Page 69 of Call of the Fathoms

Tau was difficult. He knew the others wouldn’t understand many of the things she was going to tell them. He didn’t want them to think less of Alexia for the life she had lived. She’d fought too hard for his people to judge her.

Arges crossed his arms over his chest as they floated above the abyss together, far enough away from the village for a private conversation. “You have feelings for her.”

“Feelings are irrelevant. And I do not.” But that was a lie, and he knew it.

Arges knew it too. His brother scowled, obviously disappointed that Fortis denied his feelings. “Fortis. If anyone could understand how you’re feeling, it is me. I know my other brothers are difficult to speak with about... well, anything. But I have felt the same thing you are going through.”

“And what do you believe I am feeling?”

“Curiosity. The difficult and disgusting experience of being attracted to one of them when you have hated them your entire life. The knowledge that nothing will ever be the same because you found one of them, but that truth also makes you want to claw your eyes out.”

That about summed it up, but it wasn’t something Fortis wanted to admit. He did hate that he found her interesting, and that was the most difficult part of all of this.

“I do not enjoy achromos,” he hissed. “They are a plague upon this sea, and I wish to see the waters run red with their blood. The world will never be the same if they remain as they are.”

“I agree.”

“You are mated to one, Arges. That has to change things.”

“It doesn’t, though.” Arges shrugged. “I can hate Mira’s people without hating her. Is it difficult? Yes, of course. The conversations surrounding how I feel about her people will never be easy. She doesn’t like that I want to hunt them and kill them. I don’t like that she wants to save them. It’ll be difficult, especially considering where yours are from. But that doesn’t mean you should shy away from such difficulties.”

Grumbling, Fortis shook his head. “I have no interest in her. What more do I need to say to convince you?”

“Give me a reason you don’t like her.”

He shrugged. “Everything about her is a reason to not like her. She is the enemy. Every interaction with her thus far has been a fight, both physically and in words. It is not the kind of relationship that can be lasting.”

“Relationship?”

Fortis glanced over and saw Arges had raised his brow. Clearly, his brother saw something that he did not, and Fortis hated that. He would not admit that there was anything going on between him and Alexia. He did not wish for there to beanything going on between them, either. These complicated feelings would eventually subside.

He hoped now it would be easier to deny her. She was with others of her own kind, not stuck in the depths with him. Soon enough, they would both forget each other because there were others for them to speak with.

But still, the words bubbled out of his lips. “The ghost of my wife visited me. She told me to live, but I have no interest in doing so.”

Arges seemed to think about the words for a long time. The lull in their conversation gave the sea time to swirl around them. Eddies drifted around his body and toyed with his hair, filtering through his gills. It was nice to feel the sea supporting him, as though she whispered whatever he chose would be the right current to follow.

Finally, Arges asked, “How long has it been since you’ve shown interest in any woman?”

“Since my wife.”

“And how long has she been with the ancestors?”

He swallowed. “Many, many years. But I have been faithful to her for all that time.”

Arges hummed out a low breath. “You have been faithful and loyal to a memory. It is an honorable thing you have done, but a memory does not care that you are loyal, Fortis. That loyalty was for you. Not her.”

The words stung. He had been everything he was supposed to be for his wife, even after he lost her. To hear that, maybe, it hadn’t been the right thing to do? He refused to believe it. Admitting all that would mean admitting he was wrong. And that he had wasted so much time in his life when he could have spent all those years being happy.

Shaking his head, he tried to think of an argument that would justify his actions, but then he was saved. Aulax appeared, hislights all flaring in happiness as he approached the two of them. This was just the excuse he’d been looking for.

Clearing his throat, he nodded toward his son. “I need to see to my boy.”

“He’s a man now, Fortis.”

“He’ll always be a boy to me.”

No matter how old his son aged, he would always be Fortis’s boy. That was how it went. Aulax was the most important child in his life, and he refused to see him as anything other than that. Unfortunately, Aulax found that exceedingly annoying.

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