Rowan absentmindedly swayed his feet back and forth in the water as he flicked through the file. He kept forgetting that Kaerius was next to him. Occasionally, the Thalassic Mortal would splash his tail on the surface, and Rowan would jump.

"I can't believe it doesn't say anything about removing a bond," Rowan sighed. "Maybe there's no way of removing it."

Kaerius scowled. "Kill bond," he muttered. "Must be."

"What if there's not, and we're stuck with each other." The boys looked at one another, both feeling the chills from such a thought. "Wait, what if we just reject each other? So, maybe the bond will go away on its own?"

Kaerius shook his head. "Stronger. Here," he said, resting a hand on his chest. "Stronger."

"If we ignore it, it'll only get stronger?"

Kaerius nodded. From when he first connected the bond to now, the pain in his chest increased. Through the night, his heart ached to see Rowan again, and when he did see him, Kaerius couldn't control the excitement. He had an excellent poker face, but soon, he would struggle to keep away the affection that was getting harder to tame.

"So, we're on a tight limit to get rid of this thing?" Rowan ran a hand through his blonde hair. "How long do we have?"

"Ask father," Kaerius said and pointed to Rowan. He then pointed to himself. "Ask uncle."

"I can't ask my dad," Rowan said with a worried frown. "He might suspect something."

Kaerius rolled his eyes and started swimming backwards. "Ask," he said, and with one last glance at Rowan, he dipped underwater and didn't resurface.

Rowan paused and stared at the water where the Thalassic Mortal was just swimming. "Kaerius?" he hissed before standing up. "Kaerius?" The sea creature didn't return, and Rowan's chest tightened. As the Thalassic Mortal swam away, Rowan's headache returned almost instantly. He was hit with fatigue as if he just consumed a large meal.

Rowan stood helplessly on the rocks, still trying to capture his rationality. His emotions didn't lie when his head and his heart screamed for a creature to return to him, so Rowan could touch his skin and feel his presence, and hear his deep voice and his broken English, and stare at his beautiful tail and into his enchanting purple eyes. Rowan wanted to be the reason Kaerius smiled and laughed and enjoyed life. Yet, Rowan didn't know the Thalassic Mortal, in fact, he was raised to hate the species. The creature had tried to kill Rowan last week, and he had tried to kill Kaerius.

There should be nothing drawing them to each other, but Rowan remained by the oceans side, desperate to see Kaerius again. His soul already wanted him, and it terrified Rowan to his very core.

If Rowan was to get rid of the bond before it was too late, he had to go to his father. Rowan had to keep his faith close to his confidence and hope that his father would help him, and not cast Rowan away like he was sure his mother would do.

* * * * *

Kaerius had a hard time getting Rowan's smile out of his head as he swam to the kelp beds and the underwater caves. Multiple Thalassic Mortals were grouping together, discussing their route west, and precautions, and contingencies. Kaerius gulped away the lump of sadness as he thought about how he couldn't go with them. He had been with that group since he was young. They were like family to Kaerius, despite him denying it out loud.

"Laiken," Kaerius said, slapping his uncles tail with his own to get his attention. Laiken turned, and his long hair drifted in his face.

Laiken had a fish in his hand as he looked Kaerius up and down with narrowed eyes. "Have you eaten?" he asked and shared some of his food. He watched Kaerius take it and eat it like he hadn't eaten all day. "Where have you been?"

"By the shore, talking with my soulmate," Kaerius said loud enough for other Thalassic Mortals to stare at him quizzically.

Laiken looked around too before pulling his nephew to the outside of the cave. "You've been talking with that human? My father told me that you were asking about a bond. Why are you still so caught up in this fantasy?"

Kaerius scaled a hand up a kelp plant, feeling its slimy surface. "Do you think I want to spend all of my time waiting for a land mortal? He tried to kill us both. The last thing I want is to be bonded to his ugly soul."

Laiken looked around again and reached out to pull Kaerius closer so he could hear him if he lowered his voice. They held onto the rock, so they didn't drift. Laiken stared intensely into his nephew's eyes and asked, "Are you lying to me?"

"No," Kaiden said, matching his uncle's serious tone, and Laiken saw no evidence of a lie. "I wish I were, then maybe I can wake up from the worst nightmare of my life."

Laiken continued to stare without a blink. His gaze travelled deep into Kaerius's eyes, searching them like they revealed the gateway to his thoughts and feelings. As Laiken looked, he saw it but only for a second. "Your soul," he whispered, "it's calling for another."

"Obviously..." Kaerius said like Laiken had pointed out that water made things wet. "I know that because I feel that."

Laiken inhaled a lot of water, making his gills flex. He exhaled, pushing the water through his nephew's black hair. "Stay here, I'm getting my father."

