Holly

Surfing

Arius and I arrive back home a day later. To be honest, I never imagined Arius having fears. He insisted on riding the plane with me and we managed to buy a last-minute ticket for him. He tried to hide it from me but the moment the plane started moving, it looked like he was going to break the arm rest with how tightly he was holding it. Safe to say I made fun of him the entire time. The only downside is that I have a feeling he is going to get back at me for it.

It is the next day and I just finished up work. I decided to walk through town for the heck of it. I was enjoying my stole alone until I felt his eyes on me. I groaned and turned around to see a smiling mischievous Arius staring at me from the side of a store I just passed.

"I think you owe me..."

I take this opportunity to grab my sneaker and throw it at him. I'm so mature, I know. If an angry, mischievous, sassy creature of the depths thinks you owe him, you would too.

I take off running. The part of the town we are in has virtually no people around which doesn't help my case.

"Holly!!!"

Shit shit shit! I sprint for the park where maybe I can lose him in the trees.

"Stop!"

I can hear him behind me. You see, the best part about being on land is that he is just as fast as me. I feel pride swell in my chest at finally being able to go faster than him.

"This is my domain, mermaid!" I yell back. The downside to this is I'm sure he is really mad. Before, he may have just been looking for trouble. Now I think he is looking for blood.

I jump off the paved path and over a three-foot fence into the woods. The leaves crunch under my feet and I try to make a sharp turn. The thing is, I forgot I have horrible balance thanks to the accident. So, when I try to turn in the leaves, my ass meets the floor.

"That's what you get, dumbass." I hear him behind me but I'm too busy trying to get past the pain in my leg from the fall. "Did you really think you could outrun me?"

He stands behind me, glaring down at me. I can't hold in the laugh and start cackling like a maniac.

"What is so funny?" Arius grumbles.

I try to catch my breath. "I was faster than you. You... you can't keep up with your fish legs."

He groans and grabs me by my arm, yanking me to my feet. "This isn't funny."

"Okay, Mr. Serious Fish stick."

I look up at him with a big smile and I see him struggling to keep his lips in a thin line. I can't wait to do this again. It's my new power over Arius. A sad attempt but you have to start somewhere.

"I believe this is yours." He hands me my shoe and I put it on.

"Thank you, kind sir."

He rolls his eyes but a smile splits in the corner of his lips. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Surfing."

"I'm sorry, what? You want me to surf now." I look at him, my jaw dropped.

"Something like that." He gives me a wink and a shiver goes down my spine. He is totally going to drown me now.

We make our way out of the tree line and step over the fence. Just as we start walking on the path, I hear my worst nightmare coming true.

"Holly?" I turn around to see Abuela walking on the path we just came onto. "What are you... hey you have a boy with you!"

I immediately blush worrying what she might think we were doing in the woods alone.

"Not just any boy! You are the son of a bitch who bumped into me the other day!"

She picks up her cane and starts pointing at Arius.

"What?" I look to Arius for clarification.

He shrugs. "This old bat bumped into me and made me carry groceries to her daughter's work."

"He bumped into me. We should have an arm-wrestling match to decide who bumped into who!" She hobbles closer to us and rolls up her sleeve.

Arius lets out a short laugh. "I'm sure that will go in your favor."

"Abuela, stop it. You guys don't even know each other, and you are already about to fight!"

"Where is the hardware store in this dingy town?" She says, walking past us towards town.

"Why?" I ask.

"I need rope."

"Abuela!" I rub my face. "Abuela stop." She turns around to face Arius and I. "Abuela, this is Arius... my friend." I give him a smile, but he glared at me. I'm just protecting him.

"So that's your name. Not a bad name for this hot shot." He glared at her again. I'm going to tape his face that way, so it hurts, and he never frowns again. "If you keep frowning you are going to have your face stuck like that. My great grandkids are going to ask why your face is like that and I'm going to say that I glued it that way."

"Great grandkids! We are not even together." He is going to be so mad at me. I can feel his glare on my back.

Abuela silently motions with her fingers for me to come closer to her. When I'm close enough, she grabs my ear and yanks me down to her level. "I like him, he fights back unlike most of the guys you have brought home."

"Just don't hang him, okay?"

She chuckles. Then she cackles. Then she starts hobbling away without so much as a goodbye. I return to Arius and watch Abuela head towards the hardware store. "Is she really going to try to hang me?"

