Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
Proteus
He was death.
He was destruction.
He was ruination.
Proteus had never been so angry in his entire life.
He'd been imprisoned before. The undine had attacked him all those years ago, making it very clear that they wished he was dead.
But even then he had understood their actions.
He had forgotten those reasons while imprisoned.
Hatred had eventually festered as it always would with enough time to think about the actions of others.
But he had never cared about anything so much that it hurt to lose it. As he watched that undine swim away with the one person who had ever truly mattered in his life, he knew he was going to make them all suffer.
It didn’t take him long to track down the blue undine. The male had holed himself up, though, perhaps the best way to keep himself out of Proteus's reach. The stones that he had wriggled through made it impossible for him to be reached. Even for someone who had arms as long as Proteus.
He had tried. For hours. He had pounded his body against the stones, raging against the currents that tried to pull him away from the male. He would tear him limb from limb, bathing the sea in the blood of the fool who thought to take her from him.
But his rage had changed as the sea finally showed him what she wished for him to see. There was another scent on the water. Another scent that was important.
While the blue undine smelled like Ellie, it was faint.
He wasn't keeping her in those stones with him, and so Proteus had moved on.
The acrid scent of dead eel had originally repelled him, but now he understood the trick for what it was.
And though the male screamed for him to return, Proteus focused on the scent that still lingered in the water.
Few could track like he could. Partly it was the scent, and the other part came down to the powers that the ancients had given him. The ability to know what had come before pulsed through the water, highlighting the image of a yellow finned bastard who had taken Ellie next.
He'd found that one at another outpost, although the yellow one wasn't nearly as smart as the other. He'd been trying to get out of the water to hide in what looked more like a bubble than an outpost. It was a foolish choice.
Proteus clawed through his fluke, rendering him nearly useless until he healed, which would take a very long time.
With a curved claw, he'd hooked his fingers through the gills of the chuckling male, forcing him to stop laughing for a second and look Proteus in the eyes. "Where did you put her?" he said, his tone almost bored.
"Inside the outpost." The male had coughed, looking at the bubble behind him. "Release me and I'll get her for you."
"She's not there. You will tell me where she is." He twisted his claw, digging into sensitive soft gills. "Or I will kill you."
The male didn't want to say, and that told Proteus more than he knew.
With a flick of his wrist, he dropped the male into the sea and started off toward the town he knew the mortals had built.
They wanted it to stay a secret, but Proteus knew everything that happened in these waters.
They'd brought her to their den, it seemed.
That was a foolish choice.
They should have known that he would find them. Proteus was the god of the sea, so even if he hadn't known where the town was, the sea itself would have told him, eventually. He would get what he wanted, or he would tear down the world around him.
The moment he'd seen the domed city, he had known something was wrong. The journey had given his mind time enough to clear, and he knew without a doubt the humans would do something stupid. They would take one look at him, and they would risk her life to control him.
If he wasn't careful, he was going to lose her. They would always sacrifice another before they would themselves.
His hearts were nearly beating out of his chest as he barreled toward the town.
He intended to strike one of the main buildings.
They would be so focused on stopping the leakage, trying to control what they were losing, that they wouldn't notice him gathering Ellie up.
He knew once she saw him, she would try to get to him.
They were connected, she and him. They were one being, one breath.
But then he scented her blood in the water.
It was as if someone had struck him in the hearts. Had they killed her? His Ellie? They wouldn't dare. They had to know that if they had done that, he would destroy them all.
His stomach twisted. His hearts ached. He felt as if someone had plunged a hand into his chest and grabbed onto the organs.
She was hurt. And he hadn't stopped it from happening.
He turned direction toward the scent and just barely caught sight of her body. It was dark, so there was very little light in the water to guide him, but he would have seen her from an even greater distance.
She floated into the void, her arm outstretched toward the people who had thrown her into the water hoping to appease him.
He would not forget this. He would return to this place, and he would tear it all to the sands.
They would never be able to use this town again.
All of these useless scum could return to their main city that was overrun with humans.
They could rot in there for all he cared.
No longer would he be kind or lenient toward humankind. They would stay where he put them. No outposts. No freedom. They would leave his waters for good and leave both him and those he loved alone.
He reached her before the void claimed her. He had known that he would, but the terror was hard to shake. The fear that she would sink beyond his reach and he wouldn't catch her before the pressure had crushed her.
Proteus wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her into him. The soft weight of her, held to his chest even as the current tried to pluck her from his grip. He was an immovable force in this sea. And she clung to him like she knew it.
He heard her soft gasp, bubbles erupting from her mask as her limbs curled around his waist. Proteus knew, knew without a doubt, that she had been waiting for him to save her.
The way her hands grabbed onto him, not a single mark of fear in her touch, healed some part of his soul that had been blistered since she'd been taken from him.
"Proteus," she whispered. "You came."
"I hope you weren't waiting long."
He glanced up at the dome where she had fallen, and some part of him whispered, "Finish this”.
He could put her on the ledge, knowing that even the currents wouldn't dare take her from him.
Then he could raze the entire place to the ground.
Just as he had planned. He would use all of his massive body, the strength that should terrify those within, and kill everyone inside.
He would drown them. Any who had rebreathers like her, he would hunt them down and rip it from their faces.
Their deaths would calm him. The sounds of their screams would ease the ache in his chest that told him he had somehow failed.
But then she pressed her hands to his thundering hearts, one for each of them, and he glanced down to see those big eyes watching him. By the gods, she was pretty. So innocent. So delicate.
