Page 21 of Alien Triton's Prize

“Remember the tropical island getaway? The resort has a strict visitor cutoff point, since they don’t want it to be overcrowded. Someone just canceled, so they have room for us.”

“Ooh! Yay!” I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see the sun!

It had been ten days without real, honest-to-goodness sunlight. The only reason I knew it was that long was we’d had ten full sleeps. In Coral’s Deep, the ambient light rarely fluctuated, and I’d come to learn there wasn’t a set night and day per se.

The residents living here seemed to choose their own waking hours, which meant the larger businesses were open all the time,while the smaller businesses only opened at certain hours. It was totally possible to live next to someone your whole life but never see them because you kept opposite schedules.

Some people switched their sleep times around every so often so they could visit all the places they didn’t normally go. It was like having two cities in one.

Some, like Cetia, practiced bi-phasic sleeping. This meant they cut the planetary day into two separate chunks, sleeping and waking twice. It was a common sleeping pattern for both younger Thalassonians and the elderly.

I was beginning to think it was a good idea. I usually couldn’t stay awake all “day” and had to take a nap in the “afternoon.” The days on Aquaria were much too long for my Earthly circadian rhythm, which was kind of shot anyway without sunlight.

“I read all about the plants on that island,” I said. “I’m excited to see them in person! Did you know there is a fern that lives in brackish water there that makes the fishes that eat it glow in the dark?”

“I did not.” He looked amused and intrigued. “What else is up there?”

I pressed my lips together, realizing I was about to geek out on plants in front of Cetius yet again. I wasn’t sure if he was genuinely interested, merely trying to be nice, or teasing me.

“I’m sorry. I probably bore you to death with all my plant stuff.”

“No, not at all. It’s…refreshing.”

This from a guy who found drinking super salty, fishy drinksrefreshing. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What? It’s true.” He tossed an arm around me and pulled me close. “You’re talking to someone who transplanted all the plants he found in his travels to the garden in his home simply because he found them pretty. I don’t know anything else about them. I think it’s great that you see these plants for more than their decorative uses.”

“You know, before our year is up, I think you should take me to some of these places. I want to see these plants in their natural habitat.”

His expression brightened momentarily, only to be replaced by a frown that almost had me regretting asking.

“I am not sure that is possible. You are delicate. I don’t know if you can survive out there.”

Oh. Right. I remembered being so scared of that reef selach on our initial trip down. Apparently, that had been a tiny one. Maybe exploring the ocean with my triton husband wouldn’t happen after all.

I was pulled from my disappointment when a clawed hand landed on our table.

“Cetius.” The mermaid’s voice grated against my ears. Let’s just say, a siren’s song it was not.

(I knew they didn’t callthemselvesmermen or mermaids, but I couldn’t help but refer to them as such in my head.)

In contrast to her rough voice, the female’s form was utter perfection. Slim and modelesque, with just enough breasts and hips to differentiate her from the male of her species. Her scales shimmered with gold and green, and her features were almost ethereal.

“Well, well. I heard you were gallivanting around town with an ugly two-legged creature, but I scarcely believed it.”

“Go bother my brother, Nerial.”

“I just did. He sent me to you.”

That name sounded familiar. I raised a brow at Cetius. Realizing that the female wasn’t going to leave so easily, he sighed and introduced us.

“Nerial, this is my bride Vera. Vera, Nerial. She’s contracted to my brother, but they are not officially married yet.”

That jogged my memory. This was the female who had sent him the itemized proposal! I guess after Cetius turned her down, she’d talked to his brother, and the sucker had gone for it.

Since I didn’t have a tail, I stuck out my leg in greeting. She looked at it, then pointedly ignored it.

Yep. She was a bitch. I decided right then and there I didn’t like her.

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