Restless Waves

Chapter 48

If you're looking for something new to read, and want to help support newer authors, then check out the story: Free Among the Stars by Author: _seaofwords_ :D

- Sian

When the moon was high in the sky, Kaerius kept yawning, but he had barely stopped talking about the ocean and his caves and the kelp beds since Rowan made it clear that he really wanted to stay in the sea for the night.

Laiken and Jaiker had never seen him so excited. After Kaerius lost both his parents, he had never really been the same and morphed into a twenty-year-old who didn't see the point of anything around him. Rowan was bringing out that curious boy he lost.

Kaerius guided Rowan through the kelp forest and tangled himself up in the slimy plants, so he wouldn't drift to the top while he was sleeping. "I'll sleep now, but if you need me to be awake, you can wake me. Yes?"

Rowan nodded and wrapped a slimy plant around his waist. They watched each other for a while until Kaerius's eyes could no longer stay open. Rowan eventually felt the tiredness too and swam to the caves to see if Jaiker and Laiken were awake. He could see well with his Thalassic Mortal vision and spotted them sleeping in the cave.

Rowan drifted around for a while, swimming up and feeling the temperature change, then swimming down and feeling the pressure of the water and the temperature drop. He had no idea what the time would say. He had no phone to play on, no research to do. Rowan was left entirely to his thoughts.

Was turning Jack away the right thing to do? He didn't know whether trusting him was more dangerous than letting him join their quest to visit the vampires. Jack had given him no reason not to trust him, and if Rowan never trusted anyone until they proved that he could, Rowan had a feeling he wouldn't have very many friends. His supernatural life had always been a secret, and Rowan thought that one day he would break free from it all and never speak about it again. He thought he would date humans and have a normal life. Being with Kaerius made it impossible to forget the world of the supernatural, though Rowan no longer minded so much. He really liked Kaerius and was excited for their future together.

As Rowan drifted higher again, he blushed when he thought about their passionate kiss. He hadn't been kissed like that by anyone. He brushed his fingers along his neck. The thought of Kaerius's lips tracing his new gills made him shudder. Stage three of the bond was yet to be completed, which was a very personal stage.

The third stage is the touching of the souls by mating. Rowan bit his bottom lip and spun around in the water as he thought about the written words in the Thalassic Mortal file. The thought was definitely not a bad one, but Rowan felt nervous all the same. When he first read the stages to Kaerius, he thought the third step would never get close to happening, not in a million years. Supernatural bonds were powerful beyond belief.

Rowan swam back to the kelp bed and found Kaerius still curled around the plants, sleeping softly and comfortably. Rowan hoped he slept for a while. Kaerius deserved a great night's sleep. Rowan wrapped himself in plants too and watched Kaerius's hard features soften in his sleep. "We'll spend more days in the ocean now, I promise," he said out loud, but his words were barely louder than a whisper.

* * * * *

Kaerius woke up in the ocean, and he thought he was dreaming. He buried his hand in the sand, and it took him almost thirty seconds to realise that he was awake and had slept in the ocean, his home. Kaerius looked around for Rowan, but he wasn't within the kelp.

Rowan was eating fish with Jaiker and Laiken when Kaerius poked his head into the open by the cave.

"Kaerius!" Laiken said in the Thalassic Tongue. "Look what Rowan caught for your breakfast!" Laiken held up the biggest codfish Kaerius had seen in ages.