Page 77 of Echoes of the Tide

“They are both brave women.” He leaned down until his lips almost ghosted against hers. So close, and yet so far. “Just like you.”

She felt nauseous at the thought. Could she deny everything she was? Who she was? It wouldn’t be easy to just decide to say fuck it and she would live with the undine. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, and even more things that she didn’t know.

Where was she going to live? How would she eat? Would she ever be able to truly live?

Did it even matter? Because she stared into his black eyes and knew it didn’t. If she got to be with him, then it was worth the risk. Especially if she wasn’t also risking her sister’s life.

“Okay,” she whispered. “The keycard is yours. Whatever comes after that, I don’t know.”

His hand clenched on the back of her neck and a relieved sigh breathed across her lips. She hadn’t realized how much tension he was holding in his body until he released it.

“We’ll bring it to Mira, then,” he said. “You brave, wonderful woman. My kefi. I promise you won’t regret this.”

CHAPTER 31

He feared she would, in fact, regret this. There was no way he could know for certain that he or his people could do anything he’d promised her. But the moment he gathered her up in his arms and sank beneath the waves, he knew he would do everything in his power to ensure it wasn’t a lie.

If she wanted to see her sister, then he would make that happen. It was an easy request, after all, and one that he likely should have offered long ago.

The People of Water knew the ocean better than the achromos ever could. It only took a little while for him to be found by a few depthstriders. He scented them deep in the water, watching as Maketes carried his new female through the sea toward a home where a few of her kind were considered safe.

It took even less time for one of those depthstriders to get close enough where they could hear him speak.

“Brother,” he called out, then correcting himself when the scent of the undine came closer. “Sister, I apologize.”

The massive female rose from the depths, her chest bound in tight fibers. Her hair was twisted back from her features in tight coils that drew her skin into a tight frown.

“Brother is more accurate,” the female said. And Maketes corrected himself.

“Two soul?” He paused in their swim, tucking Ace a little tighter to his side and giving him a nod. “It is an honor.”

Such people were honored among his kind. To have two sides of the same shell was both a blessing and a curse. Both male and female, they were quite literally special. He’d heard that the achromo had similar creatures, but the two souled people of his kind were capable of self reproduction. The creature before him was, in fact, both male and female. Though this one wished to be seen as the masculine version of who he was.

The new male inclined his head, accepting the honor Maketes bestowed. “You carry an achromo through our waters.”

“We journey to the home where the People of Water and achromos live together.”

The other male flinched back, disgust filling the water with its scent. “Why go there? Such a cursed place should not exist. The achromos should stay in their towers and confinement.”

“We seek a better future.”

The depthstrider was confused by the subject. Most of his kind were, though. They were all bred to hate the achromos, and very few of them saw any reason to find goodness in her kind. But then he pried Ace’s face away from his neck, turning her to see the giant dark blue depthstrider who loomed before them.

Ace smelled afraid, but she still managed an awkward smile and a half wave. “Hello.”

The word was so quiet, no one could have heard it but him, and he only heard it because he was right next to her. But still, he smoothed her hair back from her face and petted the top of her head.

“She says hello,” he told the depthstrider. “They are capable of much more than we gave them credit for.”

“You treat her as a treasured pet.”

“Perhaps.” He felt Ace stiffen in his grip, and it took everything in him not to laugh at the depthstrider’s statement. “But she is a good pet. One who speaks to me about many things. You would be surprised at how quick-witted their kind are.”

He had a point to this conversation, although he could see Ace was getting more and more angry. He also realized there was a time limit to this. They had to keep moving, because the ocean here was too cool for her skin. He could only keep her warm for so long before he needed to find more temperate waters.

“Are you curious about them at all?” he asked the depthstrider, watching for any kind of reaction.

There was the faintest flickering along his shoulders. Just the slightest hint of color that was nearly impossible to even see. But it was there. It flickered, and that meant this male was interested.

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