Sea of Tears

Chapter Six

Remaining by her side inside the half-sunken ship throughout the night, Adonis gazed down at the maiden in nothing short of reverence when the sun began to rise over the horizon. His white lashes lowered to her face in all its serene perfection. With her lovely dark brows sculpted and downturned in a frown, her pert nose and those full, beautiful lips the color of coral, he could think of no word that did her justice other than royalty. She was more beautiful than even the Merqueen, Srana from the Fourteenth Moon century, a siren known from his historical line for her beauty. She looked like a princess. Maybe she could be.

She began to stir, her brows drawing closer together as a deep inhale came from her lips. Immediately and without thinking coherently, Adonis quickly changed his form into that of a starfish, settling on the upper half of her thigh he had just been caressing. He inwardly sighed at his poor attempt at discretion. Upon opening her eyes, she glanced down, noticing him right away with a gasp. He smiled instantly.

She's so lovely...

Arching a brow down at him, she suddenly picked him up and tossed him back into the water, mumbling, "How did you get there?"

But still so rude.

Turning back into his own form, Adonis watched her from beneath the surface as she sat up and looked around the sunken ship landing. She seemed frightened at first, and yet then her expression quickly changed into resolve. Remarkable, he thought, how even the weakest looking creatures surprised him by their determination to live. Perhaps she had already suffered far worse than what she had already gone through.

Or she was just stupidly brave.

He couldn't wait to see and find out. Regardless of not being quite ready to reveal himself to her in his true nature, he had no intention of leaving her to fight for her survival on her own. He had already seen how good she was at that. In time, once he gained her trust... then he would reveal himself and claim her for his keeping. She would soon understand who she belonged to.

The prince over all the oceans. The apex predator over her pathetic... whatever she was.

His tail ebbed back and forth in excitement as he kept his cerulean eyes locked on her. She turned back towards the water with a small gasp, looking directly at him, or rather through him. She was terrible at locating dangerous predators, obviously. Although the only danger she would ever witness from him would be directed towards her enemies, never her.

His smile widened as she searched the rippling water.

I'm right here, you blind maiden.

She lifted her eyes, turning her head to look at the wall with a confused lilt of her demeanor, prompting him to assume she was trying to figure out how to free herself from the vessel. When he grew tired of her searching eyes, he turned into the most harmless, pathetic creature he could think of in the moment other than plankton: A whimsical little minnow. Changing into the small camouflaged form, he broached the surface and began swimming in small circles to direct her towards her best exit.

This way, girl, through the deep.

She did marvelously. Easing herself into the water slowly, but without fear, she began to use her unique body to swim gracefully - and surprisingly quickly - through the broken underbowel of the sunken ship. With a small sense of pride, he swam alongside her, next to her line of sight in case she got lost or fumbled to get out. No matter what, he would make sure she got out if that was what she wanted.

Once free, he watched from the sandy bottom as she kicked and moved upward in a fast swim towards the surface. She broke through with a loud inhale of breath. Swimming beneath her, he observed her swimming patterns with curiosity. She was much faster underwater than when she was recklessly kicking above the surface, flailing her arms about in loud splashes that could alert any nearby hunters of the deep.