Echoes of the Tide (Deep Waters #3)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

W hat was she supposed to do now? She sat there, watching the sunset and the sky change from pink to red to a deep purple. Small sparks of light filled the sky, and she realized she was seeing stars for the first time as well. A million stars, all laid out in front of her as a galaxy revealed itself right above her head. It was so beyond beautiful.

She knew whatever her people were trying to find was dangerous. The rumble of thunder was an ominous warning that her thoughts were correct. Whatever Jacob wanted to do with that key? It wouldn’t just affect her own people.

Whether it was weapons or some other kind of terrible thing that would poison the water, it was something the undine had to consider as well. And now that she had grown ever closer to Maketes, she didn’t think she could take that key and not warn him.

It all felt too real. Talking to him through a droid was so much easier and yet, this was so much more than she had expected.

Running her fingers through his hair where he rested his head in her lap, she turned her gaze from the sky to him. Maybe it was wasting precious moments. Maybe she should have stared at the sky and the stars for every second that she could. But when she looked down at him, all she could see were the stars decorating his skin. Tiny flecks of starlight, each one bright yellow and so lovely it hurt to look at him. They decorated his neck, his shoulders, dotting down the valley of his spine and the muscles in between his shoulder blades.

The sparkling lights were so pretty, it made her heart twist and her throat tighten up. He looked at her and he thought she was pretty. He told her that he was interested in her, far more than any human man ever had been. And even then, she was still searching for a key that both of them knew could change… everything.

“My sister,” she whispered, trying to get the feelings out in a way that made sense.

“Your sister needs to be saved. I know. They are going to kill her, and that is not something I will just stand by and watch happen. Trust me in this, Ace. I will keep her safe.”

Of course he would, because that was who he was. Maketes would protect anyone who needed it. She knew that much about him. She’d also seen how far he was willing to go to protect her.

A chill ran down her spine. An idea forming that was so wrong and yet so right at the same time. She didn’t want to ask him to kill for her, but if that was what it took...

Another rumble of thunder preceded him lifting his head, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the look of determination. As though he’d already come to the same conclusion she had just thought of. As though he knew he would tear the world down for her.

The first drops of rain hit them. Heavy, thick balls that splattered on her shoulders and down into her hair. They were drenched in moments, staring at each other as an icy wind blew up as well.

“Ask me,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “Ask me and it will be done.”

“I’m not a murderer. I’m a thief.”

“I am a murderer. You have seen me kill for less than keeping those you love safe. The burden will not be yours to bear. It will be mine.”

Rain dripped down her cheeks, or maybe those were tears, because they burned hot enough to brand her cheeks. “I can’t ask you to kill someone.”

“You won’t be asking me to do that. You’re asking me to save someone’s life, and how I do it is up to me.” He reached up and smoothed his thumbs along her cheeks. “You have to know by now that I would do anything for you, kefi.”

She did. And that terrified her because there were so many things she could ask him to do. So many paths down this road that would end in blood and violence.

Maketes drew their faces together, pressing his forehead against hers and breathing her in as the rain grew ever colder. They stayed there in the storm, letting the thunder and the lightning spark around them, until it was almost too late.

“We have to go,” he murmured. “The rain turns into hail quickly. Those shards of ice are sharp enough to cut through your skin.”

She nodded.

Ace slipped into the water, holding onto him as they sank beneath the waves. In the meager light, she could see him reach for something at the back of his head, and then she remembered. He was going to breathe for her. How strange that experience was going to be and yet, she didn’t flinch when he drew the end of it toward her neck. The tiniest prick and then she felt her lungs inflate.

Like she was breathing. She could feel him inhale for her, drawing air through his gills and then breathing it into her lungs. Her chest rose on its own, the sensation odd but not repulsive.

Maketes sank them a little lower in the water, hail raining down from above and scattering into the water. But they slowed as soon as they were underneath the waves, and it looked like it was snowing around them. She’d only seen such things in pictures, and now, because of him, she had seen them in real life.

She reached out, her fingers just barely touching the gills on his ribs and he breathed for her and feeling the air then travel into her own body. Maketes placed his hand on her chest. Together, for a few moments, they breathed together. The silence of the dark water was filled only with the softest sound of rain above their head and the sinking hail that filled her vision with white.

Finally she looked up at him, her gaze traveling over that muscular chest and up his strong throat. The moment her eyes met his, the gills on the sides of his head flicked open, fluttering. And then... Oh, and then every single light on him glowed. She’d known he could illuminate himself, but she hadn’t realized it would be like this.

Tiny freckles of light speared out into the darkness of the sea. She had seen them before, but he was so much more brilliant in this moment. Staring at her with a grin on his face. Like he knew something she didn’t. Like he wanted her to see how happy he was that they were connected.

“You can talk,” he said. “The others could, at least.”

“I’m underwater.” Bubbles floated out of her mouth, but the impossible was really happening. She was talking. Muted words, yes. Quieter than most could pick up, but he had better hearing than her.

That grin grew even wider. “Do you want to see my world? For a few moments?”

They didn’t have time. She should be telling him to bring her back to the city so she could search for that key, so they could figure out what to do and how to do it. And yet... She found herself nodding.

“Hold on tight,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She already knew he could swim quickly. But she hadn’t realized how fast he could go. Maketes flashed her another grin, and they were speeding through the water. Racing through it so fast she could hardly keep her eyes open and her hair blew back from her face. His ribs expanded, his gills working over time to breathe for both her and him.

