Almost forty minutes dragged by until Rowan could stand. He felt weak, and his muscles were sore. Kaerius stayed close until he was sure that Rowan wasn't going to collapse on him again.

"Where go now?" Kaerius asked, shielding his eyes from the sun when they left the storeroom. There were more humans awake and out in the streets. Nobody really paid them much attention. Kaerius had never met a human who wasn't a hunter. Rowan claimed that he wasn't a hunter, and he was turning out to be a lovely human. Kaerius wanted to know how many people were like Rowan.

"Well, we could go and find vampires, but I don't think I'm strong enough yet. We can go to the beach, so you-"

"Yes," Kaerius interrupted. "Ocean."

"Alright," Rowan smiled, seeing his excitement. He also craved the salty air and the sound of the waves and the sun on his skin.

The beach was a twenty-minute walk away, but it took the boys almost half an hour. Rowan had gained more strength when he could hear the waves, but Kaerius was slowing down. His feet pulsed from the shoes.

They climbed along the rocks, and Kaerius started to strip. He threw his clothes at the human and stood on the edge of the rocks. Rowan glanced around, thankful that nobody could see them from where they stood. Kaerius seemed pleased with himself when he was completely free of clothes. Rowan envied his confidence.

He folded the clothes and sat down, just as Kaerius dived gracefully off the rock and cut through the water. Rowan was left to look at the ripples ruining the calm surface of the low tide.

Under the water, the sea creature's breath was taken away by the cold temperature. The salt baths never reached the unbearable cold of the ocean. Kaerius's skin was made for freezing temperatures. It felt good. He kicked his useless human legs until they knitted together, and his tail returned.

Rowan could see Kaerius when the sun shone through the clouds. His turquoise tail shimmered in the light. Rowan watched with a gentle smile as Kaerius spun around like a dog catching his tail. He was stroking it and kissing his fins.

Rowan watched until Kaerius sank low until he was too deep for Rowan to see.

Kaerius swam until he reached the ocean floor. The water cooled to the point where it would hurt a human. He wasn't human, and even when he was on land, Kaerius wasn't human. He took great pride in being able to reach parts of the ocean that humans couldn't.

Kaerius moved his tail back and forth as he weaved through the plants and skimmed his fingers in the sand. He eyed some fish on his way to the caves. He inhaled generous amounts of water, so he could enjoy the feeling of it flowing in and out of his gills.

The chaos of the land was silenced by the water. Hearing the noises of humans and their creations were as annoying as swimming with dolphins or whales.

Kaerius kept swimming until he reached the kelp beds. He ran his fingers along the slimy plant and was pleased to see Laiken circling the entrance to the cave. Laiken was even more delighted to see his nephew.

"Kaerius!" Laiken gasped and hurried to wrap their tails around each other. His red tail stood out against Kaerius's shimmering turquoise tail. "Where have you been? I've been so worried!"

"I've been on land, trying to get rid of the bond. Didn't Jaiker tell you?"

"No, he did not!" Laiken sulked. "I thought something terrible had happened to you. You should have told me that you were going away for a few days. I was close to going on a search!"

Laiken had always been a worrier, and it often got on Kaerius's nerves. Though now, he appreciated the concern. Their group had abandoned them, so it was only natural for Laiken to fear being left entirely alone.

"Where's Jaiker?" Kaerius asked and unwrapped his tail, so they stopped drifting.

"He went for a swim a few hours ago." Laiken brushed his long blond hair from his face and stared hard at his nephew. "What have you been doing on land?"

"Jaiker told us how we could get rid of the bond. We went to collect a werewolf's claw this morning." Kaerius wanted to tell Laiken all about it and how he held a large knife, but Laiken didn't look happy.

"There isn't a way to get rid of the bond."

"Jaiker wouldn't lie to me."

"No, but he would send you on a pointless quest, so you would fall in love with Rowan." Laiken sank down to the ocean floor and faced the surface. They were too deep to see the top. "He did say yesterday that he thought you should chase your luck and that having a soulmate wasn't something to be annoyed about."

