Page 38 of Welcome to Seaman’s Cove: Part Two

“Even if we did, my mother would come for us.” I smooth Madi’s damp hair away from her face. She’s still flushed from her heat spike, and so beautiful. I can’t let anything happen to her. “Your only chance is if I can keep the queen distracted enough not to think about you until after the wedding.” I make eye contact with Hunter. “The rest of you should try to get away while I’m gone.”

“We need the radio from the submersibles,” Sebastian says.

“Submersibles?” I tilt my head studying the handsome beta. “I don’t know this word.”

“The underwater ships we were in when we were caught. They have communication devices that we could use to contact the ship, but who knows where they are now. The guards dragged us here, then broke the submersibles apart when we got close. The wreckage is probably floating somewhere in the ocean, unless they took it with them.”

“Your split tail is weird,” Amalie says, clearly not caring for our conversation since she doesn’t understand human language. “I don’t like it.” She splashes water onto the rock. “We need to go.”

She’s right. It could be dangerous for my mates if I keep the queen waiting.

Hunter and Phoenix’s knots must have gone down, because Madi sits up, covering herself with the seal pelt blanket I brought her and scooting closer to the water. “Will you introduce me to your sister first?”

I smile. “Happily. Amalie is my favorite sibling. But don’t tell her that. She’s got a big enough head already. We all spoil her.”

Madi laughs. “We’ve kind of met already, but I didn’t know her name or who she was to you then.” She waves at Amalie. “Hi. Thank you for your help with the breather. I’m really glad I’ve had the chance to meet you, even if it’s like this.”

I quickly translate for Amalie, who grins from ear to ear at Madi’s words. She springs out of the water and plants a sloppy kiss on my mate's cheek before flipping and diving below the surface.

Madi laughs, the sound sweet after so long without hearing it.

“Take care of her,” I say to the three men I’m leaving behind. “I’ll see if I can find the communications device or your ship, but… it’ll be difficult. I’m closely watched, and there’s only three days until the wedding.”

I can’t bear to say more of a goodbye than that. Touching Madi, kissing her or any of them, would keep me here for sure. So, I turn, flick my tail, and follow quickly after my sister.

The guards scowl at us as we pass, no doubt planning how they’ll tell my mother that we were here. “Say a word, and it will only prove your own incompetence for letting me slip past.”

Amalie giggles, blowing a kiss at the guards before darting off.

I follow in her wake, every wavelength I put between me and my pack nearly painful. I lurch forward with a burst of speed to overtake my sister, flicking my tail in a silent communication for her to follow me before taking a sharp dive to the right. Keeping close to the side of the city wall, I check to be sure there isn’t anyone about before dipping under what looks like a bunch of coral jutting out. We slip through the hidden gate meant as an emergency escape for the royal family, resigned to the fact my mother awaits.

Except I have to come to an abrupt halt, Amalie running into my back with a yelp. I should have known it was too easy. Princess Farrasea blocks my path, arms crossed and a stern look on her face. She’s surrounded by two of her personal guards. I vaguely hear something hit the rocks below my tail, but my concentration is solely on how to navigate this potential mess.

I dip my head in reverence before finding my voice. “Princess Farrasea. How unexpected to see you here, though not unwelcome.”

Her expression doesn’t change. “Why are you using the hidden gate? And where are your guards?”

Straight to the point, I guess. She swims closer, her eyes narrowing as she scents me. “You smell like sex.” My heart jumps to my throat. I open my mouth to explain, but she continues before I can get a word out. “I understand this is not a love match, Caspian, but to visit your whores during our wedding week is a slight I cannot tolerate.”

I bristle at her calling my starfish a whore, though I know Farra doesn’t mean her specifically. It’s not a secret that many kings take lovers outside of their union, but it’s expected to be done discreetly. I would never disrespect my bonds like that, but it's unsurprising that’s the conclusion Farrasea jumps to.

“That’s not what this is, Princess. I swear it.” How can I prove to her what’s actually going on? If I tell her the truth will she report back to my mother and put Madi at risk? Then another thought occurs to me. “How did you know about this entrance?”

She scoffs, her arms uncrossing as she gestures behind me to the gate I just swam through. “You think I wouldn’t be briefed on emergency protocols for a kingdom I’m visiting? One I am supposed to be cementing an alliance with through marriage? Please, don’t insult my intelligence as well as our vows.”

“I would never underestimate you, Princess, but if you’d just let me expl⁠—”

A shriek from Amalie stops me short, and we all look around frantically worried she’s in danger. She swims up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist, her face pressed into my shoulder. My heart slows as I lay my hand on her back, thankful she’s safe.

“What in the seven seas is that?” Farra is staring at the ocean floor, pointing a slender finger at something. When I follow her line of sight, my adrenaline spikes once more.

Gently prying my sister’s arms from around me, I swim alongside Princess Farrasea until we’re right in front of the new anomaly.

There is a reflective disc flat on the sand, but what’s shocking is the image that’s seemingly projected above it. Bits of plankton glow brightly as they flit through the wavering picture, the light powering it temporarily blocked by the ocean debris. Tentatively, I reach out, my fingers gliding through the image as if it’s a mirage.

“What is that language? What is that… being?” Farrasea questions softly, as if she’s afraid being too loud will disrupt the phenomena.

“That’s a human,” I hedge before I listen to the voice coming from the disc, noting an accent my Madi doesn’t have. “And this is a human language, though one slightly different than I’ve heard before.”