The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) (13 page)

CALLIE

The dark clouds above puff out like the chests of peacocks, asserting their majesty. I watch the waning moon disappear behind them and continue to move through the waves, breaking the surface every now and then, letting the water carry me wherever it wills. I find clarity above the surface, the dryness of the air clinging to me and encasing me in a blanket of acute thought. The situation begins to become transparent in my mind, easily foreseeable. I wonder why I didn’t see this coming. It is in fact the single most logical way for Orion to assert absolute ownership over me, and that in its entirety is why I could not say yes.

The next problem I am faced with is the fact that I have just left him standing in front of his people without an answer. I wonder if I have made the right choice as my tailfin flicks upward, sending salt spray up around me and I feel the first drops of rain begin to fall on my back.
Can I go back now? Will he be contented us being together as just Orion and Callie, not man and wife?
The word wife makes me irrationally angry and I clench my teeth, riding through the increasingly tumultuous waves, enjoying each bite of the ocean’s white capped surface, stinging my skin as I bury myself within it once more.
What the hell was he thinking? I’m eighteen for goddess’ sake!
My own internal monologue reminds me of his motives.
He thinks we’re destined.
I want to spit the word, slam down on it hard with my fist. I hear an inward sneer, a cajoling bite that whispers to me, stirring my anger.

I feel my blood boil as I break the surface again, without direction or reason, riding the waves of a growing storm and enjoying my insignificance against the trembling waves, the beating of the rain against my scales, the darkness of the depths beneath. I watch the fish stirring, moving in time with their frantic, fearful heartbeats.
Pitiful.
I think a thought that isn’t my own and shake it off. Eventually I find myself looking upon a shoreline I hadn’t even realised I had been heading for. It was the root of my problem, so it was no wonder really, but I had returned once more to the beach where Orion and I had first kissed. Where I had died in his arms.

I bob up and out of the water at increasing intervals of nearness to the line of the sand. I feel the wicked currents pulling at disjointed angles beneath me so I continually move my tailfin, left then right, correcting my position. I can see the light from where I am, even though the rain is coming down in sheets.
 

The beach house. The life I’ve left behind. I wonder if my friends are inside. If they’re giggling, laughing, watching a movie without me. I miss them now more than I can say I have since I died and was reborn. I miss the warmth of their bedrooms, the simplicity of quilted bedspreads and bowls of popcorn. I long for their company, for the simplicity of their lives. A simplicity I had all but taken for granted once. I had thought my life was so hard. Had I known what was to come, I can’t help but wonder if I would have been slightly more grateful for Carl and all his bullying. I’m not saying he wasn’t a bastard, of course he made my life difficult, but he was nothing compared to the armies of Psirens and the demons I had seen rise from the depths of the ocean. I longed for his critique. I longed for my mother. I longed, for just a moment, to be human.
 

I move forward, sloshing water up my back in a cold cascade, allowing my head to immerse itself once more in the ocean. I swim, desperately, quickly and wanton toward the shore. I climb up on my haunches, moving my slickened scales against the grain of drenched sand. I haul myself, the weight of my tail immense now on land, toward the life I had once lived. I find myself out of breath quickly, heart hammering, waves lapping over me in a chilling realisation that I cannot go back. I look up at the lights of Chloe’s beach house, the place where I once had so many human problems and collapse onto the sand, letting it catch me and the waves climb over me like a sodden blanket. I roll onto my back and let my tears fall, exasperation and grief overcoming me like a tsunami. The rain continues to fall down over me and lightning illuminates my broken form as the storm washes my tears back to the sea, hardening them into something eternally cold. I lay there, under the intermittent sparks of the raging storm, stuck in the place between my old life and new. Wanting to go back.

I slowly curl up, pulling my tail up to my chest and place my chin on the aquamarine scales. I let the waves pull me back to where I’ve come, back into the ocean’s depths. I surrender to the movement of the storm, surrender to the idea of being alone, surrender to my inner tumult and let myself be taken by the rage of the water.

Falling through the waves so deep, I close my eyes and beckon sleep.

I hear something stir beneath the earth. It is hot to touch underneath my fleshy mass. I can hear it, whispers crawling over me with arachnid softness, a tingle moving across me with wicked intent. Tremors are moving through the dense rock and heat is breathing in and out of all the fissures of the ocean’s bedrock. I close my eyes, scared to know what is encased in a timeless coffin. I see black slashes, symbols flash across the back of my eyelids. Something I’ve seen before but cannot quite remember. I hear a cackle as I writhe with terror in a place unknown to me. I know not what surrounds me but only what lies beneath, the jaws of something old, something dark, stretching open in a grin, a grin that will swallow me whole. I don’t think this is a memory… or at least… it’s not my memory.

I wake with a start, curled up on the ocean floor, alone. Or not, as I look up into the eyes of Cole.

“Callie… what are you doing here?” He looks at me, something unmistakably horrified in his eyes.

“I… I ran away,” I stutter, shaking off the dream that had not belonged to me. I wonder if it was a reaction to the stress of everything that’s going on around me. But then again, mermaids aren’t supposed to dream, we are only meant to consolidate our memories into a flawlessness that time cannot erode.

“I don’t think you ran… more like swam,” Cole presents a hand to me, helping me up from the sand. His onyx tail is moving impatiently and it aggravates me slightly. I don’t wonder why he is here. I know Orion has sent him.

