Chapter 27
“Mother is looking for you,” Amalie sing-songs in our language. She flips around, flicking her lilac tail along the surface of the water and splashing me before lifting her head above the waves again. “Better hurry.”
“What’s she saying?” Madi asks, holding a blanket to her chest.
“The queen wants me.”
“Her timing is impeccable,” Phoenix grumbles sarcastically. He clings to our omega as if he’s worried she’ll disappear. Hunter holds her just as tightly from the other side.
My beautiful starfish blinks up at me with a frown. “Do you have to go? Can’t we just… leave? We’re all together, and Sebastian has a ship somewhere nearby. Couldn’t we…”
I’m already shaking my head as I squat down next to her, but Sebastian steps forward, drawing her attention.
“We don’t have a way to contact the ship.
They’re close, but I’m not sure where we are in relation to them, and it wouldn’t be safe to just start swimming.
Presuming we could get past the guards.”
“Even if we did, my mother would come for us.” I smooth Madi’s damp hair away from her face.
She’s still flushed from her heat spike, and so beautiful.
I can’t let anything happen to her. “Your only chance is if I can keep the queen distracted enough not to think about you until after the wedding.” I make eye contact with Hunter.
“The rest of you should try to get away while I’m gone. ”
“We need the radio from the submersibles,” Sebastian says.
“Submersibles?” I tilt my head studying the handsome beta. “I don’t know this word.”
“The underwater ships we were in when we were caught. They have communication devices that we could use to contact the ship, but who knows where they are now. The guards dragged us here, then broke the submersibles apart when we got close. The wreckage is probably floating somewhere in the ocean, unless they took it with them.”
“Your split tail is weird,” Amalie says, clearly not caring for our conversation since she doesn’t understand human language. “I don’t like it.” She splashes water onto the rock. “We need to go.”
She’s right. It could be dangerous for my mates if I keep the queen waiting.
Hunter and Phoenix’s knots must have gone down, because Madi sits up, covering herself with the seal pelt blanket I brought her and scooting closer to the water. “Will you introduce me to your sister first?”
I smile. “Happily. Amalie is my favorite sibling. But don’t tell her that. She’s got a big enough head already. We all spoil her.”
Madi laughs. “We’ve kind of met already, but I didn’t know her name or who she was to you then.” She waves at Amalie. “Hi. Thank you for your help with the breather. I’m really glad I’ve had the chance to meet you, even if it’s like this.”
I quickly translate for Amalie, who grins from ear to ear at Madi’s words. She springs out of the water and plants a sloppy kiss on my mate's cheek before flipping and diving below the surface.
Madi laughs, the sound sweet after so long without hearing it.
“Take care of her,” I say to the three men I’m leaving behind. “I’ll see if I can find the communications device or your ship, but… it’ll be difficult. I’m closely watched, and there’s only three days until the wedding.”
I can’t bear to say more of a goodbye than that. Touching Madi, kissing her or any of them, would keep me here for sure. So, I turn, flick my tail, and follow quickly after my sister.
The guards scowl at us as we pass, no doubt planning how they’ll tell my mother that we were here. “Say a word, and it will only prove your own incompetence for letting me slip past.”
Amalie giggles, blowing a kiss at the guards before darting off.
I follow in her wake, every wavelength I put between me and my pack nearly painful.
I lurch forward with a burst of speed to overtake my sister, flicking my tail in a silent communication for her to follow me before taking a sharp dive to the right.
Keeping close to the side of the city wall, I check to be sure there isn’t anyone about before dipping under what looks like a bunch of coral jutting out.
We slip through the hidden gate meant as an emergency escape for the royal family, resigned to the fact my mother awaits.
Except I have to come to an abrupt halt, Amalie running into my back with a yelp.
I should have known it was too easy. Princess Farrasea blocks my path, arms crossed and a stern look on her face.
She’s surrounded by two of her personal guards.
I vaguely hear something hit the rocks below my tail, but my concentration is solely on how to navigate this potential mess.
I dip my head in reverence before finding my voice. “Princess Farrasea. How unexpected to see you here, though not unwelcome.”
Her expression doesn’t change. “Why are you using the hidden gate? And where are your guards?”
Straight to the point, I guess. She swims closer, her eyes narrowing as she scents me.
“You smell like sex.” My heart jumps to my throat.
I open my mouth to explain, but she continues before I can get a word out.
“I understand this is not a love match, Caspian, but to visit your whores during our wedding week is a slight I cannot tolerate.”
I bristle at her calling my starfish a whore, though I know Farra doesn’t mean her specifically.
It’s not a secret that many kings take lovers outside of their union, but it’s expected to be done discreetly.
I would never disrespect my bonds like that, but it's unsurprising that’s the conclusion Farrasea jumps to.
“That’s not what this is, Princess. I swear it.” How can I prove to her what’s actually going on? If I tell her the truth will she report back to my mother and put Madi at risk? Then another thought occurs to me. “How did you know about this entrance?”
She scoffs, her arms uncrossing as she gestures behind me to the gate I just swam through.
“You think I wouldn’t be briefed on emergency protocols for a kingdom I’m visiting?
One I am supposed to be cementing an alliance with through marriage?
Please, don’t insult my intelligence as well as our vows. ”
“I would never underestimate you, Princess, but if you’d just let me expl—”
A shriek from Amalie stops me short, and we all look around frantically worried she’s in danger. She swims up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist, her face pressed into my shoulder. My heart slows as I lay my hand on her back, thankful she’s safe.
