Big Decisions
Chapter Thirty-Six
SADIE
Kyros kisses the top of my head. Over and over again, as if I were a beloved pet he were preparing to say his final goodbyes to.
The loss of warmth when he pulls away is immediate.
I wrap my arms around myself, watching as he rises from the bed. His hair forms a dark halo around his face as he drifts away, putting space between us. He doesn’t fully leave, though. He lingers, hovering several inches above me.
My throat is raw from crying.
Kyros studies me for several long seconds, his eyes narrowed. He’s deep in thought.
I’m just about to ask him what he’s thinking when he speaks.
“I’m going to the council.”
I wipe at my swollen eyes. “What? Now?”
“Yes.”
He rolls his shoulders, straightening his spine, then finishes backing away. With one powerful snap of his tail, he’s across the room. He continues to stare at me, the crimson specks in his eyes glistening with unspoken promise.
“Do you mean it?” he asks. “Truly?”
“Mean what?”
“That you want to stay. Here. With me.”
I sit up. Kyros continues. “Because I want you, too.”
His tail curls tightly beneath him, disturbing the water between us. Crimson pulses faintly beneath his skin, and his voice roughens, like he’s struggling to hold himself together.
“I want you to be happy, Sadie,” he admits. “I thought that meant returning you to the surface, but if you’re telling me that there’s another option…”
Kyros pauses, waiting for me to speak.
I lick my lips.
Did I mean what I said? Do I genuinely want to stay here with Kyros? I try to imagine a life without him, a life where I return to the surface and start anew, but I can’t see it. My life without Kyros, without the ocean, is bleak.
The thought of staying is terrifying, though. If I stay, this becomes permanent. No more crabbing. No more sunrise over open water. No more human life waiting for me on the surface.
My life will be here. In Tideborn.
With Kyros.
“I meant it,” I say.
Kyros sucks his cheeks into his mouth and looks down. Then, half a second later, a breathtaking smile takes over his features. It’s… God… It sends a chill down my spine. It’s giddy and nervous and hopeful, all in one.
This is the right decision.
Dad would forgive me.
I let myself think of him. Of his laughter and loving smiles. More than anything, he wanted me to be happy. That’s all he ever wanted of me.
Tipper would forgive me, too. And if not…then I can live with that. Not easily, but I can. I’ll have to.
“But I’m a hybrid,” I remind Kyros. “I’m not… approved.”
Kyros grows serious, his smile vanishing.
“You’re Tideborn. We’ll keep you safe.” He lowers his voice.
“I’ll keep you safe. There are no outright laws against hybrids, but there aren’t any protecting you, either.
The Coveborn will do everything in their power to kill you.
” He shakes his head. “But the Great Current has been restored. Tideborn will recover. We will be strong again, and we will protect you.”
Am I foolish for believing every word that comes out of his mouth? Because I do.
“I will never disappoint you again,” he promises. “Never.”
I swallow hard. “I know.”
Kyros stares at me for a long minute, his eyes darting all along my face, before he turns toward the exit. He draws in a deep breath, and bubbles erupt from his nose when he exhales.
“Stay here,” he orders. “I’ll be back soon.”
He leaves.
I wait for all of ten seconds before deciding that I absolutely will not be waiting in here while Kyros marches into what is most likely going to be a political bloodbath. The council will never agree to let me stay, not with the risk I bring to the pod.
They’ll argue that Kyros should kill me.
Seraya specifically.
I’m moving before I fully think it through, darting off the bed and out of the room. There’s a light current running along the corridor, one that wasn’t here before I destroyed the siphon. The very end of a crimson tail twists around a bend up ahead.
I stare at the current Kyros is using, my eyes narrowed, then angle myself into it.
It catches me immediately, shooting me forward.
I have no idea where I’m going, but I follow the current through glowing tunnel after glowing tunnel.
I pass underneath clusters of algae and twisting stone archways, surprised to learn that the unlit sections no longer feel impossibly dark.
My eyes have fully adjusted, and I can pick out all sorts of movements and shapes beneath the dim, blue-green glow.
When I swim, the webbing between my fingers catches the water, helping guide me forward.
Thankfully, I’ve noticed no new changes to my body.
The corridor forks up ahead. I slow, glancing between the two options. Kyros vanished maybe thirty seconds ago, and already, I’ve lost him.
I angle toward the left tunnel.
A soft voice drifts through the water behind me.
“That’s the wrong way.”
I whip around so fast that I nearly inhale half the ocean.
