Page 102 of Echoes of the Tide

The man with glasses shoved them up the bridge of his nose and said, “The one you sent to all the cities. It was broadcasted in here as well.”

“I know that was you,” Laura added, her eyes glittering with pride. “No one else would be so ballsy as to take on a city like Tau through a droid.”

“How do you know I used a droid to do it?” she asked.

The woman behind Laura turned a screen for her to look at. And there, still hovering on the screen, was the last image of the video she’d put together. But it wasn’t the gory picture of a dead undine who looked far too similar to a human. No, it was a picture of her.

No one would know that it was Ace. It was a photograph of her standing in front of the circular window of her clock tower in Gamma, her back to Tera as she was silhouetted by the neon lights in the sea. And then there were the words that broke her heart in two.

Human compassion is the greatest power you can wield.

Use it.

“Tera,” she whispered, pressing her hand against her mouth as tears welled in her eyes again. “That droid was one of the best.”

“And you made that droid,” Laura said, sinking on her knees in front of her. She held their hands together, squeezing Ace’s fingers tightly in her own. “Now we’re here to ask you to build a lot more with us. Droids that can watch all the people who said they were going to do the right things, and then didn’t. We’re here to help, Ace. Just tell us what to do.”

She looked over her shoulder at Maketes, a plan already forming in her mind. “Are you willing to do anything?”

“Yes.”

The other three echoed the word.

So Ace grinned at Maketes and said, “Do we have room for them?”

Maketes rolled his eyes, but then nodded and tapped his ear.

“Right,” she turned to the others. “How would you like a new home? And a translation upgrade, so you can understand the undines?”

CHAPTER 40

Maketes set the final stone on top of the tall pillar he had helped create. It wasn’t a massive pillar, not like he’d seen for the markers of his own people’s deaths. But it was still visible from very far away. Each individual stone was stacked with a memory, starting with the strongest memories at the base with the widest stones.

Tall pillars surrounded it, along with short stacks that had already been tilted by the waves. For his people, they were allowed to mourn as long as the stones still stood. The sea was gentle with the stones of those who needed more time to heal. But once the waves and the currents tipped the rocks over, it was time to move on.

As they placed each stone, they spoke aloud a memory of the droid who had given its life to ensure that they all lived. Tera had succeeded. Every city that was still standing had seen the message that Ace had sent. Even Tau, most likely. He couldn’t imagine there was much of an uprising in that city, but he wouldn’t be surprised if a few people had been uncomfortable facing the truth of what they were doing.

Ace floated next to him, her hand on his shoulder as she kicked to keep herself in place. Drawing her in close, he pressedher against his hearts and listened to the soft sounds of her sadness.

They’d forgone the tentacle this time. Instead, she wore a rebreather from Mira so that she could swim on her own and sob in her grief. At least she could feel her emotions more clearly now without his breath forcing her body into confusion. At least, that’s what both Anya and Mira had said.

They wore their own rebreathers as well. Both of them holding onto their own mates. Sadness tainted the surrounding waters, turning the sea blue with a bitter taste that coated his gills.

“They were unlike any droid I ever built,” Ace said quietly, staring at the pile of stones.

He could taste her tears in the water, and hated that there was nothing he could do. Not right now. Not when she had lost her friend and there was no way for them to get it back.

Her sister was not here, neither were the other humans. But those four still didn’t like being in the water. Especially not with so many People of Water around them now that there were even more joining their pod. He wasn’t sure what Arges was doing to get so many of their kind here, but he had a feeling it was just their people’s natural curiosity.

Even Fortis’s son had been hanging around far more than normal. He’d caught the young man’s gaze on Ace’s sister more times than he could count.

His mate breathed out a long sigh. “Thank you all for coming. You don’t have to stay any longer.”

Shaking his head, he drew Ace even tighter and squeezed her hard. “We can stay as long as you’d like.”

The others came quickly to their sides, the women pushed by their mates through the water so they each could hug Ace. He noticed the differences in the way they did so. Anya came first, shoving Mira out of the way to scoop Ace up in her arms.There was so much love squeezed into her with that movement. Mira waited her turn, and then gently took Ace into her arms. She hugged her as though she was lifting her up into her arms, scooping her like one would someone who had just broken.

Both were individual in the way they handled things. And while Anya and Mira might not get along with each other, they both enjoyed Ace’s company.

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