CovebornTideborn #3
“Are they meant to protect Tideborn?” I ask, gesturing to the nearest creature.
“Yes.”
“They do a shit job.”
At that, Kyros laughs. It’s a quick chuckle, but it’s enough to soften his frown and unnarrow his eyes. He visibly relaxes.
“What makes you say that?” he asks.
I raise a brow. “Maybe the fact that three Coveborn successfully snuck into the pod and nabbed me.”
We cut into another current, this one significantly slower. The others don’t follow. They continue on the fast path, barreling toward the city with impressive speed.
“They protect against predators,” Kyros explains. “Not other Mer.” He purses his lips. “We should discuss what this marking means…”
I nod. “I agree.”
A beat of silence. It stretches into two.
Then three.
“Nothing has changed,” Kyros finally blurts out. “We’ll return to the pod so I can debrief with the council and have the lacerations on my back re-sealed. Then I’ll return you to the surface. I should be able to do so tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I swallow, ignoring my crushing disappointment. “Good.”
The conversation dies after that, awkward and silent and oh-so-tense. There’s not really anything left to say.
I rest against Kyros’s chest as the current carries us forward, exhaustion creeping into my limbs now that the immediate danger has passed.
The large creatures continue to circle above. They’re terrifying, but I trust they won’t attack us. I don’t believe they actually attack anything, despite what Kyros says.
Useless creatures.
My mind continues to race.
“If I weren’t leaving…” I start, breaking the silence. “Like if I were just a regular merwoman, what would this marking mean for us?”
Kyros takes a minute to respond.
“Matings usually happen in the days leading up to the red bloom,” he starts. “That’s the only time males produce their fluid. If you were just…Mer…we would now leave the pod in search of a private cove.”
I swallow.
Kyros continues. “You wouldn’t leave it until the bloom is over. I would hunt and provide food for you, and you would… You would be available for me.”
His voice roughens slightly on the last part—as if the idea excites him. If I’m honest with myself, the idea excites me, too.
My pulse flutters beneath my skin.
We venture through the heart of the pod. Heads turn as we pass, and whispers ripple through the streets. Several Mer even flatten themselves respectfully out of Kyros’s path.
“I’ve covered most of your hybrid scent,” Kyros admits. “Anybody close to you will still detect a hint of other, but it should no longer be…distracting to the males.”
I tilt my head. “Even during the red bloom?”
“Especially during the red bloom,” Kyros says. “Mermen feel an aversion to mated women. They’re biologically incentivized to find one who is still available.”
I look around, making eye contact with a silver-tailed male. He’s staring at me, but not in the usual way that makes my skin crawl. He can tell that Kyros has officially marked me. I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Kyros doesn’t acknowledge the stares, nor does he release his tight grip on me.
He holds me in his arms as we travel through the pod and onto the main road that leads to his estate.
By the time we reach his bedroom, his red veining has all but disappeared.
There are occasional flickers along his ribs and chest, but they’re sparse.
Kyros brings me inside his room and sets me on his bed. There’s now a thin mattress made of layered kelp lying on the stone slab.
I stare at it for a long minute.
“Why?”
Kyros shrugs. “I thought it would be best to keep the intricacies of my world hidden.”
“By letting me believe you don’t have furniture?”
Kyros hesitates, then nods. He doesn’t look the slightest bit guilty or embarrassed.
I think he should, at least a little.
I lie back on the kelp mattress. It’s surprisingly comfortable, significantly more so than the stone slab underneath. I’ve been dealing with mild back soreness for days, all for no reason.
“What else have you kept from me?” I ask. “Or am I still not at liberty to know?”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Why?”
“Because it no longer feels proper to lie to you.”
“Because I’m marked?”
“Because you’re Sadie.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I don’t.
Kyros does a lap of the room, his tail flickering beneath him. Blood continues to seep from his back, saturating the water in the small cove. When the red-tinted water reaches me, I sit up.
“Go,” I order him. “Get your back sorted.”
Kyros flares crimson for a brief second. “It’s not proper for a male to leave his freshly mated woman. It goes against every instinct.”
“But our mating isn’t real.” The words feel wrong coming out. Bitter and sharp. “You need to meet with the council and have your back treated. Then you can take me home.”
Kyros grunts and looks away, his jaw tightening. Still, he doesn’t deny my words. We both know it’s the truth.
His chest rises and falls once before he nods and leaves.
I stare at the now-empty room, refusing to dwell on the sinking feeling in my chest. This is how it’s meant to be.