Page 74 of Call of the Fathoms

Fortis

He knew how dangerous an ask this was. And he knew, without a doubt, that she would survive it. He knew they would need all the help they could get from every single Person of Water.

His people were the hardest of them to convince. He knew the depthstriders were not likely to help, especially when it came to Tau. There were too many rumors about the city. So many of his people had experienced painful losses. Tau knew how to find and torment their kind and, if they weren’t careful, they could lose everything.

Alexia had the ability to change their minds, though. She knew more about the city than anyone else, and that meant she was capable of giving them details they didn’t have now. If he could just convince them to trust her... then it was a start.

As Mira started working on whatever she could to keep Alexia alive that deep in the ocean, he prepared himself for what was to come. Fortis floated in solitude, lingering in the currentsas he prayed to all the gods and goddesses of the sea that they would help him convince his pod to fight.

And he felt like the sea was listening. He could feel the tides caressing his sides, as though the sea herself was trying to give him a lingering hug and tell him not to worry so much. His people knew what they were doing. The depthstriders had always been kind enough to trust him. They had supported him for years upon years. They were there when he needed to get his son back.

But a small pit in his stomach wasn’t sure if this would work. He knew that they wouldn’t want a human in their midst. They were the least trusting people in the sea, especially after Arges had snubbed one of their own.

He smelled his son approaching and told himself that he wasn’t upset at the interruption. But this felt like he had limited time to pray, and he needed the sea to hear him. He needed the goddesses to cast pity on a worshipper who had spent his entire life dedicated to them and the memory of his wife.

A memory who did not care if he had dedicated himself to her. And that stung.

“Father,” Aulax said, his voice carrying through the water as though he knew Fortis would be angry. “I need to speak with you before you leave.”

“Speak quickly. The goddess does not like to wait for anyone.”

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. His son had always been better than him, and Fortis knew he needed to listen. But he already feared the conversation that was about to happen.

Aulax had forgiven the achromos, even after everything they had done to him. Fortis had not. And his conversation with Arges hadn’t helped.

Apparently, it was possible to have a relationship with one of them and still hate them. He just didn’t believe it. Alexia and he fought, that was what they did. Mira and Arges didn’t fight, not like two warriors who could tear each other apart. If Mira wanted to fight with Arges, it wouldn’t be a fair battle, anyway. Arges would kill her. But when he thought about fighting with Alexia, he believed that given the right training, Alexia might be able to kill one of his kind on her own.

Breathing out, he opened his eyes from prayer and met his son’s worried gaze.

“What is it, Aulax?”

“You are bringing her into the depths to meet Mitera, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question. It was more a disappointed statement that said his son very much did not appreciate what his father was planning on doing.

“I am.”

“Mitera hates humans.”

“She does.”

“She also hates this pod.” Aulax gestured behind him like Fortis needed to be told which pod she hated.

To be fair, Mitera hated almost everyone other than the depthstriders.

“Mitera was sent to guide Arges’s original pod. She was not received well there for many years until she had finally gotten them to respect her. They all fell in line the way they were supposed to until Arges rebelled against her. The pod she had been given to guide was fractured beyond hope at that point.” Fortis breathed out a long sigh. “She holds a grudge for that. I know.”

“It’s an understandable grudge, but I don’t believe she will forgive easily. And yet, you think swimming into her home with a human will correct all that?”

He corrected his son. “Achromo. That is their name.”

“They call themselves humans, father. After all they have done to help us, the least we could do is call them as they wish to be called.”

He hadn’t ever thought of it like that. He’d heard them say the word countless times. But somehow he couldn’t bring himself to say the word until this moment.

“Humans,” Fortis corrected himself. “There is no love lost between Mitera and the humans. I know it will be difficult for her to believe that their species would rebel against each other.”

“It is difficult for her to believe most things. She is not a kind creature.”

“Mitera knows what she is doing. Her gift to see into the future is better than any other creature under the sea. She is an impressive woman in her own right and deserves our respect.” He hesitated before adding, “If in measured amounts. She hates the humans, and she does so blindly.”

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