Echoes of the Tide (Deep Waters #3)

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

S he asked Maketes to leave her in the sun on her own for a while. He’d made sure she ate, and besides, after the evening they’d spent counting stars, she needed a moment.

He thought she was his joy. No one had ever looked at her and seen anything but a strange girl who tried a little too hard to push people away. And now, she had this creature who had come out of the depths of the sea who looked at her like she’d hung the very moon itself. The same moon he had brought her to see, when likely no other human alive had the opportunity to do so.

They’d woken to the rumble of thunder in the distance. She forgot how quick he was to wake, and how ready he was to protect her. He’d immediately snarled, his voice waking her more than the thunder did as he curved his body over hers. Ready to take whatever hit might be coming for either of them.

As for Ace, she’d just stared up at the wall of golden muscle that protected her. How the hollows between his pectorals cast shadows over his entire body. The multiple wounds closed after the sea had dried them, scabs forming as they dried on the dock. Fangs descended from his mouth, but those sharp teeth were never rough with her. He’d kissed her and never broken skin. Not once.

But she’d also seen him rip out a man’s throat with just his teeth. What a strange combination that was. To know he was capable of such violence and yet to also be confident that he would never harm her. No matter what befell either of them.

When he’d been certain the threat was just a storm in the distance, he’d slipped into the water to find her something to eat. Apparently, he wanted to make sure she was somewhere safe and with a full belly before he would take her anywhere else.

Now that left her alone.

Ace sat on the dock, dry and warm enough for now. But already there was an icy chill in the air as the storm barreled toward her. Soon enough, she knew that would be a problem.

The world above was so beautiful until it wasn’t. Until she was forcibly reminded of how terrible it was to be in this place while knowing that at any moment, a storm will blow her back into the sea. She hugged her legs a little tighter, making herself small on the float in the middle of the ocean.

Worse, she knew there was a city behind her. She could almost feel the lives of those who had once walked through there. They must have been desperate. The last of their kind, if Maketes was right.

They probably came here hoping if they were going to die, at least they could see the sunsets over the ocean. Just like she was looking out at now.

It was the perfect place to think, and Ace had a lot to think about.

Drawing out Tera from her pocket, she let the droid settle on the dock. “Careful, there’s water everywhere. And I think it’s too deep for me to dive in after you.”

A resounding clack from her droid was the only response she got. Which she knew meant that the droid would be extra careful.

Turning her attention back to the sea, she settled her arms around her legs and blew out a long breath. “What am I going to do?”

The droid settled in its careful rolling and seemed to look up at her.

“The key, Tera. It opens something dangerous and horrible and no one should have access to such a thing.” She said the words all on a sigh that came from deep within her belly. “Definitely not Jacob. He doesn’t deserve this power.”

And therein lay the problem. She didn’t know what this key would unlock. Martin made it seem like it was just the knowledge of Tau, but then he’d said a few other things that made her stomach churn in her belly. Like it was also a connection to that city deep in the sea. A direct connection. So she was hesitant to give this key to anyone at all.

She picked it up from where it dangled on a chain around her neck, smoothing her fingers over the metal plate. The dim sunlight caught on a few letters that had long ago been worn away. But she thought it said a name. Like there was someone else who had originally worn it, and now it was in her hands.

Had they also felt the same level of responsibility? Because this wasn’t something she even wanted, now. She didn’t want to choose who got it.

“I should throw it into the sea,” she mumbled. “Maybe that’s where it belongs.”

A fish slapped the dock next to her right foot, and Maketes heaved himself up onto the dock with her. His bulk made the water roll over the edge, and she just barely caught Tera in her hand before it was swept right off.

“Sorry,” he said with a slight grin, before settling the dock. “What belongs in the sea?”

She flashed the card at him. “This.”

“Ah.” A troubled expression crossed his usually jovial face before he wiped it away. Maketes never liked to look too serious for too long, and she wondered if that had to do with people not liking him.

What he’d said yesterday still didn’t settle well. But she supposed that wasn’t something she could control. He had to love himself for who he was, and she couldn’t make him do that.

But she could love him hard. She could love him hard enough for the both of them.

And fuck, that thought terrified her. It was the first time she’d thought the words that maybe, just maybe, she was in love with him. An undine. A creature who might not even be compatible with her in the long run.

They couldn’t even live in the same world. They didn’t breathe the same air, not for long at least. And there would always be that barrier. No matter what they did with each other. She would always need to leave the water and he would always need to leave the air.

He brushed his soaking wet hair away from his face, biceps and pecs bunching with the movement. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

He gestured over his own face. “I don’t know. There’s an odd expression all over you.”

Fix your face, she thought to herself. The last thing she wanted was for him to realize that she was stupidly in love with him. She wasn’t all that sure how to deal with that realization herself, if she was being honest.

Instead, she shook her head hard to clear out the thoughts. “I just don’t know what to do with the key. I don’t think Jacob should have it, but I don’t know who should. I’m afraid of what this opens. Perhaps it would be better to give it to you and have you cast it into the very deepest part of the sea. Then no one can have it.”

He seemed troubled by the thought. “If it is that important, should we leave it up to chance that someone else might find it?”

“Who would find it at the bottom of the sea?”

But then Tera clacked against her leg, getting her attention. She lowered the key down to the droid, who circled around it, making a move almost like it wanted her to flip it over...

Right.