Evara floats several feet behind me, her arms crossed over her chest and her dandelion tail swaying gently beneath her. A smile spreads across her lips as her nostrils flare, and her eyebrows lift almost imperceptibly. Can she tell that Kyros has fully marked me?
I hope not. Gross.
She glances at the corridors behind me. “I assume you’re trying to follow Kyros.”
“Depends who’s asking.”
A soft laugh escapes her. “I like you.” She drifts past me and into the opposite corridor I was about to go down. “He’s headed toward the council chambers. Come with me.”
I hesitate only briefly before trailing after her.
“How’s your face?” I ask, cringing. “That Coveborn hit you pretty hard.”
Evara shrugs. “I’m fine. Mer heal quickly.”
She guides me down a series of corridors before leading me into one wider than the others. Algae drifts through hairline cracks in the white stone, and a handful of Mer are moving about.
Every single head turns toward me.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Several people openly stare, but none approach. I notice that the men are no longer eyeing me like an expensive piece of steak. It’s surreal. Kyros rubbed his cock-pocket fluid on and inside me, and suddenly, none of the men are sexually attracted to me.
Who knew it was that easy?
“The pod is confused,” Evara whispers.
“Because I’m a hybrid?”
“We were raised to believe that hybrids are dangerous, and most believed they were extinct.” Evara shoots me a sideways glance.
“Then you showed up. Kyros killed your family, yet you still chose to risk your life to save the pod. And now you’re fully mated to their Oshea. They don’t know what to make of it.”
I hum. “What do you make of it?”
“I think I’m proud to call you family.”
I swallow, my throat thick. Family. I don’t have one anymore. At least, not that I know of. But maybe I do. My mother was Coveborn, and somebody has to have answers. Explanations.
“You hardly know me,” I point out.
“I know enough.”
I bite back a smile. “But you don’t live here? You mated outside the pod?”
Evara nods. “Yes. My mate is Trenchborn.” She blows out a breath, bubbles erupting.
“His pod was quite frightening at first. Tideborn are structured, but Trenchborn aren’t.
They’re rougher. Far more instinctive. But now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
I come to Tideborn for visits, but I don’t stay for long. ”
We dive into another current, traveling past the staring Mer and into another private corridor. A pair of armed men stand outside a massive, spiraling doorway. Their tails twitch the moment they notice Evara and me.
Raised voices echo faintly from inside the room they’re guarding. I recognize Kyros immediately.
This is really happening. A knot forms in my stomach. Kyros is in there arguing with the council. He’s choosing sides.
He’s choosing me.
Evara slows beside me, then unexpectedly grabs and squeezes my hand.
“Best of luck.”
She releases me and darts away, leaving me standing alone outside the council chamber doors.
The guards eye me as I drift closer, their tails snapping in clear agitation. The one on the left’s nostrils flare hard enough to draw attention. Jesus Christ. Do I smell that deeply of Kyros? And it will never fade?
He must be getting a real kick out of this.
Raised voices continue to echo from inside the chamber.
The guard on the right speaks up. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know.”
Something behind the doors clatters, and the guard grimaces.
“I can’t let you in,” he admits.
“I’m not going in.”
I drift closer to the entryway, pressing myself carefully against the outer wall beside the spiraling doorway. The white stone is cool beneath my palms, faintly vibrating with the force of the argument inside. I press my ear to it.
Both guards huff out a laugh as they realize my intentions.
I ignore them, focusing on the sounds from within. Eavesdropping.
—cannot possibly believe this is wise, Seraya snaps.
Kyros answers quickly. I’m not asking permission.
There’s a small crack in the stone. I peek through it, my heart pounding.
The council chamber is beyond massive compared to the other rooms I’ve seen. Wide, circular walls curve upward into darkness, and several currents twirl slowly along the room’s perimeter, seamlessly intermingling with one another. They look like they’re dancing.
Daros, Mavek, Seraya, and Kyros are in the center of the room, all standing around a round table. It looks like they’ve long abandoned their seats.
The tension between them is almost tangible.
Mavek notices me immediately. He’s picking at one of his orange fins, appearing bored as his eyes drift around the room. I don’t bother moving away from the crack in the wall because I don’t think he’ll notice me, but we somehow end up locking gazes.
His eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t expose me. The corner of his lip twitches upward as he turns back toward Kyros.
Seraya resumes speaking before I can process the gesture.
A marked Oshea can’t lead, she says.
Can’t, like, legally? Or shouldn’t? Kyros doesn’t argue the point, and my stomach twists. How much, exactly, is he giving up to be with me?