I know you're a fan of merpeople because you're reading this book... HOWEVER, merpeople books are rare, so I want to support a fellow author on here: 1flawlessflaw with a story called: Beyond the Waves (I bet you can guess what it's about *wink*)
If I've captured your attention, go give it a read ;)
- Sian
"Your mother had the same tail," Michael said, looking beneath the water at Rowan's white tail with rainbow flecks.
"Royal tail," Kaerius said, staring at Michael's silver tail. He had never seen one like Michael's either.
"Yes," Michael beamed and moved his arms around in the water. "It's been such a long time since I've been in the sea. I never went in without Mandy. I forgot how cold it is."
Rowan tasted the salt on his lips. "Is it strange?" he asked, though it was weird for him to see his father with a tail.
"A little." Michael lightly hit Rowan with his tail before dipping under the water and swimming away.
Kaerius and Rowan watched him sink lower and lower until his silver tail was like a speck of glitter on the ocean floor. Kaerius wanted to ask about Rowan's feelings after the conversation they had with Jack. Kaerius felt Rowan's emotions, and he wasn't relaxed.
Rowan sensed Kaerius's eyes on him, and he heard his thoughts. Kaerius was arguing with himself in his head about whether he should talk about Jack now or later.
"Come on," Rowan said and touched the bottom of Kaerius's tail with his fins. "Let's show my dad where you sleep."
Kaerius knew Rowan had been listening to what he was thinking. Kaerius forgot that even his own mind was no longer private, though it didn't annoy him anymore.
They dipped under the ocean and quickly met Michael on the ocean floor, who was touching everything around him as if even the sand sparked some fantastic memory. "Which way are the caves?" Michael asked in the Thalassic Tongue.
"A mile that way," Kaerius replied in his first language, pointing to where the sand dipped into darkness.
Nobody was at the caves when they arrived, so Kaerius offered Michael and Rowan some fish. Michael took one and ate it like he hadn't eaten all day. Rowan declined. He preferred his fish cooked.
After Kaerius showed Michael around, and was happy that Michael was impressed by his kelp beds, Rowan watched his father float through the water. He didn't look natural in the water like Kaerius did. Rowan wondered if his mother would be with them in the sea soon. The thought was enough to make him smile to himself. Kaerius noticed and swam closer until their shoulders brushed.
"Your emotions are odd," Kaerius thought. "I know you are overwhelmed and stressed, but you're smiling. I don't understand humans."
Rowan smiled harder. "I was just hoping that my mum could visit the caves soon," he shouted.
Kaerius's purple eyes circled his face. "I think she will. On Saturday, when Jack breaks the curse to question your mother, we'll hit him with your stick thing then run."
"Kaerius, that's a terrible plan," Rowan scoffed, and bubbles escaped his mouth. "I don't want Jack to be an enemy. We just have to convince him that my mum has been punished enough, whatever she's done."
* * * * *
Thursday felt like the slowest day in history until Rowan tried to get through Friday. He watched Jack from the back of the classroom, wondering how he missed that Jack was half-vampire, fairy, and a little bit Thalassic Mortal. Now that Rowan was bonded to a supernatural person, he thought he would see their world better and easier.
Rowan slumped in his chair when he remembered that Jack's dad was his mother's brother. Jack was family. Though if his father was cruel enough to destroy his own sister's world, Rowan wasn't sure he wanted people like that in his life.
When their seminar was over, Jack didn't even look at Rowan when he left the room. Rowan had to run down the corridor to catch up with him. "Hey!" Rowan said when he eventually reached his side. "I just wanted to ask what the plan was for tomorrow."
"I don't know, Solar. She's your mother." Jack stared at the floor, not angrily. Rowan thought he looked a little sad.
"Are you okay? Your parents didn't find out what you're doing, did they?"
Jack shook his head to say no. "But they will. How could they not figure it out? I'm the only one who knows about the curse. You only found out because of me. When Mandy Solar starts walking around with restored memories of her old life, they'll know I helped you and my life will be over."
Rowan glanced around to make sure nobody was listening. "Maybe you could stay with us if they kick you out. You're helping us out. The least we can do is be there for you if your parents find out."
"You don't get it!" Jack shook his head with frustration. "My dad never let's go of a grudge, and he never forgives. He'll come for Mandy and your family. Helping your mum might make things worse, and not just for me."
