Sea Bride- Children of the Waves (6 page)

He grinned. “Something like
that.”

“I see.”

Xavior knew she didn’t. He
would have to show her. She tried wiggling out of his embrace again, but he
held her fast. He read the doubt and fear flashing in her eyes, clouding her
mind. He needed to make her believe. “I can prove it to you.”

“Ah—right. Sure. So, you’re
gonna grow fins? Well, let me get out of your way.” This time she pushed
against his chest.

He laughed and caught her
hands, holding them together. “Please. Don’t be afraid of me. And sorry, no
fins. That’s a human invention. We can simply exist under the water. Our lungs
and a few other organs are designed differently, allowing us to dwell at great
depths.”

She nodded. “Whatever you say.
But—you were also on the boat. Aren’t you supposed to stay in the water?”
She turned her head to glance at the sea “Don’t let me stop you from diving
back in.”

He smiled at her. “Actually, we
can survive on land and in the sea, but we must remain near large bodies of
water. We have to spend some time in the life-giving waters or we lose our
ability to forever enter the depths.”

“Sure, sure.” She nodded but
not because she really believed and agreed with him.

“Not yet, but you will be.
Trust me.” He didn’t give her a chance to panic or deny him. “Just hold onto
me, as long as we’re touching you’re safe.” Then he kissed her, entwining his
legs with hers and maintaining his hold on her, he rolled them into the water.
Releasing her, but holding her hand, he swam with her out of the cave.

At first, she tugged against
his hold. She kept kicking and twisting, her movements becoming more frantic as
she tried to pull them in the other direction, back toward the cave.

It’s
okay. Don’t be scared. As long as you’re with me, you can breathe underwater.
Just relax. You asked for proof.

He knew exactly, the moment she
registered his words in her head.

Her eyes grew round and wide.
She opened her mouth in shock, then closed it, realization dawning about how
she was breathing underwater. “How?” she mouthed to him, bubbles bursting from
her mouth.

He spoke his reply in her mind,
“Just think your words and I will hear you. Just the way you hear mine.”

“Oh, my God. Can you read my
mind?”

“No, not exactly, just those thoughts
you project toward me. Same with me. This is the way my people normally
communicate. We don’t read thoughts, only the things you’re actually saying. Your
private thoughts, the things in your subconscious, remain your own.” He didn’t
add that, after they were mated, they would be able to read each other’s
thoughts. That might be too much information for her…too soon. “I like you. I
want you. Again.” He let her see the heat in his gaze and found pleasure at the
answering glow in her eyes. “Spend some time with me; let me introduce you to
my world.”

She treaded water in front of
him near the bottom of the ocean floor. She peered downward and he followed her
gaze to try to see his world the way she might in the dim lighting. He squinted
and toward the bottom, he could make out colorful fish swimming by. There were
shadows of weed like plants that grew above ground but their leaves were
swaying with the current. He gazed up, nothing but water surrounded them and a
thin filter of daylight reached where they were.

“This is freaking unbelievable.
Do I have a choice?” she asked.

“You always have a choice. You
do not have to come home with me. I can take you to the surface and get you to
the next stop. But, I can’t take you back to the ship. By now, we’ve both been
reported missing. There would be too many questions I can’t answer.”

“All right, so your world isn’t
something you want made known, got it. I can just see the six o’clock news.
Mermen are real, save stupid tourists from drowning. But where does that leave
me?”

“When I get you to the next
stop, we’ll claim we were picked up by a fishing vessel.”

“The next stop is another two
days away. How exactly did you plan on getting me there? Swim? Just ’cause I
can breathe underwater, I’m not sure if I can swim two days to get there.”

Xavior grinned. “That’s because
you’re thinking in terms of landwalkers.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

It pleased him to see the fear
gone from her gaze. Only curiosity remained. And attraction, oh yes—that,
too.

“If that means a person who
walks on the land, then that is indeed what I am.” She shook her head. “Yep,
that’s me.”

“Well, the children of the
waves can cover great distances in much less time, than it would take you to
walk it. The sea is our home and parts its ways for us. You’ll see.”

“How long in,
uh—landwalker terms, would it take to get to port?”

“A few hours, and we can rest
in between.”

Cori thought she might just be
certifiable for even thinking this was all real, maybe that hit on her head did
more damage than she thought. How could she be miles underwater calmly talking,
okay well—thinking to this magnificent man after making incredible love
with him? Then again, did she? It could all be part of a dream, and she feared
asking him only to find out…it might really have been. He said they’d been
together, but could she take the chance that it was true, or make it come true
if it wasn’t? She glanced around. Amazed, at how she could see for what seemed
liked miles just like on land.

The undersea world appeared
spectacular, just like the underwater shows she’d watched as a kid. A bright
red and gold fish about a foot long, swam past them. The colors of life below
seemed even more vivid. How could she pass up the chance to see more and learn
more about this incredible world and the beings who inhabited it? She turned to
gaze at Xavior—okay maybe her interest really lay in learning more about
one being in particular. “How about I stay with you a couple of days and you
show me your world? I think I’d like to see it.”

“Good, I would like that, too.”

She followed him through the
waters, but the deeper they swam, the darker it got, until all she could see
really were shadows. Fear crept into her thoughts.

