33. Escape | Lyra
Lyra sat beside the window in her room, watching the light dance through water.
She took another bite of a sea cucumber and wanted to vomit.
What she really wanted was some chocolate cake or a roasted turkey leg.
Her stomach grumbled, and she forced down another mouthful.
There had been commotion outside that had drawn her here hours ago, but it had since quieted down.
She glanced expectantly at the door again, waiting for Nerida. Judging by the amount of sunlight she could see from the surface, her sister should have been here already.
A wave of melancholy swept over her, and she sank deeper into the floor.
It was prison being locked in here day in and day out. But it had seemed more troublesome outside as of late with all the hate Aegir was building towards her.
There were voices outside her door, and she strained her ears to listen. It was male voices.
She sighed, figuring it was probably Fang and Angler, before the door swept open and Drystan appeared.
His golden hair floated freely around his face. With his hands on his narrow hips, his chest appeared broader, more muscular, with shadows lining beneath the taut lines of his abdominal muscles.
Lyra blinked. He had always been handsome in the way that most mermen of Ithicais were, but there was something different about him today.
It had her sitting up straighter.
“Can I help you?”
Drystan scanned her room before his eyes fell on her, curled up on the floor.
“Why are you always on the floor?”
She glared at him. “You spend all day, every day locked in your room, and you tell me how you behave.”
Drystan rolled his eyes. “I have. And I can assure you I didn’t curl up and accept my fate.”
Lyra pulled herself off the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, really?”
His eyes darkened, taking in the sea foam-colored kylix she wore. The clam shells were a bit too small for her breasts, but it was a favorite she would never get rid of.
His nostrils flared as he slowly nodded. “Come on, let’s go.”
Shock twisted her features. “Go where?”
Drystan turned, not bothering to answer her, but had left her door wide open. She followed him.
Fang and Angler took up positions on either side of her.
“You have the day off,” Drystan said, dismissing them.
Lyra, Fang, and Angler froze with puzzled expressions. But Fang and Angler shared a look over Lyra’s head.
“Sire?” Fang prompted.
Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who thought she had heard him incorrectly.
Drystan stopped and turned back towards them. “You’re free to go,” he spoke the words slowly and even gestured with a wave to get his point across.
Angler bowed before turning and heading in the opposite direction. Fang bowed as well, but shot Lyra a look before he sped down the hall.
“Have a good day, Princess,” he said to her as a farewell.
Lyra watched them leave, and Drystan cleared his throat. “You coming?”
“Where?” Lyra shot back.
“Your favorite place.”
Drystan led her down the same secret path she had taken herself to escape the palace walls.
A giddy expression softened his face and kept his eyes bright.
It was sort of exciting to feel as if she were escaping. He raised a finger to his lips as several guards swam past their hiding spot in an alley near the palace.
Lyra pressed her back against the wall and felt the cold, porous stone dig into her.
When the coast was clear, Drystan darted across the pathway and down another alley, Lyra right behind him.
He stopped them at another fork, looking both ways.
“Why are we sneaking?” Lyra whispered.
“Because I don’t want anyone to know where I am,” he replied, before gesturing with his chin and swimming down another connection.
They reached the outskirts of Atlantis in no time, hopping from hidden alcove to secret alley.
When they were finally out of reach of anyone who would care, Drystan slowed his pace, staying at her elbow.
“We did it,” he breathed, an unusual smile stretching his lips wide. “That was fun. I see why you did it so often.”
Lyra glanced over her shoulder to see the concentric pathways of Atlantis, the houses along the sea shelf, and the merfolk spilling out of markets and other stores.
It was a hum of activity.
It reminded her of a beehive. There were only a few figures that were standing still, but they were far enough away that she couldn’t make them out.
“Who are we hiding from?” Lyra asked, turning her attention back down the path he led her.
Drystan rolled his neck and took a deep breath. “Everyone.”
“Heavy is the crown.” Lyra snorted.
“You can say that again,” he huffed. “Besides, you looked like you needed a break from confinement.”
She watched a school of fish veer in their path and then out of it. Their silver scales flashed brilliantly before resuming their normal gray shade.
“You’re such a kind warden,” she bit out.
Drystan’s smile stretched wider. “There’s that biting wit. I’ve missed that.”
“Okay, what is going on?” Lyra stopped abruptly.
Drystan paused a moment later and turned back to face her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean—what the fuck is wrong with you?”
