Chapter Twenty #2
To her chagrin, the boat cut sideways and made it safely onto the other side of the thin ice, and stopped. Kaden stuck his head out of the water, questioning her with his eyes. “What are you doing?”
He directed the boat back to her, and with icy blasts still firing through her nerves, she climbed aboard until they reached a tiny island one more mile out.
“You all right?” Kaden used his tail to muscle his way onto the surface after she stepped off the boat. She swore he was fighting back a smile, and she glared at him.
When she found enough breath, she spoke through a clenched jaw. “I thought my stomach was going to fall out of my body after jumping off.”
“I would have gotten you around safely, as you saw.” Kaden’s shoulders shook, a short laugh sputtering from his lips. “But you decided to, quite literally, jump ship.”
“You’re laughing?” Angie clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes at him, her face scrunched. “Not funny! I didn’t know you were going to do that, or if you even knew the ice was there. That was like a water ride from the deepest level of the Hells.”
“I knew. But I’m sorry that I could not warn you earlier.” Kaden’s smile faded, and he pursed his lips. “I’ve been thinking of what you said. About your mother.”
She shivered. “I’m listening.”
“I would like to show you her final resting place. It’s the least I can do after we took her body from you and denied you peace.”
“You would?” Angie sat straighter. “Where is she?” After she asked, it struck her that even if he told her where in the vast ocean it was, it wouldn’t hold any meaning for her.
“Over two hundred fathomspans below and—” Kaden stumbled over his words and cut himself off. Angie did the math in her head, converting what she assumed to be fathoms to feet. “In my queendom.” He spoke as if forced to reveal something he didn’t want to.
Angie’s stomach fluttered, and she jerked her head back. “Did you say queendom?”
“Well.” Kaden rubbed his neck. “It’s my parents’ queendom, not mine. The mer-king and mer-queen.”
The admission rendered her speechless. “So, you’re, what, a mer-prince? That’s why you kept saying you can talk to your leaders. Why didn’t you tell me?” The sun emerged overhead, and she used her hand to shield her eyes from the luminous onslaught.
Kaden tucked his tail on the opposite side of him, basing with one hand on the ground. “At the time, I could not trust you with the truth, could not have your people coming after me to use us for their ends. Obviously, royalty would attract more attention.”
Damn him for making sense.
“But if you’re a prince, shouldn’t you be, you know, spending more time at court? Doing princely things? You’re at the surface an awful lot.” Angie scratched her chin, thoughtful.
“I do not wish to be at court,” he swallowed hard, “nor do I have much desire to be near the mer-king and mer-queen these days.”
His fingers tapped his forearm with nervous energy. Angie moved closer, gazing at him with laser focus, and put a hand on his bent elbow. “Kaden?” He swept a fleeting glance over her hand, and she retracted it.
“They have started talking marriage prospects for me, since I am of age. The queendom buzzes with excitement.” He said the word excitement dripping with disdain.
A jealous pang burned her chest, and Angie forced herself to smother it, failing to understand where it came from. “S-so your parents pick out a wife for you?”
“Yes. When we are old enough, it is customary for our families to go to a seer, who foretells a union and presents them with a list of appropriate mates. In my family, it happens during an engagement ceremony, where the princes and princesses are to narrow down the list to one.” Kaden paused for a breath.
“I do not wish to attend the event where my family would present me with prospects. They have been actively searching for the seer’s recommended mates for the last year.
When my parents are in mate-hunting mode, I have no desire to listen to them bombard me with this mermaid name and that one, names that mean nothing to me.
” His back and arms became taut. “Cyrus is doing his part. He is bonded, and he has agreed to take over once my parents are gone, or should they abdicate the throne.”
“Do you ever want to rule?”
“Not unless it were imposed on me. The rest of my family make much better leaders. Simply because they want that power.”
“I guess. But if you lead, you can help change things.” Angie had always liked the idea of being a leader and having the power to make changes.
“It’s something you aspire to?”
“There’s a saying, ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’ I can do that by leading and not always following.
” The notion of leading one day, whether it was the docks, a research project, or coming up with an innovative product made her flush, exhilarated.