He must have picked up on
something, perhaps by the way she clung to his hand. He stopped and tread
water. “I’m sorry,” he spoke into her mind. “I forgot you would need this.” He
took the necklace he wore from around his neck and placed it around hers.

She blinked. She already
noticed the medallion before, when they’d first met. A memory had sparked then
and again now. She’d seen it once before, but couldn’t remember where. “Wow! I
can see again.” It seemed like someone just turned on a light in a dark room.
She peered up but couldn’t see all the way to the surface anymore. They’d gone
deeper and the water seemed to be an endless blue green. She could see all
sorts of undersea life. Most of it she couldn’t even begin to identify. Cori
raised the necklace, so she could get a better look at it. A round flat disk,
about the size of a dime, and made of—maybe black pearl, carved into it
the shape of a wave, reaching toward the sun. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. The
necklace is a sea charm. It allows you sight underwater, and to breathe even
when I’m not holding you. It has been in my family for generations.”

Cori tried then, to take it
off. “Oh no, then I can’t wear this.”

“Yes, you can.”

“What about you?”

“I can see quite well under the
sea.”

“All right. Then, I’ll just
borrow it and return it to you when you take me back topside.”

“Come on.” He pushed his
powerful thighs against the water and propelled them forward.

Cori truly walked or
rather…swam right into another world. The necklace did help her see more
clearly. It looked like daylight underwater, she could see for miles. She had
no idea how long they continued swimming, passing all manner of underwater
life. She saw sea creatures she felt sure, no other human had ever seen. She
never realized how colorful and dazzling sea life could be. Neon yellow,
purple, green and red…all stunning to the eyes. None of the creatures shied
away from them, and as long as they didn’t meet any sharks, she was fine.

Finally, in the distance, even
further down on what she thought must be the sea floor, appeared the outline of
buildings. Like a city, but like none she’d ever seen before. “Oh, my God!” she
thought to Xavior. “You really do come from another world!”

He turned to her and hugged her
closer to his side. “Welcome, to my home, Cori.” He kissed her, bubbles
floating from their joining. Their bodies wrapped around each other, and they
slowly spiraled downward toward the city.

Cori never experienced
anything like his kisses in her life. His tongue filled her mouth and she
feasted upon it. What was happening? He pulled away, but continued to hold her
hand. She immediately felt bereft, craving his closeness, but enjoying the feel
of her hand enclosed in his.

As they neared the city, she
saw buildings made out of some type of beach-colored rocks. The building
material had a textured look, almost like stucco. There were even windows just
like in buildings on land, but she would bet the translucent coverings on the
windows wasn’t glass as she knew it. The tallest looked about ten stories high
and the lowest maybe three. She saw quite a few teenagers swimming around or
traveling on the sea floor in some sort of boat-like vehicle, but it skimmed the
bottom, churning up sand as it passed by. Everywhere she looked, there was
life, and people. People who lived in the sea, all with legs.

“We are children of the waves,”
Xavior explained in her mind. “Sea people, if you prefer.” He swam right down
the middle of two towers, standing about a hundred feet from the bottom. The
image of a man, twice the size of a normal human, was carved into the side of
the towers. It might have been Poseidon, without a fish tail. He stood naked
but for a wrap around his waist, on two legs like a man who walked on the land,
but he held a trident in his hand. “This is our capitol city. It is called
King’s City, seat of the sea throne.”

There were a couple of adult
men swimming near the entrance, and both wore colorful swim shorts. Thank
goodness, what she wore didn’t seem so out of place. At least she had a top on.
She wondered what the women wore. When the men glanced up and saw Xavior, they
stopped talking, placed closed fists over their hearts, bowing their heads to
him as they swam by. “Is that the way you all normally greet each other?” she
asked.

“Sometimes. If you don’t mind,
I’m going to take you to my place first. From there, I’ll contact my companion
who’s still on the ship and find out if they remained on schedule. Afterward, I
will show you around.”

They continued to swim past
tall buildings, spread out on both sides of them. There were no streets but
clear paths. “Oh God, Des! She’s going to be frantic. Will I be able to call
her and let her know I’m all right? Although, I’m not sure she’ll believe me if
I tell her what happened and where I am.”

“We don’t have phone service
down here. But from the pal—uh, my home, I can contact Aaron, my friend
who’s still on board, and have him get a message to Des for you, so she’ll know
you’re okay and will catch up with her at the ship’s next stop.”

“But what will you say?”

“I’m sorry but I’m not going to
be able to tell her the truth.”

“That’s what I figured.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of
something, so she won’t be alarmed.”

They swam through an archway
into what looked like an underwater garden. Colorful flowers crowded either
side of the walkway they swam over, and equally colorful fish swam among the
flowers that swayed with the water’s ebb. She’d never seen anything like it.
Some of the fish had long thin faces and ate from the center of the flowers,
like hummingbirds.

Beyond the garden was a
building that looked different from the others. For one, it seemed to be one of
the largest buildings she’d seen and perhaps one of the tallest. They came to a
set of double doors twice the height of Xavior and they opened at their
approach. It took Cori a moment to realize two men stood on the other side of
the door and had opened it. They greeted Xavior the same way the others had
greeted him. The other thing she noticed was all she’d seen were adult men and
teenage boys.
Where are the women and
young girls?
“Do you not have females?” she asked.