Page 5 of Echoes of the Tide

The female made a noise in the back of her throat. If he didn’t know any better, he would think it was a sound of rage. But she was silenced immediately by a look from the male who led them. Even more strange behavior from the achromos.

He’d had enough of this. There was only one person he wished to speak with, only one discovery that meant anything atall in this strange meeting of two peoples. Maketes swam to the edge of the water where it met the floor and lifted his bag up.

Mira had been very specific. Take the device out of the bag and then hit the button on the top. Not something he could easily mess up.

Once he tapped the button, he braced himself on the edge of the floor next to it, listening to Anya’s voice suddenly speak loud and clear.

“We’ve sent these undines here to barter with you. But we will only speak to the one who calls themselves Ace. That is the only person in your group we will trust, and no one else will get any answers out of us. The undine delivering this message has a translator. That translator will only be given to Ace.”

The male snorted. “I’m not giving a translator to Ace. Clearly I’m the one in charge here. I’m the one you need to talk to.”

Maketes lifted himself out of the water. Just to his hips, but then he was nearly the same height as the male. His tail lashed in the water behind him, lazily stirring up sea foam as he held the male’s gaze. His black eyes had unnerved many an achromo before, and this male was no different.

When faced with dark eyes that reflected only the achromo’s own terrified look, it was hard to remain so brave. The leader cleared his throat and took a step back.

“If it’s Ace you want, then it’s Ace you will get.” He gestured with a waving hand behind him. “Come on forward then, Ace. Get your translator and we’ll get this deal finalized.”

Maketes would promise nothing. Ace was the only one who had a tie to Anya, and the only one who might cave if they told him what was at stake. Maketes didn’t want to risk any of his people if he didn’t have to.

Himself? Oh, he’d risk his own life every day. That was part of the fun. But the other People of Water who were here with him didn’t deserve that.

The female stepped forward, and he waited for Ace to arrive. Then he realized she stopped right in front of him and he really looked at her.

She was unremarkable. A female who blended easily into the background. Plain brown hair covered her head, lank and limp like the rest of the people here. She had a pair of round glass objects on each eye that made her gaze seem a little larger. He could see the faintest dusting of freckles on her cheeks, but the rest of her was just as plain. Drab clothing hung off her form, giving her a rather boxy shape that seemed too large for her body. The boots on her feet had to be too big, because they clomped when she walked toward him.

A strange creature. Mira and Anya both stood out in their own way. Mira for her flaming hair and loud voice, Anya because of her gold locks and her soft smiles that drew people in. This female was neither of those things. She was secretive. Hidden in plain sight.

“You are Ace?” he said, his voice low with wonderment. “You’re female?”

She didn’t understand a word he said, of course. Both he and Anya had thought that Ace had to be a man. Only a man would be so foolish as to risk all that Ace risked. And yet... This was a female before him. A female with soft, brown eyes that stared up at him like he was looking into the depths of the sea.

He’d never seen a gaze that deep before. And in those depths, he saw a secret that was hidden from everyone else.

How he wanted to peel back every layer she’d built around herself to hide whatever that treasure was, just so he could plunder it.

Without a word, he reached into the bag and held the translator chip out to her. If she wished to understand him, then he would let her make that choice. But he found he desperately wanted her to choose…him.

CHAPTER 3

Ace really should have paid attention to what was being said, but she couldn’t pull her attention away from the undine in front of her. She’d always heard they were big. She’d seen them outside the glass and knew they were big, but to see them right here? Right in front of her?

This was an entirely different circumstance than seeing them from beyond the safety of glass and sea.

The male who spoke, the one that pulled out the box as well, was massive. His hair had been slicked back from his head, revealing twin gills that abutted the sharp edge of his jaw. Yellow and lined with black details, they were so thin she could see his hair through them from where they were flat against his head. His webbed, clawed hands were massive where they rested against the floor. But her eyes were drawn to his pale chest, where more golden color streaked down in rivers from his shoulders to the scales that started at his waist and then disappeared under the water.

And then there was his tail. It was huge, like a giant eel undulating underneath the water, but she couldn’t stop staring at it. It was so big! Thick and powerful, the massive fluke at theend churned up the water into foam that soon gathered around his waist.

He was an ocean god before them, and every part of her seized in fear. What would he ask of them? She knew the undine wouldn’t help humans without getting something in return.

She’d been more than a little furious when fucking Jacob handed over her newest weapon and then lied right to their faces. That bolt drone wouldn’t fire underwater. Maybe a couple of times, but the electricity wouldn’t work underwater. She’d never tested it, and frankly, she had a feeling it would electrocute everyone within a fair distance.

Gregor nudged her hard, then nodded at the boss. Right, she had been gestured forward. She was the one who was supposed to get the translation chip. Already she could see the rage on her boss’s face. Jacob didn’t like anyone being more important than him. He used his fists to make that point very clear for all who worked for him, and she was certain she’d be hearing about this the moment the undine swam away from the room.

But for now, she let herself feel a little thrill. She hadn’t expected to get access to their language. Even as the yellow undine before her spoke, all she could hear was a loud, whale-like sound. The low, rumbling tones were captivating.

Breathing out, she made her way to stand before him and saw surprise in his eyes. Maybe he hadn’t expected a woman to be here. Maybe he hadn’t realized that she’d been a woman this whole time.

A lot of people didn’t. Any of their contacts considered her genderless, as she sometimes wanted to be. The world didn’t need to know what was between her legs to respect her.

---