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Licking her lips, she tried to get control over her emotions by saying, “My name is Alys. What’s yours?”
The ship flickered, lights coming back on. Red panels started blinking all over and the ship itself gave a rumble as the power turned back on.
The undine in front of her bared his teeth, a sudden flash of sharp edges and flesh tearing fangs before he darted away from the ship. That massive, powerful tail sent him careening into the kelp forest and disappearing all in the span of one breath.
Her knees wobbled, and suddenly Alys realized she was rather shaky. Every part of her body quivered as she slumped into her seat and blew out a long breath. “Beta?”
“Alys?”
“What’s the report?”
“Most of the systems are offline, but if you activate the emergency protocol, it will bring us back to the base while maintaining life support.”
“Okay.” Her eyes stayed glued to the glass and the spot where the undine had disappeared. “Activate emergency protocol.”
Chapter
Two
Flicking his tail, Imber darted through the waves and crested the surface. Flinging himself into the warm air, he rotated mid leap before splashing back into the waves again. There was much to celebrate today. Namely, his sister was to become a mother. Already, the entire pod was waiting with her. They gathered around the beauty of her extended belly and sang the songs of the ancients.
She would continue their bloodline with her birth. A miraculous thing, considering she was the only sister he had. Imber had come from a smaller family. His mother had difficulty with each pregnancy, and she’d only had the two of them survive. So to see his line continue in his sister’s name? Ah, it made his entire body feel light.
Males were not allowed to attend the ceremony, of course. This was women’s work, and the matriarch would allow them to see the babe when she was ready. And when his sister was ready too, of course.
He just... He couldn’t wait to see the new life. It had been a long time since his pod had a child to dote on, and now they would all have a new baby to spoil rotten.
Perhaps he would bring the child a seashell from the far off hunting grounds. If his lovely sister had a daughter, then they would need abalone to create the perfect comb for her hair.
But, as was often these days, any time his mind went to adventure, it also went to the new creature he had discovered only a week ago.
A woman, he reminded himself. It had spoken.
They’d seen her kind before. The achromos, they called them. Because all the creatures that came into their sea were so... colorless as she had been. Pale skin, pale eyes, pale hair. There was nothing on her body that even suggested she had color at all. Just like the inside of a clam. Disgusting, really, but he had found this one rather... pretty.
In her own way, of course. She wasn’t the beauty like the large females of their pod. He was supposed to be attracted to creatures that were infinitely larger than him. Massive females that would coil with him when they wanted a child. Someday, he would do the same thing that his sister’s mate had done. Although, he hoped he survived the mating, unlike his sister’s chosen.
There was something rather magical about seeing a female that was smaller than him. First, he had thought it was a child. Surely something so small would not be full grown.
But then he’d realized there was no one else in the strange circular shell. It was just her, and another voice that seemed to come out of the walls of the strange contraption. Which meant she couldn’t be a child. No one would send a child on a mission out into the ocean alone, not even her kind.
So he’d gone a little closer, wrapped his tail around it to keep the small shell in place while he watched her movements. She’d even spoken to him a few times, at least attempting to converse, and he didn’t... well. He wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Imber hadn’t told any of his pod what he’d found. How could he? They would want to hunt her down, to see what this strange creature was who had captivated him. And though he was more than happy to help his pod in any way that he needed to, he didn’t want to share this new secret just yet.
Which was why he had gone back to the kelp grove for multiple days in a row. And why he found himself in the same place, just like every other day. What if she came back? What if he got the chance to speak with her again?
He wasn’t even sure what he would say. Should he tell her what he was? That he was one of the People of Water, and that there were many just like him? What if she wanted to discover his world?
Excitement zinged down his spine as he moved some of the kelp out of his way. The green bioluminescence of his body lit up like a beacon, casting a green glow upon the surrounding kelp. Somehow, he knew today was the day that he would see her again. There were too many good omens for her to not be here.
To his utter delight, the first thing he saw when he pushed aside the kelp was that strange shell that she rode in. It was lying against the sand again, although the dust had long since settled and there were more creatures swimming around it. Even the fish wanted to know what it was that had entered their home.
Gliding through the water, he approached the glass front. Peering into the shadows, he realized she wasn’t inside of it. How? He had no idea. Surely it wasn’t possible for her to leave the shell? Was it?
Arcing up over the top, he realized there was a way into the pod. Although it was currently filled with water and then sealed again, it appeared there was a way for her to exit without flooding the entire space. And a small tube came out of the top, trailing out with plenty of slack.
“A tube?” he muttered, picking it up in his hands and giving it a small squeeze. “Flexible, but... for what reason?”
