Restless Waves

Chapter 76

Two bodies were wrapped in long kelp strips with shells woven into the plants. Rowan and Kaerius were last to arrive at the caves, and then there was a long and slow journey to the Thalassic Mortal burial ground.

The sky above was coated in thick stormy clouds, so the ocean floor was darker than usual.

Thalassic Mortals swam together. Mandy and Braiken held their brother, while Michael and Rowan held Wez's soulmate.

The swim to the nearest burial ground took hours. The sea creatures were very, very deep in the ocean when they saw arranged stones emerging in the distance. Kaerius and Laiken swam ahead to look for a spot for the Royals.

Thalassic Mortals helped clean an area and decorate it with pebbles and plants. Then, they dug. The sand wasn't too hard to move, and with a lot of hands, they dug a couple of feet down into the ground and made the grave big enough for both Wez and his soulmate.

Jaiker and Laiken laid them to rest. Thalassic Mortals crowded the graves, watching the sand cover Wez and his soulmate up, piece by piece.

Mandy and Braiken swam close, and once the graves were full of sand, they placed two flower crowns that they had made on land and weighted them with pebbles, so they didn't drift.

"I remember the first time I came face to face with a shark," Mandy said in the Thalassic Tongue. Kaerius translated the words for Rowan privately in their thoughts. "I was only about four years old, and I had wondered too far along the reef. I thought the shark would eat me, but Wez had followed to me and scared off the shark by slapping it with his tail and screaming. We were both terrified, but he showed me that he would do anything to protect me." Nobody could see her tears, though the whites of her eyes slightly pinked. "When our family was cursed and Wez hadn't heard from us for a while, he came on land to protect me. He stuck by my side for twelve years despite us drifting apart in our teenage years. Wez didn't deserve to die at the hands of hunters, I did." Mandy covered her eyes and sobbed.

Braiken's arm was around her the moment her voice had trembled. "Our brother was kind and good. My only regret is not connecting with him sooner," he said. "I will miss him every day and tell anyone I meet about him and his bravery. We got justice for you Wezarian. You can rest easy now, brother."

Each Thalassic Mortal placed a pebble around the grave, whispering words of an easy time after death.

The day was a daze for Rowan, and his emotions were strange and changed with every hour. He would get upset about Wez's death then laugh about his mother's funny memories of him, then feel a little anxious about his studies, and he was in disbelief that they had finally gotten through the battle with the hunters.

"It's weird down here, isn't it?" Kaerius thought. Rowan didn't hear him at first, but Kaerius successfully fished for his attention when he snaked a hand around Rowan's waist. "You feel the pressure of all that water, but so light too."

"Yeah." Rowan looked up. They were so deep; not even the sun could break through that much water. "No humans have ever been this far. That's pretty cool."

"Yes, and I don't think humans ever will. The earth will spit them to the moon before they have the chance."

"Pity. The sea is amazing." Rowan looked around, his Thalassic Mortal eyes seeing far in the deep dark water. Massive underwater cliffs rose for miles and miles. They had passed many shipwrecks on the way, and Rowan commented about the titanic.

Kaerius had seen the famous shipwreck and spent the day with Jaiker and Laiken, tampering with human technology that tried to look inside the boat.