Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Her second trip under the blue sea was more exhilarating than the last. This time, she wasted no time acclimating to her new senses and remembered to tie her hair back.
Today, she donned a deep green monokini, anticipating that the magic would keep her warm, and left her jacket ashore.
Kaden had given her the cheekiest grin when she dropped the coat, and she caught him stealing glances when he thought she wasn’t looking.
The swim to the sanctuaries felt like it zoomed by. Kaden informed her they’d moved two tidesmiles and were now more than two thousand feet underneath the surface.
Angie took in the sights. Colorful corals surrounded her. The sands shifted as camouflaged animals darted within. Jade and ruby seaweeds undulated with the currents.
“We’re here,” Kaden gave her one more pull toward the abyss of the sea floor before letting go of her hand.
First there was only darkness. Then resplendent colors came into view. Reds, silvers, blues, and oranges blended together like an underwater rainbow above her head.
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered to herself, eyes wide so she wouldn’t miss a single thing.
How she wished she could photograph this.
Well, if she still had her phone. She didn’t own a camera.
Kaden’s earlier words came back to her, that this was for her eyes only, and not to be spoken of to anyone else.
The sea life stayed within invisible confines, and Angie’s gaze slid upward. “Some of these are shallow-water fish. They can survive with the pressure difference?”
Kaden flashed a knowing wink. “There is a barrier enacted to prevent them from being crushed by the pressure, similar to what’s around our palace.
We have sanctuaries all over the seven seas, mostly to rehabilitate injured animals.
We leave a lot of room in case we ever need to take in more. Out of reach from humans.”
Once the initial sense of wonder wore off, Angie trembled.
She was on cloud nine, surrounded by schools of fish swarming her and creating soothing waves.
Seagrass tickled her feet and legs, and she gasped when a king crab skittered past her, its mighty claws out, a warning.
She obliged, watching the fish play and eat and explore, living free without a care in the world, swimming and skittering and sliding side by side.
Vibrant corals were abundant, playgrounds and homes for the life surrounding them.
Massive schools of arctic char, salmon, pacific cod, and pollock surrounded her. A stark reminder that fish here were fish that her village and docks were not getting. If only she could bring some of them back with her.
Kaden appeared to read her mind. “I know what you’re thinking. You want to feed your family, your people. You see us selfishly keeping them here.”
“I do want that.” She kept staring at a ratfish moving along the floor, the cartilaginous fish’s rodent-like tail wiggling behind it. Her throat briefly constricted. “They look so happy here.”
“They are well cared for.”
Angie hung her head, and Kaden put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. “I thought I’d be happier to see this, and I am. It reminds me that this is what we’re fighting over, dying over. All this, right here.”
“If this is upsetting you, we can leave.” Kaden’s features were an expression of earnestness with a flicker of regret. “I would not have brought you here if I knew it would trouble you.”
She shrugged, pushing the despondent thoughts out of her mind. “I asked you; though, I’m ready to go.”
Her gaze lingered on the sanctuary until they were out of sight.
She was torn. The fish deserved their lives and freedom–every living thing did–but her village also deserved to eat.
Businesses relying on seafood also deserved to make a living and feed their families and themselves.
Didn’t they? Still, human greed was a beast to contend with.
Some could hold the world in their hands, and it wouldn’t be enough.
Angie sucked in a quivering breath. She’d worry about that later, when she figured out how to broach the subject to Bàba again. Kaden’s voice alerted her. “Did you still want to see the palace? I am happy to take you back if not.”
“Sure.” Angie followed him away from the sanctuaries, moving with the currents.
Something flashed in her peripheral vision, catching her attention.
A red light flickered, and it appeared distant.
Then, it vanished. The only thing in front of Angie was a rock pillar dotted with starfish and corals.
“What’s the matter?” Kaden asked.
Angie studied the darkness, waiting for the red light to come back. It never did. Maybe she had imagined it. “I just thought I saw something,” she said. “Did you see anything?”
He shook his head.
Several more kicks ahead and glittering metal flashed into her vision. She slowed her pace. Gold and silver plates were buried beneath the sand, and she swam toward them.