* * * * *

Rowan had forgotten about his lectures and seminars until he glanced at his watch. It was half an hour through his second lecture when Rowan reached his father's house. Michael lived on the outskirts of town, far from the beach and far from the university campus. Rowan often wished that he could move in with his father, but his mother's house was where he grew up. It was on the doorstep of his favourite beach and much closer to the university.

Rowan used to visit his dad every weekend when his parents split. A few years ago, he started visiting more regularly, or instead of visiting for just the weekends and not at all through the weekdays, they'd catch up whenever they could. It brought their father and son relationship much closer. Rowan soon realised that he was closer with his dad even though he lived with his mother and saw her every day.

Sometimes, relationships with parents could be the most complicated.

Rowan lifted the turtle statue and took the key from a hole his dad had made under its belly. Rowan let himself in and went straight to the kitchen. His dad always had freshly squeezed lemon juice in the fridge. It was bitter because he never put much sweetener in it, but Rowan liked the taste.

His eyes automatically stared into the garden. Flowers of all colours bloomed, and Rowan could smell them through the open window. His dad was on his hands and knees, yanking out nettles with thick gardening gloves.

"Want a drink?" Rowan yelled through the window. His dad almost fell into the nettles from fright. He whipped his sunglasses off, squinting his eyes from the sun until he saw his son in the kitchen. Rowan smiled when his dad grinned.

"What're you doing here? Don't you have classes today? And yes, please," Michael said and started peeling off his gloves. The sun felt hot that morning. He used the back of his forearm to wipe the sweat from his head and took the lemonade Rowan handed him.

"Are you working on the garden today?" Rowan asked.

Michael watched Rowan sip his drink but didn't point out how he ignored his question. "Yes. I swear, I take my eyes off that grass for a few days, and it's up to my knees," he chuckled but frowned when Rowan forced out a chuckle. He looked nervous, and his skin had lost its natural glow. Rowan looked ill. "Is everything alright?" Michael asked as casually as he could. He expected Rowan to have recovered from last weeks ordeal. Not mentally, but physically at least.

"Uh," Rowan said, squeezing his fingers around the glass. He had the perfect opportunity to tell his father what he was going through, but he couldn't. He hadn't even plucked up the courage to tell him he was gay, let alone something as life-destroying as being the soulmate of a Thalassic Mortal. "Yeah, everything's good."

"Just good?" Michael asked. Rowan was struggling to make eye contact; he knew something was wrong.

Rowan nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek, watching an ant hurrying across the tiles by his feet. He made his mouth smile and forced his stare to the rose bush by the window. "Do you have any other plans today?" he asked.

"No. I plan to have a relaxing day at home. Are you joining?" Michael asked, and Rowan's eyes flickered to his before they quickly coward away. There was something definitely wrong. Rowan's eyes were infected with trepidation.

"Sure," Rowan said, thinking about how he could ease the conversation into soulmates and how to destroy a bond between two souls. A smooth appearance seemed impossible.

"Join me in the garden," Michael smiled and turned back towards the door, but his son grabbed his forearm, telling him to wait.

"I'm um..." Rowan said, forcing his brain to move a million miles an hour to think of something to say. His heart drummed in his chest. "Mum actually sent me to... to get information on Royal Thalassic Mortals."

Michael frowned deeply. "She's not forcing you on another hunt, is she?" he asked. His tone changed quickly.

"No, she's just busy with another hunt that I'm not going on, so she asked me to come and ask."

Michael raised a brow. "She could have called."

"I wanted to see you." The guilt pooled in Rowan's gut. He hated lying.

"Well, why does she want to know? Royals fled years ago," Michael said.

"Well... I..." Rowan could feel his words climbing over each other to get to the tip of his tongue. He had always been a nervous babbler, and most of the times, he couldn't stop himself. "I..." Rowan's eyes met his father's eyes, and the words spilt out. "I was reading about Thalassic Mortals and the royals and the soulmates part. I read about the bond and how it happens and the weird third part for the souls touching. I'm not here because of mum I'm sorry I lied I didn't know how to tell you, but you'd find out and, I just can't stop thinking about him. You have to help me get rid of it, dad I can't live like this. I need to get a degree and live a normal life!" Rowan was almost hyperventilating when he stopped to breathe.

"Rowan, calm down," Michael said softly and hurried him to the dining table. Michael pulled a chair up next to his son and rested a hand on his shoulder. He treated Rowan as if he was a dying flower, frail and in need of attention. "What are you talking about?"

"Tell me how to get rid of the bond dad, please!" Rowan said desperately as tears dribbling down his face. He reached a breaking point that had been sitting dangerously close to the surface for days.

"A bond," Michael said, keeping his voice low and soft.

Rowan couldn't say anything else. He could only drop his head into his hands, allowing his emotions to drain through the tears streaming from his eyes.