Page 50 of Echoes of the Tide

And the way she looked at him, with that smile on her face... it turned his heart into molten lava. Rubbing at the sudden tension there, he nodded to the back corner of the room. “There’s a small crevice there. I need you to climb through it.”

“What?” Her eyebrows raised. “You want me to squeeze through a tunnel in a cave?”

“Yes. You’ll fit.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to do that. What if I get stuck?”

“Then I’ll come get you.”

“Not if I’m halfway through the tunnel and you can’t reach me! That’s how I die, Maketes.”

He leaned his arm against the side of the water, grinning at her. “Remember how I made you pet a shark?”

“Shut up.”

“Remember how you fought against all those people in that tower? You even held a knife and cut one of them. I smelled it.” He tapped his neck gills, still looking up at her with all the adoration in his chest. “You’re braver than you think, kefi.”

“You keep calling me that, and it sounds like you have a cough.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him and shaking her head.

But he could see that spark of bravery in her. The sudden flicker of a flame that called her to adventure, even when she wanted to deny it. He could see her mind was filled with all the dangers that she would entertain by doing this, but her heart wanted to go. It wanted to dive into the unknown with him.

“If you go through that crevice, I will meet you on the other side and tell you what the name means.”

That was enough of a deal for her. She narrowed her gaze on him, those laser eyes seeing everything before she nodded. “Fine. But if I get stuck and die, I’m haunting you forever.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The moment she started into the small crevice, turning sideways so she could fit, he dove into the water to meet her outside. Sure, she had an ass that might make this difficult for her, but it was a beautiful ass and one that he was quite fond of already. She’d fit just fine, and he never would have sent her in that way if he had thought for a second she’d get stuck and die.

Curving through the spears of dying light, he raced to the other side of this outcropping. In his mind, he played what she was doing. First, she had to reach the first bend. She’d have to slide down and crouch to get under it, like he had when he was a child. But if a small male like himself could get through, so could she. A few rocks would then be in her way. She’d have to climb up them to get to the flat portion which would lead her... here.

He broke through the water with a sharp flick of his tail that sent him flying out of the waves and up onto the flat rocks that met the sea. They were still warm from the sun’s rays throughout the day, and their smooth texture let him slide almost all the way to the opening she would exit.

He waited there, listening to her panting sounds and curses that echoed just out of his reach. “You’re almost here!” he called out, grinning even wider when she hissed out more curses. Some mixed with his name and were quite elaborate.

But then she reached the opening. Ace strode confidently out before freezing with her hand raised to her eyes. She blinked, squinting against the vision of the sun before her.

“What is this?” she called out.

“The sun,” he replied, looking back to see the rays skittering across the water and turning the waves into diamonds. “Just like your people used to see every day.”

A few more blinks, and she lowered her arm. Then he could see the expression of awe that crossed her face.

Ace took a step out, staggered, then a few more steps and reached for him. Her hands were trembling as she clutched his wrist and stared out at the blue sky and even bluer water that was just barely rolling with the tide. He tried to see it all through her eyes.

She’d been under the water her entire life. A creature who was meant to be here in the sun with the sky above her and the wind playing across her skin. There were few achromos who had ever been here, perhaps none that still lived.

“What is this place?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“This is where your people were born.” He drew her into his arms, giving her something to lean against as she felt the sun on her skin for the very first time. “You were meant to stand here with the sun on your skin. Soon, perhaps you would become tanned as it sank into the very essence of your body. Every morning, you would wake and see the sun reflecting on every surface. Even tiny beads of water on leaves turn to gemstones. And in the evening, when the sun sets and all the world grows still, a symphony awakens. Insects that sing every night, birdsthat call out to each other, the howl of furry creatures who live beyond in the hills.”

A shuddering breath blew out of her. Those trembling hands still clutched at his forearms. “We’re... above?”

He pointed just over her shoulder, allowing her eyes to follow the line of his finger so she could see where he was gesturing. “There, on the horizon. You should see the faintest dark line there. That is land. We are on a small island, if you can even call it that. There isn’t much here other than the small cavern and this spot we stand on. But there is land just out there. Land your people used to live on.”

Tears welled in her eyes, dripping down her cheeks as she looked. “Land?” she repeated, her voice nearly impossible to understand. “You mean there’s dirt there? Earth and green things growing?”

“I don’t know if anything’s growing. The storms have taken much from your world.” He pointed to the storm that was brewing just far enough away from them. “There is one.”

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