Lunars of the Caribbean

The Not So Little Mermaid (32)

As an army of soldiers and guards raced towards the sound of the gunshots, Thorne stuffed his pistol into his pouch and stood over the pool Cress, Cinder, and Kaito had retreated through.

Aces, he thought. If this pool had any sharp turns he didn't know about, diving in could kill him.

Then again, dying in the water was much more favorable to Thorne than being shot by a mob of Levana's angry puppets. Or worse.

In a literal leap of faith, Thorne dove into the pool of water and let gravity pull him as far as it could go. Above, he heard the enraged cursing and gunfire of mad men. Thorne had to bet that one of them was Lieutenant Aimery. As that man hated Thorne the most out of anyone in the world.

To be fair, Thorne had escaped on his watch and destroyed his ship. Both of which were hilarious to Thorne. On the other hand, those events probably made Aimery's blood boil.

Well, too bad so sad. Thorne was getting away one way or another. And this underwater cave was his path back to his ship.

He pulled himself further and further down the tunnel, the water pressure popping his ears every so often. He secretly hoped that Crescent would have enough strength to swim back and help him after getting Cinder and Kaito to safety.

The tunnel was longer than Thorne imagined. This did not bode well for him, as swimming through without any aid could take forever. Heck, maybe people were already on his tail.

After several strokes coupled with turning his head back awkwardly, Thorne was certain no one was behind him. Plus, if anyone swam after him long enough, the poor sucker would drown.

His head felt lighter than usual. His eyes blinked with discomfort and irritation. Thorne hadn't swam underwater so long since ... ever. How Cress used to do this with ease when they ventured together eluded him.

After what felt like hours of pulling himself through water, Thorne saw light at the end of the tunnel. He swam closer and closer until his head was peeking out from beneath the island. Looking up, he saw the submerged cliffside of the island. There was more land beneath him, possibly connecting the island to the ocean floor.

Thorne pulled himself out of the cave, then scanned the area. On all point, the ocean seemed to be abandoned. In the distance, Thorne spotted a blip of matter that could have been the belly of a ship. Thorne's ship.

On his left, a reflection of light caught his eye. He thought he knew, even adored what make a flash of light like that.

He was terribly, terribly wrong.

..............................

Taking Cinder and Kaito back to the Rampion took longer than Cress thought. Hauling two people behind her while swimming used to be a piece of cake.

After being tortured and malnourished for over two years, not so much.

Struggling down the tunnel was the hardest part. Trying not to hit Cinder or Kaito with her tail made her swim in an awkward position that gave her a cramp for half of the journey.

And the fact that Kaito kept struggling and flailing about made it so much worse.

Approaching the Rampion, Cinder heard a familiar sound. A soft echo with a distinct melody. It initiated a sequence in her brain. One that told her to pull Cinder and Kai to the bottom of the ocean and wait for her kiss to wear off.

The melody was soothing, so calming. After so much hurt and agony, loneliness and fear, it was like a mother's warm embrace rescuing her from all that. Shielding her from the pain.