Chapter 8
By the time Phoenix and Hunter finish their story, my head is spinning. This is a lot to take in.
We’re in a wide open room at the back of the yacht.
There’s a built-in couch along one wall, a television along the other, and a circular table in the back corner—where we’re sitting now.
Just behind us, there’s an elaborate, fully stocked bar.
I’m tempted to pour us all some scotch after a story like that, but I’m glued to my seat in shock.
I’m having a hard time believing it, but Phoenix would never lie to me.
If he says all this is true, then it is.
“So, now, we need to find her,” Phoenix concludes, as if it’s that simple.
I remove my glasses and pinch the bridge of my nose. “We need a plan.”
“We have this.” Phoenix pulls a device of some sort from his pocket. “It’s a merfolk compass of sorts, called an i’xal. It points toward the closest mercity. But,” he winces, “it has to be in the ocean to work.”
I take the i’xal from him and turn it over in my hands.
The triangular stone is smooth with heavily rounded corners, the striations of the rock a variety of whites, greys, and silvers.
Five symbols—runes of some kind—adorn the surface.
I’m unsure what they mean, but the one in the middle looks familiar.
“We also have these.” Hunter digs a few books and some kind of little harmonica-like things out of his bag.
“I’m not sure how much good they’ll do, but this is every book I have on Ocearus and merfolk in general.
There’re a few old pirate journals a colleague collected.
A few textbooks. A first edition translation of Vito’s Createous.
” He points as he lays them out, stopping on one that looks particularly old.
“This one has the most in it about merfolk, but a lot of what’s been found are scrolls that no one’s been able to translate.
There has to be a clue. I don’t know what I’ll do if…
” He sucks in a breath and drops his head into his hands.
Phoenix rubs Hunter’s back, concern etched into his handsome features. My alpha has always been thoughtful and considerate, but I’ve never seen him as serious as he’s been over the past hour. Whoever this omega is, she has him genuinely worried.
Hunter’s holding up surprisingly well for someone who’s just been forcefully separated from his mate. But the dark circles under his eyes, and the pain in his tone bring back memories I’d rather forget.
“And what about these?” I pick up the strange harmonica things, trying to change the subject and distract myself from my past.
“We don’t really know what they are, but we found them in Ocearus. If we’re lucky, they’ll help.” Phoenix shrugs. It’s clear he’s grasping at straws, clinging to anything that might make a difference in finding Madi, however unlikely.
“You took artifacts from an ancient city that was thought to be a myth before you even informed anyone and without following protocol?” I know my firebird can be reckless sometimes, but this is a bit far, even for him.
It’s unbelievable that an academic like Hunter would go along with it.
And yet, I can’t deny the physical item sitting in my palm.
Phoenix scrunches his nose in that adorable way I love that means he knows he shouldn’t have done something and he’s hoping I’ll forgive him. Spoiler alert: I always forgive him.
I release a heavy sigh. “Alright, well… none of this is really a plan.” I hate to point out the obvious, but someone needs to. “What should I tell the captain?”
Hunter looks up and meets my gaze head-on.
“We can’t just sit here. They took her out to sea.
They won’t be anywhere near the coast where they might be spotted.
Wherever these mercities are, they haven’t been found, which means they’re likely in the deep ocean.
At the very least we need to get out of this harbor to the open sea.
We should keep moving while we try to translate these and get answers.
” His hand falls on top of the books with a little too much force.
“Alright, I’ll tell the captain to unmoor.” I stand, but when I move toward the door Phoenix steps in front of me.
“Let me talk to him,” Phoenix sets a hand on my chest. “You two try to translate that.” He points to the book. “Find us some answers. You’ll be more help than me.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve been fascinated with these old myths for a long while, and have studied plenty of ancient texts out of my own curiosity.
But it’s clear that’s not Phoenix’s only reason for leaving me alone with Hunter.
I glare at him, but he just kisses my cheek and prances off. Brat. He’ll pay for this later.
Hunter is staring at the book with a blank expression, like he’s not really seeing it.
