Page 86 of Song of the Abyss

“Don’t tempt me,” he grumbled.

“What if I want to tempt you?”

He burst out of the kelp and started toward their home, shaking his head as she tangled herself around him as strong as the kelp. “Gods of the sea, cast pity on me. I have found myself a woman who dares to test me at every turn.”

Her laughter filled his ears and heart with a sensation of peace. Just like he’d felt when they woke up together. And though he did not laugh or smile with her, he felt the warmth of her happiness blooming in his chest. It was hard not to feel warm around her, and someday he would tell her that.

If he took his time getting back to the pod and the dome, he tried to tell himself that it was because he wanted more time with her alone. Not that he was afraid of what he had seen.

But eventually they made it back. A few of his people who had relocated from their original pod gave him surprised looks. Perhaps the first time he’d arrived with her, they had assumed it was merely part of his assignment that he’d been sent out on. But this time, it was hard to ignore the fact that they both smelled like each other. They were intertwined, as only lovers could be.

He tried not to wince. He did his best not to look at those shocked features and feel as though they judged him for it. One part of him wondered if they thought he was above falling under the spell of an achromo. Another part wondered if they had thought he was truly unloveable, and thus even an achromo should not have found him acceptable.

But then her hand spread over one of his hearts and he looked down at her soft smile. “They don’t matter,” she said, a little too loud. “All that matters is you and me. Right?”

He nodded. “Just you and me.”

Perhaps it was a little funny how easy it was to swim with her to the dome. He didn’t even mind coming out of the water with her. Daios flicked his tail, propelling them high enough that he could slide up onto the platform of the moon pool with her still in his arm. It was not graceful, and perhaps jolted her around a bit, but at least he didn’t have to let go of her.

The other two people in the room looked at him with wide eyes. Mira because he had rarely shown up without some attempt to kill her. And Arges because he was looking at Anya, still trapped in his arm, and likely considering how he could get her away from Daios without injuring her in the fight.

Another burble of water suggested that Maketes had joined them. His brother hooked his arms on the metal edge of the moon pool, leaning there comfortably as he said, “Found them.”

“Found them?” Arges repeated.

“Yeah. In the kelp.” Maketes shrugged. “We all knew it was going to happen at some point. Is it really all that surprising?”

Arges looked at him, then back to Anya, then back to Maketes. He could see where his brother’s thoughts were going and there was something in him that wanted to deny what was laid out so obviously. He wanted to keep their moment, their passion, to himself. He didn’t want anyone else to judge them for it.

Then his blue brother blurted out, “That’s not possible.”

He leaned down and signed in front of Anya, “This is going to take him a moment.”

She rolled her eyes and said aloud, “Do you think it’s because they know how much you hate my people?”

Arges pointed at her with a long claw. “That. That is exactly the issue here. You hate achromos. I have seen you kill more of them than I have seen you kill fish!”

With a nod, Daios gently set Anya on her own so she could stand. “I still hate them, yes.”

Another jab at Anya was the only response from his brother.

Daios puffed up with pride when he noticed she didn’t move far from his side. Instead, she stood beside him with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

She looked his brother in the eye with zero fear and stated, “I can choose to be with who I wish. I’m an adult.”

“You aren’t the problem here,” Arges growled. “I know my brother, and I know he always has some plan. Do you think this will make her work with us? We already have that figured out. She’s been more than helpful since she’s come here, Daios.”

“Right,” he said. “I’m going to ignore that you said that because I still respect you as a brother. But say one more thing and I will remove your jaw from your skull.”

All the lights on Arges’s body flickered to life, and he knew they were about two more sentences from launching at each other. They’d always argued like this, even when they were boys. The two of them went for the throat, and that was just how they were. But right now, he didn’t want to risk the two achromo in the room who were clearly far more delicate than his kind were.

“Just stop talking.” Daios took a deep breath and readied himself. “I met with the depthstriders.”

That sobered everyone up in the room. Anya still looked at him with questions in her eyes. She didn’t understand why the word made everyone so uncomfortable. He’d explain it all to her soon enough.

The other two males in the room watched him with rapt attention, though. Quickly and efficiently, with as few words as possible, he told them everything that Fortis had revealed.

And while he did so, he could see Anya tensing with every word. Her eyes flew over the lens, so he knew that Bitsy was adding her own commentary to every word he said.

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