Chapter 288
The Flounder docks onto the warship with a soft shudder that runs through the hull like a relieved sigh. The docking clamps snap shut, and for a moment, everything is still. Just breathing. Just processing the fact that we made it out alive—again.
The airlock hisses, and then Tai barrels through it with all the grace of a battering ram.
“You maniacs!” he roars, a huge grin splitting his face. His arms are already open wide. “You beautiful, reckless maniacs!”
Wake barely has time to step aside before Tai swoops me up, spinning me once in a circle that makes my head swim.
“Easy,” I laugh weakly, tapping his shoulder. “Still recovering here.”
Tai sets me down gently, but he’s practically vibrating with excitement as he wraps his nephew in a bear hug. Behind him, Andreas strolls in, a cigarette tucked behind one ear, the normally polished man looking like he just walked away from a bar fight with a… well, a mutant whale.
Andreas leans into Cora’s hug. “I told that overgrown oaf that you lot would come through,” he says around a smirk. “I wasn’t even worried.”
“You were very worried,” Tai says cheerfully.
“I was not,” Andreas says.
“You cried,” Tai fires back.
Andreas gives him a long, baleful look, then shrugs. “One tear. Understandable given the sheer… magnitude of the abominations we just witnessed.”
We all laugh, and the sound is rough, raw, needed.
Cora steps forward then, the weight of the moment settling over her like a crown she never asked to wear. She reaches out, squeezing Tai's shoulder, then Andreas’s hand.
“Alright, lads, before something else happens, it’s time to address some things. Nereid’s yours now,” she says, voice steady. “I’m asking you both to keep doing what we started. Protect the seas. Protect the people. Stand between the Elder Kin and the rest of the world. You’ve already proven you can.”
Tai's mouth falls open. Andreas just nods once, solemn.
“We won’t let you down,” Tai says, voice thick.
“I know,” Cora says, her smile small but fierce.
Delphi steps forward next, her glow dimmed to a soft, natural shimmer. She takes Peter’s hand—he doesn’t even try to hide it, just threads his fingers through hers—and turns to face us all.
“I’d like to stay,” she says, her voice clear and sure. “With Nereid. With Peter.”
Cora’s breath catches audibly. She blinks fast, fighting it, but the look on her face is pure heartbreak barely disguised as pride.
Delphi squeezes her sister’s hand. “You’ll need me when the time comes. I’ll come. But for now… I need to learn how to be free. I need time.”
Cora opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again. She looks like she’s about to argue, but the words die on her lips.
I step in, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“You should stay too, Cora,” I say gently.
Her head snaps toward me. “No. Phoebe, you’re heading into the Abyss. You can’t—”
“We can,” I interrupt, squeezing her shoulder lightly. “We’ll be fine. We’re not going there to pick a fight. If all goes according to plan, we’ll come back with the ocean’s biggest army at our back. And we’ll promise not to make any big moves without you.”
She shakes her head stubbornly. “But—”
“Besides,” I add, with a small grin. “Someone’s going to have to fill Khale in. And you know he’s not going to listen to just anyone.”
That earns a weak laugh from her.
“She’s right,” Wake says, stepping beside me, his hand finding mine. “We need you to prepare them. If this ends the way we hope—or the way we fear—they’ll need to be ready.”
Cora looks from me to Wake to Delphi. Finally, she nods, swallowing hard.
“I’ll stay,” she says quietly. “But you have to swear to send for me the second you need backup.”
“Swear it,” I say, pressing my palm to hers.
Wake does the same, nodding once.
“Sworn,” he says simply.
Miore steps forward then, his posture straight but hesitant, like he’s walking a line between soldier and diplomat.
“I would like to go with Cora,” he says, his voice low but strong. “I feel I must meet with Tangaroa’s chosen. Not as a runaway prince or a wayward Heir. As a true leader. I… fear I have not been the ruler my people deserve. If I want to earn their trust, I’ll need to bring proper allies to the table. I’ll need to show them I have changed.”
The room falls silent for a heartbeat.
Then Cora nods, sharp and sure. “We’ll make it happen.”
Tai claps his hands together, breaking the heavy air. “Alright then, no one’s leaving on an empty stomach. We’ve got supplies on the Flounder…. Does anyone know if there’s a kitchen on this thing?”
“Is that an invitation for a farewell feast?” Tyler asks, grinning.
“Damn right it is,” Tai says, already jogging toward the Flounder’s galley. “Come on, you’re not getting rid of us that easy!”
The makeshift dining hall aboard the Flounder is a patchwork of emergency blankets spread across the main deck, but it’s as good as home. Andreas pulls out bottles of something strong and entirely unregulated. Delphi sets out rations that somehow, thanks to Tai's scavenger magic, include fresh fruit and something resembling real bread.
We crowd around the blankets, filling every available patch of floor. Plates are passed, bottles traded hands. For a little while, it’s just laughter and food and the easy, chaotic rhythm of a family that fought tooth and nail to stay together.
Cora sits close to Delphi, never letting her out of arm’s reach, as if she’s afraid she’ll vanish if she looks away. Peter leans into Delphi’s side, casual and protective. Tai spins stories so outrageous they’d be unbelievable if we hadn’t lived through worse. Malu smirks through it all, drinking and pretending not to be moved.
Silo tells a terrible and surprisingly raunchy joke about a sea slug and a jellyfish. Arista and Cora groan. Miore actually laughs, the sound stiff but genuine.
Wake stays close, his thigh pressed against mine under the table. His hand brushes mine every few minutes, a silent promise. A tether.
I look around and memorize every face, every scar, every glint of hope and weariness and stubborn survival.
Because we all know this isn’t really goodbye.
It’s just a pause.
The war isn’t over. It hasn’t even started, not really.
But for tonight, we feast.
We live.
And tomorrow, we dive into the unknown.
Together, even when we’re apart.
Because that’s what family means.
And we’re going to need every ounce of that bond for what comes next.
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