It was like his breathing had pumped her body full of adrenaline. She could feel every muscle twitch in his body, every flicker of his tail and the fins that carried them through the currents. He moved like a dream. Like a torpedo through the water until they slowed, and she realized where he had brought her.

There was a group of massive creatures here. Blue and speckled, they were nearly as long as the towers in Gamma. With straight up and down tails like a shark, they moved far slower. Just gliding through the ocean, a trio of them, all slicing through the waters that were now far out from the storm. As Maketes moved around them, she realized their mouths were long and flat, not at all like a shark’s.

“What are they?” she asked, reaching out for the tip of a fin and gliding her hands along the smooth surface.

“Your people call them whale sharks,” he said with a soft snort. “They are not whales. But they are quite friendly.”

“How did you know they were here?”

“I am part of the ocean. I know where many things are.” He moved them with a flick of his tail, shifting them closer to the giant whale sharks.

There were tiny fish clinging to their sides. Sucker fish, she realized. They were attached by the mouth, but didn’t appear that they were eating at the sharks. In fact, it seemed like they all lived together rather symbiotically.

“Do you want to ride one?” Maketes asked.

He didn’t just ask what she had heard. There was no way that he’d asked if she wanted to ride a whale shark.

“Excuse me?” she tapped her ear. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

But that grin was back. The one that said he knew what she was thinking. “Yes, you heard me right. Do you want to ride one, kefi?”

She didn’t have to think hard. There were a few seconds of hesitation before she blurted out, “Yes, yes, I very much want to ride one.”

The look of pride on his face made her glow. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, and there was a strange feeling twisting in her guts. Like she wanted to kiss him again. Like she wanted to grab onto his face and let him know how much this moment meant to her.

He didn’t give her the chance.

They were suddenly arcing above the whale sharks, twisting and looping until they were right above them. She had never swum like this before. With such ease and such ability.

She hadn’t swum that much in her life at all, though. She wasn’t an engineer, nor was she someone who had access to the water. So having him doing the swimming for her made it feel like she was flying. He had her back to the whale sharks, so she looked up at the rippling water above their heads.

The moon was just visible above their heads through the water. And somehow, it was even prettier than the sun. The silver light cast rays throughout the water, turning her skin gray and the whale sharks to look like ghostly, ethereal beings as one of them passed over her head.

Maketes held her hand in his, just like he had with the other shark, pressing their palms to the pale belly as it passed. It was so huge, and it made her feel so small to be around these creatures who had been here for ages.

Then she gasped, sucking in air through the tube as they were falling. Sinking through the water until Maketes shifted her into the crook of his arm and their backs hit something sturdy and strong beneath them.

She looked over at him, seeing the soft smile on his face. “Are we...”

“Yes, we’re lying on its back.”

Ace sat up as quickly as she could without pulling the tentacle out of her neck. Then she could see where they were. There was a massive creature underneath her, its head stretching so far out of her reach. So large. The blueish body beneath her was speckled with little white freckles, but she was here. Sitting on the back of a whale shark as it swam throughout the water.

She let out a sound that might have been a giggle, she wasn’t sure. She’d never made that sound in her life.

Pressing her hands to her mouth, she stared wide eyed at the undine beside her.

He reclined with his hands behind his back. All those muscles were flexed, tightening the moment she looked over at him as though he wanted her to see how muscular he was. Perhaps he did. Then those fluttering gills at his neck gave him away.

“This is really happening,” he said. The note of pride in his words made her feel so good. “You’re welcome. Again.”

She threw herself at him. And sure, it wasn’t as fast of a movement underwater as it would have been in the air, but she still did it. She landed on his chest, her hands tracing every bit of him that she could reach, his ribs, petting through his gills before she grabbed onto his face and gave him a kiss that seared her right to the bones.

He let out a little groan, the sound echoing through her entire being as he held her against him. “We can’t keep doing this. The beast beneath us will get angry.”

“I don’t care, let it.” She kissed him soundly, lingering with her teeth and tongue until she had to yank herself away from him. Because she couldn’t miss a moment of this.

The shark beneath them moved with such grace, it was almost like they weren’t moving at all. And as she braced herself above him, lifting on her hands, she could feel her hair billowing around her head. The glasses on her face only made it a little awkward to see. The water distorted a bit beyond the lens, but there was so much here that stunned every sense.

“Wow,” she whispered. “This feels like a dream.”

“It’s no dream. This is the real sea that you’ve never been able to see before. It is an honor that I was able to bring you here today.”

“An honor?” she repeated, before looking down at him with an incredulous expression. “What do you mean, it’s an honor? For you or me? Maketes, this is more than I ever dreamt I would do in my life. This is beautiful and wonderful, and I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. This is a dream come true to see the ocean as you do.”

He reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It immediately pulled free, but it was more the motion than what he accomplished with it. His hand lingered on her face, following the line all the way down to her chin. He stared at her like he looked through all the walls she had put up and he saw the real person inside of her.

It terrified her that he saw so much of who she was. But at the same time, it was such a relief that someone finally saw her.

“I had a feeling it would be like this,” he murmured. “From the first moment Anya spoke of you, I could feel that the sea wanted to draw me to your side. But I never guessed how this would feel.”

“How does it feel?”

He traced her bottom lip with his thumb. “Oh, kefi, someday I will tell you that.”

“You harbor a lot of secrets, undine.”

“Shh.” He pressed that thumb over her mouth to silence her. “Stop talking. You’re going to miss this moment, just like you might have missed the sun.”

So she turned her head and watched the sea. Because he was right. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she would not waste it.