"Well... then we'll deal with it," Rowan said, though he didn't believe in his words. "We've just got to right the wrongs, starting with my mum. We can't ignore the problem just because we're scared."
Jack nodded after a moment of staring hard at his feet and stood up tall. "I don't understand why you're so nice. You've grown up with two cursed parents, and one's horrible and a hunter, and one's sad and an ex hunter. How have they not influenced you at all?"
Rowan wasn't sure how to respond. Nobody had ever made that observation. "I guess... I've just always felt sheltered from my mum's ways. I was always closer with my dad, and he's kind."
Jack then stared at Rowan with narrowed eyes. His stare moved around Rowan like he was searching for something. "Have you met your mother's parents?" he asked.
"Yes. They're horrible too."
"Your mother's mother is the goddess of the sea. I have a feeling you've met fakes." With that said, Jack turned and walked away, leaving Rowan to stand by himself in the empty corridor.
* * * * *
Kaerius was circling the water by the rocks. He loved being in the ocean, but now that he was waiting for Rowan, he felt a little lonely. Kaerius had never felt that way. The bond was changing him to like company, and Kaerius liked Rowan's company a lot.
When Kaerius spotted Rowan walking down the steps that led to the university, he quickly dipped out of sight and waited under the waves. Kaerius watched until Rowan's feet dipped into the water when he sat on the edge of the rock. Kaerius stalked him like a shark, drifting closer and closer. He sped up when he reached the surface and dove out of the water, landing heavily on Rowan who yelled out of fright.
"Kaerius, bloody hell!" Rowan gasped, gripping his heart.
Kaerius laughed darkly. "Rowan scared of strong sea creature."
Rowan shoved him away, and Kaerius rolled off him like a lifeless fish. "If I were sleep deprived and I didn't know the supernatural existed, I would've wet myself, probably." Rowan grinned. "It's a good thing I'm in love with you and knew you'd do something like that to me."
Kaerius blushed crimson.
Rowan realised what he had said. He quickly cleared his throat and shifted on the rocks. "Um, that just kind of... I didn't mean to say it."
Kaerius frowned.
"Well," Rowan continued, "I feel that way, I just didn't think I'd say it to you like that."
"Our love is inevitable. Our souls are bonding by a force that can't be broken. Your mum and dad are still soulmates; a horrible curse masks it. It's okay if you love me because I'll soon love you too. I have accepted that now," Kaerius thought.
They smiled at each other, and Rowan gently nudged him. He noticed the scar on Kaerius's shoulder from when his mum speared him in the water, and Rowan almost drowned to save him. Rowan's mum hadn't jumped in the water to save her son, and Rowan thought she didn't care enough about him to help. Maybe the curse forbids her to go in the water, he thought.
"It probably does," Kaerius thought back, then realised that he had heard Rowan's voice in his head.
They stared at each other with wide eyes. "Can you hear me?" Rowan thought.
"Yes," Kaerius replied and flashed Rowan a toothy grin, showing off his sharp teeth. "Now, I can steal your privacy."
Rowan was quite pleased. Hearing each other's thoughts, and not just Kaerius's made their levels of communication much higher. "We can talk when we're in the water now. And we can talk to each other when I'm at university. Though you should probably think about getting a phone."
Kaerius looked disgusted. "Laiken says that technology is the fall of humanity. Technology is alien and not natural."
Rowan chuckled and moved his feet around in the water. "Maybe that's true, but it is useful, and has brought lots of people together."
Kaerius didn't know that much about technology, but Laiken and Jaiker were no supporters, so neither was he. "No phone."
"Fine," Rowan said and dared to put an arm around Kaerius's shoulders, pulling their bodies together. The bottom of Kaerius's tail swished happily in the water. "We have a little bit of time to spare before we have to go to my dad's and make a plan for tomorrow. What do you want to do?"
Kaerius looked around the area. The weather wasn't great, and even Rowan had a coat on to shield himself from the wind and occasional rain. The beach and rocks were deserted. "Sit here," he said, feeling his shoulders tingling from Rowan's touch. "With Rowan," Kaerius said, just before the rain started falling.
By the time their faces were close enough for their noses to touch, the rain hitting the sea was so loud that they could barely hear each other's thoughts. Rowan didn't care that his clothes were getting soaked. He wanted to kiss Kaerius so badly; he would've sat with him in the snow if it meant that their lips would touch.