Chapter 30 Malec
Malec
“We’re almost there,” Bay says, closing the GPS app on her phone.
We both know the road to the beach by heart—could drive it blindfolded—but she insists on keeping the GPS on. Says it’s for avoiding traffic. We both know it’s also an excuse to keep me from sitting behind the wheel, just in case I lose control. That’s how it always has been.
Smart.
Annoying. But smart.
The ocean’s already visible through the windshield, stretching out beneath the dark sky. I should be thinking about the mission—about the missing merfolk, about the agreement I made with Onyx because my aunt discovered her sense of justice again—but my mind’s still stuck somewhere else.
Roran.
The drug. Her symptoms. What Kayla told me...
Those scars on Roran’s legs, they weren’t just old wounds. They were stories, etched in flesh. And now, I can’t unsee them. She wasn’t lying—she’d love to see him die. And I can’t wait for it to be done.
I clench my fists, fighting the surge of heat building in my chest. Rage itches under my skin, electric and dangerous, but I shove it down. I cannot lose control again. Not now.
But Fedor should be dead.
That bastard should be dead.
Why in the merhell does he hold the only access to her medication?
What kind of drug is that?
I exhale slowly, jaw tight, and shoot Pedro a quick text:
Let me know if she tells you anything. I don’t care how small, I need to know.
I don’t expect a reply right away, but the silence on that front isn’t helping. At least I left the Sur-El pendant with him, just in case they get any lead on land until we’re back.
Bay pulls into our usual parking spot by the beach, her movements sharp and practiced, like muscle memory laced with impatience. Sometimes I wonder if she’s taken more souls behind the wheel than I ever have consumed.
She doesn’t say a word. Just kills the engine and glances at me, then at Alessio.
He’s still in the back seat, unusually quiet, his face lit by the glow of his phone. Probably playing some game or texting someone with a fake name and a real attitude.
I wouldn’t have brought him along if I had other options. But this isn’t just a social visit to Kolox.
Their pod is built differently. Old blood. Old rules. Warriors through and through—trained since birth to kill, judge, and avenge without hesitation. Their justice system is the most brutal in our oceans, but the most respected. Once they mark a target, that target is as good as dead.
And if someone’s managed to hurt them?
We’re not dealing with a minor threat. Which is why I need every leverage I can get—even if that leverage is a chaotic cousin with a god complex. They won’t hurt us, but we need to make sure they work with us to solve it for the rest of the pods as well.
I still think this whole thing might be a waste of time. Kolox has never needed help. If they’re under attack, they can probably take care of it themselves.
But I promised my parents I’d follow protocol to not ruin the Mal-El’s name.
And I promised Onyx I’d look into what happened with the Beast of the Depth.
So here we are.
I step out of the car without waiting for the others and head toward the water, letting the salt-heavy breeze hit my face. I want this over with. I need answers—for our kind, for my family, and for her.
Behind the usual rock we always use, I kick off my shoes and strip down, dropping my clothes in a pile before I hear the crunch of footsteps behind me.
“I know your body glows up a lot, but that doesn’t mean the sun shines out your ass, cugì,” Alessio says, coming up beside me like he’s not two seconds away from getting his face planted in the sand—by me.
His hand lands on the back of my neck, and I suppress the instinct to rip it off.
“You just went ahead by yourself?” he adds, like I’m the one being reckless.
I take a long breath through my nose and force my irritation down. I’ve been snapping too easily lately; I have too much on my plate.
“Do you have a death wish?” I say, slapping a fake, cold smile on my face before Bay kicks my ass. She hates when we fight more than anything.
I shove his hand off me. “You’re here because we might need you. Do I need to worry about your damn mouth once we get there, too?”
“Chill, cugì. I’m just joking,” he huffs, pulling off his shirt.
Bay grabs it from him before he can even toss it and starts folding it into the bag along with mine.
“Just get in the water already,” I say through my teeth as I exhale. “Quick.”
He doesn’t argue now. I watch him and Bay finish undressing and stash the bag deep behind the rock.
Alessio runs into the waves first, always the first to dive into things. Bay stays back, her gaze fixed on me like she’s about to say something I won’t want to hear.
Great.
“Malec,” she says, stepping closer. “Can’t you just get along with your cousin for five fucking minutes? It’s not that hard to be nice.”
I blink once. Twice.
She’s serious?
“You think I’m the problem? Your son has the biggest, most irresponsible mouth I’ve ever met in my short life.”
I turn toward the ocean, ignoring the sigh I know is forming behind me.
“You better shut up—”
“No, I’m not—”
“Stop it!” Bay snaps.
I smirk to myself at her sudden argument with Myko. At least he’s on my side. He always says Alessio’s just a younger version of Pedro, mouth and all.
If that was my uncle back in the day… my aunt really did society a favor taming him.
I run into the waves, Bay’s argument fading behind me as the ocean swallows me whole. My legs shift as I dive, transforming into the silver tail that will never let me forget who I am—what I carry.
The marks etched along my scales burn faintly, humming with the Coral’s weight. I don’t know why it chose me, why it rebirthed through a baby. Nothing in my life makes actual sense—not above the surface, and definitely not down here.
On land, it’s ego, money, power.
In the ocean, it’s strategy, balance, survival.
But lately, I’m drowning in both.
“Took you long enough,” Alessio says, surfacing beside me with his royal blue tail flashing through the water. When it dips down, his red hair fans behind him like a flare with the current.
I roll my eyes and glance toward the shore, waiting for Bay.
“Your mom’s fighting with Myko. Let’s wait a second.”
Alessio’s gills flare with impatience. “And you say I’m the problematic one?”
For the first time today, I laugh. Deep. Genuine.
“Takes one to know one.”
He flicks his tail toward me without warning, and I dart back just in time to avoid it slamming into my ribs. A good hit from a male’s tail feels like getting crushed by a boulder—power wrapped in muscle and bone.
“How can I love you and hate you in the same breath?” he mutters, gills twitching with annoyance.
“That’s what family’s for,” I say, grinning as Bay’s purple glow shimmers toward us from the shore. “Let’s go. We’ve got a princess to pick up first.”