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Did fish play with humans? She’d heard the rumor that people in Alpha Quadrant actually kept them as pets. They’d make another glass jar, like the ones they lived in, and then watch the fish swim around. Was it doing that to her? Maybe, to these fish, she was the pet.
But the moment his lips had touched hers, as he’d breathed air into her lungs, he’d known it was the right choice. Deep in his bones, he felt the rightness. As though the ancients of the ocean had touched his heart and told him that she needed to live.
The undine who kidnapped her was trying to... feed her?
And oh, he hated that he had the momentary thought that she might even be lovely.
“Do you want more junk?” he asked, his lip curling in disgust. “You want me to bring you more broken things?” She clearly had no idea what he was saying, but he understood her request. “All right, achromo.” His gills flared again before he could stop them. How could she know it was the correct mating ritual for her to request that he bring her treasures? “I will bring you more junk.”
She couldn’t give up, not when he was making that horrible noise over and over again. It was like he was singing to her, and she didn’t like any guy that pinned her down and tried to sing. Of all things.
Edible vegetation in the ocean was hard to come by, but he would discover it for her.
She’d stolen this from him. Because he had never done any of this with any other female, and now he would always remember his first mating trials. His first attempt at having a mate, and neither of them had even wanted each other.
Apparently, he had been above her the entire time she was swimming, and she’d had no idea. He was very proud of that.
“This place makes me a little more breakable. Being cold and wet means I could get sick easier. There are no vegetables, only the fish you bring me. So I will eventually not have enough of what I need to eat, and I’ll likely die. If you have something you want from me, Arges, you probably need to ask sooner rather than later.” His brows furrowed and his expression grew troubled. Without another word, he sank beneath the surface and disappeared.
“Byte?” Mira asked. “How much of that did you get?” The lid of the box popped open. “We’re now at exactly four point two percent. That was a good conversation, Mira!” Groaning, she fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m never getting out of here.”
She’d let him lift those legs up, and stare at her feet, as she’d called them. She had trusted him to touch her, even wore that smile on her face, and he was... humbled. She’d let him touch her. And oh, it made him burn.
She’d explained how fragile they were, and that worried him. So, she couldn’t stay in that cave. He couldn’t keep leaving her there when the cold and the wet could kill her. He’d never had a more difficult pet in his life.
“I’m absolutely fine. No one hurt me.” “Good,” he said quietly, knowing that she couldn’t understand him. “Because I would have turned the waters black with their blood. I don’t care that he’s my brother, or that the others have been in my pod for years. They do not understand the value or the worth of your life, kairos, and I will not stand for their mistreatment of you.” Brushing his fingers gently through her hair, he added, “You are dear to me now, Mira. I fear I have brought you into a world where you can only meet your end.”
“Everyone needs to be taken care of sometimes, you know?” He didn’t. But looking up into those strange eyes, even if they were surrounded by white, he wondered if it wouldn’t be too bad to be taken care of by her.
“I’m going to start healing you. If that’s all right?” she asked again, her voice a little deeper than before. Nodding, he lifted his arms to frame her hips, dragging her a little closer. She could do whatever she wanted if he could stay right here for a little while longer.
“I’ll be fine,” she repeated, her words a little harder than before. “You don’t have to worry about me. Either of you.” But this still didn’t settle well with him. The only option was to return to the depths, to Mitéra, and beg for her to allow the release of his kairos. Even if that meant his honor would be forfeit, Arges found himself willing to do it. “I will be back,” he murmured, his voice low as he sank beneath the waves. “I will save you, Mira.”
the little robot had already ducked back into its box. If she listened very carefully, Mira could hear the projector was still going. This time inside the box, playing memories that Byte wished to watch alone. Setting it down gently on the computer console, she gave the droid a little privacy to mourn someone who had been so dear.
He’d lied to Mira. There were no rumors about anyone living there, nor had he been aware of its existence. He’d asked the sea to guide him to where she would be safe, and it had brought him there.
Outside of the home, he’d found two skeletons. One that was clearly of her people, the bones of her legs had been eerily interesting. And laid out next to her were the bones of one of his own kind. A massive male, with a tail nearly twice as long as Arges’s, speaking of his age and power. They had been curled up next to each other, almost as though the sea didn’t even dare move their skeletons. Together, even in death.
Oh, he had never known she could be more captivating, and here she was. Starting to acclimate to his world without needing her devices and he... He was undone.
“This can’t be comfortable for you. You’re laying on a hard floor.” “You’d be surprised, Mira.” Then she swore he added, “Having you in my arms is the most comfortable I’ve ever been.”
“Come with me, Mira. I have many questions that I need answered.” “Wouldn’t talking up here be a little easier?” “I don’t intend to talk.”
“Wow,” she whispered. He was breathing hard as well, his gills still flared wide. “That was acceptable?” “Fuck, yes.” “Good.” He grabbed her by the hips and turned her around. She laid on his tail, her stomach pressed against the undulating scales when she felt a second, hard touch against her opening. “Because I have two.” She arched her back and screamed as he slid in again.
Fuck, she was in love with an undine.
