Dying Ichor

THIRTY-TWO

   Elias had never been a good swimmer before.

He admits he liked going to the pool when he was younger to hang out with family or friends, but when he grew up, he disliked the thought of going to pool parties. He also stopped going to the beach on family vacations since he never liked going there in the first place. He just didn't like swimming in general.

Which is why he'd never think, never in his whole lifetime, that he would be underwater at a god's palace with a dozen mermaids tending to his every word.

The palace wasn't filled with water which was actually pretty weird. There was actually a barrier they had to enter that prevented water from coming in, so Elias was glad he was finally stepping on some ground after riding on the hippocampus for a while. As for the sea monsters, the mermaids, they had no trouble getting in themselves. Some transformed into pretty young women as soon as they entered, but Elias had to look away and groan when he realized they weren't wearing any clothes. The other half of the group had small wings on their backs which Elias didn't even realize, so they were perfectly fine flying around with their tails.

Now Elias already thought about it before. He thought of how gorgeous these creatures were due to the many, many stories about mermaids and sirens. They were depicted as good and bad, but they were mostly known for their voices. But to actually see and hear them in real life? Elias couldn't help but be awed by them... even though he was still fucking pissed they dragged him into the dark abyss of the ocean.

One of them offered a pearl necklace to Elias. She smiled at him, thinking of how cute the mortal was until he smacked the thing away, attracting the hippocampus' attention.

Right. That thing was still there. How could he ever forget?

Strangely enough, it was attached to Elias and hardly ever left his side. Even when the mermaids brought him to a designated room, a luxurious one at that, the hippocampus didn't leave and curled up right next to Elias.

He was also annoyed by it, he won't lie.

"Hungry?" One of the girls trilled. She lifted up a bowl full of fruits. Elias won't ask where she managed to pull that out from.

Another mermaid popped out and smiled charmingly. "How about a massage?"

"What about these gems? Oh, this is a pretty good pearl! Do you want it?"

"Another pillow?" One offered. "You must be tired."

Elias ignored all of them and leaned back against the hippocampus, too irritated to even say a word. Two of the mermaids dropped themselves on Elias, curling themselves up against his warm body. A few of them began to hum, already emitting another one of their hypnotic songs to help him sleep.

If it had been another guy, they would've been thrilled to be surrounded by beautiful creatures such as these girls, but Elias was struggling to push them away. Instead, more of the girls gathered around him and laughed with one another. One mermaid accidentally laid her tail on his stomach, making Elias wheeze because of how heavy it was.

He was being suffocated by them. He wasn't so sure if he was going to make it. The hippocampus didn't even try to help, for she had fallen fast asleep and was beginning to roll on top of Elias' legs.

Before Elias was about to get crushed by their weight, the doors were opened with a loud bang. The girls immediately shrieked and scattered, only a few stayed with Elias, clutching onto his arms while they trembled. The hippocampus slowly woke up and snorted at the person who came in the room before plopping herself right back down against the floor, wanting to sleep again.

Poseidon, all battered up and furious, entered the room with several cuts and large bruises. He had his hair tied up to one side, but strands of it had gotten free and was in disarray, so he looked even worse. The kind smiles he had on the day before were all gone, replaced by a seething expression when he gazed upon the mermaids in the room.