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“Oh, sorry, Kaga,” said Squiggles. He poked his head out and looked around. “I heard those sharks, Allura. You were right, they were confused. They were told to keep an eye on you, but then they smelled blood. I want to go home.”
My cheeks warm, I patted Squiggles on the head. “We’ll be home soon enough. After we visit this sea witch and cure Kaga.”
He disappeared back under my hair, behind my neck. I cleared my throat, not looking Kaga in the eyes. “You must have startled him when you—”
I stopped talking, and a smirk tugged at Kaga’s lips, his eyes light with mischief. I pushed him and swam off. “Come on you. Let’s get going.”
After hours of swimming, I spotted a cave a few yards away. I pointed to it, barely even speaking, and Kaga rushed toward it. Once inside, we collapsed onto the cave floor, the cool stone digging into my back. “Squiggles?” I said. I winced at how faint my voice was. “Are you still doing okay?”
A tentacle slid off my head to pat me on my shoulder before quickly returning to its spot. Thank the abyss. “Let’s rest up here. I don’t think I can swim anymore today.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaga nod and give me a languid thumbs up. A sigh escaped my lips, and I closed my eyes, falling asleep right on the stone.
It wasn’t long before I gave up and decided sleeping wasn’t worth it. I had drifted in and out of consciousness, chased by sharks in my dream world. I sat up and stretched, grimacing at the tightness of my muscles.
I took a peek at Kaga, smiling when he slept peacefully, his breathing slow and unlabored. I gazed at his face, entranced. There were plenty of handsome merman in the sea. It was a hobby of mine to look at them, of course. Not a single one compared to Kaga, though. His jawline was strong, and his skin impossibly smooth. I shook myself when I realized I had been memorizing his face.
“A human,” I whispered to myself. “He’s a human. Nothing can happen.”
I repeated those words like a mantra, trying to convince myself that the growing feelings within me were inconsequential. Humans lived on land. The few that came to the sea never stayed. But as I watched Kaga’s peaceful slumber, a pang of longing tugged at my heart. It was as if fate had intertwined our paths, drawing us together. I would never dare confine him to the sea, and I could never live on land. “Squiggles, pinch me.”
Obviously, I needed some sense knocked into me. Squiggles gently squeezed my collarbone, and I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous I was being. I swam outside, and the entire sea was dark. Ugh. Not even the faintest light rays shone down from above. If we swam around without any light, it wouldn’t be smart. At least there was a giant clump of seaweed near the cave. Hoping I could sleep better in that, I quickly made two, thankful that my sight could see enough to do that.
In my hammock, I closed my eyes, willing sleep to overcome me. Darkness surrounded me, and I slipped into dream after dream. Sharks circled Kaga, and I called his name, frantic.
Gentle hands gripped my shoulder, and I looked up. Kaga floated over me, his face etched with concern. I sat up. “Sorry. I had a bad dream.”
Kaga nodded understandingly, gesturing to the empty hammock next to mine. “Yeah, that’s yours,” I said, not understanding, before flopping back down.
He put a hand to his forehead. Then he slid into my hammock, throwing an arm around my waist. “Hey!” I said, my mouth dropping open, but his eyes were already closed, his breathing slow and steady. I grumbled a little, then closed my own eyes. His warmth surrounded me and I nestled my head onto his shoulder. If I was going to share a hammock, I might as well enjoy it. It wasn’t long before the comforting weight of his arm lulled me back to sleep.
Light filtered through the water, and I nuzzled closer to the warmth. It took a moment before I realized where I was, and in an instant, I froze. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw Kaga’s smooth skin in front of me.
Slowly, I unwrapped my arms from him and kicked, sending myself above him. Kaga just rolled over, his eyes remaining closed. I brushed a strand of hair off his face, glad when I didn’t wake him. He needed the rest.
Outside the cave, my heart pounded as I searched for food. My mind was consumed with thoughts of how I’d woken up. Never, in all my life, have I ever slept overnight in another merman’s bed. Sure, I’ve spent time inside a bed here and there. But never overnight. It’s a line I vowed never to cross until I was desperately, hopelessly in love. Or saddled to him forever by my parents’ meddling.
Kaga and I slept next to each other twice now. One time, okay, that could have been an accident. But twice? There was no excuse. I was mature enough to admit that I didn’t mind it. In fact, I enjoyed it. Having his strong arms around me while I slept was a new experience, and one I relished. I wanted more nights together like that. There was something about his presence that comforted me, and I didn’t want it to go. Unsure what to do with these feelings, I banished them from my mind and focused on finding food.
A short time later, I had a few plants for a side salad and a fish to cook. I went back to the cave and set my treasures on the floor, getting to work.
When I finished, I pushed the smells toward Kaga, the scent carried by the water to him. His nose crinkled, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop from giggling at how cute he looked. His eyes flew open, meeting mine. I smiled, gesturing to the food.
He smiled broadly and joined me. As we ate, I told him some stories of my childhood. His favorite was the many ways I escaped my tutors to swim away, only to be caught by my father. It was as if he had a second sense for my plans.
We finished and cleaned up. “Come on,” I said. “We’re almost to this volcano.”
Chapter 17
Kaga’s water dog bounced around us as we cut through the ocean. Thankfully, we had an early start. At first, we swam in silence, until Kaga stopped me. He put a hand to his mouth and raised an eyebrow, pointing to me. I grinned in response, happy to talk.
I told Kaga story after story, ranging from my own life, to the legends we learned since we were babes. Instead of words, his gestures and expressions showed me his interest and excitement.
It took all day to arrive, and the moment the volcano came into view, I stopped to stare at it for a second. I’d been here once before, when my mother came to talk to the sea witch, but it was a long time ago.
The massive underwater volcano loomed above us, heat radiating off the walls of stone. The fiery glow from deep within cast an eerie glow, lighting up the rugged walls of stone in oranges and reds. It was a dark contrast against the bright coral reef we’d just swam through.
As far as I knew, the volcano had never erupted. No one made villages close by though, because the threat of lava bursting forth remained. I shivered, hoping it wouldn’t explode while we were there.