“Buried sea vessels,” Kaden explained. “The same barrier around the sanctuaries is around our queendom. Anything non-biological attempting to pass will be repelled, and missiles will ricochet back to the vessel it came from. Hence, those.”
Angie tilted her head to one side, wanting to look closer. The vessels must have been over three hundred years old, if that was the last time humans and mer had contact with each other. What could she learn if she could unearth those wrecks?
She shook away the thought. The last thing she wanted was to be caught poking around in mer territory, studying the vessels they destroyed. “I see. Let’s keep going.”
“Of course.” Kaden gave her a gentle tug.
“Before we get there.” Angie pulled back, rubbing the back of her neck and swallowing hard. “Wh-what are you expecting?”
They were underneath a mossy arch, surrounded by smooth rock. Two translucent moon jellies drifted by, sweeping over her ponytail.
Soft wrinkles formed on his brow. “I wished to show you where I call home, and have some private moments with you. But I promise you, nothing you do not wish as much as I.” One eyebrow shot up. “Why do you ask?”
“Because uh, when someone asks you back to their place, they’re expecting you to, well, have sex with them.” She grew uncomfortable at explaining that to him. “Sometimes they get upset if you don’t want to.”
“I expect only what you’re fully willing to give. If it is enough for you to see the palace and then leave, I will oblige right away, as I’ve said before.” The tip of his tail curled loose around her ankles. A comforting gesture, telling her he would never hold on too tight.
Angie had heard those words from the occasional young man she’d dated in college, but none of them said it with the open sincerity Kaden had.
“My culture does not allow us to act any other way. We are only to give ourselves to one another when two, or in some cases, more than two mer have decided to join for life.”
The butterflies in Angie’s stomach settled, and she dropped her shoulders, accepting his answers.
Away from the sanctuaries, the seas were barren of life again. The seafloor’s only companions were scattered rocks and sand and the occasional coral reef, resting still like statues against the constant shifting of the tides.
They moved into an area dotted with sea knolls and guyots, tall and short. Angie twisted her upper body away to avoid a jagged piece of rock wall much too close to her face.
The palace came into view, a golden beacon in the midnight seas, the sudden onslaught of light overwhelming her. Seeing so many mer in one place, though they were far away, was a truly dazzling sight to behold. Kaden led her around its confines.
“Come, stay close to me. I will not let anything happen to you.” A little burst of happiness popped in her, and she pulled him close, pressing their foreheads together.
She half-expected to feel his breath on her skin, but it was impossible since he used gills.
His lips brushed her skin, and a dulled spark feathered across her forehead.
“This is the way to my private quarters. We will pass by the throne room, but keep swimming flush with me and you will not draw the King and Queen’s attention. ”
Kaden rested his hand on a makeshift handle on the rock wall, pulling it open and revealing a wide tubular hallway. He pulled the door closed again when they passed through.
The mer-prince stopped when they moved through the hallway and into the next room, circular and empty.
Angie looked around, noting nothing of interest, until he tugged at her hand.
“You had asked me how we keep foodstuffs and other items dry.” He gently pulled her so she was beside him, looking to the left wall.
It wasn’t a wall. It was a glass pane leading to what looked like a cavern behind it, and what seemed to be hundreds of air bubbles floating about, a hypnotizing sight.
Kaden spoke up again. “Here. We have several rooms like this around the palace. This is one of about twenty drying chambers.”
Angie watched each of them float by, some empty, others with various dried fruits, kelp, and seaweed inside. The bubble sizes ranged from as small as her pinky nail to as large as her head.
“This is amazing,” she murmured, putting both palms on the glass pane. “I guess that answers my question, then. But why have dry food at all?”
“For emergencies or if there’s a scarcity of fresh foods. It also provides easy access to food without having to constantly swim to the surface to harvest the sea fruits and vegetables.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Like how we preserve and can foods.” Another thought came. “How did you keep the nori dry when you gave it to me?”
“A simple matter of guiding bubbles toward the surface. I used a little of my magic to keep the currents moving in the right direction.”
Now, she understood. Angie took one last look at the bubbles before they left the room.