19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
An Early Bloom
SADIE
The water feels different today.
It’s the first thing I notice when I wake up. It’s heavier. Thicker. Almost like it’s pressing closer to my skin than it did yesterday. My body feels off, too. It’s not painful, but it’s unfamiliar in a way I can’t quite explain.
Then I remember that I’m not alone.
I’m lying on my stomach, and something warm is draped across my waist.
It takes my brain a second to catch up, but when it does, my stomach drops.
It’s Kyros—more specifically, his tail. The massive, crimson thing is loosely curled around me, its weight settling across my lower back as if it belongs there.
The scales are smooth where they brush against my skin, the fins trailing just behind my thigh.
When he breathes, they twitch, sending shivers up my spine. The sleep shorts I had the misfortune of wearing when Kyros pushed me overboard leave so much skin exposed. If I could go back in time, I’d choose pants. Double-layered. I’d put on a fucking bra, too.
At least my underwear is full coverage.
Kyros inhales. His fin brushes against the skin directly beneath my ass, only an inch or so from my underwear. It’s an odd feeling, but not unpleasant. Not unpleasant at all.
It feels like a tongue dragging across my skin.
He exhales. His fin drifts closer.
For a brief second, I contemplate not moving. It’s a disgusting thought, but what if I let his fin brush against me? I’m curious, too much for my own good. Would that make me a terrible person?
Kyros inhales again, and his fin skims the innermost of my thigh.
I stiffen, blood rushing through my veins.
I can’t do this.
I begin to sit up when the tail tightens around my waist, holding me captive.
My gaze drifts toward Kyros. He’s still, his eyes closed and his face relaxed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was asleep. But I do know better.
“You’re awake,” I accuse him.
His eyes open immediately, then narrow. Still, his tail doesn’t move. It remains lightly coiled around me, heavy and warm and so distracting. The fins continue to tickle my inner thighs.
“Your tail is on me,” I say.
“Your movements are disruptive.”
Kyros frowns, then slowly and deliberately lifts the weight. Cool water rushes in where his body had been, and I hate how noticeable the absence is. I refuse to let my emotions show as he pushes himself upright, his tail curling beneath him as if nothing had happened.
“Were you doing that on purpose?” I ask.
“Doing what?”
He sounds casual, but his gaze says otherwise. It’s heavy, and his eyes quickly dart toward my thighs before springing back up. He knew exactly what he was doing.
I should be angry, but the emotion doesn’t come.
Instead, I drag my tongue along the back of my front teeth and sit up, brushing invisible nothing from my waist. It’s not worth my energy, and for a brief second, before I came to my senses, I enjoyed it.
Kyros swims across the room. “Let’s go. You’re going to learn how to overcome pressure changes today.”
Sounds enchanting.
We leave the room, Kyros leading the way. He guides me through several brightly lit corridors, ignoring the curious glances of the passing Mer. They must be wondering when he’s bringing me to the siphon.
They want me out of here before the red bloom.
There’s a low vibration when we slip into the open ocean. It moves through the water in long, stretched-out pulses that echo faintly through my chest before registering in my ears. It’s followed up by three piercing clicks.
I pause mid-stroke.
“What was that?”
Kyros doesn’t stop. “Communication.”
“I know that,” I snap. “But what does it mean?”
Kyros glances back at me but doesn’t answer. I open my mouth to repeat the question, but the answer…forms. Not in words. It’s more like a feeling that reshapes itself into meaning.
Shift patrol. Eastern boundary.
I blink.
“They’re rotating patrols?” I ask.
Kyros fully stops and spins toward me, his eyes narrowed.
“How do you know that?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know. I just…do.”
The words just appeared, the meaning placed in my head instead of spoken aloud. Another ripple of sound passes through the water. This one is sharper.
Two approaching. Hold position.
Two approaching? Are the Coveborn scouts back? I flinch.
Kyros cocks his head to the side. “What did you hear?”
I repeat what I heard, unsettled by the way his eyes widen. How and why can I suddenly understand their language? What’s happening to me? I eye my legs. They remain unchanged—for now, at least. Am I going to grow a tail? God, I hope not. My legs are one of my greatest assets.
“That was quick,” Kyros says.
I frown. “So this is expected?”
Kyros shrugs. “It’s been mentioned in the texts. Many hybrids pick up our language, although they struggle to speak it. You’re adapting faster than I expected.”
I don’t want to adapt. I want to remain exactly as I am.
Training does not improve.
