"Good morning, Harry."
"Oh, Dawson, you're still here?"
"Harry, please," Ezi sighed as she carried the plates of steaming bacon and eggs to the table, joining Dawson and Maggie. Maggie was too busy reading the morning newspaper with her cup of tea to pay attention to the weird dynamic between Harry and Dawson, which Ezi failed to understand no matter how hard she tried. Dawson seemed to love Harry even though Harry claimed that it was all fake and that Dawson lowkey prayed for his downfall.
"How was your sleep?" Harry asked as he took a seat beside Ezi, glaring at Dawson, who was sitting on her other side.
"It was alright," said Ezi. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Do not worry about me. You sit there and enjoy your breakfast, young lady. Dawson?"
Dawson looked up from his plate. "Yeah?"
"Could you make me a cup of tea?" Harry commanded.
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because you already got your bacon and eggs and I just want a cup of tea?"
"Oh, you're so full of shit sometimes, you know that?"
"For fuck's sakes!" Maggie exclaimed and all eyes were on her as she put the newspaper down and got up. "I'll make you tea, insufferable child. What else do you want? A full English breakfast?"
"Oooh, that would be gre—" Harry's mouth clamped shut when Maggie shot him a death glare. "Tea would be fine. Thanks, Maggie."
Shaking her head, Maggie put the kettle on. Harry turned back to Ezi, smiling. "No bad dreams last night, I hope?"
Ezi was just about to answer when Dawson jumped in, "Actually, she couldn't sleep and went into the kitchen for water. I was there because I couldn't sleep either, so we stayed up and chatted for a bit. It was nice."
Harry seemed offended. "Oh, why couldn't you sleep, Dawson?"
"Strange bed."
"What are you? Five?"
"Said the one who was still pissing his pants at five years old."
"Hey, I was four!"
Ezi buried her face into her palm. Oh god, couldn't Maggie hurry up with that cup of tea? Harry was always unbearable before his morning tea.
"What were you two talking about anyway?" he asked, eyes shifting between Ezi and Dawson, who had this smug look on his face, seemingly happy to have pissed Harry off. Ezi must admit that pissing Harry off was also her favourite past-time, but not the first thing in the morning, when he was the most annoying.
"Oh, nothing really," she said. "Dawson just had a lot of questions about sirens and all that."
"Harry, here's your tea, you little shit."
When Maggie handed Harry his steaming cup, his face lit up instantly. Breakfast carried on without any more drama. Still, Ezi couldn't help dreading what was about to come.
Once they were done eating and had cleared the table, Maggie lay out a huge map that took up almost the entire surface, and everyone gathered around like they were in some sort of war meeting.
"Funny how you just have this gigantic map lying around," Harry said, standing behind Ezi with his chin on the top of her head as if to make sure Dawson got the message. Childish, Ezi thought, but she couldn't be bothered to tell him off, and she was secretly enjoying it too.
"It's not like I work in a bookshop or anything," Maggie said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyway, Harry, I would appreciate it if you don't speak for the next fifteen minutes."
Dawson let out a low chuckle, and Harry silenced him with a glare.
"Okay, so," said Maggie, hands on the map, "this is the deepest part of the ocean. The Ginevra palace lies at the bottom of the ocean, and it's connected to this cave...here."
"Sorry, I know I'm not allowed to speak, but wasn't that where we first met?" Harry turned to Ezi, who nodded.
"Yes. Correct. So your beach house was right...here." She tapped her finger on the map.
"We need to get Ezi back to the palace, and we can do so through this cave," said Maggie.
"But Ezi doesn't have her tail anymore." All eyes shifted to Dawson, who froze. "Sorry, am I allowed to speak? I know I'm new here."
"No, you're not allowed to speak."
"Harry." Ezi nudged Harry with her elbow and to Dawson, she smiled. "Good point, Dawson. But I think I just need to get to that cave and I can call for my mother or sister to appear."
"They will know when you're there anyway. The Sea Queen keeps track of all of her subjects. Besides, they are after this, remember?" Maggie said, pointing at Harry's chest.
Fear formed a thick lump in Ezi's throat as she tried to swallow it down. She looked over at Harry, expecting some sort of reaction from him, but his calm expression remained, which troubled her even more. She wondered if he was just pretending like he was fine because he wanted to appear brave and unafraid for her, whilst deep down, he was very much afraid.
"We can use my private jet to get to the island," she heard him say when she snapped out of her own head. "It's bad for the environment, but we're all dying anyway."
"You're dying. We still have a long way to go."
"Maggie," complained Ezi, and Maggie rolled her eyes.
"He just talks a lot of shit sometimes."
"I'm sorry," Harry said, sarcastically. "I'm the only one here beside Ezi who has the right to talk shit. The Sea Queen wants to rip my heart out because I'm in love with her daughter."
