Page 15 of Call of the Fathoms

But now, he knew what lurked beneath that shield, and its weaknesses. He spent the better part of a day finding a small section not covered by their magic. A small section just beneath the crook of their metal structures had been forgotten, and then he weaved throughout the entirety of the city. There were not many windows. But he wasn’t all that interested in the people there. They reminded him of those who had lived in Alpha. Primped and glowing, they were the flashy fish in the sea. The ones who were so small, no large predator would ever attempt to eat them.

Pretty little fish, surrounded by much larger predators, and hadn’t realized they were edible yet.

Flicking his tail, he circled the building repeatedly. There were so many weaving tunnels that jutted in this place. He couldn’t imagine the achromos within were getting around all that easily. It looked like every few steps they were walking on an undulating floor system.

Every other city was built similar to each other. This one, though, looked like it had been built by a mad man.

Wriggling in between two of the strangely built tunnels, he realized there was a tighter area within. This one had small portholes, large enough that he could peer inside.

Achromos wandered throughout the rooms beyond. Some of these were training rooms. He could see warriors wrestling with each other, all of them grappling and throwing bodies with such force. He paused to wonder if they were actually fighting.

And then he saw her. The big woman who had captured his attention from the start. She was fighting with someone as well. The male was much larger than her, and that was saying something. She was already huge, but while they were of similarheight, she lacked the weight of the man who threw her body across the room.

A sensation trailed down his spine, bristling at the sight of someone else attacking her. She rolled onto her side, fingers pressed where the man had wounded her. Blood trickled out of her nostrils when she looked up, and Fortis was shocked to find rage nearly glowing through his body. He didn’t like the sight of blood on her.

No, that wasn’t right. Fortis didn’t like to see blood drawn by another person when he was the only one who should do so. He didn’t like being wrong, either. He’d been thinking of her as a warrior, and she shouldn’t have put herself in this situation. The male was bigger, stronger. She shouldn’t try to fight someone like that. The male would tear her apart.

But then, even with her ribs wounded and blood streaming down her face, her face warped into an enraged battle cry as she launched herself across the room. The man’s back hit the wall where the window was, his head cracking hard against the glass before he slid down. Nearly unconscious.

Fortis was too far for her to see him through the darkness, but he swore she could. This woman, with her wild dark hair and blood streaked across her face, stared right into his soul.

Seven

Alexia

“You can’t keep pushing your body like this,” Doctor Barker grumbled as he stared at the reopened wounds along her ribs. “These will not close the more you fight.”

“I need to be ready.”

“You need to rest. I have informed Original Harlow that you are not to overwork yourself, or you will have to be decommissioned.” He sighed before reaching for the needle and thread on the small table beside him in the exam room.

She’d come here right after her latest training session. The other guards understood she didn’t want any of them to go easy on her. She had to keep practicing. That undine had swum around her at an unnatural speed and he’d beaten her far too easily. Her pride stung with that knowledge, yes. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t get better. Prepare harder.

Next time she fought him, she would make him bleed. She had to.

Everyone assumed the undine escaped and that he wouldn’t come back. She was quite certain, in fact, that he would. She’d always listened to her gut. Her body knew the truth long before her mind did, and she’d learned a long time ago to not push away those thoughts. And right now, she knew he wasn’t far.

The undine had a plan. He’d taken that reborn for a reason. He’d gotten into the city far too easily, and now they were all on lockdown. The soldiers who had made the mistake and brought him into the city had been executed. But that wasn’t enough to keep this beast out. She was certain of that.

Shaking her head, she cleared her throat. “You know I can’t stop preparing for his return. None of us can.”

“That is one undine you are talking about. One creature who cannot get back into this city. None of them have managed before.”

“Just because they haven’t managed to get in before doesn’t mean there isn’t a flaw in our city. We leave this place regularly. There are openings, and the guards need to be aware of them all before we feel safe leaving our Originals alone.” She winced. “Harlow is visiting with her ex husband, that’s the only reason I was allowed to go to training today. It has been... exhausting.”

A little furrow appeared between Doctor Barker’s eyes. He turned with the stitches and thread in his hand, but hesitated as he looked her over. “Exhausting?”

Shit. Alexia wasn’t to be exhausted or feel anything at all in that matter. She was Harlow’s personal guard. Day in and day out. If she was tired, she was supposed to get treatment for such a thing. If she wasn’t getting enough rest when Harlow was, then she was supposed to get decommissioned.

“Sorry,” she muttered, looking down at her hands and curling them into fists. “A turn of phrase.”

“Have you been feeling tired lately, Alexia?” he asked, but the words were slow. As though he was giving her a chance to change her mind. “I have medication I can give you for that.”

She didn’t want more medication. She wanted to feel this exhaustion. It wasn’t like she was physically tired, or that she would fail in her duties protecting her Original. It was more that she was tired of being a personal guard and the monotony of her life. This was all endlessly difficult sometimes.

But she couldn’t say any of that to him. Not when she knew how it would look.

“I really am fine, Doctor. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

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