“What in the seven seas is that?” Farra is staring at the ocean floor, pointing a slender finger at something. When I follow her line of sight, my adrenaline spikes once more.
Gently prying my sister’s arms from around me, I swim alongside Princess Farrasea until we’re right in front of the new anomaly.
There is a reflective disc flat on the sand, but what’s shocking is the image that’s seemingly projected above it.
Bits of plankton glow brightly as they flit through the wavering picture, the light powering it temporarily blocked by the ocean debris.
Tentatively, I reach out, my fingers gliding through the image as if it’s a mirage.
“What is that language? What is that… being?” Farrasea questions softly, as if she’s afraid being too loud will disrupt the phenomena.
“That’s a human,” I hedge before I listen to the voice coming from the disc, noting an accent my Madi doesn’t have. “And this is a human language, though one slightly different than I’ve heard before.”
Farra’s head whips to me. “Heard before?”
“Yes.” I’m cautious in my answer, unsure how much I should share. I opt to go with a half-truth. “As I told you yesterday, my grandfather was obsessed with the myth of Ocearus and humans. I… I could translate for you, if you’d like.”
The princess’s eyes light up, the promise of new knowledge enough to stem her questioning for now. She nods eagerly, settling back to watch the projected figure.
“...archetecture is a blend of mercities and human dwellings. As you can see, there are streets, yes, but also canals for merfolk to utilize when in their aquatic forms.” The woman on the screen gestures to a canal exactly like the one we used while in Ocearus.
I translate for both Farra and Amalie, who is no longer shaking in fear. Farra’s guards hang back, close enough to listen in.
It seems to be an educational video about Ocearus.
“These dwellings may seem primitive at first glance, but they are actually a perfect mix of form and function for blended packs. I may be in my human form now, but I, too, love to slip into the canal running through my home, not only for travel but to spend time in my aquatic form. Not all of my alphas can join me underwater for extensive stretches, so having multiple options is perfect.”
The scene changes, and suddenly we’re underwater, following a mermaid through the canals. She turns and swims backwards, revealing the same woman who has been explaining the city. She no longer speaks the human tongue, so I stop translating for the group.
“Now that we’ve seen some of the residential areas, I want to show you my favorite part. The Great Hall is where our monarchs host everything from community forums to bonding ceremonies. Below it is the infamous Library of Ocearus.”
The mermaid grins wide, then flips over to swim forward again before the projection cuts off and disappears entirely.
“Is this true?” Farrasea asks. “Did merfolk and these humans really live together in packs? Whole groups in a permanent relationship, exchanging bites.”
“From what knowledge I’ve garnered, yes,” I hedge. “I do know that it is more common for human alphas and omegas to form packs than to have a simple two-person bond.”
Farrasea is quiet for a moment, seemingly in thought.
I turn to Amalie. “Where did you find this?” My sister glances warily at Farra before looking at me. I set a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and nod encouragingly. “It’s okay, you can speak freely.”
“Near the rocks. The… prison.”
Before I can question her more, Princess Farasea swims closer.
“Is that something… you’d want? A pack?” She asks the question as if already mid-thought, like she hadn’t been paying attention to what Ama and I were saying.
“Yes.” My heart slams against my ribs, waiting for her reaction.
She lets out the smallest giggle before immediately covering her mouth. “Forgive me, it’s just… I never thought… You see there’s an omega. I always assumed I’d have to give her up when the time came… But maybe… if you’re open to it, to meeting her…”
I shake my head, struggling to follow her reasoning.
“It’s an interesting concept,” she continues. “One I’ve heard rumors of, but never such hard evidence. Although, of course, humans must be long extinct since we have no knowledge of them. I’ve certainly never seen one.”
My mind races like the northern current, this new information about Farra spurring an idea.
My mother thinks if Farrasea finds out about the bond, she’ll call off the wedding, which honestly is the best case scenario for me.
If the wedding is off, I can be with my starfish and our pack.
As long as my mother never finds out why she’s calling off the wedding, or that I told her about Madi, this might work.
I cross my fingers behind my back the way humans do when they are hoping for something, ready to take a leap of faith. “I met one. A human, and… I bonded with her.”
Farrasea frowns. “Okay, that’s enough. I won’t be made a fool.”
I unclasp the agual-scale gorget my mother has forced me to wear whenever I’m out of my quarters to hide my bond marks.
When it drops from my neck, I lift my chin to show the bite.
The fresh mark at my hip is partially hidden by my scales, and Hunter’s bite isn’t obvious behind the belts floating at my waist, but Madi’s is on clear display now.
Farrasea’s eyes go wide, her expression incredulous and severe. “You’re mated!” She jabs a finger at my chest. “How dare you disrespect our betrothal so blatantly. Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you call off the wedding?”
“My mother wouldn’t allow it.” I reclasp the offending armor, an uncomfortable feeling of being choked washing over me. “She doesn’t recognize my bonds, since they’re with humans.”
“Truly? You’re sticking with that?”
“I can prove it.” I flick my tail in agitation, jolting when my gaze lands on the guards, reminding me we’re not alone. “But right now, I’m already late. My mother is expecting me.”
“An excuse.”
“It’s not. Meet me back here after the morning meal, while the queen will be preoccupied with her daily meetings, and I’ll introduce you to my mates.”
Before she can argue, I swim off, past the stunned looking guards, toward my mother’s chambers. Gods, I hope this is the right move.