Restless Waves

Chapter 42

As he got in his car and drove away, Michael had expected Mandy to accuse him of lying. He was sure Wez would have tracked his car and told them Rowan was near his dad's house. If Wez didn't tell Mandy, was he someone they could trust? Someone on the inside, someone whom Mandy thought she could trust too.

* * * * *

The kelp beds were like an underwater forest. Rowan and Kaerius weaved through them, and they felt slimy. Rowan wasn't sure he would enjoy sleeping among them, but for Kaerius, he would try it for at least a night. Through the kelp beds were caves big enough to completely blackout the inside. Rowan couldn't see as well as Kaerius. His eyes couldn't yet adjust.

Jaiker and Laiken were eating fish and playfully slapping each other with their tails when Kaerius emerged through the kelp plants. When they saw his bruises, they dropped their fish and swarmed him.

"What happened? Are you okay? Who did this to you?" Laiken asked in the Thalassic tongue.

Kaerius slapped their hands away, just as Rowan drifted into the open. He didn't know how to stop drifting. Kaerius held his arm, so they stayed together.

"Rowan," Jaiker said, astonished. His eyes trailed his tail. "My Goddess."

Kaerius felt weird at the mutter of the Goddess, despite him hearing it and saying it his entire life. Rowan was related to the Goddess, and she was cruel.

"His tail is- is... I've never seen anything like it," Laiken said, circling the boys.

Rowan couldn't understand them, but he could tell they were intrigued by his white tail with rainbow shimmers.

"Can I tell them about you being a Royal? Your tail is a big giveaway, but I can lie if necessary," Kaerius thought, eyeing Rowan.

"Tell them," Rowan said. Kaerius only just heard his muffled words.

"Yes, his tail is fit for-"

"A Royal?" Kaerius interrupted Jaiker.

"Yes." Jaiker pulled his eyes back to Kaerius and his bruises. They were healing but looked painful. "What happened to you?"

"I got captured by hunters. Rowan saved me. His fighting skills are incredible. He fought off a room full of experienced hunters with just a stick thing. It was amazing!" Kaerius didn't realise he was gushing over Rowan until it was too late. Laiken had already started to grin.

"Oh my Goddess, you're so in love with him," Laiken teased. Rowan didn't react to his words, and Laiken then knew he couldn't understand. "He in love with you," Laiken shouted, pointing to his nephew.

Rowan blushed, and Kaerius scowled and slapped Laiken with his tail. "We've only just started accepting the bond. Shut your fish mouth," Kaerius grumbled.

"Fish mouth? What are you, Larva or something?"

Jaiker pushed Laiken away. "Why is his tail like that?" he asked.

Kaerius glared at Laiken and said, "Rowan's a Royal." To which Laiken responded by laughing so sharply, a wave of bubbles came out of his mouth. "I'm telling the truth." When both Jaiker and Laiken stared for long enough to make Rowan uncomfortable, Kaerius explained everything. When he was done explaining that Rowan's parents were cursed and Mandy was the princess of the sea, Jaiker and Laiken's mouths hung open. They continued to stare until Rowan asked Kaerius if there was something wrong.

"No, they're just processing the information about your family," Kaerius thought. He felt a sense of pride. Kaerius was important, and the group of Thalassic Mortals who left them would soon regret not being so loyal.

Laiken was first to move. He drifted in front of Rowan and bowed his head. "I'm honoured," he shouted, so his voice was only just heard.

Rowan looked as awkward as Kaerius.

"It's not like that," Kaerius said. "It's not a big deal yet." Though he knew that was a lie.

"Not a big deal?" Jaiker said with eyes as wide as the entrance to the cave. "The royals have returned to the sea. Now we know why they fled in the first place. Forbidden love. This bond between you two... the bond means something."

"What?" Laiken and Kaerius asked at the same time.

"If the Goddess cursed Rowan's parents and made Rowan believe that he was raised to hate our species, then why was he given a soulmate?"

Kaerius watched Rowan's blonde hair move softly against the water. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "Maybe the Goddess is trying to redeem herself?"

"Or more importantly, why did she choose you?"

Kaerius frowned. "Jaiker, you're asking these questions like there's something wrong with me."

"Usually, Royals mate Royals, not sea creatures like us. The Goddess hasn't exactly been kind to us over the years. I'm sorry to ask this because I love you very much, but what makes you so special Kaerius? What makes our family so special compared to Rowans?"

Jaiker had made a good point. "Rowan's mother and father met the same way Rowan and I met. Maybe she'll be cruel and punish us too." The thought flipped Kaerius's stomach. He might have hated Rowan and the bond for longer than necessary, but they couldn't be ripped apart, not when they had finally noticed how lucky they were to have each other.

Jaiker noticed Rowan's worried frown. He couldn't understand their whispery words, but he felt Kaerius's emotions. Jaiker smiled to soften the mood. "Well, let's not be so negative. Let's hope that the Goddess is forming a new current. Rowan is innocent. He doesn't deserve a curse because of love, and technically, he isn't doing anything wrong. He's as much of a Thalassic Mortal as you. You can both get legs; you can both have a tail." Jaiker then frowned deeply enough for his overgrown brows to almost cover his eyes. He stroked his long grey beard. "Though the werewolves seem to think a war is coming. They tricked you into getting Thalassic Mortal poison. Maybe they are the ones with the answers."