My gut spasms anxiously, muscles tightening as I make my way back to the table.
Everything I know about Hunter makes me inclined to think he’s exactly the type of alpha I typically avoid. And now, I’m stuck alone with him.
“We’ll find her,” he mutters under his breath, repeating the words three times over.
I swallow thickly as I sit back down across from him.
Even with my nerves firing at an alarming rate, my heart racing, a swell of empathy hits me in the chest as I look at Hunter slouched over a book he’s not reading.
I’m no stranger to bonding sickness. No matter what my complicated feelings are toward this alpha, no one should have to feel the pain of being forcibly separated from a mate.
Hunter pushes the book toward me, curls his shoulders, and drops his head into his hands. “Please, help me find them.”
I always imagined Hunter Anderson to be intimidating, an alpha who enjoys being in charge, commanding and confident.
That’s the way Phoenix described him. An alpha among alphas.
Right now, though, he seems broken. As much as I hate that, it eases some of my worry, and a bit of the tension drops from my shoulders.
In a move that’s entirely unlike me, I set my shaking hand over his. “Will you tell me about her?”
I want to know everything about this woman who clearly has both Hunter and my firebird so captivated. But my curiosity isn’t the only thing motivating the question. Hunter has lost something. He’s grieving, even if she’s still alive. And in my experience it helps to talk about it.
Hunter doesn’t pull his hand away from mine. My insides are still jittery, but I stay where I am, hoping the touch helps him.
“She’s my student.” Hunter’s voice warbles on something like a snicker.
“I tried to resist her. Truly, I did.” Another broken, bitter laugh.
“But then, I scented her. She smells like my favorite cocktail, though I probably shouldn’t admit that.
It’s not what people expect from me. But pina colada reminds me of the time Phoenix and I…
” He shakes his head, eyes darting to me and away.
He drags his hand out from under mine. “She smells like that. Like tropical drinks and… sex.”
He picks at the corner of a book, refusing to look at me. Does he think I don’t know about the tryst he and my firebird had before I was in the picture? My alpha and I have no secrets.
“She’s my scent match. And she’s smart, and so damn determined, and sassy and fucking brilliant.
” The words spill out of him like a broken dam.
“I said that already, didn’t I? But it needs to be said again.
She’s so bright. She was the one who really found Ocearus.
She’s doing her dissertation on it. As her advisor, I rejected it at first, but it was only because of my own fears.
And now, she’s found it. She discovered what no one else has been able to find for centuries. She’s incredible.”
My heart beats an irregular rhythm in my chest. The back of my neck tingles with awareness.
My old online friend, ocean_omega, the only omega I’ve ever been interested in, is doing her dissertation on Ocearus, too.
We’ve never met, but we’ve chatted online and had video calls for over a year.
I even helped her translate a few things a while back.
But I’ve never asked her where she’s enrolled.
We drifted apart a few months ago after she asked me to help her through a heat, and I said no, but we’ve still talked enough for me to know that her proposal was rejected by the dean of her department.
“W-what does your mate look like?” I ask, unsure if I really want to know.
“She’s gorgeous. Soft curves and long, dirty blonde hair. She’s got the cutest little button nose.”
It couldn’t be. It’s statistically improbable. There’s no way. There are plenty of dirty blonde omegas who are intensely curious about lost oceanic cities, right?
“Oh, wait, I’ve got a picture.” There’s more life in Hunter’s voice as he digs his phone from his pocket.
He presses the screen and swipes around.
“I shouldn’t have taken it, but I… well, I grabbed a picture of her and Caspian when they were in the quad the other day.
” He pinches the screen to zoom in, then turns his phone toward me. “Here she is.”
My heart stops. The sounds around me fade, replaced by white noise not unlike the ocean waves crashing to shore. My entire focus is on the photo. The woman. Her.
Hunter looks back at the screen with hearts in his eyes. “Her name is Madison.”
She’s also ocean_omega. I let out a slow breath and confess, “I know her.”