Page 39 of Echoes of the Tide

Maketes couldn’t stay still. He had circled that same sign more times than he wanted to admit, and was on yet anotherround of circling when Fortis reached out and grabbed his tail. Claws dug into his scales, and he hated the feeling so much that he lashed out. With a hiss and a swipe of his claws, he found himself face to face with the massive depthstrider.

“What?” he hissed.

“Tell me why it’s her,” Fortis said.

The words were confusing. “Why what is her?”

“Mira and Arges. Daios and Anya. You and this criminal who has been locked away by her own people. I wish to understand what it is that calls you to her.”

“That’s stupid.”

“It’s the truth. And the moment you admit that you have been called to her side is the moment you will stop fighting against yourself. What is it about her, Maketes?”

He wanted to swim again. He did better moving when he was angry, not staying still. But he could feel his gills fluttering just at the thought of her, and again, he couldn’t help himself but talk when someone brought Ace up. “I don’t know. I like her. I genuinely like her. Even when it was just a droid reading me her messages, I found her funny. She’s dry, in a sarcastic kind of way, and that always made me chuckle. I like making her laugh too. Even if it’s because she’s annoyed with me. It’s a battle to get her to show any kind of reaction and... Well.”

He was rambling.

Clearing his throat, Maketes waved his hand through the water. “I just like her. I can’t explain why. It’s just all there. Every time I’m around her, everything falls into place. It just feels right.”

And he didn’t know how to explain that in better words. There should have been a way for him to say that she meant far more to him than just a friend. That he wanted her to be with him all the time, and when they were apart, he felt strange. He wanted to listen to her talk, collect all of her smiles, and all theother things that were probably too clingy for him to ever say to her.

Fortis nodded. “You are here because you are supposed to be here, Maketes. I wish you would let the sea guide you in this.”

“And what would the sea do? She is an achromo. I know that. You know that.”

“The others are making it work.”

“But what if they are an anomaly?” He ran his fingers through his hair, watching the strands billow around his head. “Mira and Anya wanted to leave their homes. They had people to fight for, but not like Ace. She has a sister, a young woman she would do anything to keep alive. I can’t take her away from that. And she would have to leave it all behind. Her own people are not likely to allow her to stay in touch with her family when she’s with someone like me.”

He would not be the reason she lost her sister, and he would be if he continued down this path. He had to throw all of these thoughts and feelings to the side.

“Perhaps you have thought too long and too hard on this reasoning, and you have moved away from where the sea wishes you to go.”

“Since when were you anyone’s guidance?” Maketes grumbled. “I still don’t understand what you’re even doing here.”

Again, Fortis shrugged. That stupid movement where he lifted his shoulders and held up his hands like he, too, had no idea what he was doing here. “I go where the sea bids.”

“You are the most frustrating person in the sea, you know that? I wish I could throw you into the abyss and feed you to the ancients.”

“Someone else has tried. They would not eat me.”

Bubbles of anger erupted from his rib gills and filled his vision with gray specks of air. “Of course they wouldn’t! Even theancients wouldn’t eat your fat head. They probably worry you would infect them with whatever madness it is that gives you the right to be such a... a...”

Fortis tilted his head to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a loss for words.”

“Algae sucker!” He was at a loss for words, though. He was so angry, so filled with rage that he couldn’t control, and he didn’t know what else to say. Instead, he just pointed at the depthstrider.

Amused, Fortis gave him a little nod. “I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Quite well.”

“Good, because I don’t understand what this is supposed to mean, but at the very least, you get the threat.” He took his jabbing finger away and blew out another bubble net of breath. Then he looked up at the building and grumbled, “What is taking her so long?”

“I do not pretend to understand the nattering of achromos, but I believe she was trying to find something in that room.”

He couldn’t stand another second with this depthstrider who said things like he was the first person to come up with the words, when in reality, he was just repeating what everyone else said.

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