“So exactly how much trouble am I in?” I ask him and he shakes his head.
 

“I don’t know. It seems to me like Orion is pretty worried. I think he’ll be glad you’re safe.” His armour is shimmering around him. I turn from him, feeling the pressure of his presence. “Let’s go back to the city. I can call off the search and the rest of the Knights can return to their proper duties. Keeping everyone safe,” Cole speaks the words and I can’t help but feel they’re directed at me. Like I’m causing some huge inconvenience for everyone. My heart is stony in my chest, emotion from the night before, much like the storm in the midst of which I had sobbed, is clearing, vaporising into nothing.

“I don’t know if I want to go back,” I whisper. Faux weakness sounds throughout my tone. I want him to pity me, but I no longer feel sorry for myself. This wasn’t my fault and I’m not going to deal with it on anyone’s timescale but my own. Cole opens his mouth to retort but I turn and start to swim away from him. He follows me insistently.

“I cannot go without you. If I have to stay here I will. It’s not safe to be out here alone. You need protection,” he implores my fear to engage an understanding of his logic within me. This only makes my anger grow.

“No. I need to be alone. I can protect myself. I died and came back to life remember?” I continue to move away from him, something catches my eye and an abhorrent feeling of rising vomit follows. We are still close to the shore and I can see its proximity to the human world now more than ever. A turtle is caught in a plastic bag, throttling itself within the rungs one would use to carry groceries home. Next to the poor creature is a discarded soda can and several candy wrappers. The remnants of a sugar binge. I move down through the water and rip away the plastic bag. The turtle’s brown leathery flippers beat against my arms as I free it, desperate to be back, swimming free. As I pull the tacky plastic loop from its neck the big beautiful black eyes connect with mine in a moment of thanks, a second of mutual respect. It swims away, slowly, gracefully through the azure hue of the water and into the distant morning light. I realise Cole is now beside me.

“Must have thought it was a Jellyfish. They eat them you know. It’s good this one got caught up in the bag and didn’t eat it. That can kill them,” he speaks like this is common knowledge. I feel bile rise up within my throat, thick and sweet.

“You’ve seen this before?” I query him, horrified.

“Near the coasts, yes. We try to help wherever we can. But sometimes it’s not enough.” His royal blue eyes fill with a kind of melancholy knowing. I wonder why it is Orion and I are working so hard to save a world full of people who are so goddamn ignorant and disrespectful to the needs of their own planet. I feel something stir within me, that tiny voice at the back of my skull, growing louder with each instance.
Exactly.
 

“Humans suck,” I exhale and Cole nods.

“They are… young even still I suppose. Evolution takes time.”

“This isn’t evolution, its common sense and a lack of care,” I shake my head, the anger not fading but reverberating through my every thought. I clench my fingers into my palms.

“I think we should go back, Callie. I can tell you’re stressed out. Maybe you need to talk things out with Orion. It isn’t safe out here,” he reminds me once again of the Psirens and my anger crests. I roll my eyes and he frowns.

“It’s not my fault you know, that he’s like this with you.”

“So I’m not overreacting about him being so overprotective?” I ask him and he looks deeply uncomfortable.

“Look… I shouldn’t really be talking to you about this stuff, it’s not my place to…” He trails off and I glare at him, erect as a poker in the body of the sea and determined to know another sees my point of view.

“Cole. Spit it out.”

“Well…
 
My soulmate, Jack, he’s with the Knights of Atargatis all the time, and I love him. But, I can’t stop him from going out there and doing his duty. He’d kick my ass.” He looks at me and his mouth twists into a smile at the thought. I can see the love there instantly.

“So you’re saying Orion should suck it up and let me fight if I want?” I look at him hopeful, warming to him slightly.

“I’m saying if you weren’t a woman, he wouldn’t have much of a choice. You may look small and dainty, but I saw you that night over the city. You’re stronger than he thinks. You’re stronger than even you, yourself, realise,” he smiles at me and I feel confidence grow within my chest, blooming outward from my sternum and crawling around my ribs like vines, reinforcing my bones, protecting my heart.

“Thank you,” I smile at him and he nods, an expression crossing his face that I can’t quite read.

“Don’t mention it. As in, actually don’t mention it. I don’t fancy pissing off the new Crowned Ruler,” he shrugs and I nod.

“I think we should go back now. You’re right,” I do this to show my gratitude and smile gratefully. I know I’m doing him a favour by not putting up too much of a fight, but I also know that I do need to go back to the city. I need to go and talk to Orion. I need to go and tell him how I feel. I need to fix things between us. After all, what other choice do I have?

CALLIE

I’m staring at Orion, mouth hanging open, my heart thudding so loudly it’s the only thing I can hear. I can feel the eyes of the anxious onlookers bearing into me, waiting for the answer. My answer.
 

“I…” I begin, my voice a squeak. Orion is beginning to look stony faced as we hang there, suspended in an answerless void. I look at the ring, nuzzled inside the shell he’s still holding open. A giant sparkling diamond, cushioned by tiny ice blue pearls and aquamarines. It’s beautiful. I can’t move though. Can’t move to take it, can’t move to answer. I am suspended, the silence and my blood rushing around my body, the only actualities within the awkward bubble. A voice within me says only one word.
Flee.