Page 82 of Jewel of the Sea

She beamed at him. “Let’s go!”

He caught her arm before she rushed out, commanding her attention.

“We’re not going to be able to speak to each other while we’re under, Aymee.”

“Oh.” She’d forgotten about that.

“I need you to stay close at all times, and if I separate from you at any point, remain where I indicate.”

She nodded, hating the fact that she wouldn’t be able to communicate with him. Her mind leapt back to her first meeting with Arkon — it had been initiated because of a gesture Jax had taught Aymee, a signal.

“What about signs?” she asked. “Hand gestures?”

“There are very few that you would be able to accurately recreate,” he said, “so we will keep it simple.” He extended a single finger and pointed down. “Stay here.”

Aymee stared at him blankly.

He turned his hand palm-up and beckoned with his fingers. “Come. I think those will serve as a good starting point.”

She offered anare you kidding melook of her own, but grinned when his lips twitched.

“What about danger?” she asked.

Arkon flashed his skin yellow.

“A signIcan make.”

“Why don’t you create a gesture now, and that is what it will mean to the two of us?”

Aymee scrunched her mouth to the side in thought. She opened her hand, fingers together, and waved it in front of her chest.

Arkon nodded and mimicked her motion. “So it will be.”

They went to the submarine pen together, and Arkon kissed her — a deep, lingering kiss — before she raised her hood and put on the mask. Aymee dove into the water after Arkon, and when he guided her to take hold of him, she wrapped her arms and legs around his torso. Smiling up at him, she rested her head on his shoulder.

He ducked underwater and propelled them forward. Aymee thrilled at his agility as they sped through the concrete tunnel and entered open water. She was torn between appreciating the beauty of the surrounding ocean — which only increased as they neared the bottom — and watching the graceful, hypnotic rhythm of his tentacles as they flared out and came together.

When they reached the seafloor, Arkon slowed and ran his hands along her thighs. Desire rushed through her. With a grin, she unlocked her ankles and lowered her legs, feet coming down on the uneven rock of the bottom. Arkon only released her fully when she’d found her balance.

The submarine pen had granted a tiny glimpse of the sea as a whole; being here now, on the bottom, with endless blue stretching in all directions, was overwhelming. Sunlight glittered on the surface far overhead, casting thin, ever-shifting shadows on the sand and rock at her feet. Sea plants of countless varieties grew all around — patches of waving grass; green and purple stalks covered in bulbous, floating pods; masses of branch-like plants resembling bushes without leaves.

Creatures of many shapes and sizes moved around and through it all. Their colors spanned the rainbow, and their patterns varied; shimmering scales and sleek skin, stone-like hard shells, opalescent carapaces that shifted hue as they were hit by light from different angles. She slowly swept her gaze across it all and stored the images to memory for later paintings.

She looked at Arkon and smiled.

He returned the smile and motioned for her to follow as he swam toward one of the larger rock formations jutting up from the bottom. Many of the creatures scattered, but as Aymee and Arkon slowed their movement, the creatures resumed their normal behavior. She was content to simply watch as they scuttled and swam in and out of holes and through plants, each following its own survival instinct.

Arkon pointed at the ground. Aymee rolled her eyes, but his expression remained stern, and she let herself sink to the bottom.

Her feet touched down on the edge of the rock formation, just before it gave way to a large patch of sand which was broken only by a few smaller rocks and sparse vegetation.

As he swam away from her, Arkon shifted his color to match that of the water. The effect didn’t leave him invisible, but it broke up his silhouette, making his form difficult to distinguish from the surrounding blue. He floated near the rocks about twenty meters away, at the far edge of the sand, directing himself with only the smallest movements of his tentacles. The nearby sea creatures seemed not to notice him.

A shadow passed over Aymee. She twisted, looking up to find its source, and her heart stilled.

A boat.

Turning, she searched frantically for Arkon. It took her a few panicked seconds to pick out his shape. She waved her hand over her chest.

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