Chapter 22
“Do you see anything yet?” My firebird’s voice is tinny as it comes through the radio in the submersible.
He knows none of us have seen more than wide open ocean and some unusual fish.
Normally, my marine biologist alpha would be going wild with excitement at seeing rare or even previously undiscovered aquatic species, but one hundred percent of his focus is on the city he and Hunter swear must be here.
I admit I was skeptical at first, who wouldn’t be?
But I trust Phoenix, and after watching Hunter suffer from bonding sickness, plus finding the map to get here hidden in those ancient books, I know deep down this is real.
And my ocean_omega being their Madison? That’s not luck, that’s fate.
Even if I’m struggling to fully come to terms with what it might mean for me.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Hunter’s voice crackles through the speaker.
“Holy fuck.” That’s Phoenix.
It takes a moment for me to find what has them sounding awestruck, but when I do, I nearly stop breathing.
A glow rises from below us, getting brighter as we get closer.
It’s coming from what I can only describe as an underwater kingdom, complete with coral reef walls and a castle straight out of a fairy tale.
Before we can get close to it though, my side proximity sensors go off. Hunter and Seb are still in front of me, so it can’t be them. Suddenly, my body whips forward as an unseen force slams my craft into Phoenix’s.
“What the fuck was—” My firebird’s voice is cut off abruptly when Hunt’s sub crashes into both of ours.
We’re now nearly fused together, and I have no idea what’s causing it.
If we discover leviathans are real too, I think I’ll pass out.
Shadows ripple overhead as something, or someone, swims above us.
The lights in the cockpit flicker, the console flashing warnings at me that I can’t do anything about right now.
Unhooking my harness in case I need to escape from the sub, I rub the tender area on my chest where the belt dug in.
On my right, Phoenix is staring past me in horror.
When I glance to the left to see what has him so frightened, Hunter is passed out against the glass bubble of his sub, blood trickling from what must be a head wound.
Before I can process that, a brighter glow coming from in front of my craft steals my attention.
Holy. Fucking. Shit. It’s an honest to gods merman. And I’m guessing it’s not the infamous Caspian that Phoenix and Hunter have been telling me about.
The being floating in front of me is dressed in what looks to be chest armor, and he’s holding a spear.
His white hair is braided back, giving him a severe look that goes along with the glare he’s leveling at me.
Two more merfolk in similar garb flank him, a male and a female.
They’re just as imposing, albeit with different coloring.
A noise comes from the speaker that’s connected to a microphone outside the sub, so I turn it up.
Strange clicking and rolling sounds like I’ve never heard fill the small cockpit.
I think they’re trying to speak with us.
Not that I understand them. But honestly, I don’t need to when their body language is clear. They’re warriors, staring down an enemy. We’ve fucked up.
An unseen force pulls us forward, and my survival instincts kick in.
I shift the sub into a higher gear in a last ditch effort to try to guide us toward the surface, but no matter how much I push the throttle, whatever is pulling us is stronger.
The engine strains until more warnings light up the dash just before something hard slams into the back of my craft, the crunch of metal echoing around me as the engine sputters to a stop.
More mer-guards swim into formation ahead of us, a united front leading us gods know where.
Hunter is still out cold in his pod, but I see his chest moving infinitesimally, meaning he’s still alive for now.
I lock eyes with my firebird. His hand is against the glass of his cockpit.
I place my palm in the same position, wishing I could reach out and touch him. His mouth moves, and my heart clenches.
“I love you, too, firebird. I love you, too.”