So much kinder than he could ever dream of being.
"Take me away from here," she whispered. "Please."
"Where do you wish to go, Sisu?" He had to know the answer. Did she wish to return to her human city? Did even a few moments with those of her own kind convince her that perhaps she wished for a life that he could not give her?
"Somewhere they can't find us."
He could see a shadow of doubt in her gaze.
The way she looked back at the town for a mere moment, before all her attention was once more on him.
A small part of her didn't want to leave these people behind, but a large part of her did.
It was a battle she would likely fight for the rest of her life.
He ran his hands down her back, scooping the backs of her thighs so she would wrap her legs around him and he could be sure that she was secure. Then he turned away from the domes and headed out into the sea.
The pace he set for himself was brutal. Even he could feel his muscles burning as he launched himself through the currents and fought against any trail that the sea wished for him to follow. He knew where he was going. He knew exactly where they would be safe.
The place was old. Hidden. It had been one of the first caverns he had found as a child, and it was one of the few places where he knew none of the undine would follow them. Because it wasn't entirely underwater.
It took a while for him to get there, but he didn't mind how long the journey took because she was cuddled up to him.
Her tiny feet had found purchase above his fins.
And while there were no holds for her feet, the tentacles on his hips had wrapped around her toes to make sure that she felt more secure.
It was as if his body worked on its own, holding her even while the rest of him worked to bring her to safety.
He felt out of control. No one had ever been so daring as to steal something important from him. He'd never lost something as dear to him as her, and he was feeling all sorts of emotions that he'd never experienced before.
A large part of him wanted to crawl inside her.
He didn't know what that meant, only that he wanted to cling to her until there was no him or her, but just the two of them existing in a way he did not understand.
Another part of him threatened that he should consume her.
Then no one else but him could have her, and he would always have part of her inside of him no matter how far she went.
But that was the animalistic side of him. A creature who had never truly seen reason, and one he rarely listened to these days. That side of him knew only how to hurt others. It lashed out when it was feeling uncomfortable or raw, as he was now.
He curled his arms around her a little tighter. He had promised that no one would ever hurt her again. Not him, not the humans, no one. And already she had bled.
Proteus curved a bit, his tail still propelling them through the waters at a speed that would have been hard for anyone else to follow. But he needed to see her arm. Gently, ever so gently, he ran his palm down her arm to hold her wrist up so that he could see it.
The water pressed back against her so powerfully, she wouldn't have been able to hold her arm up on her own. It might have been a little uncomfortable for her to hold it as he was. But he had to see. He had to know that she wasn't going to bleed out in his arms while he brought her to safety.
The cut was shallow. Thankfully, the saltwater of the sea had washed it clean long before this moment, but he could see there was still a faint line of red that was prevented from clotting because of the surrounding water.
A flash of fear seared through him. If he didn't get her to safety fast enough, she could bleed out.
She could die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He'd thought she would be all right with the humans.
They wanted to get back at him. They wanted to show him that they were truly in control, and that was all.
He had been so wrong about them. They didn't care about others of their own kind. All they cared about was... whatever they had wanted. He truly didn't know.
"Not long now," he told her, praying to all the remaining gods of the sea that they would listen to their son.
He would not lose her. Even though the scent of her blood was beautiful and blooming in his gills. Even though part of him wanted to devour every inch of her skin just to savor that taste for a moment longer.
Urgency pushed him even faster until finally he reached the hidden cavern that the humans had long ago forgotten. It was another one of theirs, after all. A cavern that had once been used in worship as well.
Those who had worshipped here had known the sea was a goddess.
They brought her gifts from this place which had once been full of boats.
They would load the wooden ships with flowers, hundreds of petals and colors that would eventually sink into the waves.
Every ship had a hole in it. Just enough to allow it to head out from the dock and out to sea.
Once the goddess accepted their sacrifice, it would sink. Filling the waves with flowers that would then float back to the shore.
He still remembered them wearing those flowers in their hair, telling everyone they had been blessed by the sea.
It was a stupid ritual. But even then, humans loved to pollute the waves while justifying it was for beauty.
The docks had long ago rotted, but the sides of the cavern were carved out beautifully.
Smooth sides and stairs that lifted out of the water onto a platform that led toward the sands beyond.
Centuries ago it had led to the garden where they grew all the flowers that were gifts to the goddess.
But now, it would only serve as a safe place for them to rest for a little while.
He helped her to the stairs, which were slick with algae and covered with barnacles. Proteus made sure to help her place her feet safely, so she could pick and choose the right steps to place her feet so they wouldn't also get cut.
He dragged himself up after her onto the smooth surface where hundreds of feet had walked. He lay there next to her, watching her chest rise and fall as she ripped the rebreather off her face and set it down on the ground next to her goggles.
She turned her face to look at him, and that's all she did. Just look. He could feel her gaze tracing his features. From his brows, down his nose, to the lines on his cheeks, and down to his lips.
He'd never wanted to kiss her more. But a splash of color caught his attention before he could.
Leaning over her, Proteus plucked the single red bloom that had somehow grown in this dark, dank place. As he did so, as if the gods had heard him, a beam of light illuminated the massive cave.
He tucked the hardy sea rose behind her ear, gently following the curve of it with his claws. "There," he murmured. "Now it's where it belongs."
"The flower?"
"A rose cannot rival your beauty, but I like to see it try."
He caught her as she lunged at him, and their lips crashed together in a kiss that was nearly painful.