Cursed [malexmale]

Chapter Thirteen

I walked through them into what appeared to be a bedroom with a large canopy bed big enough to fit a family of twelve with expensive silk sheets and thick quilts, glorious legends etched into the walls, save for the one across from the bed, which had been outfitted with a large aquarium. However, it wasn't nearly large enough to contain the creature inside behind a thick layer of glass that shimmered with a spell when I entered, as if to warn me not to bother cracking it open.

Inside, the Atlantean merman was settled at the bottom of the aquarium, and my heart clenched in pain at the sight of him looking so miserable. He was laid out across a rock, his dark hair curling in tendrils around his shoulders, his gold eyes half-lidded and staring at the plastic shells that lined the inside of the aquarium. Said aquarium was much smaller when I approached, comparing it to his tail. The smoothly scaled tail was a gorgeous shade of red that faded to gold at the bottom where his caudal fin flared out like a golden sun, and the deep blood red soft rays that traveled along the back of his tail all the way up to the base of his spine, matching the spinous dorsal fin along his back.

Gods, he's beautiful.

Unfortunately, he sensed my presence and his eyes snapped to lock one me. Instantly, he reared up and snarled, slamming his hand against the glass. However, he couldn't move more than that. He glared up at the top of his aquarium, then glared at me and his lips peeled back to flash his jagged teeth.

Cursed god! Monster! Killer!

I winced. At least he remembered me.

I approached the aquarium cautiously at first, still not sure I wanted to be too close to an Atlantean merman, even with a couple inches of enchanted glass.

For centuries, people believed Atlantean merpeople were one of the most dangerous sea creatures. They were thought to be cold-blooded killers, extremely territorial and enjoyed playing with their meals as they drowned slowly. In fact, in the official registry on Atlantis, they had always been listed as animals, not humanoid creatures.

However, being able to hear the merman's screams in my head told me they most certainly not the crazed animals we thought they were. They were highly cognitive creatures that could experience depression, anger, hurt, fear. It was definitely going to change the way we looked at them... and how some gods hunted them on occasion for mere sport.

I watched the merman, whom I'm assuming was called Kallisto given his third person thinking, watched me with anger sparking in his gold eyes, a twinge of fear in the way he stayed away from the top of the tank.

Those were definitely not the eyes of an animal, nor a monster.

And you killed his family. My heart clenched at the selfish stupidity that had possessed me to attack the merpeople. They were just doing what was in their nature to do- hunt and eat, just like anyone else. They may not hunt for fast food restaurants or a chef to make their meals, but they hunted the old-fashioned way and ate just like the rest of us.

I had been so foolishly wrapped up in my own pain and anger that I hadn't stopped to think that I was hurting the merpeople. Dexius's reminder of my selfishness stung and I swallowed against the lump in my throat, trying to block out the harshness of his condemnation.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, and Kallisto's eyes darkened in response, a low growling emitting from his throat, "I truly am sorry. I... I know that no amount of apologies can make up for the wrong I've done to you, and I understand that, but I'm still sorry." Kallisto narrowed his eyes to study me. There was a calculating glimmer in his eyes, like he was trying to sniff out a lie. Could merpeople smell deceit? Some creatures, such as varg-leopards, could sense betrayal and would lash out the moment they heard a lie.