Rowan sat with his fingers absentmindedly rubbing the bullet scar on his stomach. His mind was on Wez and whether they should have tried to find his body first. Kaerius had told him that there was a burial ground in a part of the ocean so deep that humans hadn't yet visited and probably never will visit. Kaerius laughed about how humans were more focused on other worlds than what was in the very depths of their own oceans.
Rowan hoped that when the fighting was over, they could take Wez and his soulmate to the burial ground where they deserved to rest.
"It's not troubling you, is it?" Michael asked, pointing to Rowan's stomach.
"No," Rowan said and started fidgeting with the bracelet Kaerius gave him instead.
"You should get some sleep."
Rowan already hurt deep inside because Kaerius wasn't with him. He ached and struggled to focus on anything other than Kaerius's voice. As the hours went on, Rowan started to regret parting with him. He worried that he would hurt too much to fight. His dad reassured him that he wouldn't. Rowan was either struggling with a new kind of mental pain, or a horrible agony to be away from Kaerius.
"I'm not really that tired-"
"Rowan, I know you're eighteen and everything, but I wasn't suggesting. I'm telling you to go to sleep. You need to keep your strength up now that you haven't got Kaerius's presence to help you."
Rowan looked from his father to his mother. Mandy smiled, agreeing with Michael. "The hunters are not sleeping tonight, so we should. Tomorrow is a big day to get ready."
Rowan slumped in defeat. "Fine, I'll go and lie down and pretend that I'm sleeping." Rowan slipped through the door and into the main room where most of the werewolves were sleeping already. He stepped over sleeping bags and lumps of blankets and people until he reached the corner of the room where his and Kaerius's cardboard and blankets were.
As soon as Rowan sat down, he felt cold. He should have known he would have felt that miserable without his soulmate.
"Rowan," Kaerius thought, and Rowan tried to hide his smile by wrapping himself up in blankets and curling up against the wall.
"Rowan, I got bit by a crab. I'm okay. The crab is not."
Rowan could always count on Kaerius to lift his mood. "Where did it bite you?"
"On my ear. I was almost asleep. Jaiker thought I was getting attacked by a basking shark because I yelled so loud."
Rowan kept his chuckling quiet. "Are you sleeping in the cave tonight?"
"I am after that."
Rowan buried his face further into the blanket. "I miss you," he thought.
"I miss you too. Hopefully, we'll see each other tomorrow night."
"I wish it didn't have to be under such horrible circumstances." Rowan listened to the soft snores and whispers from the werewolves. He couldn't help but wonder how many would make it back home.
"Rowan, you should get some sleep. I should to," Kaerius thought, and Rowan suddenly longed to feel him lying close. He swallowed his sorrow and focused on the hope of seeing him tomorrow.
"Make sure you stay in the water, even if you miss me too much."
"Make sure you stay on land, even if you miss me too much."
Rowan took his bracelet off and twisted it around his fingers. "I'll try."
* * * * *
The next morning, Kaerius woke to firm hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake. Kaerius slapped them away. "Jaiker, no," he mumbled, but his hands gripped him again.
"Kaerius, it's our group, they've returned."
Kaerius snapped awake. The cave was dark, though he still saw the gleam of faith in Jaiker's eyes. "Our Thalassic Mortal group?" Kaerius asked.
"Yes. They got Mandy's message. Come." Jaiker swam from the cave and Kaerius followed. He weaved through the kelp plants and down to the reef on the other side, slowly flicking his turquoise tail. Kaerius's breath caught in his gills when he saw a group of almost twenty Thalassic Mortals floating together, talking eagerly.
Kaerius didn't recognise all of them, though there were a few he would have once called great friends before they abandoned him and Jaiker and Laiken.
Kaerius swam to Laiken, and when the group saw him, they all bowed heads, even the ones who had poorly talked about Kaerius's strange mutterings of having a soulmate. Only royals got a soulmate, and they saw Kaerius as nothing more than a grumpy twenty-year-old who wasn't unique enough for the binding of the souls.
"I told them you're the soulmate of the boy who's next in line to be king. They believe me because of the message they got from Mandy," Jaiker whispered when Kaerius started to frown.
