Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Proteus
He waited for them to leave, seething but not wanting them to realize. Proteus wasn't even sure if he was angry because she had defied him, or because he knew she was right.
Ellie had been alive in this era, and he had not been.
Why he hadn't thought to even ask her opinion about this plan was one of his own failings, a reminder that even as a god, he was not flawless.
She was the one who would have given him the direction that he desperately needed.
She could have poked holes in his plan, and yet.
.. Perhaps she did not feel comfortable doing so.
It was complicated to acknowledge that he had failed her. But the weight of this responsibility was his alone to bear. He wanted this world to go back to the way it was meant to be, and he did not have the ability to do that without others helping him.
Ellie understood that. She saw through his decisions, and she helped him get to where he needed to go, that was an honor. It was wondrous that she would even think to interrupt so that he didn't royally fuck this up.
But she was terrified of him. As the others slipped into the water and disappeared, he could see that Ellie wouldn't even look at him.
She kept wringing her hands, pressing them so hard against her sternum that he feared she would hurt herself.
She looked everywhere but at him. The water.
The sand. The ceiling that was still lit up from a sun that would soon disappear as another storm barreled toward them.
She feared he would be angry with her. But he wasn't angry with the woman who had saved his plan. He was angry with himself.
"Come here," he ground out through teeth that ached as he clenched them so hard.
"My pod is at the bottom of the sea," she whispered, still not looking at him. "I feel as though I should remind you of that."
"Why would you—” And then he understood.
Proteus stiffened. Every part of his body wanted to scream at the knowledge that she wasn't just frightened of him. She thought he would harm her again. Hadn't he been trying to prove that harming her had shamed him beyond reckoning? Never again.
"I wouldn't," he said, his voice low with emotion. "I gave you my word."
"What does the word of a god mean? The world ended. People starved. The gods did nothing." She swallowed. "After all I have seen, it's hard to imagine that gods even exist. I believe the people who just left feel the same."
"I suppose you are right." He uncoiled his tail, the bones already glowing with emotion as he hooked his fluke around her back. Ellie looked a little uncomfortable, shifting as if she wanted to make space. There was nowhere in this room where she could escape. He was too large.
Proteus reeled her into him until she bumped into his chest. Her hands planted firmly against his warm skin, and she stared down at the sight of her pale fingers against his strangely colored flesh.
The bones there glowed, too. He knew it relaxed her to watch his hearts beat in alternating thuds that calmed her mind.
"Listen to me, Sisu. I promised you that I would never harm you again, but I promised myself that I would never allow someone else to harm you either.
I am in your debt." He laid one of his massive hands over hers, the long digits covering up her fingers.
"I should have asked you about this long before now.
You see the world in ways I do not, Ellie.
I should have known better than to believe I would know all. "
Finally, she looked up at him. As though his words had made her come alive, those bright eyes blinked up at him in shock. "What?"
"I am not angry at you. But I must admit I felt a great deal of fear when you walked out of that room.
If they wished to claim you as their own, they certainly could.
You are human. They will want you to be with the humans and I.
.." Proteus breathed out a long hiss. It wheezed out through the holes in his cheeks and down his throat, as though his entire body rebelled at the fear that rioted through him.
"I do not wish for you to leave my side. "
"That wouldn't be their choice. They don't get to tell me where to go or how I live my life." Her tiny hand came up, pressing against his cheek. "I... I think I'd rather stay with you. Here. I want to explore all there is to see in this world, and you're the only one who can give me that."
"The humans will be here. Above. And there is so much more here for you to discover without me."
"No. I don't want to know what there will be. I want to know what once was." She smiled, and that soft expression nearly broke his heart. "You're the only one who can give me that, I believe."
A low rumble started in his chest. He wanted to keep this woman far more than what was healthy.
He hadn't hoarded things since he was very young.
Proteus had learned a long time ago that keeping living things was only disappointing.
He didn't die. They did. He was the one who was left behind, wishing that he had never given them a piece of himself.
And yet... This woman made it impossible not to want to keep her. She looked at him with those wide, bright eyes, and he would do anything for her. To prove that he was worthy of even an ounce of her attention.
Breathing out, he shook his head and looked back at the water where the others had disappeared. "How long do you think it will take before they come back?"
"Long enough."
He looked back at her to see the heat in her eyes. The same heat that mimicked the lust that burned deep inside his body. He froze where he was, watching as she cupped his jaw and drew his face closer to hers.
A kiss, Proteus realized. It was still a strange choice for someone like him. His lips were far too wide, and he could have bitten her face clean off if he had wanted to. But she was gentle as she pressed her little mouth against his.
She was warm and soft. Every part of her kiss was everything that he was not. Kind, sweet, tasting like virtue and something broken that was his fault. The shattering of innocence, he thought. The corruption of a virginal spirit tasted sweeter than wine.
When she drew back, they were both breathing hard.
He wasn't sure what to say after a gift like that.
She didn't have to touch him. She didn't have to give up her fear of him, either.
He knew what he was. A monster. A being who was made as a weapon to carve out the end of the world and rebuild it in the image of the ancients.
But she saw him as so much more than that.
Like she could read his mind, Ellie traced her fingers along the lines of his cheeks and said, "You’re not all bad, Proteus. Not all good either. But neither makes me think less of you."
He shook his head. "Ah, little human. You never cease to amaze me."
He brought her back to the room where they had worked on the holograms. He set her down in there with Pilot, ignoring the droid who had gone against all his programming when he allowed her to change what he'd been ordered to do. And then they waited.
