Chapter 33
As far as I’m aware, these dungeons haven’t been used since before I was even born. And now I’m trapped in them. Sent here by my own mother who’s decided I can’t be trusted. We’ve never truly been close, but how did we get to this new low?
“Brother.” Nero’s recognizable timbre startles me from my brooding.
I spin to face the front of the cell so quickly, my tail gets caught in some overgrown seaweed.
It takes me a moment to disentangle myself, and when I look up, Farra is biting her lip like she’s trying not to laugh.
I would be embarrassed if I wasn’t so concerned as to why they’re here in the first place.
Nero wastes no time, jumping right in. “Princess Farrasea has shared some… frankly, rather troublesome information with me.”
My chest clenches with adrenaline. How will he react? Will he believe that humans exist? That I’ve taken one as a mate? Will he—
“Is it true?” My brother’s commanding question stops my spiral. “Have you mated with a human? Bonded with bites?”
I glance at Farra, who has become my only confidant in all of this, and she gives me an encouraging nod.
“Yes. More than one,” I admit. I remove the gorget from my neck so my brother can see my bond marks.
Nerocaitan’s shoulders widen as his back straightens in surprise. “You admit it so freely. Where are these supposed mates now?”
Hope deflates in my chest. “They were imprisoned at the volcano rock formation. But they escaped.”
He nods as if this isn’t entirely new information to him, but his eyes narrow suspiciously. It’s unclear whether he believes me or not. If it hadn’t first come from Farrasea, I don’t think he would.
I know how this looks. I have only bonding bites and my word with no real proof humans exist. I would never wish to risk my mates’ safety, but if they were still trapped here, it would be easier to convince Nero I’m telling the truth.
He’s always been scientifically minded and inclined to only believe things with empirical evidence.
Farrasea swims closer, her voice pitched low as if she’s afraid someone may overhear. “I went back to the rock prison. Where you showed me the humans. There were more of the discs in a satchel of some kind. Though I’ve never seen material like it before.”
“That was Madison’s.” My heart pangs just as much from longing as from excitement. “Were you able to activate them? Did you watch them? What did they say?”
Nero joins Farra at the bars. “After some trial and error—and some help from Amalie—yes. Some were corrupted and hard to understand, some were in the language Farra says is human so we couldn’t translate it.
” Nero studies me thoughtfully. “I would not have believed any of it was true if I hadn’t seen the discs with my own eyes.
The projection of a two-legged being describing Ocearus and mingled packs was… incredible.”
I’m about to tell him to bring me the discs so I can interpret them, when he goes extremely still.
“The most important one, however, was in our language. The birth crises, the very reason we’ve had to seek out more and more alliances…
the people of Ocearus did not have that issue when they mated with humans.
They speculate it was the formation of packs.
Of alphas mating with at least one omega and omegas feeling safe with many to protect them so their bodies allowed breeding.
” He closes his eyes and inhales deeply before continuing.
“If this is true, we as a species have been doing a great disservice to our omegas. To our kind as a whole.”
“It is true, brother,” I rush to assure him.
“I’ve seen Ocearus with my own eyes, well, what’s left of it.
The city is three times the size of Tythas.
It seemed as if it was thriving and heavily populated when it was inhabited.
I can’t confirm the fertility theory, yet, but I can tell you my mate, my omega, has gone into several heat spikes since we’ve bonded.
More since she’s been near the rest of her pack.
She told me humans usually have heats two to four times a year.
So often that many omegas suppress them.
When have you ever heard of one of our own going into estrus so often, Nerocaitan? ”
My brother and Princess Farrasea share a weighted look, the latter nodding slightly before Nero faces me once more.
“I have a secret to share with you, as well.” His hand drifts toward Farra, and she takes it easily.
The casual intimacy is shocking, though no jealousy runs through me.
He pulls her closer. “Farra and I… We’re…
Fuck, I can’t believe I’m about to say it out loud.
” He hesitates for just a second before spitting it out.
“Farra and I are drawn to each other’s scents more than to anyone else’s.
After watching these discs, and Farra seeing your pack, we think… ”
“We believe we might be scent matched to the same omega,” Farra finishes for him.
Silence falls over us as I process what they just admitted. There’s a weightiness to it that feels shocking, though I know it would be normal to humans. Most merfolk believe scent matches are a myth. Even in our folklore, there are very few reported pairs of scent matched merfolk.
After discovering my grandfather was right about Ocearus and humans, I’m starting to think the history we’ve been taught has been curated to fit whatever political agenda our ancestors were pushing.
Perhaps more of our matches are among humans than we can imagine.
That might be another reason for the higher birthrate in Ocearus.
The myths all claim scent matches are more fertile than other pairings.
“When did you first suspect your… connection?” It’s the first question that pops into my head, though maybe not the one I should be asking.
“I felt drawn to Farra since the first time I met her on my trip to Sirena,” Nero states simply. “But it wasn’t until the discs that we realized what it could truly mean.”
“Why didn’t you tell mother? You could have tried to stop all this.” I swing my hand angrily through the water. “How can you stand by and watch me marry Farra?”
Nerocaitan lets out a low growl, telling me he isn’t as unaffected by the betrothal as he pretends to be.
“I tried to talk to her when I first returned from Sirena two years ago, but she shut down the idea immediately. Told me the heir to Tythas needed a stronger mate—though, I can think of no one as powerful as Farra.” He looks at the princess and his features soften in a way I haven’t seen since we were merlings.
She smiles at him with a fondness that I realize has been present in all of their interactions. I just hadn’t noticed it until now.
“You love each other.” It isn’t a question.
“Yes,” they say in unison. No pretense or explanation. Just a simple statement of fact, like the anemone stings or the Corathas current is always warm.
“Just yesterday, I tried convincing our mother to let me marry Farra instead,” Nero says, his countenance heavy and weighed down.
He shakes his head. “She’s completely irrational about my mating.
She doesn’t think anyone is capable of running Tythas by my side.
I’m starting to believe she thinks she’s the only one who can rule this city.
She sees threats everywhere, even when there are none.
The way her power radiated from her when I tried to speak to her of my desire to marry Farra…
it felt off. Unstable. I couldn’t continue to argue with her and put Farra at risk. ”
I grip the bars between us, remembering the volatile way my mother behaved during our last interaction.
“What are we going to do?” I’m not sure they have an answer to that, but I’m hopeful we’re all on the same side now. Nerocaitan’s jaw sets into a determined line.
“You know mother has not been the same since Father passed,” he admits.
“I’ve always assumed her change in behavior and personality was due to her needing to present a strong front.
A necessary shift so she remained unchallenged.
But now…” He rubs a hand down his face in frustration.
Farrasea pushes into his side in support.
“Now, it seems as if she’s not making decisions that truly serve Tythas or its citizens. ”
“Something has to change, Nerocaitan. You know forcing me to marry Farrasea is a mistake.” My voice is low but sure.
Nero nods in agreement. “Yes. It is time for change.”