Restless Waves

Chapter 22

Kaerius woke to a weight on his shoulder. The pressure felt like a million crabs pinching him directly on the bone. These were not just ordinary crabs; they were crabs on fire. He groaned and turned onto his good shoulder to shift the pain. His chest clashed with someone else, and Kaerius forced his heavy lids to open.

Bright green eyes were staring right at him. They looked just as surprised as Kaerius felt.

"Sorry," Rowan whispered. Kaerius felt his breath against his face. Exploring different elements other than wetness on his skin was always strange. "The pain in my chest was hurting a lot. I just needed to lie next to you."

Kaerius's skin tingled at the sound of his voice. "Need water," he whispered, ignoring the fizzing feeling around his heart. His soul seemed to screech with happiness whenever Rowan looked at him, was close to him, and admitted that he needed Kaerius to feel good. "Need ocean."

"I can fill the bath with cold water and salt?"

"Bath?" Kaerius asked. His eyes locked on Rowan's mouth. His legs wanted to wrap around Rowan's because Thalassic Mortal's hugged that way. When Rowan moved back and stood up, Kaerius felt the disappointment and wanted to punch his soul.

"I'll show you." Rowan offered Kaerius a hand and the sea creature didn't think twice about taking it. Kaerius still wore the leather gloves and wished that their skin would touch, just for a moment.

Rowan tried to drop Kaerius's hand when he was on his feet, but Kaerius didn't unleash his grip, it only tightened. Rowan assumed he was feeling unstable and needed help, so he did nothing more to pull away.

Rowan guided Kaerius to the bathroom, and Kaerius said nothing. He was too surprised by his lack of ability to separate himself from the human. Could the bond be strengthening quite that quickly? Were Kaerius's thick walls temporarily destroyed because he was injured?

Rowan pried his fingers out of Kaerius's grip and started filling the bath with cold water. There was a large box of sea salt in the cupboard under the sink. When his mother went on hunts, Rowan would need to throw saltwater over her when she returned. Sometimes, when a human was poisoned by a Thalassic Mortal, getting paralysed wasn't the only symptom. Sometimes, the poison drove the victim insane. Rowan covered his mother in saltwater because he wasn't sleep deprived enough to see her black veins. The saltwater revealed her lack of sanity, then Rowan would know that she had been poisoned and he could help her.

Kaerius watched the salt drop into the water and Rowan's hand swish around, mixing it. The muscles in his legs twitched. His sea creature soul longed to submerge himself in the water. He had to feel the cold numbing every inch of him, and Kaerius had to block out the noises with the water that filled his ears. Kaerius longed for the tranquillity and started pulling off his gloves and shorts.

Rowan stopped the water when the bath was almost full. He turned towards Kaerius who stood on wobbly legs. He was once again naked.

"Why do I have a feeling that I should get used to seeing you like that," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Rowan swiftly aimed for the door, and when he stepped into his bedroom, he heard a plunk like a large stone was dropped into a pond.

Rowan looked back enough to stare from the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see a turquoise tail flop over the side of the bath. Curious, Rowan returned to the tub. He knelt on the tiles and peered into the water. The bath was unusually large enough for most of Kaerius to rest wholly covered. The sea creature, with his eyes closed, smiled to himself. Sharp teeth pressed into his lower lip. Kaerius's hands gripped the sides of the bath, and his webbed fingers had returned.

Rowan's attention absorbed Kaerius's tale and his scales. They sparkled against the light above, changing from turquoise to green to mint to blue to teal to turquoise. The shine and the colours and the perfection of each scale made Rowan forget that he was looking at a creature of the sea. His eyes moved down to the two large fins at the end. They were light blue and transparent, curling at the bottom. They were imprinted with strange little swirls and lines, and they even shimmered from a glittery texture.