Page 86 of Echoes of the Tide

“I’ll tell Daios to get ready.” The blonde had jumped up, although Ace felt bad that her back had been to her. Anya didn’t know half of what was said.

And still, she was ready to leap into the fray. Both of these women were so sure of themselves, but even more sure of their partners. It made her feel a little strange.

Those thoughts must be all over her face. Mira took one look at her and then pocketed the keycard. “What’s that expression?”

“What expression?”

“The one on your face right now.” Mira pointed at her features and then waved her hand up and down. “Something is wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“You didn’t look like that when you handed this card of world destruction over to me. But the moment Anya brought up Daios, you looked like the world ended. Did that big bastard say anything to you?”

Anya slapped Mira’s hand out of the air. “Stop picking on him!”

“He almost killed me! Multiple times!”

“Get over it.”

Ace held up her hand for silence as her mind swirled with what they were saying. “Daios almost killed you?”

“It was a long time ago, but yes. The red one doesn’t like humans.” Then Mira frowned at her. “You don’t seem like you’ve met him yet, if that’s confusing for you.”

“I haven’t met anyone yet. Maketes brought me right here.”

The two other women looked at each other, and something seemed to pass between their gazes. Then they were both laser focused on Ace again, and that was the last thing she wanted.

She didn’t like the looks in their eyes as they advanced on her. Both of them grabbed an arm each, and then they were dragging her from the mechanical room.

“Where are we going?” Ace asked, more than a little uncomfortable.

“First, I want to know why you look like that, and then we’re going to introduce you to the rest of the people who live here. Because you should have been introduced the moment you swam up to our home.” Mira tugged on her arm, and all three of them walked over to the living area where there were countless cushions to plop down onto.

With a little shove, Mira pushed until Ace was sitting down in the largest one and the two other women sat down right in front of her.

“Spill,” Mira said.

“We just want to help if we can,” Anya added, softening what she hadn’t heard Mira say.

“If you aren’t mad at Daios, then what is wrong with Anya bringing him up?” Mira pushed a little harder, and something snapped inside of her.

She was with friends. They weren’t going to make fun of her. If anyone could understand her problem, then it was the women in front of her.

“I just don’t know what Maketes and I are,” she started, and then the words were a flood she couldn’t contain. She went from wanting to hide her feelings, to needing to purge them right here and right now. “I know he wants me. I want him too. There’s a strange connection between the two of us that I can’t deny, even though it feels wrong that there’s any connection at all. He’s... what he is and I’m a human. I can’t even promise him that we’ll stay together for a long time, because we’re from two different worlds. Even then, I don’t know if he wants me to stick around. I have that keycard and I have information that you all need, but that means nothing when it comes to us.”

Mira blinked a few times and then muttered under her breath, “Maketes, I thought you’d be better at this.”

“Excuse me?”

Anya glanced over at Mira and firmly said, “Repeat.”

Mira did, and then Anya looked back at Ace and nodded. “I also thought he’d be better at this. Of all the males here, he’s the one who seems the most grounded. He’s kind hearted, and he has never looked down on our people. He’s been more intrigued by our differences than feeling as though he has to point them out.”

Mira snorted, “Or be afraid of them. You’d be surprised how many undine are against having humans around just because of what they think we stand for.”

“I met a purple one who seemed to not like me,” Ace muttered.

Mira nodded. “Fortis. He’s around often, but... Yeah. Not the best.”

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