A New Tide
Chapter Forty-One
SADIE
There’s a favorite current used among the Tideborn—a migration route commonly used during calmer seasons. The currents weave through coral forests and shallow underwater valleys before circling back toward the pod.
It vanished along with the Great Current.
But now it’s back.
Kyros and I drift along it, the water around us glowing pink beneath the late afternoon light. It filters from the surface above. Land is less than five miles away.
Kyros has shown me the way to the surface. He’s made me memorize the route, in case I ever want to leave. I don’t. Not yet, at least.
A school of silver fish scatters as Kyros swims too close. Which happens often because he enjoys terrifying them.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” I accuse him as another school darts away from him.
Kyros glances back at me innocently. “Doing what?”
“Being a giant predatory menace.”
“I’m hunting.”
“You already ate.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t continue hunting.”
Psychopath.
I roll my eyes before letting the current pull me forward. Warm water curls around my body, guiding me effortlessly toward the glowing reef up ahead. The ocean is beginning to feel like home.
Kyros smiles. “I work very hard hunting fish for you.”
“Must be easy to do when you’re unemployed.”
Kyros nudges my shoulder. “I’m still working alongside the council. You know that.”
I do, but it’s still fun to tease him.
He drifts alongside me, his crimson tail slicking smoothly through the current. Sunlight dances off his scales, turning them almost molten. I could spend all day looking at them.
Sometimes I do.
Kyros brushes his hand against mine.
“What’re you thinking about?” he asks.
The current pulls us lower, underneath a massive overhanging coral shelf. Another school of silver fish weaves between the coral and, off in the distance, there’s the distinct sound of a whale song.
Dad would’ve loved this.
Kyros notices the shift in my expression. Without a word, he reaches for my hand.
I squeeze back.
It still hurts. Dad is now buried, and I’ve accepted that I’ll never have answers about Tipper. I’m learning to live with it.
Kyros slows as the current bends around another reef formation. He stares at me, the backs of his fingers brushing against mine before he fully takes my hand, holding it tightly within his. His tail coils around my leg a second later.
“Do you regret staying?” he asks.
My smile falls. Kyros continues to stare at me. He looks oddly fragile, his throat bobbing like he’s genuinely nervous for my answer.
He shouldn’t be. Despite the grief and the trench monsters and the fact that my boyfriend technically has a penis pocket, I’m happy.
I turn, wrapping my arms around Kyros’s neck. His arms immediately find their way around my waist.
My mind wanders to the storm. The trench. The cave.
Dad. Tipper.
The council.
I let my thoughts drift over every terrible thing that’s happened since the day Kyros climbed onto our boat. Still, despite it all, I can’t picture my future without him.
He’s always there.
“Of course I’m happy,” I admit. I clear my throat. “Because I love you.”
Kyros blinks, his eyes wide. “Truly?”
I snort. “Yes.”
“Even though I tried to kill you?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Good.” Kyros smirks. A pleased, cocky, little smirk. “Because I love you, too.”
The water near the surface burns orange and pink as the sun vanishes beneath the horizon. It’s stunning, and I watch until it’s entirely vanished. Even then, I remain, staring at the darkening water.
Kyros hums. “Perhaps pink is my favorite color, too.”
I laugh softly before grabbing his hand.
“Come on,” I murmur, tugging him along the current. “It’s time to go.”
Back to Tideborn.
Back home.
THE END