Everblue

Chapter 23 - Fin

FIN

 

After dinner, I contemplated going out for a swim to ease my frustration. After Tatch and Mom started giggling in the back room over some vampire book mom had smuggled into Natatoria, I bolted.

"I'm going over to Badger's," I called out before disappearing into the inky black waters.

The crystal ball bounced cerulean shards of light, signaling the land above was experiencing a full moon. The buildings looked like upside down candles, red lava glowing from the gel-covered domes from below. Speckled circles of light came from the windows of the homes, littering the coral canyon around the palace, mer families settling in for the night. The peacefulness of the scene should have been breathtaking, but Natatoria was the last place I wanted to be.

Within a few short minutes, I arrived at the cave leading to the Tahoe gate instead of Badger's. Saying goodbye to Dad on this spot just a week ago, it felt like ages had passed. My heart pounded as I scanned the surroundings before ducking inside. My eyes adjusted to the dark of the room.

I hesitated before pressing the button to open the gate into Tahoe. Underage mer needed permission to leave Natatoria and had to be supervised by an adult male. Grounding or community chores would be the consequences of the offense. Of course, that was already my lot in life. But I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to take the chance. I needed to breathe fresh air and bask in the light of the moon if only for a few minutes.

The icy water sent a chill up my spine as I swam through Tessie's mouth into the frigid current. I laughed that my heart hammered even though I knew the waters would be empty. The fact that Uncle Alaster or Colin left the gate entrance unguarded didn't surprise me. And I'm sure Dad didn't tell his brother about the movement meter he'd installed that would register higher readings if someone had opened the mouth of the cave. In the old days, Dad and I used to put soft rocks under the doorway so if someone did sneak into Tahoe unnoticed, we'd know and watch for them.

Gate guarding should have been more about keeping humans from finding the entrance and not keeping mers out—most of them deathly afraid of getting caught trying. But everyone knew we took our job seriously and didn't test the boundaries.

Alaster or Colin could have been somewhere else in the lake, monitoring water vibrations with their tails. But my guess was they were living it up in the basement, eating and drinking everything they could find, and enjoying the oversized TV—the lazy bums. Any mer could come and go right under their noses, and they'd never know—something I planned to capitalize on until Dad returned.

I swam the 1,600 feet with ease and carefully surfaced to make sure no one saw me before taking a deep breath of crisp air. A fresh blanket of snow glimmered on the bank from the moonlight, illuminating the entire cascade of mountains like a silver crown. Lily's face came to mind as I imagined her reaction to such an amazing spectacle.

Everything inside me wanted to swim to shore and roll around in the powder, making merfish angels or something so I could cup the earth in my hands. But my visit had to be inconspicuous. Getting caught by my lame relatives, or worse, humans, would ruin this opportunity.

I floated on my back and admired the night's sky. Stars pebbled the heavens and I vowed to never take the beauty for granted once we were back home, guarding the gate like it should be.

Light shone from every window in our house, though I knew they wouldn't be scooting around on their fins upstairs. If mers didn't keep their tails wet, their scales would dry out. Any sort of dehydration interfered with our natural ability to regulate our internal temperature, thus putting us at risk of a coma or even death.  So much for them being incognito.

Headlights shot out over the lake and I ducked down. The vehicle—a stretch limo—pulled down our street and headed toward our house. I squinted in concern. Who would be visiting at this time of night? Then the car turned and parked in front of Ashlyn's house instead. I swam to a nearby rock to investigate.

A guy my age, dressed in a suit, assisted a female out of the vehicle. She looked regal with a long green dress and red curls trailing down her back.

Ashlyn.

I watched as she turned, her alabaster skin hitting the moonlight just right, stabbing me in the chest with her beauty. She walked up to the back porch, hand-in-hand with this punk and my stomach twisted, but I couldn't look away. They stood together, too close for my liking, whispering things I could barely pick up. She had a good time. He did, too. There was a pause and they continued to gaze into one another's eyes. Blood hammered in my veins and I clenched my jaw. When he tilted her chin up with his hand and Ashlyn closed her eyes, leaning into him, my stomach lurched. I couldn't take it anymore.

A kiss for a Natatorian was the most intimate act two merfolk could do; once a mer's lips touched another's, they were promised to each other for life as mates. Through their breath, their souls intertwined, binding them together spiritually, emotionally, and physically. This is the main reason why mermaids weren't allowed out of the kingdom alone. One kiss would drive a man insane. His soul, seared from the loss of the mermaid herself, would never allow him peace until he found her again.

But for me, watching Ashlyn kiss someone else, merman or not, drove me crazy. I dove into the water to try to shake the jealousy. This whole time, I'd done my best to keep my distance and not get too close. Harboring feelings for a human was risky. But watching her with the other guy made me realize I'd only wanted her to be with me all along.

I groaned and raced toward the gate back into Natatoria. If I was with Dad on the secret mission, I would have avoided seeing her with someone else. But instead, I got an eyeful of her future and all I wanted to do was rip things apart with my bare hands.

 "Good, you're home," Mom said, catching me off guard as I came out from behind the curtain. A sunbeam transported in from the other side of the globe allowed me to phase into legs. "Did you have a nice time with Badger?"

My eyes hit the floor. I could never successfully lie to Mom. "I ended up just going for a swim."

She walked closer to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Everything okay, Son?"

I nodded. "Just a little homesick, that's all." And heartsick too.

"Oh, I see. There are a few more cookies in the kitchen if you'd like some. They always seem to cheer you up." She smiled and leaned her head to the side to try to find my gaze. I turned up the edges of my lips to appease her.

She bought the façade and went back to work on her needlepoint.

I stood for a moment, head low. Cookies wouldn't fix what ailed me this time. Now, a few Guinnesses might have put a dent in my pain, but I didn't think Badger would share, and being intoxicated might lead me to doing something very rash, like returning to the surface to get Ashlyn's attention. Instead, I went to my room, sat on my hammock, and put my head in my hands, searching for answers.