Ch. 43
“Wake, you have to understand,” I start, trying to keep my voice steady, “I’m human. I’m not like you. I’m fragile compared to you.”
He looks at me with narrowed eyes, skeptical. His gaze flicks to the discarded scuba gear in the corner of the cave. “You used the machine to get here. You can use it again.”
“That machine is for shallow dives compared to what you’re asking of me,” I explain. “Even the best equipment has its limits, and those limits are a lot lower than you think.”
He scoffs, waving off my concern. “You’re making excuses.”
“No, Wake, it’s science,” I counter, trying not to let my frustration show. I gesture to the open water leading back into the Marble. “If I were to jump in right now and try to reach the surface without proper equipment, I’d never make it. The pressure alone would crush me, liquefy my organs. And if by some miracle I survived that, the nitrogen buildup in my body would kill me long before I got there.”
His brow furrows in confusion and annoyance. “Then transform as I do.”
I open my mouth to explain, but he’s already growing agitated. His muscles tense, his jaw clenches, and I can see the storm brewing in his eyes. “The gods would not be so cruel to tie me to a useless land-bound mate.”
The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of me. Useless. Land-bound. It stings more than I care to admit, but I don’t let the pain show. Instead, I force myself to think. Maybe he’s right—maybe there’s something about sirens that makes it possible for them to change. Something I haven’t understood yet.
“What makes it possible for you to change, Wake?” I ask, genuinely curious now. “What is it that allows you to shift between forms?”
He stares at me, uncomprehending. “It’s natural. It’s how we were made.”
“But there has to be more to it,” I press. “There has to be some biological process, something we can study, understand. I can help you, but I’ll need to run tests, serious tests. That means you’ll have to cooperate with Lily, Peter, and the rest of the team. No more sneaking out, no more—”
“I am not a specimen to be studied,” he snaps, his anger flaring like a tidal wave. “I will not be trapped in this place like a caged beast.”
“Then what’s your plan?” I retort, my own frustration bubbling to the surface. “Tear this facility to the ground? Toss it into the sea? That’s not going to solve anything, Wake. It’ll only make things harder on both of us.”
His eyes darken, his entire form bristling with barely contained rage. “You doubt me. You confuse me with these pathetic human males you fear, when I am the only true threat here,” he growls, his voice a dangerous rumble that sends a shiver down my spine.
Before I can respond, the water around us begins to bubble and roil, as if responding to his fury. The temperature drops suddenly, the air thickening with tension. I take a step back, my heart pounding in my chest as I watch the water churn violently…and begin to rise.
It swirls up from the pool that connects the cave to the open water of the Marble. The gentle ripples quickly transform into powerful currents, twisting and coiling as if Wake is commanding them with nothing more than his will. The cave begins to fill, the water level rising higher and higher, climbing up the walls.
My heart pounds in my chest as I instinctively reach for my throat, panic surging through me. The water is rising too fast, and I have nowhere to go. There's no time to run, no way to escape. My breath comes in shallow gasps, and I can feel the cold water lapping at my ankles, then my calves, and then my knees.
“Wake,” I whisper, a tremor in my voice. “What’s happening?”
He doesn’t answer.
I shoot Wake a pleading look, hoping, praying that he'll stop before it's too late, but his gaze is fixed on me, intense and unyielding. The water continues to rise, now up to my chest, and I clutch at my throat, the fear of drowning clawing at my mind.
As the water covers my face, I gasp, and realize that I can still breathe. I open my eyes to see a glassy layer surrounding me, as if the water is held back by some invisible force. It bends ever so slightly, forming around my body, leaving me a thin layer of oxygen to breathe. My mouth falls open in astonishment as I realize what Wake has done.
Around us, sea creatures swim freely within the flooded cave, their sleek bodies gliding through the water without concern. A massive eel with glowing eyes twists and turns above me, and a school of sharks circle around, eyeing me with empty hunger. Luminescent jellyfish drift by, their tendrils trailing through the water, sparking with electric charge.
I'm surrounded by them, close enough to reach out and touch, but I'm too afraid to move. The thin layer of air surrounding me feels fragile, as if the slightest disturbance could shatter whatever spell this is and doom me to suffocate. My heart races, my pulse pounding in my ears as I try to remain perfectly still.
Then Wake speaks, but this time, it's not with words I can hear. It's as if his voice is directly filtered into my mind, bypassing my ears entirely. His tone is powerful, resonating within my very thoughts.
“Do you understand now? You believe that I am trapped, at your mercy here. You are wrong,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “These walls can not hold me. I am the sea, mate. I am not bound by your human constraints.”
I can feel the fear rising in me, threatening to choke me, but I can’t let it show. Not now. Not when he’s on the brink of something destructive, something that could destroy us both.
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