"Allegedly," Ezi murmured, eyes on the map, but she could imagine Harry frowning.
"Whether you like it or not, I love you and your mother wishes to kill me."
"Can we do this another time?" Maggie interrupted. "Harry, call your ride."
"Oh, I already did. Niall's on his way."
"Niall?" exclaimed Ezi. "You told Niall about this."
"Well, he doesn't know you're a mythical creature. He thinks we're fleeing the country because everyone thinks you're a gold digger and I'm a fool. So we're like Harry and Meghan in a way."
"What? Who's Meghan?"
"If we make it out alive, I'll educate you on the royal family. Ours is even more fucked up than yours. Oh, Niall just texted me." Harry pulled out his phone and his face transformed into a scowl. "He said he's stuck in traffic and wants us to take the tube???"
Ezi shivered as she recalled the first and last time she was on the tube. It wasn't fun as it sounded. "I'm not riding the tube. It's smelly and hot."
"Pretty sure there's a train strike and TFL wouldn't care if Harry Styles and his friends were on their way to save a kingdom."
"Or just get a cab?" Dawson finally spoke after being silent the whole time.
Everyone exchanged looks and unenthusiastically agreed.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Ezi didn't know how they'd done it. The airport was now crowded with reporters with their cameras flashing. It didn't take them long to surround the taxi like a shiver of sharks cornering prey. Dawson was sitting in the passenger's seat, calmly guiding the driver through the crowd, while Maggie, who sat beside Ezi in the backseat was bouncing her knee with a horrified look on her face. It was probably her first time in this situation.
"Fucking hell," Harry muttered when his ringtone went off again. He pressed answer and shouted to Niall, "We're here. Would you chill, for fuck's sake?"
Niall's voice was loud yet muffled over the phone, "I just wanted to warn you that someone overheard me talking to you on the phone, and the paparazzi–"
"We'll deal with them. Are you waiting at the gate?"
"Yup."
"Alright. See you in a minute," Harry said and hung up while Niall was in the middle of shouting something. When he grabbed Ezili's hand and squeezed, camera lights exploded in his concentrated green eyes, like flashes of memories, and she could see them going back to that night at his mother's place where he'd saved her from his cousin. "Stay right behind me," his voice was a whisper.
She nodded, clutching his hand as he opened the door, ducked his head, and stepped out. All around was a cacophony of screams, whispers, camera shutters, and honking of angry drivers trying to make their way through.
"Harry, Harry, is it true that you two are fake dating for PR?"
"Harry, is she your cousin?"
"Lady, are you using Harry for his money?"
Ezi ignored those reporters as she kept her head hung and followed Harry's guide. She focused on the different types of shoes and their many colours, and for a moment, she felt as if her soul had left her body, and she was just a shell, being moved through the crowd. That was until a hard force shoved her to the side, and if it wasn't for Harry's fast reflex, she would have fallen. Her injuries tingled in the worst way, and she bit down on her lip as the pain wavered to her brain. But before she could react, Harry's voice startled her. One of his hands was holding her shoulder, the other caught the fat man's collar and shook him hard. "You lay your hands on my girlfriend again, and I'll smack your head in, you prick."
The man started apologising to Ezi as two airport security guards showed up and escorted them inside safely.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Maggie didn't get on the plane with them. Ezi supposed that she didn't want to relive her trauma by going back, but she wished Maggie was here so she didn't have to feel so awkward sitting in silence with these men.
Well, with Harry at least. Dawson sat across the aisle and seemed unbothered as he made up some sophisticated lie to Niall about how they'd finally found Ezi's family, so they were taking her to them. Niall being Niall, didn't question much and was just enthusiastic to be included. Harry, on the other hand, was sitting opposite of Ezi in silence as he gazed out of the window, chin in his hand.
Fingers fidgeting in her lap, Ezi rolled her tongue a few times before she found the courage to speak. "Thank you," she said, and his eyes shifted to her. "For...earlier."
He gave a small smile. "Told you I'd protect you."
When it came to her mother, however, she doubted he would be able to say that. Still, she appreciated his intention.
"You okay?" she asked when the silence returned. Everyone had been asking her if she was okay, but it was Harry the question should be directed to. It was his heart that her mother wanted...no, his life.
Thoughtfully, he pursed his lips. "Hmmm, I don't know. Feels weird. On the one hand, I'm glad that I can do something for you. On the other hand, I'm being hunted by the fucking Sea Queen. That's scary, but also an honour."
Together, they laughed like they were just discussing a movie and not their reality.
"So you were angry at me for wanting to kill you, but it's an honour when my mother does it?" said Ezi.
"I was angry because you lied to me actually. It made me wonder if any of it was real."
"I wondered the same thing when you told me I would never be human."
"I didn't mean that."
She paused. "I know that now."
"Good," he said. "Do you want to be human?" he asked. "When this is all over, of course."
Ezi shrugged. "If only you survived."
