Chapter 10
Cerban
I paced back and forth in my room, which suddenly appeared far too small for a grown finman.
How long had it been? How many sunpasses had it been since I'd left her with the medic?
It felt like an eternity. Rainse had been my only visitor - and without him, I would have long left the finmen's quarters and gone in search of Maelis.
I missed her - and yet I didn't even know her. If I'd been allowed to talk to human staff, I would have interrogated them about her. Because I couldn't, Rainse was on a mission to find out everything he could about Maelis.
Now he lounged on the edge of my bunk, watching me pace like a caged predator. “She’s stable. That much I know.”
I stopped, gripping the doorframe until my claws scored the wood. “Stable is not enough. She nearly drowned. Humans are fragile. What if her lungs fail? What if she worsens in the night?”
Rainse tilted his head, studying me with that infuriatingly calm look. “You already told me she’s your mate. So, act like it. Protect her by not making things worse with Pam and Paul.”
My gills flared wide, aching with the stale air of my confinement. “Patience does not keep her safe.”
He smirked. “No, but breaking out of quarters will only get you shipped home in chains. You want to keep her? You’ll need a smarter plan.”
I growled low in my throat, frustration clawing at me. “Smarter plans do not ease the ache of being kept from her side.”
Rainse grinned, unbothered by my temper. “Then maybe this will.” He pulled a folded scrap of paper from his belt, holding it between two fingers. “From your human. A message.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. “Give it.”
He handed it over without fuss. “She wanted to thank you. Properly. Not through doctors or rules. Just… thank you.”
I clutched the note, her uneven script alive beneath my fingertips. Every letter was proof: she was thinking of me too.
Rainse leaned back, folding his arms. “So, brother. What’s your next move? Sit here and pine? Or find a way to prove to her – and to everyone else – that she’s yours?”
I stared at the note, pulse thrumming. There was no choice. There never had been.
Cerban,
Thank you for saving my life. I wish I could have spoken to you properly, but Paul wouldn’t allow it.
I don’t even know if this note will reach you, but I had to try.
I hate lying here with nothing to do but think – about the cave, about the storm, about how little I know of the one who carried me out of both.
If you ever want to talk, I’d like that.
Maybe when I’m allowed to leave this bed.
Maelis
I read it once, twice, then a third time, committing every word to memory. Gratitude, yes. But also regret, and a door left open for more. She wanted to talk. To see me.
The ache in my chest eased, replaced by a surge of something brighter, fiercer. Hope.
Rainse watched me with a raised brow. “Well? Are you going to smile all night at that scrap of paper, or are you going to tell me what she said?”
I folded the note carefully, reverently, and slid it into the pocket over my heart. “She wishes to see me again.”
Rainse chuckled. “Then maybe there’s a chance for you after all.”
“A chance?” I growled softly. “No. A certainty. She is mine, and one day soon, I will be hers.”
"I've asked around the humans - the males, that is. No female is allowed anywhere near one of us finmen. Thanks for that, brother."
I growled again. "Not funny."
"Most of the staff aren't in the Hot Tatties database.
They have the option to join, if they want, but most don't. I guess if you work with aliens every day, they don't seem all that exciting and alluring any more.
Before you ask, I didn't ask if Maelis joined the dating agency.
It would have been too obvious that I was asking on your behalf. "
I blew out a long breath, gills fluttering. “You did well. The fewer eyes on her, the better. But that means the agency won’t confirm what I already know.”
Rainse cocked his head. “So, what are you going to do? Sit here glowering at the walls?”
“No,” I said. “I’m going to write to her.”
He blinked. “A love letter? In your handwriting? That’ll go down well with Paul.”
“It doesn’t matter what Paul thinks.” I went to the small desk by the bed, found a scrap of paper and a stylus. My hands felt too big for the task, but I forced myself to write carefully, each word deliberate:
Maelis,
I am forbidden to see you, but I cannot stop thinking of you.
You are strong and brave and you fought for your life as fiercely as any warrior I have known.
I will respect the humans’ rules for now because you need rest, but I will not stay away forever.