Looking at the back, she could see there was a tiny tracker implanted on the back of it. “Shit,” she muttered.

“What is it?”

“There’s a tracker on the keycard. Whoever keeps track of these things—I’m going to guess that person is alive and well in Tau—knows that the key has been taken.”

All of a sudden, she felt rather exposed. Like she was out in the open, which she was, and anyone could find her. All Tau had to do was hit a button and they would know everything about her whereabouts. Her skin scrawled at the mere thought of some stranger watching her every move.

“We have to throw it away,” she hissed.

“Then someone else will find it.” He reached forward and wrapped her hand in his, curling his fingers around the card until the metal edges pressed almost too hard into her hand. “This is our responsibility. We have to make sure that everyone stays safe, Ace.”

But at what cost? She looked up at him, indecision filling every inch of her body. She didn’t want to know what it would mean if she got rid of this keycard. But she also didn’t want to risk everyone’s life again.

What she saw in his eyes, though, steadied her. She took a deep breath, blew it out with him, and then nodded. “You’re right. Someone has to do something about it. Maybe we can destroy it.”

“And all the secrets it keeps? This could be the answer to all of my people’s problems. We don’t know what is on the card until we use it.”

Her hands were shaking as he gripped them. “What if the secret on this card is far worse than we could ever have imagined?”

“Then we will use that information to our benefit.”

“How is that possible?”

“We have to trust each other. The information you have in your hands could contain what my people have been searching for. I need a way to save my people. If this Tau is the reason why achromos have attacked our kind for centuries, then I need to know. Perhaps there is only the one city we need to attack to end all of this. A sea without war, Ace.”

Her heart thudded hard in her chest. “Were you going to attack other cities?”

“Beta is already rumbling again. The weapons are online, and they are pointed toward any of my kind that swim by. Alpha was destroyed, and that is something that we will always have as a success. But the reality is that your people are continuing to create more weapons. Gamma clearly has intent to do worse, if your Jacob is seeking something like this.”

“Perhaps he knows it’s a direct link to Tau.”

“Or perhaps he merely seeks more power.”

She blew out a long breath. “You’re afraid.”

“I do not know what your people will do with this information, but I have every right to fear their choices.” He cupped her cheek in his hand, the cold webs chilling her even further. “Our kinds have hunted each other for as long as your people have been in the sea. I fear what it means for our future.”

She didn’t know if he meant their future together, or for both of their kinds as a whole. But did it matter?

“My sister,” she whispered. “I need to know she’ll be safe if I do this.”

His hand slid into the back of her hair, drawing her closer so their foreheads touched. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure your sister is safe. I have friends who can find her. If Jacob was able to find her by following that drone, then so can we. If you promise to help us, then the People of Water will do everything in our power to help you.”

She had to take that as the truth. He’d not lied to her yet, though her stomach was already cramped at the idea of keeping this keycard. She couldn’t give it to Jacob. That mass murderer would only kill more people with whatever opportunity she gave him. There wasn’t a chance she could do that. So there wasn’t really a choice here.

She had to help the undine. She had to do it.

Because even if she saved her sister by giving it to Jacob, she knew Laura would disown her the moment they saw each other again.

If they ever did.

“Giving the key to Jacob means I will never see my sister again,” she quietly said. “It will keep her alive, but I know without a doubt he’ll use her again as a threat. Over and over again. So many times that I won’t know what to do about it. Eventually, I will be locked in the same trap that he’s caught me in now.”

“I fear the same thing.”

She ducked her head to stare down at her hands, trying her best to stay in this moment and not let her own fears and insecurities blind her. “If I give it to you and your people, Laura might not make it out alive. He might kill her on the spot after he finds out what I’ve done. But there’s a chance you find her, keep her safe, and maybe...” She took a deep breath. “Maybe I’ll get to see her again.”

The faintest rattle reached her ears, as though his gills had all flipped out to stand straight. When she looked up at him again, she could see she’d been right. Every gill on his body was straight out, even down his back and down his arms, where the deadly spikes had impaled people only yesterday. The ferocity in his expression sent chills down her spine.

But he was gentle, ever so gentle, as he reached out and cupped her jaw. “I promise you, I will make sure you see your sister again. I know it is not an easy ask for you to choose my people over your own. I know that it is difficult to imagine what might happen if you do. But others have done the same, with less reassurance that everything will be all right.”

“Mira and Anya,” she whispered. “I’ve heard you talk about them. And Anya... I talked to her for years. I know it wasn’t an easy choice for her to destroy the city she grew up in.”

“They are both brave women.” He leaned down until his lips almost ghosted against hers. So close, and yet so far. “Just like you.”

She felt nauseous at the thought. Could she deny everything she was? Who she was? It wouldn’t be easy to just decide to say fuck it and she would live with the undine. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, and even more things that she didn’t know.

Where was she going to live? How would she eat? Would she ever be able to truly live?

Did it even matter? Because she stared into his black eyes and knew it didn’t. If she got to be with him, then it was worth the risk. Especially if she wasn’t also risking her sister’s life.

“Okay,” she whispered. “The keycard is yours. Whatever comes after that, I don’t know.”

His hand clenched on the back of her neck and a relieved sigh breathed across her lips. She hadn’t realized how much tension he was holding in his body until he released it.

“We’ll bring it to Mira, then,” he said. “You brave, wonderful woman. My kefi. I promise you won’t regret this.”