Chapter 20
“Did you hear that?” We’re all clustered along the railing at the bow of the ship.
I’m not sure we’ll see anything from the surface like this, since the city is no doubt deep in the ocean, but we’re still watching the horizon like hawks.
We figured out that the i’xal would work in a bowl of fresh seawater, so Sebastian has our makeshift compass clutched between his hands as he signals the captain, who’s got a bird’s-eye view from the window above us.
“What?” Phoenix asks.
I shake my head. “I thought I heard something.” There’s nothing now, though. “It must have been the wind.”
The bond in my chest tugs, the sensation sharper and stronger than before. “I think we’re getting closer.”
“There!” Phoenix yells, pointing off the port side. “What is that?”
I strain my eyes, but it takes me a few minutes before I see what he’s pointing at. It’s not much, but there’s a dark blip on the horizon. The waves are breaking differently there. I run inside and grab a pair of binoculars.
Phoenix grabs them from me as soon as I’m back on the deck.
“Hey!” I try to take them back, but he jerks away.
“Hold on,” he says. “Let me just see what it is first.”
He looks for what feels like forever while the ship slowly moves closer. I hold my breath.
“Well, what is it?” Sebastian asks.
“I think it’s an island.” There’s disappointment in Phoenix’s voice. “Just a bit of rock with nothing on it. Probably part of the same island chain we stopped at last night.”
The mention of last night has my cock straining against the fabric of my shorts, but I shove down the memories and take the binoculars when Phoenix hands them over. He’s right. It looks like an offshoot of dark volcanic rock. There isn’t even any vegetation. It’s empty.
Seb holds his hand out for the binoculars, and I trade him for the i’xal. He checks out the island, too, but ultimately agrees it’s not worth a better look. It’s nothing.
We stay the course for a good bit longer, with the symbol at the top of the i’xal glowing to show that we’re on the right track. The island falls away from view, too far to even see with the binoculars now. There’s nothing out here but water.
Then, the i’xal changes. The rune right in the center lights up.
“Stop!” I scream, waving one arm at the captain. “I think we’re right on top of it.”
The water is too deep to put down anchor, so we can’t really stop, but once we mark these coordinates, the captain can circle them as best he can.
“To the submersibles?” Phoenix asks with a giddy grin.
A swell of hope rises in my chest, and I send all the love I can through the bond. I need her to know we’re close, that we’re coming.
Seb rushes up the stairs to the cockpit, and I watch through the glass as he says something to the captain.
The man’s eyes go wide before he picks up a radio receiver, giving orders we can’t hear.
The deck bursts to life, several crewmembers approaching the submersibles attached to the starboard side of the ship.
Three single-man crafts waiting for us like beacons of hope.
I sway, catching myself on the railing as Phoenix wraps an arm around my waist. “Hunt, maybe you shouldn’t—”
“No.” I cut him off with as much of a bark as I can muster in my weakened state. “No, Nix. Don’t you dare suggest I should stay behind. I can handle this. I have to.”
He stares at me, searching my eyes without a word. He must find what he’s looking for, because he nods once and steps back, allowing me to stand on my own. I take a deep breath and straighten, rolling my shoulders with a confidence I don’t feel.
The submersibles look like something out of a science fiction movie.
Which, honestly, they may as well be. If someone told me six months ago that I’d be here in the middle of the ocean on a 200-foot yacht waiting to get into a personal submarine that a billionaire beta I thought was fictional secured for me to find my bonded omega and merman packmate, I’d have laughed in their face.
And yet, here I am, staring at a bright yellow craft that looks like a catamaran with a giant glass bubble between the pontoons, readying to dive into the deep sea to find Tythas.
I’m in a daze as one of the senior crew preps us, explaining the controls of the sub, diving protocols, and where the emergency scuba gear is located.
He impresses upon us the importance of not exiting the submersible if at all possible.
If we go too deep and leave the safety of the bubble, the pressure could crush our frail human bodies before we even think about reaching the surface.
I nod along, agreeing with the crewmember even though deep down I know I’d rather die than live without Madison anyway.
We approach the crafts when they signal they’re ready, but before I can climb in, a hand grips my shoulder and spins me around.
Nix kisses me hard before resting his forehead against mine for just a moment.
No words are exchanged, no snarky quip for comedic relief or declarations of love.
Just a silent promise that everything will be okay.
Phoenix releases me to climb into his own submarine, and I glance at Seb, who’s already sealed into his, a crane picking up the whole thing to lower it over the side of the ship into the ocean.
He nods at me in solidarity just before he’s dropped out of view, and I scramble into my own craft.
The hiss of being sealed into the cockpit, the clink of the crane as it connects and lifts me off the ground, the splash of the water as we’re released—all of it gives me hope we’re that much closer to finding our missing pieces.
We’re coming for you. Hold on.