Page 52 of Call of the Fathoms

We will rule over this new world that we created.

And we will be the only ones who know.

Underneath the words were signatures. Each one familiar to her.

With a shaking hand, she reached out and traced Harlow’s name. It wasn’t that there was any love lost between the two of them. Alexia hated the woman for everything she had put her through, but also some part of her had hoped the other woman wasn’t part of this madness. She wanted to believe, for even an instance, that Harlow had protested this evil.

Pressure built in her chest. Anger, fear, anxiety, guilt. All the emotions she had never been allowed to fear because she had been their puppet. She was built to keep them safe, because they knew without people like her, they had good reason to be afraid.

The end of the world hadn’t been caused by natural disasters or unexplained events.

It had been caused by human arrogance.

Tears burned in her eyes. A lifetime worth of tears that had built up inside of her. She had worked for these people. The Originals had convinced her that she was at least working for those who were trying to do the right thing.

But they weren’t. They were the reason for the nightmarish existence all humans were now subjected to.

A keening cry echoed out of her mouth as she folded in on herself. This wasn’t just their fault, and she knew that. It was her fault too. Her fault for keeping them safe all these years and dedicating her entire life to them. She had spent countless hourstrusting that they were making the right choices, and all she had to do was follow their orders.

Her entire life until this point had been a lie. And even worse, it had affected the entire world.

She’d justified her actions by believing at least she was working for the lesser of the evils. Beta was filled with power hungry fools who couldn’t make change happen. Alpha was full of beauty and wit, but nothing of actual substance. And, of course, Gamma was a prison city where no power existed. There were so few cities for her to go to, but Tau called all the shots. Tau was the most powerful and therefore had to be the best.

Now she knew even that was a lie.

She mourned the loss of everything she knew, and everything she had been. Shoulder shaking sobs wracked her entire body, purging her very bones of all those dark thoughts and memories that ate at her. And by the end, once she had mourned the death of her previous self, Alexia felt as though she could breathe again.

Because there was another path now. A path that would lead her toward so much more.

Somehow, she felt stronger for it. These emotions, these thoughts, these worries. They had weighed her down even under the cloak of the medication. Now she got to get rid of them once and for all.

Leaving the museum, she stepped out into the sun as a new woman.

She took a deep breath of the fresh sea air, not as stale and stagnant as it was under the ocean. She was free now. Finally, and completely free.

Fortis waited for her in the water. He wasn’t close to the sand, but she hadn’t expected him to come up here and wait for her, anyway. The chickens were a very real threat to his sensitive scales.

Her chest ached looking at him. This massive, horrible monster had fought her as no other creature ever had, and now everything she had carried for so many years was gone. All the guilt, the weight, the struggle. She could move on with her life.

How did she thank him? He had given her the greatest gift a person could ever give another person. He’d broken her chains.

One foot moved in front of the other. Then she was running across the sands and into the water. The icy waves splashed against her thighs, but she didn’t stop until she plunged into the sea.

Alexia nearly laughed at the shock on his features, and then the slightest hint of fear. As though he thought that something in the house was chasing her. Or worse, the chickens.

Ridiculous that he was so afraid of them. And she adored him for it.

She just... liked him. If she was being honest with herself, she’d liked him from the beginning. Even when he’d trapped her in that ship, there was a part of her who had still admired him for what he was.

She swam to his side and threw her arms around his neck. He looked at her in shock, or perhaps like she had lost her mind, but she didn’t care. She grabbed either side of his head, his gills sliding through her fingers, and kissed him.

Alexia had never kissed anyone before, but she’d seen plenty of kisses. This was one of thanks, appreciation, and all the good things that bubbled up inside of her now that she had seen the truth. It was a firm kiss, probably too hard considering his teeth were sharp, but she didn’t care. His lips were cold and her entire body flared white hot at the touch.

She drew back to thank him for everything, for the truth he had revealed, but then he palmed the back of her head and tugged her back to him. This kiss was hot, his lips sliding overhers before his tongue plunged inside her mouth. He tasted of brine and male, a strange combination that made her head spin.

Suddenly, this wasn’t just about thanking him. It was about indulging herself in the feeling of his muscles flexing against her belly, his fingers in her hair, the rough glide of his other hand down her back as he pressed her more firmly against him.

Relaxing into him, she kissed him back. Tentatively. Just a gentle stroke of her tongue against his, but it was like she had lit a fire underneath him. He groaned, the sound long and deep as he pulled her even harder against his body. Any other human and he might have squished them, but she was stronger, sturdier, capable of rough handling.

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