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not how this works. We can’t have staff and… guests… mixing. You know the rules.”
I shifted weakly, my hand tugging at the blanket. The movement silenced them both. Two sets of eyes – one human, one alien – snapped to me.
“Maelis,” Paul said quickly, relief in his tone. “Don’t try to talk. You’re safe. You–”
"I'm fine," I croaked, pushing the mask off my face. "It was just a bit of seawater."
Tyrone glared at me. "Your blood oxygen levels are way lower than they should be.
And if what Cerban here is saying is true, you resurfaced too fast. You could end up with decompression sickness.
If I had my way, you'd be on a plane to the nearest hospital.
But as all planes and helicopters are grounded until the storm lessens, you will stay here, under my constant observation. "
The bends. Not good. Down in the cave, all I'd wanted had been to be back on the island. I'd forgotten to tell the alien that he should resurface slowly, taking breaks at regular intervals. He wouldn't have known that human bodies weren't made for being underwater.
I almost laughed. Every time I took clients for a dive, I explained to them the risks of decompression sickness. I should have known better. At the same time, I would be dead if it hadn't been for him. Wait, Tyrone had said his name.
Cerban.
I tasted it on my tongue. It felt perfect.
"Are you warm enough?" Tyrone asked, more gently this time.
"I could do with another blanket, if you have one."
He tsked. "I have plenty of blankets. I even have an electric blanket stashed away somewhere. Don't think I've ever actually used it, but there is a first time for everything."
While Tyrone spread a bright orange blanket over me, Paul rolled his shoulder as if preparing for a fight.
“You’ve done enough,” the resort manager said again, his voice like steel. “You’re not staying here. Not in this room. Not with her.”
Cerban’s gills flared as if he was drawing in seawater, his entire frame vibrating with contained fury. “She lives because of me. You would have let her drown!”
“I didn't even know she was out for a dive! And that’s not the point!” Paul snapped, stepping closer, jaw set.
“There are rules for a reason. You broke them, and you’ll answer for it.
Right now, the priority is her recovery, not your pride.
Once she is better, we will discuss what happened in detail. ”
I wanted to tell them both to shut up. My head throbbed with every raised word, and all I wanted was quiet, warmth, and a large sip of water to get the taste of salt out of my mouth.
But I couldn’t look away from the finman – Cerban.
His name still rolled through my mind, strong and dependable as the tide.
He leaned closer, his eyes on me, not Paul. “I will not leave you.” The words weren’t a promise, they were a vow; deep and unyielding.
“Like hell you won’t,” Paul barked. “This isn’t negotiable.” He nodded to Tyrone. “Back me up.”
The nurse hesitated, shifting from foot to foot, then gave a reluctant sigh. “Cerban, she’s stable for now. If you want what’s best for her, you’ll let me monitor her without… distractions. I’ll call you if anything changes.”
The finman’s jaw flexed, sharp teeth flashing as he ground them together. For a heartbeat I thought he’d fight, that he’d toss Paul aside and plant himself like a sentry at my bedside. Then his eyes returned to mine, searching, asking.
I didn’t have the strength for words, but I managed the smallest nod, whispering past cracked lips. “I’ll be all right.”
His shoulders slumped, defeat pressed into every line of his body.
“I will return,” he rumbled. A promise I knew he'd keep.
Only then did he back away, every movement reluctant, until Paul shoved the door open and gestured him out. The finman cast one last look at me over his shoulder, a gaze heavy with meaning, before vanishing into the corridor.
The room felt colder without him, even under two blankets.
"I will have a chat with Pam and Fionn," Paul said, turning to the door. "I will be back soon. Let me know if you need anything. And Maelis... I'm glad you're alright."
When the door clicked shut behind him, I sagged into the pillows, exhausted by the tension that had sizzled between the two men.
Tyrone busied himself at the small sink, filling a cup before carrying it over. “Here,” he said gently, sliding a hand behind my shoulders to help me sit. “Small sips. Your lungs don’t need any more surprises tonight.”
The water was cool and clean, a far cry from the salt and grit I’d coughed up on the beach. It soothed my raw throat, though my voice still rasped when I asked, “He… carried me out?”
Tyrone gave a short, almost nervous laugh. “Carried you, fought the surf with you in his arms, then stormed straight in here demanding I treat you before I could even check his own injuries. I’d say you’ve made quite an impression.”
Heat prickled my cheeks. “I didn’t exactly ask him to.”
“No,” Tyrone agreed, setting the cup aside. “But you’d be dead without him. You know that, right? I’ve seen near-drownings. Most don’t walk away. You will, thanks to him.”
I swallowed hard. “Cerban,” I murmured, tasting the name again.
Tyrone arched a brow. “He told you his name?”
“I overheard you.”
“Ah.” He scratched the back of his neck, glancing toward the door.
“He’s… different from the others. Quieter.
Keeps to himself most of the time, but when he does speak up, everyone listens.
Pam says he’s steady as bedrock. Some of the staff think he’s brooding.
Me?” Tyrone shrugged. “I think he’s dangerous – but only if you’re a threat to someone he cares about. ”
Dangerous. The word should have made me recoil. Instead, it curled warm in my chest.
I sank back into the pillows, the oxygen mask hissing softly beside me. “He wouldn’t leave.”
“No,” Tyrone said, a wry smile tugging at his mouth. “I don’t think he’s the sort who leaves, not if he’s decided you matter.”
That thought followed me into the quiet that fell between us, the storm outside rattling the windows, the weight of his vow still echoing in my ears.
Not long ago, Cerban had been everything that stood between me and certain death.
Down in the depths of the ocean, rules hadn't mattered.
I hadn't cared that he was an alien and I was human.
For a while, I'd forgotten that I disliked aliens.
Now we were back on the surface, back in reality.
Even if I dropped all my previous reservations, it was against the island's rules for the two of us to spend time together.
So was I supposed to just forget what he'd done for me and continue as before? I didn't think I could do that.
He'd saved my life. I was in his debt. And I was sure as hell going to repay that debt.
Even if it went against the rules.