Page 20 of Echoes of the Tide

“What would ever give you that impression?”

He shrugged before pointing at her legs. “You put it on backwards.”

Ace looked down at herself before letting out a little growl that was impressively intimidating before pulling the whole thing off again. She made quick work of getting the entire suit on and then yanking the helmet down over her head. She fiddled with it a few times, again making those little grumbling noisesthat were adorable, before she huffed and held her hands out at her sides.

“Fine, I’m ready.” Those arms flopped up and down at her sides.

Did she want him to pick her up? How adorable. And he would gladly use any excuse to touch her, if only to feel how soft she was again.

Maketes surged out of the water, ignoring the splashing wave that rolled over the floor and soaked the chairs that were once pristine. He placed his hands on either side of her waist, waiting for her to relax and not be quite so tense before he lifted her up and then drew her into the water with him.

She made a long, sustained hissing noise the moment she touched the water. Likely because of the cold. He knew the achromos were a lot more sensitive than his people were. Of course, Mira and Anya were in a much higher area of the sea. The water there was warmer, and still they complained about the cold when they got into the water without their suits on.

“Are you cold?” he asked as they sank underneath the surface. A floating picture moved between them, sticking onto her helmet. It was once the image of a man’s face, and he couldn’t read what it said. But there were only four letters, bright red over his head as the man seemed to point at him.

She dashed the paper off the helmet while spluttering, “Of course I’m cold! It’s the ocean!”

He was coming to realize that his achromo was not a morning person. Which, unfortunately for her, he was. Maketes loved the morning and the adventure of a day left unplanned. It seemed Ace was not the same. Perhaps he had known that already, though. She never messaged him early in the day, but he had assumed that was because she had been busy.

Releasing her, Maketes held out a hand to guide her through the labyrinth of this building and out into the open sea. She wassmart, though. His achromo knew not to shoot out into the sea blindly. She braced her hands above her head on the very edge of the cracked opening and stared out into the abyss.

He’d thought perhaps she would feel some sense of fear in it. But he didn’t taste that in the water at all. Instead, all he sensed from her was a determination as she watched the waters for any threat. If he were a depthstrider, he might not want to attack her. She was a fiercesome creature, and capable of biting back.

What a wondrous discovery.

Swimming up behind her, he smoothed his hand all the way up her spine until he could palm the back of her helmet. Gently, he nudged her out and used his grip to show her the upper levels of the building above them.

“We go up there. I believe there are other structural issues with this tower. We should be able to get inside.”

“There’s an office up there that I need to focus our efforts on.”

“Understood.” Although, he wasn’t all that certain what an office was. Mira had a few rooms that she kept for herself in the larger floating home they had built for the humans. Perhaps that was what Ace referred to.

Gathering her up in his arms, he pressed her tightly against his chest and started off. It was a slow journey, one he didn’t quite like. But if they were to get inside, he needed them to be far enough away from the building so that anyone inside couldn’t see them, but also so that they could see any rips or tears in the metal and glass.

It only impeded what they were able to see. Still, she clutched onto his shoulders and every inch of her was pressed against him. That was a good enough reason for him to take his time.

Her legs were tight around his waist, tucked up against his rib gills and making it a little difficult to breathe. But he didn’t mind so much, because all he could smell was the faintest hintof her scent. It filtered through his gills, giving him the sensation of bright places above the surface. She’d never been, but he was certain her scent was what it was to smell sunshine. Those tiny hands were pressed against his chest, and he could easily feel the strength of her thighs against him.

Already he could feel his gills starting to shake. Which was foolish. He knew he was here on a job, and she hadn’t shown any inclination that she was interested in him at all. In fact, he would suggest that she was anything but interested. Ace had made it very clear that she wanted to stay far away from him and just get this over with.

Unfortunately for them both, his gills that had never moved in his life were starting to wake up.

Clearing his throat, he tried very hard to distract himself. “Why did they send you, of all people?”

She looked up at him, her nose wrinkled in confusion. “What?”

“Why did they send you? There were plenty of other people.”

She shrugged. “I assume because I was the only one who was offered the translation device.”

He doubted that. There was a calculating look in her leader’s eyes that clearly stated the man had more of a plan than just to send off the only person who the People of Water had picked.

“No,” he murmured. “I don’t think it was just that.”

Perhaps it was the serious tone in his voice that made her tense up. Or maybe it was just the sea itself. Everything was rather quiet in the ocean today, a detail he hadn’t noticed until Ace started climbing his body like she was terrified.

And then the scent of her fear stank up the water. There was a balloon of it covering him, cloying and awful in its need to assert there was something terribly, dreadfully wrong.

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