“I want to see change happen in our environment and advocate for healthy seas. You can’t sit and hope that someone else takes the lead. ”
Slowly, Kaden nodded. “You’ve given me some things to think on. Thank you for sharing your perspective.”
Another silence befell them, and Angie thought back to what Kaden had said about his parents finding marriage prospects. “Earlier, you said you were of age to find a lifemate. How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Is that old or young in mer years?”
“Young. We live to about a hundred tidesyears.” A brief silence.
Ah. They had similar lifespans.
“So.” She swore his voice’s timbre had lowered, sounding huskier. Angie spun on her backside to face him, crossing her legs. “Humans find their own mates, yes?”
A bundle of nerves inexplicably unraveled. “It depends, I guess. Some people’s families pick a partner for them. But yeah, mostly we look for our own.”
“You look for your own partners?” Kaden ran one finger along his defined jawline. “How?”
Angie tucked her chin. She never had to explain the concept of dating, and she was worthless with impromptu explanations. “Well, you go on dates, and if you like each other, then you bring it to the next level.”
“And what’s that?” Kaden closed the distance between them and brought his tail closer to his body.
“Well, if you’d let me finish.” Angie chuckled and nudged his shoulder with hers.
“Apologies, do continue.”
“Depending on what both people want, they can agree to a committed relationship. They can make it purely physical. Or they can live together. Or get married, and if they want, have kids.” She thought of what else to say. “If they later decide they don’t want to be together, they break up.”
He relaxed his pose, his torso falling away from her. “So, it is courting, then. We court our potential mates, as well, when we’ve chosen a match during our engagement events.”
“Can’t imagine having my life chosen for me.”
“This is our tradition,” Kaden replied. “I just choose not to partake in it.”
“Don’t blame you. I wouldn’t either. Oh, and I just wanted to let you know, our mayor—uh, our leader—is coming on Friday. They’re meeting with my bàba, and I’m going to join them.”
“That’s good news. What are you planning on saying to them?” Kaden had pulled his shoulders back, rapt.
“My family seems pretty set on shooting you all on sight. And my bàba is close to our leaders. If I can talk some sense into them, something might actually come of it. I’ll let you know what happens.
” A cold, passing breeze greeted her, and Angie shivered, despite sitting beneath the evening sun’s rays.
She tightened her light jacket around herself and brought her knees closer.
“You are cold?”
“What gave that away?” Angie grinned and shook her head.
“You don’t have much body fat, except for your chest.” He pointed at her jacket. “No wonder you have to wear layer upon layer to stay warm. What is that part underneath the waist called?”
“My hips? You’re saying I have big hips?” She sat ramrod straight, crossing and uncrossing her legs as she waited for his answer.
“Not big. They look, erm.” Kaden flushed pink. “Well rounded. Healthy. Like the rest of you.”
“I can’t tell if you’re insulting or complimenting me!” Angie exclaimed with mock-incredulity, dramatically putting a hand over her chest.
“It was meant as a compliment.”
“Alright, wisecracker. How do you supposedly have so much body fat keeping you warm in zero-degree waters?”
Kaden’s lips twitched before he cracked a small smile. “We have smaller organs. Hence why we do not appear as if we have much body fat, but we do have a thin layer beneath our skin. Helps keep us warm.”
“Makes sense. But how do you breathe underwater with your nostrils open? And see without the saltwater burning your eyes?” Angie hadn’t meant to stare and examine him like a specimen for one of her marine biology classes, but she couldn’t help herself.
Kaden flared his nose as if to prove a point. “My eyes are covered with a protective lens when I’m in the water. And my nostrils close as well. I don’t need them to breathe.”
“Ah! So, similar to a sea lion. Or a walrus.” She was proud of herself for how much she remembered from her college courses.
“You–uh, those are the first animals you would compare me to?” Kaden blew out an amused huff.
“I’m not saying you look like them!”
“Right. I believe that. Now, are you done critiquing my appearance?”
“If you’re done critiquing mine,” Angie fired back with a smirk. “You may have all those special adaptations to live in the sea, but at least I have legs and can walk on land.”
“Oh!” Kaden doubled over, shoulders shaking with hearty laughter. “And yet with all the grace and speed you may have on land, you will never be as so in the water. Or be able to breathe without your bulky contraptions.”
