Page 94 of Song of the Abyss

Leaving her was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. All the voices in him raged to the front, screaming a myriad of grievances. He would get her killed, just like he had killed them. He was leaving her to her doom like a coward. If he wasn’t there with her, then she would die. She would wallow in the pits of the sea with the rest of them. Her soul would never rest.

Their hands plucked at his shoulders, trying to turn him toward them. They wanted to scratch out his eyes, to rip out his throat, to make him feel their pain.

Of all the things that he had done, this was the one that he knew he would regret the most. Because if he lost her, if he lost the only grip on reality he still had... he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Breathing hard, he darted through the sea, back toward his brothers. He was not supposed to linger near the city, and he knew it was for the best. He was supposed to go back to where Mira had rigged Byte up to have a direct connection to Bitsy.

The two droids could now speak over long distances, and that would allow them to see what Anya saw. They could know for certain that she was safe and nothing was happening to her.

But his fins stopped working, freezing in place at the thought that he would be so far away from her that if anything did go wrong, there was nothing he could do to stop it. He would be stuck far away, forced to watch as she was murdered or tortured like Fortis’s men had been.

His body wouldn’t work. He simply could not leave this place, no matter how hard he tried to make himself. Daios wanted to stay here in a silent vigil, not eating, not sleeping, just waiting until he knew she was safe in his arms.

Swallowing hard, he turned to see the small speck of Alpha in the distance. He wanted... Fuck. He didn’t know what he wanted.

He wanted her to save their people. Every ounce of that glory would be hers. Pride swelled in him just at the mere thought. His people would be far more accepting of an achromo who had helped them, and far more understanding of his love for her as well.

But those thoughts were chased by the knowledge that she was alone and could so easily be hurt. He remembered how she felt as they finally joined with each other. The softness of her skin, the way her body had dimpled underneath his touch.

How easily she bled.

He could still taste her blood in his gills and now feared he would taste it outside of pleasure. The phantom scent played over his gills, filling his mouth with blood, and he feared something was wrong. She could already have failed. Her father had seen them coming. Who knew what that evil man had planned for her? Daios had to get back to her.

Now.

He turned, but there was a darkness blocking his way. At first, he thought it was another one of the ghosts that followed him. A part of his guilt that had manifested in the size of a large male who had likely died in the first battle with Beta.

But then a blue glow erupted, and he knew exactly who was stopping him.

“Arges,” he growled. “Move.”

“No,” his clutch brother replied. “I will not. You cannot go back to her, Daios. You have to come back to the dome.”

“My place is with her.”

“As the sea commands,” Arges said in agreement. But he did not move. “You cannot ruin all that we have worked for. There are more people at stake than just Anya.”

“If you do not move, I will make you move.”

His claws were already flexing at his side. Perhaps a fight would make him feel better. If he tore into his brother, expressing all his frustration, maybe he could hold himself back from swimming to her side.

“You can’t make me move, Daios.”

Baring his teeth in anger, he snarled, “Have you forgotten the last time we fought? I have not. Even fresh out of battle and missing an arm, I tossed you into the air like you were nothing more than a child.”

It had felt like the right thing to do at the moment. He had been certain Mira was an omen of the end. The depthstriders had warned him that the achromos would only bring destruction. Fortis had told him time and time again while he inhaled the steam from the heart of the sea. The achromos were a threat to all of their lives.

Perhaps Fortis had not meant Mira specifically, but what else was Daios meant to think? She had shown up at the worst possible moment. And in a way, she had changed everything. In his mind, that had been enough.

But if his brother wished to fight again, then that was what they would do. He would rip and tear into Arges’s scales and throw him in to the abyss if that was what it took.

“Daios,” Arges said, his voice little more than a sigh. “I know how you are feeling. I understand your need, but you cannot go back.”

Already his chest rose and fell with anger. He could feel his gills flaring wider as he drew air into his lungs for a battle. He didn’t care if Arges knew how he felt.

“Mira is safe!” he almost shouted. “Your mate is within reach. She stays in her dome. If she goes out, she leaves with you. You have never sent her straight into danger without you.”

“What do you think happened when she returned to her city? You’ve forgotten that we had to raid Beta to get her back. That I crawled through that place without water, squeezing my body through doorways so that I could get her back!” Arges thundered. “I have almost lost her and I know what goes through your heart. But no one can help you if you do not let us.”

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