Chapter 32
“ T en.”
The word echoed through the pod like a judge’s gavel.
Greta’s eyes snapped open.
She lay on the floor of the familiar glass pod, naked, heart hammering against her ribs. The same sterile white light poured down from above. The same metallic tang coated her tongue. The same countdown voice droned on, calm and indifferent:
“Nine.”
Her gaze cut straight across the circle of pods.
There he was.
Klari.
His massive frame was already awake, golden eyes locked on her with an intensity that made the air between them feel electric.
His silver markings were pulsing slow and steady, the same rhythm she remembered from the cave, from the wreck, from every quiet moment when he had looked at her like she was the only real thing in this nightmare .
“Eight.”
The rivals were roaring.
They slammed against the glass of their pods — fists, tails, shoulders — mouths open in savage snarls, eyes wild with hunger.
One was screaming something she couldn’t hear through the thick walls. Another was thrashed like his life depended on it.
Greta barely registered them.
Her eyes stayed on Klari.
She saw it immediately — the matching lights above their pods to mark their matings. Soft yellow. The game had remembered. Two claims already logged. The system knew exactly who belonged to whom.
“Seven.”
Klari’s mouth moved. She couldn’t hear the words, but she read them clearly on his lips.
I’m here.
A shaky breath left her. This time there was no panic. No confusion. Only a bone-deep recognition that settled in her chest like coming home.
“Six.”
Water began to flood her pod.
It rose fast and cold, swallowing her ankles, her knees, her waist. Last time she had thrashed, clawed at the glass, screamed until her lungs burned. This time she simply tilted her head back and let it come. The water closed over her head with a gentle hush.
“Five.”
The serum hit next.
The familiar sting bloomed in her veins — not the violent fire of the first change, but something smoother, deeper. Almost comfortable .
Her body slid into the aquatic form like slipping into a well-worn coat. Gills bloomed along her neck in three clean slits, fluttering open with easy grace. Scales rippled outward in vivid rose and coral pink, threaded with silver that caught the pod lights like living jewelry.
A powerful tail grew from her coccyx, muscle thickening, fins forming with a pleasant stretch. Webbing spread between her fingers and toes. Claws extended with a soft click.
She felt strong.
She felt right .
“Four.”
Klari floated in his own tank, scales gleamed brighter, silver markings flaring in response to her. Their eyes never left each other.
“Three.”
The rivals were in full frenzy now, roaring and thrashing. But inside their shared silence, Greta and Klari remained perfectly still, eyes locked, tails already beginning to form and twitch with the need to reach each other.
“Two.”
The mechanical voice remained perfectly calm.
“Launch.”
The floor slid open beneath them.
Gravity took hold.
The cylinders plummeted through the chute, accelerating toward the ocean far below. The rivals’ roars faded as their pods dropped with them.
But Greta and Klari stayed locked in their silent stare, hands still pressed to the glass, hearts beating in perfect sync as they fell together into the waiting sea.
The pods hit the water with a thunderous crash. Glass dissolved in glittering explosions. Cold seawater rushed in, and Greta was already moving.
She shot forward through the churning bubbles, tail powering her with clean, confident strokes. No hesitation. No fear. She cut straight toward Klari.
He was already coming for her.
They met in the middle of the chaos like magnets snapping together.
Their bodies collided with desperate force. His arms banded around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. Her tail wrapped tightly around his, the lengths weaving together instantly, instinctively.
Their mouths crashed in a fierce, claiming kiss — salt, need, and relief all at once. Gills fluttered against gills. Scales slid hot and slick together.
For one perfect second, the entire game disappeared.
Then reality slammed back in.
The rivals were free. And they were coming.
Four massive bodies roared as they arrowed toward them. The sea around the drop zone churned with violent movement.
Klari broke the kiss just enough to growl against her lips, “Stay with me.”
“Always,” she answered, voice steady.
They moved together from the very first second.
They had done this dance before — in caves, in wrecks, in blood and terror — and now it was muscle memory.
Klari took point, his larger frame shielding her as they shot away from the drop zone.
Greta stayed glued to his side, tail moving in perfect sync with his, one hand never leaving his arm.
The rivals came fast.
One broke off to the left, trying to flank them .
Klari spun, tail whipping out in a powerful arc that caught the male across the ribs and sent him tumbling.
Greta used the opening to dart forward, claws raking across another rival’s shoulder as she passed, drawing blood and forcing him to veer off.
They didn’t fight to kill. Not yet.
They fought to escape.
“Left tunnel — the kelp forest!” Greta called, voice carrying clearly through the water.
Klari adjusted course instantly, trusting her without question. They dove together into the thick, swaying kelp, bodies brushing as they wove between the massive fronds.
The rivals roared behind them, but the dense vegetation slowed the chase.
Greta’s heart pounded with something new — not just fear, but fierce, electric joy.
They were together.
They remembered.
And this time, they were playing the game on their terms.
Klari glanced at her as they shot through a narrow gap in the kelp, golden eyes bright with the same fierce determination she felt burning in her chest.
“Ready?” he asked, voice low and rough.
She squeezed his arm, tail tightening around his for one brief, grounding moment.
“Ready,” she answered.
The ocean stretched out before them — dark and full of dangerous possibilities.
And for the first time since the platform had taken her, Greta smiled.
They were going to win. She knew it.