“The downfall of having legs instead of a big old fish tail and no gills.” She clucked her tongue, cheeks practically pushing against her eyes while she laughed with him. It felt good, the lighthearted tone their conversation took. Her spirits lifted.
“We adapt to our environments, yes? Except your hair. Does it not get caught on things around you? What is the advantage to having hair so long and unbound?” Kaden’s eyes roved from the top of her head down to where her hair ended at her waist.
“I don’t make it a habit to whip my hair around in places where it might get snagged.” Angie scooped up a small handful of cold sand and flicked it at his chest. “And I like the way it looks. It also keeps my neck warm.”
He brushed the grit off, his face still upturned.
Then he flicked the sand back at her, bouncing off her nose, and she wrinkled it.
“Long, loose hair like yours can attract the attention of qisainman. Or liuyeyu if you’re deep enough.
They could mistake stray locks of hair for delicious fish. I would know.”
He slowed down when he said the fish names, and by piecing together the words, Angie got “lampreys” and “lancetfish.”
“Why, you used to have long, flowing hair too?” She tried envisioning him with waist-length locks, like hers, and the vision made her chuckle to herself.
Nope, it wouldn’t suit him. She preferred him with his short, full head of hair.
“Nearly had my hair ripped off my head once, when I grew it past my shoulders. Almost got sucked in by a giant zhangyu. I’ll never forget how scary its eight tentacles looked.” Kaden drew his shoulders to his ears, then dropped them.
Angie jumped in her own skin at the notion. She imagined being dragged into a web of tentacles eager to make her their owner’s dinner, and she jutted her chin forward, pressing her lips together. “How did you get out?”
“A lot of thrashing, prying the suckers off, then using a stray piece of coral to jab at it until it released me. Never swam so fast.” Kaden’s nose crinkled.
“Learned my lesson to keep my hair short. Most of us do, or tied into tight braids or whichever other style they desire. Coral and rocks and their rough edges are a danger too. You never know which way the currents will take you.”
She brushed leftover sand off her pants. “What’s the point of having hair on your head, and eyebrows?”
“Blunt with the questions, are we?” Kaden had moved even closer so his tail touched her legs.
“Sexual selection among the mer. Thicker hair and eyebrows are more desirable in a potential mate. For us, it signals health and fertility.” His face was inches from hers, and she sucked in a short breath.
His eyes gazed at her lips, and she parted them to take another breath of brisk air.
Silence descended, her senses zeroing in on him. His nearness and clean scent, the warmth emanating from his skin, breaths deep and relaxed, clear eyes hooded.
His nose bumped hers, but he stopped and appeared paralyzed by indecision. Still, she wanted to know what their lips meeting would feel like.
No, she couldn’t. Whatever would happen would lead to nowhere good.
Walruses singing in the distance drifted to her, chimes and hoots riding on gusts of wind spurting by.
She turned her head away before his lips touched hers.
Kaden broke eye contact with her and pressed his hands to his temples. Angie stole a glance at him, the disappointment in his expression clear.
When she stepped foot onto Creston Harbor’s soil, Angie picked up her pace, boots clacking against the wooden planks while she ran to the ferry terminal.
“Next time.” Kaden spoke before she moved too far from him. “I’ll show you your mother’s resting place.”
She stopped, and turned to face him. “How? She’s underwater. Is she buried under the sand, or something?”
Kaden wiggled his eyebrows at her. “We have burial grounds. I will show you. But you must promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s for your eyes only. Please do not speak of it with anyone.”
She thought about it, sure she would want to take pictures, but she didn’t want to squander this opportunity. Angie gave him a brief nod and smile before continuing toward the terminal. Excitement and anxiety warred within her at the prospect.
Her nerves tingled, spreading a toasty sensation through her body, despite the wind’s chilly ribbons winding around her. The sun transitioned from luminous golden to radiant orange-crimson.
New feelings bubbled to the surface, veering from intense magnetism to hesitation and caution. These had lain dormant until now, wiggling out to smack her across the face.
She brushed the tangled feelings away and would sort them later. Still, her heart fluttered with anticipation at possibly seeing Māma.
For now, she had one hour to get home on a trip that normally took her two.