Restless Waves

Chapter 21

Sorry if you didn't get a notification for Chapter 20 that I uploaded yesterday! I'm not sure what happened, but hopefully you'll get one for this update? Fingers crossed! :)

- Sian

"How?" Rowan asked, but Kaerius's low groan distracted him.

Kaerius's face twisted with the pain searing through his arm. "It hurts so bad," he mumbled in the Thalassic tongue. To Rowan, it was a soft grumble of whispery words.

"You'll be okay as long as you're with your soulmate," the old sea mortal replied, and Kaerius's eyes opened wide and sudden.

"Soulmate?" he hissed, confused and sore. When his eyes fell on Rowan, everything unexpectedly calmed like boiling water taken off the stove. "Oh," Kaerius whispered. "Soulmate." The sight of Rowan was like looking at something stuck in time. Ageless, timeless, flawless. His light green eyes staring down at Kaerius called for him to be closer, much closer.

"Ow," Kaerius complained, distracting himself with the pain. He didn't want Rowan to see the longing in his eyes.

"You'll be okay, I think. It's just a scratch," Rowan said with a nervous laugh.

Kaerius looked at Jaiker, who raised a grey and overgrown brow. "Just a scratch?" Kaerius said in the Thalassic tongue. "The spear stuck out of me like I was somebody's food!"

Jaiker couldn't help but smile at that. "Just be thankful that your soulmate jumped in the ocean to save you. He would have drowned trying if I didn't smell your blood."

Kaerius glanced back to Rowan, who listened with fascination. Kaerius wondered if hearing him speak in the Thalassic tongue was like Kaerius listening to Rowan's English. He didn't always understand, but because Kaerius spent most of his childhood listening to human kids, he could understand reasonably well.

"Stupid human," Kaerius said and swatted Rowan's hand away that was still resting on his chest. "Nearly drown. You die, I die."

"Kaerius, I know that which is why I jumped in to save you. I couldn't stand on the rocks and watch you bleed to death."

Jaiker shook his head, and despite Kaerius having a severe injury, he reached over and slapped the side of his face. "Respect soulmate!"

"Not my soulmate!" Kaerius growled, bearing his sharp teeth.

Rowan sat back, picking at the shell bracelet on his wrist. Something twanged his heart. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the Thalassic Mortal in the sea. "What's your name?"

"Jaiker," the old sea creature replied.

"Well, Jaiker, I'm sorry that I impaled your son's tail the night of the hunt. Is he okay?"

Jaiker looked surprised. "Laiken fine. He scream like whale."

Kaerius tried to cackle, causing a wave of immense pain to stab him across his collarbone. He whimpered, and to his soul's delight, Rowan leaned over him again, giving him his full attention.

As gently as Rowan could, he lifted the t-shirt from the wound. Small amounts of purple blood dribbled from it. It wasn't bleeding like it was before. "If he were human, I would have taken him to the hospital. How do you treat wounds- you know- underwater?"

"Ah!" Jaiker said and sank out of sight.

"Do you have like a first-aid kit or-" Rowan stopped when Kaerius stared at him quizzically with those intense purple eyes.

"First-aid?" he repeated.

"Never mind." Rowan covered up the wound and frowned deeply when Kaerius made a low raw sound. "It's a nasty injury."