Ellie busied herself looking through another binder she had found hidden underneath the bed with the body still on it. Proteus remained where he had been before. With his gaze trained on the water, waiting for any hint that the others were returning.
Because he needed them. They had impressed him when he had peered through Fortis's memories. These were the kind of heroes who could continue his work without Proteus having to force them to do so. They were so similar to the scientists who had once worked here, but with purer hearts and minds.
Their intent was to help. Always. It wasn't to push themselves toward greatness or to make a name for themselves in the history books. In fact, likely no one would remember the small team of people who considered themselves a family, but who had saved the entire world.
Finally, the water rippled again.
"Ellie?" he called out. "They return."
He could hear her sprinting through the room and following him into the atrium as the first male's head crested the surface.
Proteus had been surprised to find that the largest male wasn't the one who controlled them.
Fortis should have been the leader, or perhaps the massive red one. But no, it was the blue undine.
This time, it was just the blue male and the redhead. She crawled out of the water the moment her mate released her, pulling at the contraption on her face and immediately yanking the hood down. She'd clearly done this a few times.
"So," the woman said. "I might as well tell you my name is Mira. This binder has a lot of interesting things in it."
"Yes, it does."
"So you believe these scientists were onto something?
You think that the Above is not only inhabitable, but could be saved so that these facilities aren't the only place where we can survive?
" Mira's expression twisted. "I have to admit, it's hard for any of us to believe.
We've all been under the sea for such a long time, but those of us with mates have seen the surface.
We know how dangerous it is and what the storms are like. Not to mention the lack of water."
"I have seen it for myself," he replied.
"Have you? Have you seen the ice storms that can flay your skin right off because the shards are so sharp?
Have you seen the hurricanes that reshape the coastline every single month?
Have you seen the flooding, the dangers to people like us?
I don't mean to be rude, but I need you to understand that this is not a planet that has had humans on the surface in over two hundred years. The world has not healed itself."
"Because no one was helping it heal." Proteus slithered down from the podium, landing on the ground and ignoring the warning hiss of her mate in the water. He loomed over the woman, waiting for her to cower in fear but ridiculously pleased when she did not. "What do I look like to you?"
"You aren't one of the People of Water, that's for damn sure.
You don't even call them by their preferred name.
" She looked him over, her eyes seeing all the details of his body, right down to the tentacles at his hips.
"You're an amalgamation of all the creatures in the sea and yet not at the same time.
I have never seen anything like you before. "
"No. I imagine you wouldn't have. The ancients were the ones who created me, many years ago."
That was when the male in the water spoke. "I have heard the ancient stories of a son, but we always thought they were false."
"They were not false. They were of me." He was pleased that some of the stories had survived all these years. "But it seems your people have forgotten my ways."
"That son was imprisoned by my people."
A twinge of anger burst in his chest. Proteus had thought he would be more understanding about this, but come to find out, two hundred years of imprisonment had given him a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
"Your people imprisoned me because they did not like the idea of working with the humans.
When it was discovered that I, their god, had been conspiring with mortal scientists to help save this planet, your people overreacted.
They threw me into that coffin and sank me to the bottom of the sea.
Forever awake. Forever alive. Trapped while knowing that I could only inhale and exhale but move no more than that. "
Rage burned through every word. The truth hurt, he could tell. The undine before him flinched. "The stories claim you were a monstrous being who wished nothing more than to hurt those who did not worship him."
"Many things can be true at the same time," he muttered, before turning back to Mira.
"If your people are interested in helping, then I would like some of them to set up here.
I know that likely will not be yourself, or perhaps any of those we met before.
But there is much knowledge here, and this facility has sustained itself throughout the storms."
"We can arrange that."
"If any of them step out of line, I trust you all know that I will drown them before feasting upon their bodies."
There was a long pause of silence. Mira's nose wrinkled. "Feasting upon their bodies seems a little much, don't you think?"
"It will not sustain me for long, that much is true. But they are easier to catch than a whale." He bared his teeth, allowing his mouth to split open a bit. He had the thorough pleasure of seeing her eyes widen in horror. "I consume much to maintain a long life."
She swallowed and backed toward her mate. "I will be in touch then. Your droid seems to already have a connection to our base."
"It does. There are a few remaining facilities needed to bring Sanctuary online. I will need your people to go there as well."
Mira nodded. "Then we will talk through the droid. A small team of people will volunteer to come here and... research as well."
"Good." He was still smiling at her, certain that he was making her uncomfortable. "We will look forward to your message."
The other two headed out again, but not before he heard the long, suffering sigh that Ellie let out. He turned to look at her, exasperation making him want to follow the others into the sea as well.
"What?" he asked.
"You could have been nicer."
"Nicer? I was very nice. I didn't eat any of their limbs.
I didn't threaten them even once. They were allowed to leave without any arguments or fights.
" He frowned at her. "I was very nice. I didn't expect him to prove himself to me, and many of his people used to do that.
I battled any male who was within my presence. "
"Maybe that's why they didn't like you back then," she muttered, heading over to the water and peering down into the depths to make sure they were actually gone.
"They feared me. They weren't meant to like me."
"They might not have locked you up if they had liked you."
Anyone else would have ended up in the ocean or his belly for saying something like that. Proteus snarled at her, baring his teeth even though he knew she was right.
"Go prepare the room for visitors," he muttered as he crawled toward the water. "I am drying out."
"I'll prepare for as many as I can," she cheerfully replied. Then dragged her finger down his back where he knew his skin was already getting paper thin. "Huh. You are getting dry."
Snarling once more over his shoulder, he slipped into the water to get a break from the tiny demon who now seemed to run his entire life.