When you are well, if you wish it, I will come to you.
Cerban
I stared at the words until they blurred. Rainse took the note without a word and folded it neatly.
“I’ll find a way to get it to her,” he said quietly. “No promises, but I’ll try.”
I gave him a grateful nod. “Thank you, brother.”
He shrugged. “She’s already changed you. I’m curious to see what happens next.”
I straightened, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me.
“Next, I need to speak with Fionn. He's not just our clutch-brother.
He's also our mouthpiece to the humans. If anyone can speak to Pam for me, it’s him.
But he must hear it from me first – about Maelis, about the cave, about everything.
Not what the humans think I did. What actually happened. "
"To be fair, I'm amazed he hasn't called you yet," Rainse mused.
"He might be busy with Elise. She wants to show him where she grew up, how she lived before they met."
"I bet she'll delight in showing him her bedroom."
We shared a laugh; the first light moment in way too long.
I followed Rainse into the comms room and he got started at establishing the connection.
"Do you want me to stay for this? Or would you prefer to talk to Fionn alone?" he asked after activating the holo-screen.
"Stay," I said without hesitation. "You're both my clutch-brothers. I want both of your advice and support."
Rainse keyed the comms, and a moment later Fionn’s image shimmered into focus. No Elise, no Pam, no humans hovering nearby. Just my clutch-brother, his expression stern but not unkind.
“You’ve caused a storm louder than the one I heard raged on the island,” he said by way of greeting.
Rainse smirked. “He does have a talent for that.”
I ignored the jab, stepping closer to the screen. “I wanted to speak with you alone. Without Pam. Without Paul.”
Fionn’s gaze sharpened. “I know why. You want me to understand what you couldn’t say yesterday.”
“Yes.” My throat felt tight, but the words burned to be spoken. I couldn't delay it with small talk and explanations. “She is my mate.”
Fionn didn’t flinch. He only nodded slowly, as if he had expected it. “I thought as much. The way you looked when Pam accused you… it wasn’t just stubbornness. It was bond.”
Rainse leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. “Told you he’d see it.”
Fionn shot him a quelling glance before turning back to me. “Tell me everything that happened. Every detail."
And so I did. How I'd talked to her just before the storm. How I'd been worried for her safety. How I'd searched for her beneath the waves. The cave. The desperation. The rescue.
When I was done, Fionn ran a hand through his long hair.
"Cerban, it's clear from how you talk about her. Clear to me and Rainse, probably the other finfolk as well. But not to humans. They don't recognise their mates as we do. And you realise the problem. Without her registered in the database, the agency will never confirm it. Pam will argue you’re blinded by infatuation, not instinct. And Paul will use this to push for tighter controls.” He growled.
"Kelon has a lot to answer for. He destroyed the trust between us and the humans, at least for now.
I am doing my best to rebuild it, but that will take time. "
“I don’t care about their controls,” I growled. “I care about Maelis. She would be dead if I had followed their rules. Dead. And I know in my heart she is mine.”
Fionn’s expression softened. “I believe you, brother. But belief won’t protect you from Pam’s decisions. What I can do is put my word on record – tell her I recognise the bond, even if the agency refuses to. Coming from me, it may carry weight.”
Hope flared, sharp and painful. “You would do that?”
He inclined his head. “Of course. You are my clutch-brother. And maybe Pam will agree to test Maelis, add her DNA to the database to have definite proof. But until then, you must hold steady. Don’t break your confinement.
Don’t give Paul more ammunition. Every misstep will make Pam dig her heels in deeper. ”
Rainse gave a dry chuckle. “Patience has never been his strongest skill.”
“Then he’ll have to learn it,” Fionn said. His voice softened again, almost a smile tugging at his lips. “For her.”
The screen flickered, then dissolved into black.
I stood in the silence, Rainse watching me with that same infuriatingly knowing smirk. My hand strayed to the pocket where her note rested against my chest. My greenskin tightened at the thought of her.
Patience. For her, I would try. But patience alone would never be enough.