She put her hands on her hips and leveled her chin. He was acting strangely.
It was as if he were happy or something.
“There is nothing wrong,” he shrugged, raising his arms at his sides and looking around as if she was meaning something nearby.
Lyra pointed at him. “That. Right there. What are you doing?”
He leaned his head back with a frown. “I answered your question.” Drystan shook his head. His golden hair shimmered in the filtered light.
“You’re being weird,” she accused again.
Drystan scoffed. “How?”
“Your hair is undone,” she ticked off her fingers. “You snuck through Atlantis, you’re cracking jokes, and—and smiling.”
He rolled his eyes and swam away from her. She couldn’t help but follow.
“Are you going to explain what’s going on?”
“It’s just nice to get away,” he sighed.
Lyra’s sides and arms began to burn as they swam. She hadn’t traveled this far in quite some time.
It had been months since she had been to the reef, and as it opened up in front of them, her heart fluttered in her chest.
There was a reason she’d sought sanctuary here.
Metallic silver fish darted through the edges and crevices of the gold-and-pink coral polyps. Orange sea fans and golden stardust anemones undulated in the current.
It was a riot of color and activity.
A peacock mantis shrimp scuttled over the spines of a staghorn coral, while a cuttlefish bobbed near the seafloor. It tucked its eight tentacles in tight to its body, waiting for its next meal to swim too close.
Drystan found a ledge nearby and perched upon it, stretching his arms above his head. He reclined on his back, watching the light ripple on the surface above.
Lyra hovered nearby, not getting too close to him. A zebra moray fled from beneath the ledge and into a nearby crevice.
Drystan whistled low and then chuckled.
“Guess he didn’t want the company.”
Lyra peered under the rock, expecting another one to be there, but it was empty.
“You can go explore if you’d like. Just don’t leave,” he said, peeking one eye open to see her.
She nodded and headed down towards the east end of the reef. Larger fish tended to gather there, like whitetip reef sharks and parrotfish.
Several square spots followed her.
She liked that kind of fish with its tiny orange body and bright-pink spots beside its gills.
They offered her a small amount of company without ever invading her space.
A blacktip darted by up ahead before vanishing from sight, and schools of fish fled.
There was so much to see.
Different textures and patterns. It was like a feast for the senses.
The water here was the perfect mixture of salt and oxygen, too, and Lyra inhaled deeply. It was fresh and crisp.
Her chest eased fractionally.
Plopping down on the sea floor, she grazed her fingertips along a brain coral, feeling the raised pattern.
A giant clam opened slightly before snapping shut again.
It was nice to be here, but strange, given that Drystan was a few dozen meters away.
A giant turtle swam by overhead, and she sat up to get a better look at it.
Something pebbled her skin, and awareness flooded her mind.
Lyra looked around for the intrusion, expecting maybe a larger shark or eel, but saw nothing.
She went to settle back down, but the feeling grew.
Something was watching her.
Lyra swam back towards Drystan, and the feeling abated.
“Can I help you?” he asked with his eyes still closed.
She watched as his lips twitched at the corners, as if he were fighting back a smile.
“It felt weird on the east end,” she replied.
“Great white?”
Lyra shook her head, but then realized his eyes were still closed. “I didn’t see any.”
He frowned and then opened his eyes.
There must have been something in her expression because he scooted over and patted the rock.
She stared at it.
“I know I’m the biggest predator here,” he drawled. “But I don’t bite.”
Her eyes darkened when he smiled.
“I can’t lie,” he muttered. “I have thought about what you might taste like.”
Rolling her eyes, she sat beside him and took in the view of the reef his seat produced.
“The reef is healthy,” she murmured.
The last time she was here, the reef had been distressed in areas with several spots bleached. She didn’t see any now.
A lobster clambered over a small rock beneath them, and a sea worm moved away, disturbing the silt. It plumed, hiding the lobster for a moment before it ascended the haze. Its red shell gleamed before it slid into a crevice and disappeared.
“It’s healthy here. There is more damage near Zeal, where the earthquake was. But with this part being directly above the ley line, it heals faster.”
Stress, water fluctuations, and overfishing all contributed to the coral releasing algae and bleaching themselves. The reef was a precariously delicate ecosystem.
“Ley line?” She felt as though she had heard that term somewhere before, but couldn’t quite remember it.
Drystan chuckled. “I thought that was why you always came here. The magic is stronger on ley lines. More concentrated. We’re not sure why.”