Reef Rat
Chapter Fifteen
KYROS
Touching her was a mistake.
The thought follows me as I swim through the pod, scanning the perimeter for any sign of Coveborn.
I shouldn’t have grabbed her waist. I shouldn’t have adjusted her hips. I especially shouldn’t know how warm her skin feels beneath the water. Humans run hotter than Mer. I’ve always known that, but I’ve never experienced it for myself.
I drag a hand down my face.
Pathetic.
I’m the Oshea of Tideborn. I hold an esteemed spot on the Pacific Alliance. I oversee hunts, negotiate territory boundaries, and occasionally murder fishermen. Other Mer, too, when the situation calls for it.
I should not be spending my afternoon thinking about a woman with legs.
Of all the ridiculous things to become obsessed with.
Fucking legs.
Sadie is stubborn and argumentative. Reckless, too. I hate her. I really do. She’s also a terrible swimmer. I’ve seen hatchlings move through the water with more grace. Sadie swims like a drowned reef rat, all flailing limbs and awkward movements.
My lips curl upward of their own accord.
I force them back into a frown.
Absolutely not.
I refuse to find Sadie amusing.
A group of hunters swim past, dipping their heads respectfully as we cross paths. Their catch is smaller than usual, the larger fish we used to capture having disappeared alongside the Great Current.
I nod once in return, then veer toward one of the communal kitchens. Several women are sorting fish near the entrance, and one looks up as I approach. Her tail is bright fuchsia, nearly glowing beneath the algae light.
“Neris,” I greet her.
She sets down her basket. “Oshea.”
“I need food delivered to the lower cavern.”
Her throat bobs, recognition flashing across her face. Everybody knows about the hybrid. Even if they hadn’t heard about me bringing her into the pod, they sure heard about me training her earlier.
Neris hesitates, then nods. “What kind?”
“Something she can eat.”
Her brows rise. Neither of us knows what humans eat. Fish? Probably. Sadie was a crabber, so I’m certain she eats seafood. Crabs, specifically.
Over my dead body will bottom feeders be eaten in my pod, though. Disgusting.
“Bring her fish,” I decide.
I hesitate, lingering in the doorway. Food is growing scarce, and I’ve brought an additional stomach into the pod.
But I refuse to starve Sadie.
I leave before Neris can ask any more questions.
I’ve done a full perimeter scan, but I’m not eager to return home.
I need a distraction, something to take my mind off the infuriating hybrid.
I loop through the kelp forest, letting the strands graze against my tail, before heading toward the artisan district.
Perhaps I can—
“You lit up again.”
I nearly jump out of my scales.
Mavek drifts beside me. I didn’t hear him approach, which isn’t like me. His orange tail sways lazily beneath him, and amusement is written all over his face. I hate it when he looks amused, especially when it’s at my expense.
“I haven’t seen you lose control of your markings since Daros accidentally harpooned you.” I look away as Mavek continues. “She’s a terrible swimmer—a disgrace to her Mer blood.”
“She’s improving.”
Mavek stares.
I stare back.
By the depths.
Why am I defending Sadie? Anybody with eyes can see that she’s a terrible swimmer. She may be skilled for a human, but Mer don’t operate at the same level. Not even close.
I sigh. “She swam directly into algae.”
“I heard.”
“There’s no way she’ll be able to destroy the siphon without catching a deepweaver’s attention.”
Dread coils up my spine, but I refuse to let it show. I shouldn’t care if Sadie dies, not as much as I do. She’s not one of us. She shouldn’t even fucking exist.
“I heard that she agreed to help,” Mavek says.
I nod.
“Voluntarily?”
I nod again.
Mavek lets out a low whistle. “That’s…unexpected.”
Maybe to him. I didn’t spend much time with Sadie on the boat, but it was immediately obvious to me that she wasn’t like the other fishermen I’ve been sent to kill. She’s…fuck…I don’t know.
I shouldn’t be thinking about it.
Mavek drifts around me, circling me with unnerving intensity.
“She’s temporary, Kyros,” he says. “You can’t keep her.”
I shrug, feigning indifference. “Who says I want to?”
“I’ve known you since we were hatchlings.” He circles me again. “Daros and Seraya, too. Don’t let them see how she affects you.”
It’s too late for that.
Mavek continues. “She smells delicious, and with the bloom nearing, you can’t—”
“Her hybrid scent would vanish with marking.”
I grow immediately still. Mavek does, too.
I shouldn’t have said that. Marking is sacred, and as Oshea, I’ve sworn to avoid it. I can take women, sure, but I can’t mate with them. I can’t have permanent ties, and marking Sadie is a thought that should have never entered my head.
I straighten my spine and meet Mavek’s gaze.
“She’s a quick learner, and she’s determined,” I say. “She’ll be ready enough for the siphon in a few days, and I’ll return her to the surface well before the bloom hits.”
There’s no other option.