Restless Waves

Chapter 15

Kaerius gripped the sand when his heart started aching. His chest tightened and the back of his neck tingled with discomfort. He felt an overwhelming need to protect and comfort someone. That someone was Rowan, and Kaerius felt his soul screaming for him to be as close as he could.

Kaerius rubbed circles on his chest and muttered, "stop being so upset, it's hurting." Even though Kaerius wished Rowan could hear him, he was thankful there was no mind link. The human talked a lot out loud; he could only imagine the chaos going on inside of Rowan's head.

After almost giving up waiting, Kaerius's uncle returned with Jaiker.

"Look," Laiken said, moving his father to float in front of Kaerius. "Look into his eyes. You'll see it."

Jaiker took his son's tone very seriously and stared at Kaerius. It didn't take long for him to see what his son had seen. "Oh goddess, what in the deep seas have you done," he whispered.

Kaerius looked away when Jaiker's eyes stared too intensely. The attention was never on him, and Kaerius wished he hadn't told them, but he needed their information on bonds. They would no more than human hunters. It wasn't natural for humans to have soulmates, so why would they know more?

"I told you, I have a soulmate, and I need to get rid of the bond before it's too late," Kaerius said, with a heart that throbbed because his soulmate was upset. "How long do I have to get rid of it?"

Jaiker was too busy staring at Laiken to listen. "We can't let the others know about this," Jaiker said quietly but quickly.

"Why not?" Laiken asked.

"If they find out that Kaerius has a soulmate despite not being a royal, and that soulmate is human, they will exclude him from the group and never let him join any others. They will make sure he is alone until he is forced onto land."

"Mmm. A little dramatic, don't you think?" Kaerius said, and they both stared at him.

"No, Kaerius. They'll see this bond as a punishment from the Goddess. It makes no sense that you have been paired with a human, especially when you're not worthy of the bonding of souls."

"I've done nothing wrong," Kaerius argued.

"If others assume that you're bad, then we'll be viewed the same way." Jaiker gripped his long grey beard. His eyes then glinted with a darker shine. "Have you done something to deserve this?"

"What could I have possibly done to deserve a lifetime bond with a human soul?" Kaerius scoffed.

"Kaerius has a point," Laiken said. "This is unheard of because the Goddess does not dabble in mortal lives. There's the dark sea and the light sea for that once we pass on. There must be a reason as to why Kaerius has been given this... this curse."

* * * * *

Rowan kept his head in his palms even after he had stopped crying. He felt his dad's hand on his back, rubbing it gently. Michael said nothing as Rowan calmed down, and Rowan didn't want to face him.

After a while of sniffing away his sadness and drying his face, Rowan sat up and connected his gaze with his fathers.

Michael smiled and patted his back. "I'm guessing you haven't been able to talk with your mother about how almost dying made you feel," he said. It wasn't often that Rowan broke down. He was an emotional person, but he didn't struggle with the ones that made it hard to smile. "You can stay here for a few days if you want. I can drive you to university if it's too far to walk."