"So long as you behave, she won't." I smile at Arius but am surprised to see he is already staring down at me with a faint smile on his lips. I start itching to say something sassy to ruin the moment, but I force it down. "You wanted to go surfing?" I ask.

"Yes," he says with a gentle smile. He takes my hand, and we start walking out of the park. It feels weird to have his hand in mine. Like we are a normal couple.


The waves are not as big and fun as I thought they would be. It is mostly calm with waves too small to surf on. Still, I put on my suit and grab my board just to humor Arius. I walk down to the water but don't see him. I assume he must have already entered the water, so I start to paddle past the first line of waves and into the calm water.

The sea is a smooth, soft surface of light blue. The sky is the same color, making everything placid and beautiful. I stare out at the setting sun that will be hidden from us in only a few hours. It is amazing how wild and expansive the ocean is. It never ends and so much of it is unexplored. I guess Arius is proof of that.

I frown when the dreams I have been having pop in my mind. It has been a while since I had them but every time I wake up, I still feel a sense of urgency that eventually fades. It is odd how the island and a puddle are the only two things that occur in the dream. It feels like a message, an image of things to come.

I feel the calm waters shift and lap against my board. It shifts and my heart stills as I see a shadow under the board. Suddenly, I feel a cold hand grab my ankle and I am yanked off the board. I kick and yell until I feel a hand over my mouth and laughter behind me. To my surprise, I am not drowning, and my head didn't even go under water. The chest against my back vibrating with laughter is
a familiar one.

"What the hell, Arius?!"

I feel his arms wrap around me and I look down at the
scales along his forearm that fades into human skin. "It's
revenge for laughing at me on the plane," his lips brush
against my ear, "and running from me into the park."

I try to squirm in his hold. "My board is going to float away!" I am not lying. It is getting further from us.

He uses a finger to flick the board towards us and it quickly drifts back. "You have no excuse anymore."

His lips trail along my neck and I shiver. "Is this what you want to do? Don't tell me you want to scare me again."

He plants a kiss on my shoulder. "Never again." He pauses and I take this opportunity to turn around and face him. His eyes are pitch black and scales trail up his neck, fading into skin just under his chin. The scales are black with a glint of blue in them like raven feathers. It is enchanting and I run my fingers over them. I feel him shiver and I have to bite my lips to stop myself from smiling. I revel in the fact that I can make him feel that way so easily.

"Holly." I love it when he says my name. "I never thought you would be so interested in my neck in this form. I thought you would be afraid since I've only ever hurt you like this."

I shake my head. "I am not. I guess it's the bond we have."

"That or you are just braver than I thought." He pulls me closer, and I rest my head against his shoulder. I love this peace we have between us. It so rarely happens. "Atticus told me that our soulmates have a tendency to surprise us. We both underestimated our mates."

"And don't you ever do it again," I say. He chuckles. "What is it like? Being able to go anywhere in the deep ocean? Are there things out there that we don't know about besides you?"

He is silent for a moment. "I don't know. I've never gone too deep because an instinct won't let me. I don't know if that is because something more is down there, I am not meant to see or if I just can't go that deep."

"Your eyes are pitch black. Aquatic animals with eyes like that are usually found in the deep sea." He is silent and doesn't respond this time. I notice the spines on his back. They are flat against his skin but longer than they were before. "The wild ones can go in the deep sea. They have black eyes too."

And longer spines on their back.

"Why are they here, Arius?" I pull away to look him in the eyes. I see a deep sadness in his black orbs.

"They usually only have so long to live. When it is time for them to die, they get confused and wander to where they are not supposed to be."

"How come humans don't know more about them?"

"The sea won't let it happen. Whenever there are too many of them close to the land, the sea forcefully drags them back into the deep."

"The sea," I say quietly. "Does the sea have consciousness?"

He nods. "I don't know much but I know it cursed me and it controls things. It is like an omnipotent being."

I look down at my hands resting on his scaly shoulders. If the sea is a living thing, then it must have also made soulmates to break the curses for devils. I really am the only one who can end his curse and I have no clue what I am doing.

Arius lifts his hand and gently holds my chin, making me look him in the eyes. "Don't be sad, Holly. We will figure it out together. Just promise me you will try to be selfish and put your safety above me."

"You know that is a dumb request."

He gives me a small smile. "Yes, I know you won't listen." He pulls me closer and places his lips on mine.