If anything, it gets worse.
I push through the water, trying to mimic the movement Kyros showed me yesterday. Angle the hips, relax the legs, and let the current carry me. It sounds easy enough.
I glide into the shallow trench Kyros insists I practice with, letting the current pull me in.
There’s a small pressure shift near the halfway point, and I cringe as I near it.
It’s not nearly as volatile as the one near the black siphon, but Kyros doesn’t trust me with anything more violent. Not yet.
I follow the current for about half a second, but then the pressure shifts and I lose it.
Again.
Kyros exhales sharply from above. “Another failure.”
I’m going to murder him.
“I’m trying my best here,” I shoot back. “In case that wasn’t obvious.”
“It is obvious. That’s the problem.”
I glare at Kyros. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”
“I’m aware.” He shoots me a sickeningly sweet smile. “Now come up and try again.”
I spend several minutes swimming to the top of the trench.
Kyros grabs me as soon as I crest it, his hands closing around my waist. His grip is firm. Controlled. I draw in a breath, shifting nervously as his fingers spread against my hips. My thoughts threaten to stray to this morning, to his fin grazing against my inner thighs, but I refuse to let them.
I am not sexually attracted to Kyros. I refuse to be.
“Stop resisting the current,” he says. He adjusts my position, tilting my hips with precise, deliberate movements.
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are.”
Kyros shifts behind me, guiding me forward. The length of him doesn’t quite touch me, but it’s there. It’s always fucking there. His hair brushes against the side of my neck, and something in my chest stutters hard enough to be concerning.
He shoves me back into the current.
“Feel it,” he murmurs. His voice is low. “I’ll show you.”
He tightens his grip, his fingers flexing before he pushes forward. We travel over the side of the trench, following the current. When the pressure changes, I jolt, but Kyros keeps me on track.
“Just like this.” His lips touch my ear, grazing against it. “Good.”
When we reach the bottom of the trench, Kyros sends us flying upward with one singular, powerful snap of his tail. He deposits me at the top, his hands on my waist lingering for a second too long before he clears his throat and darts back.
Faint, red lines flicker along his ribs before disappearing.
“Again,” he says, sharper now.
It takes several attempts before I manage something that resembles success. I’m not graceful, but I glide through the pressure change without losing the current. It feels like a win.
I’m out of breath by the time I swim back up.
Kyros gives a short nod. “Better.”
I roll my eyes. “Try not to sound too impressed.”
Kyros shakes his head, a new sound escaping him. It’s low and rough, and it’s accompanied by a slight smile. A laugh? I didn’t realize he was capable of such emotion.
I don’t look at him when I speak next. “Did you enjoy killing them?”
The words are rough on their way out, scraping against my throat, but I don’t regret asking them. I want to address it. I need to know.
Kyros goes completely still, even the subtle movements of his tail pausing, and his smile vanishes. His answer comes immediately.
“No.”
“So why’d you do it?”
Kyros blows out a breath, bubbles erupting from his mouth and nose. “Your dad was searching for us. He was getting close, and it was only a matter of time before he found our pod. He was a threat, whether or not he intended to be.”
I stare at my feet.
Kyros continues. “Humans can’t know that we exist. I don’t enjoy killing, but when it comes to the safety of my pod…”
His voice trails off, but he doesn’t need to finish. I know where he was going with this. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep his people safe.
“They were good men.” I clear my throat. “They wouldn’t have told anybody. They would’ve kept your secret.”
Kyros chews on his bottom lip, his gaze trailing toward the city.
“Pods have been lenient to humans before,” he says. “They no longer exist.”
I follow his line of sight. The tall, spiraling towers are stunning, erupting from the ocean floor like proud statues. This city is like nothing I could have ever imagined. And it only exists because humans don’t know about it.
I wipe my cheeks, faintly aware that there’s no need. I’m underwater. My face is already wet, my budding tears unseen.
Kyros touches my lower back, his fingers grazing softly against my spine.
“Would you like to see it?” he asks.
“See what?”
“The city.”
I hesitate. Is he offering a tour?
Kyros continues before I have the opportunity to answer. “Actually, it’s best we don’t. With the Coveborn lurking about…” His jaw tightens. “It is best we restrict your time in public.”
“Oh.”
I square my shoulders, refusing to show my disappointment, but Kyros notices, anyway. He curls his hand into a fist.
“We can be quick,” he amends. “The Coveborn stick close to their lands when the red bloom is near. As long as we don’t linger, we should be fine.”