Page 86 of Return of the Nine

“In Nitka, we are only an hour away from most places in the open ocean. Do you want to see the city?”

Weelar nodded frantically, and Rivvin inclined his head. “Please. I have a few beacons left, and it would be a coup to have found one of the ancient cities.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She directed the ship, and soon, it was speeding over the waves.

Chapter Eight

“Come with me.” Rivvin held her hands and whispered it in her ear.

“I can’t. It is too deep, and I can’t take the pressure.” She patted his cheek regretfully. “Go and find your city. I will remain here.”

Emharo watched as Rivvin and Weelar dove through the hole in the bottom of the ship and saw their gleaming pale skin disappear in the dimness of the water.

She curled up against the wall and waited for an hour until, finally, they returned with goofy grins on their faces.

“We set the markers. I will ask our archaeological team to file for permission to examine the site.” Rivvin had something in his hand, but he skilfully avoided bringing it into her viewing area.

“Good. Are we ready to return to the lab?”

Weelar was still grinning. “Yes, but it was amazing, simply amazing. Thank you for taking us out here, I am sure that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Emharo sealed the entrance again, and they returned to the deck. She directed Nitka back home and peeled her dive suit down to her hips, leaving her dressed in the leather bodice that was her normal swimwear.

The sunlight was still bright when they arrived at the dock.

Rivvin and Weelar lifted the storage chest out of the holding slot and walked it down the ramp to the dock.

Morro and Harold were waiting for them. With the audience, Em was glad she was back in her jumpsuit and boots.

Her father smiled at the storage container. “What do you have there?”

Em shrugged. “Something that Rivvin found. It’s enough for aweek, even for our large party.”

The Water Folk grabbed the container and brought it up to the lab.

Em watched them go, her gaze fixed on Rivvin’s legs and butt far more than she was comfortable with. She shook her head and looked at the resigned expression on Morro’s face.

He asked her outright. “So, you have agreed to mate with him?”

Her father was shocked. “What?”

“I have agreed to let him court me. But yes, I think that he is probably the one male who won’t run screaming just because I have to find something at dawn or in the middle of the night.” She shrugged.

“If that is the way it is, you might just be meant for each other. Water is a very patient thing.” Morro offered her his arm, and she took it, walking back to the habitat and lab.

Harold was following, “Mating?”

“Married, Dad. Rivvin proposed, and I am seriously considering it.”

“Oh. That’s all right then.” Her father was trying to grapple with the concept.

“Ask Mom, she has been pushing me at him since he arrived.”

Morro laughed as Harold froze in amazement. “I am going to tan her backside.”

“Don’t be too hard on her. She finally found a guy as nuts about the ocean as I am.”

Her father was still grappling with the idea when they entered the kitchen where Weelar had one length of a fish out and Rivvin was loading the rest into the freezer.

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