Page 77 of Whispers of the Deep

He knew better, though. The truth burned in his chest just as hot as the rest of the emotions. They had interrupted him. He had found a mate, a true burning light that even now warmed his chest. He’d almost had her, and now they tried to take her away.

She was his. His to take, to steal, to kiss.

And oh, what a kiss. He’d seen humans do it before, but he had never thought devouring another person would make him feel so complete. He had only wanted her more. Wanted to dig himself into her skin and coil around her heart until he was wrapped so firmly around it that he knew it would only beat for him.

Then his brothers had to ruin things. The other warriors that he’d led for years, the ones he had taught to track and hunt, had used what he’d taught them against him.

He’d seen the shadow pass over her dome, and he had thought it was just another sea creature. There were plenty of silhouettes that could make that shadow, and he hadn’t wanted to stop kissing her. Touching her. Lingering on the soft feeling of her flesh giving underneath his fingertips. He had wanted to stay in that moment and that had nearly cost them everything.

His lower gills around his ribs had scented his brother first. The rough water that she’d splashed up as she writhed against him had been enough for the acrid bite of anger and blood to taint his tongue. He had known who’d come to see him. He had known who was coming for them.

So he had thrown himself into the water and sped away from the dome. Like any predator in the ocean, they saw movement and gave chase. There were three of them. Maketes, Daios, and another he could not remember the name of. But the lighter blue male couldn’t keep up with the rest of them. He was smaller, weaker, and Arges was certain he could not get into the glass dome that kept Mira safe.

Now he had to deal with the other two. The two who were dangerous, even to him.

Even missing an arm.

He led them far away from the dome, but not into the open sea. Daios fought like the gods of the ocean were on his side in the open waters. Arges had taken many a beating from his blood brother, and there were two of them to be concerned with now.

The shallow waters would work to his advantage. Though his brother was larger than him, Arges was more nimble. Even Maketes struggled to keep up with Arges’s speed as he looped and wove over the abandoned achromo village that had sunk underneath the waves. The buildings were short and squat, but they created an obstacle course that would be difficult for his brothers to get through.

“Arges!” Daios screamed, his cry of rage blasting through the water as sure as the voice of a sea god.

He did not intend to turn and fight his brother properly. Neither of them could afford to do so. He feared they would kill each other. At one point in his life, that may have been an honor, but no longer.

Not with a woman waiting for him to return. A woman who needed his guidance and help.

A woman he perhaps had stronger feelings for than he wished to admit.

Rotating his body, he rounded one of the houses in a tight circle that made his fins scream as the water tried to force him forward. But they would expect him to exit the old base on one side, and he intended to do it on the other.

If they wanted a fight, they needed to remember that he was the tactician. Not them.

As expected, they raced for where they thought he would leave, not even looking at where he might have hidden. Arges took his time then, letting them sit and stew in their feelings until he knew it would be difficult for them to see anything but rage. They would think with less intelligence and more feeling.

He would need every advantage he could take.

Hissing out a low breath, he launched himself from the corner of a building and swam in a giant arc around them. Once behind their bodies, he shot forward. Tail working hard, his breath ragged through his gills, he struck Maketes first around the waist. The smaller brother, the lighter-hearted one, would be the first to give up when the fight no longer suited him. It was safer to keep him away from Daios. Far away from the fight.

Their tails coiled together, twining and tugging, digging long spines into each other and trying to find the soft places beneath scales where they could draw blood. That was always the game when fighting one of his own kind. Who would give up first due to blood loss? None of his people would stop fighting, no matter what limbs they lost or how death called to them.

A fight was a fight. And they would not give in.

They crashed into one of the old buildings, tearing right through the wall and spilling into the interior. Arges barely had a moment to notice that some of the pieces in here were still intact. An old table, a few floating pieces of driftwood, and countless barnacles attached to every surface before Maketes slipped out of his arms.

His yellow finned brother flared out, both fluke and side fins standing straight to make him look even larger than he already was. “Stop running, Arges.”

He would not. Not until they were farther away from her. “You know I can’t do that.”

“You can.” Maketes looked like he had been struck in the belly. Disgust turned his body a sickly yellow, not glimmering with his usual brightness.

Arges turned his attention to the holes in the walls, waiting for Daios to join them. “I was given this job for a purpose. I am going to fulfill what our own Mitéra has given me.”

“That didn’t look like a job to me.” Maketes let all the stiff fins drop until it was just his friend hovering in the water before him. The dust and debris made it difficult to see his expression, but he knew the color of sadness on his closest friend well enough. Maketes had never been able to hide his emotions like the rest of them. “You cannot truly believe I cannot see it. You have gone too far, Arges. Too deep into this. You need to be released from whatever poison she’s injected into your veins.”

“Is that what he told you? That she is some poisonous sea creature who has turned my will into her own?” He sliced his fluke through the water, forcing his brother back. “Idiot. You have seen her for yourself. Do you really believe a creature like that could harm me?”

“I think there are many tiny creatures in the sea who can do more damage than we think.” He batted away a small clown fish that was trying to dart past him. “You are blind to her wiles. I see that now. But Daios is right. You need our help.”

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