His lips twitched as he appreciated the humour. "I mean, I have no choice. Someone has to take care of my cat, and Niall would be a terrible cat dad." He locked eyes with her for a beat. "And you, too, of course. I'll have to survive for you."
"Deal," she said, hoping it'd be true.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
This was how Harry died, trapped in this tiny beach cave. Clearly, a death by the Sea Queen story would sound much cooler, and it was the only motivation for him not to die here, at least for now. The entrance of the cave was so small, hardly more than a gap in the rock. Ezi was leading the group, followed by him, then Dawson. They had left Niall at Harry's beach house and made him busy with the iPad. That wholesome image made Harry feel less afraid as they treaded through the water, with only a phone as a torch guiding the way. Two-thirds of the tunnel was filled with black water, and the other with sand that made his shoes sink with every step, and they didn't want to risk going barefoot in case rocks or something sharp lurked beneath the surface.
The deeper they went in, the darker it got. The space they squirmed through was damp and smelled like dead things the sea had claimed, and the ceiling came down so close that they had to crawl now. Just when it seemed like the darkness would swallow them up, Harry saw a weak gleam ahead. Now they could stand to his full height once again. They had arrived in an open space that was as big as the size of the dining room in his mother's manor. It looked like the sort of place pirates would hide their treasure and Greek heroes would come to fight a monster.
In the soft light from the algae growing on the walls, Harry recognised this cave. The first time Ezi had "rescued" him from the storm, she'd taken him here.
"Don't go any further," Ezi commanded, and they came to a halt. "The deep end is just right past those rocks. From there, just keep diving and you'll eventually reach the palace, but I don't think any of us will manage to get there with our human lungs."
"So what's the plan again?" Harry asked.
Dawson, who still seemed appalled by the whole situation, sucked in a deep breath. "Ezi will get into the water as bait."
"No, they'll kill her."
"They have to keep her alive," Dawson said. "They need the heart of a man who's in love with a siren. If she died, it probably wouldn't work."
"On, please, you just found out sirens existed like five minutes ago. Don't act like an expert."
"Harry, you're just talking out of your arse now–"
"Excuse m–"
"Guys, stop, please!" Ezi exclaimed, her voice echoing within the cave. "I'm going into the water. I know the water environment better than you all. I'll try to get Mother or Koa to come up here and negotiate." Harry opened his mouth but she shushed him immediately. "Harry, do you trust me?"
"Ezi–"
"Yes or no?"
The light in the cave gleamed in her eyes, softening his heart.
Forcefully, he nodded. "Alright. But come up as soon as you sense danger."
As usual, she had this hardened look on her face like she was the toughest person in the world, the undead, immortal, but all Harry could see was a fragile young girl who was very much afraid. He wished he could give her a hug or took her back to his beach house where they could start over from day one. Instead, he watched nervously as she shrugged off her jacket and kicked off her shoes, preparing for her dive.
Suddenly, something grabbed his ankle and pulled him into the water.
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Harry was there, then he was gone, swallowed by the black liquid. As afraid as Ezi was of the water, she was more afraid of letting Harry be taken. She rushed forward. Behind her, Dawson shouted, 'No!' but she ignored him. It was a good leap and when she broke the surface, it felt like a shock, as if she had been struck by lightning, and her heart would explode.
As she began to sink, she just kept going down, down, and down. The water was cold, cold, cold, even colder than she'd remembered. She thought she might just drown and made no effort to save herself. Her limbs felt so heavy, so sluggish, and it took every bit of willpower she got to gather her wits before she died then and there. She trod water, halted her descent to get her bearings, and stared into the depths below her. She was half-looking for Harry, half-looking for a siren. The liquid was a strange green from here, turgid barely seeming to move despite her thrashing, but at last she saw something below her, a pale blur, struggling weakly, increasingly weakly. She duck-dived, kicked, and pressed further into the icy dark.
Harry seemed to plummet, heavier than he should be, or perhaps pulled but Ezi could see nothing that gripped him. At last, she got a grip of his fingers, his palm, his wrist. Her human lungs were burning. Harry's eyes were glazing over, the lids beginning to drop.
No, stay with me, she thought, emotions welling in her throat.
Harry's hair like dark smoke around his bloodless white face as she pulled him hard toward her and clasped him to her chest. He was too far gone to hold onto her, so she had to swim single-handed, kicking like a frog. She wanted to look behind to ensure nothing was following them, but she didn't. Concentrate, Ezi, said the voice inside her head, come on, up.
It was then that she felt a shudder through the water, like it was shivering from its own frigidity. Something yanked Harry back, dragging Ezi down with him, hard and fast. She spun her head around, panicked. And there was her sister in full siren form, fangs baring.
Koa looked into Ezi's eyes and said something that Ezi couldn't hear yet understood.
Welcome home, sister.
(end of chapter 18)