Kaerius had been disappointed that their group left. Still, he was in no position to turn them away because of his hurt feelings. They needed to unite to fight.
"Do they know about the hunters and stuff?"
Jaiker nodded. "I hope you don't mind. I briefed them on our plans moments before I woke you. I didn't know if you wanted to talk."
"Thank you." Kaerius looked back to the faces he knew, and they watched him with pride. The first thing they'd say to him was an apology, and Kaerius wanted to accept them all.
* * * * *
Rowan was glumly eating his porridge when Kaerius gave him the news. He jogged over the sleeping bags and into the dull room where everyone else was training. "A group of around twenty Thalassic Mortals arrived this morning," he projected his voice to get everyone's attention. The silence rung out as he added, "And they're here to help."
The werewolves started cheering and clapping and roughly playfighting with each other. Jenya looked visibly relieved, and Jack was crushed into a hug by Braiken. Mandy grinned at Michael who had an equally big smile. Finally, some good news.
Rowan approached his parents, feeling a little lighter. They had the werewolves, the vampires, and the Thalassic Mortals on their side. If they did fight, at least they would go into it with support.
"Are you ready to train for a few hours? We think the hunters will sleep tonight."
Rowan responded to his dad by picking up his usual weapon and jabbing him in the ribs. "Training will take my mind off Kaerius."
Mandy softly rubbed his arm. "I know that pain all too well. Your father and I felt it a lot when we first connected." Mandy frowned, suddenly remembering what Michael had gone through. "Though your father felt it for twelve years."
Michael inhaled with a calm smile. "You have no idea how much easier it is to breathe when you're with your soulmate. We'll concentrate on that today Rowan, so you don't get too exhausted tonight."
As they started fighting, the hours went by too quickly. Rowan felt worried by the time the sun began to set. He didn't want the night to come, yet he couldn't wait to get to the boat, so he could see Kaerius.
"Eat up," Jenya said, sitting down with Rowan and Jack. "It'll be a long night. I've just heard from the vampires. They'll be ready to move at midnight. The hunters have all gone home."
Rowan felt sick with nerves, and it took him almost an hour to finish his bowl of rice and beans. He had distanced himself that day so that he could talk more with Kaerius. Rowan found it hard to concentrate on his thoughts with other people talking at him.
Jenya and Jack had left to do final training, leaving Rowan to sit by himself on the cardboard that had been his bed for several nights. "What are you doing?" he thought.
"Laiken and I went hunting, and we found a big fish. We're eating now to get our strengths up for tonight. You feel very uneasy."
"I'm just overthinking."
"Well, stop it. Overthinking won't make it any easier."
"I wish I could stop." Rowan sighed and rested the back of his head against the wall, only just noticing his mother standing close.
"Hi," she said with a small smile.
Their relationship had slowly started building itself again. They were no longer strangers, but not yet close enough to feel like mother and son.
"Hi." Rowan smiled, and she sat down in front of him.
Mandy looked tired, though it wasn't the usual exhaustion because she forced herself to stay awake for 48 hours. She was tired because she had trained hard, though she was most definitely the weakest in the group. She had wondered if she should do the same as Kaerius, but she couldn't do that to Michael, not when they were separated for so long.
"Are you talking to Kaerius?" she asked.
"I was. He's eating now."
"I bet he's happy to be with a lot of Thalassic Mortals. I miss those days."
Rowan looked around her face. He couldn't wait to talk about everything after the fighting. His mum had a lot to say about her childhood and meeting Michael and moving onto land. Rowan wanted to know it all in detail.
"Kaerius isn't very social. He's happy that they're helping though." Rowan's hand subconsciously moved to the bullet scar on his stomach. He rubbed it, and his anxiety started rising again. "Tonight, I really hope Michael's parents are willing to talk. I really don't want to fight."
"Nobody wants to fight, but I've met them, and they're horrible. You know old Mandy, the one you grew up with, that's who they are but worse."
"Worse than that?"
Mandy looked down with guilt and nodded. "Much worse. They've been hunters their entire lives. They fight everything that's not human, but I think they've forgotten what it's like to be human themselves."