"He told me that if I ended the bond, Rowan would die. Don't tell me this was all some sick test." Kaerius was starting to get angry.

"A test you've apparently failed. Why would you go ahead with that if you were told that your actions would end another life?"

"Excuse me Laiken, you made me go on a hunt to HUNT humans."

"They come into our waters to hunt us when we never go on land to hunt them because we can't. There were a few unfortunate deaths when Thalassic Mortals were defending themselves, but humans didn't care who had done it. They will kill the innocent. We were trying to stick up for ourselves for once."

Kaerius controlled the steam that was about to pour from his ears. "Do you really think Jaiker would lie like that?"

Laiken nodded. "You said that the werewolves also agreed that you could remove a bond. How did you get a claw from them?"

"We made a deal."

Laiken angrily shook his head. "What deal?"

"For a werewolf's claw, we gave them Thalassic Mortal poison." Laiken angrily flapped his tail, and the sand clouded the water around them. "Now that I think about it, we didn't get something charged by the moon either."

"Oh, Goddess," Laiken sighed. "Why have you infected my nephew with such stupidity?"

* * * * *

Rowan rubbed circles into his chest. Getting poisoned really messed with his brain. The last time he had been poisoned, he thought he was going to die. Mentally, Rowan was rather unstable. However, Kaerius injected him with the cure and was willing to fight for them both if they had gotten into trouble.

Kaerius could have easily made another deal with the werewolf and left Rowan in such a helpless state. Rowan's trust for Kaerius had grown significantly since they started their adventure to end the bond. Rowan wondered when it was all over if Kaerius would be a friend.

Rowan knew that the bond would force them to get close, especially if it wasn't removed soon. He could feel it growing inside of him. Now that Kaerius was miles away under the water, Rowan hurt. He felt cold and empty. His soul didn't want to be on its own, and it was getting used to being close to another.

As he stared into the horizon and thought about what they had done that morning, Rowan remembered his father. He reached for his phone with sudden desperation.

Michael didn't pick up the first time Rowan called, but when he did pick up, he sounded groggy. Rowan forgot that it was still quite early in the morning.

"Hey," he said and dipped his feet in the ocean. The cold felt good. "Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but it's okay. I'm glad you called."

Rowan closed his eyes when the sun shone through the clouds again. The beach felt like home.

"Dad, before we say anything else, please tell me why we can't see each other." Rowan suddenly felt quite emotional. He had never been in such a severe situation where he couldn't turn to his parents for help.

"I told you, if I'm near Thalassic Mortals, I'll die Rowan. Because you say you're bonded to one, I can't take any chances."

"You haven't told me why you'd die if you're near Thalassic Mortals." Rowan opened his eyes and wasn't surprised to see that Kaerius had returned. He felt the warmth grow in his heart. Kaerius held onto the edge of the rock by his thigh, staring at him with a strange darkness in his eyes. His fingers were webbed again, and his teeth were sharp. Rowan decided to put his phone on loudspeaker, so Kaerius could hear too.

"Where are you? You sound like you're at the beach," Michael said.

"I am," Rowan said. "We needed a break, and Kaerius needed to be back in the ocean for a bit."

"Kaerius? Is that the Thalassic Mortal?" Michael asked.

"Yeah." The boys made eye contact. "Dad, can you stop stalling and tell me what's going on?"

"Alright," Michael said with a defeated sigh. "I wish I could tell you face to face."

"But you can't, so please just tell me now. I'm calm, I won't freak out." Rowan was lying to himself.

"Are you sure? I can write it in a letter and send-"

"Dad," Rowan said with a frown. "Just tell me."

Michael sighed again, this time, it was laced with a heaviness. Rowan had a feeling that whatever he had to tell him would be tough to process. He didn't know how to prepare himself, but at least he was at the one place that settled his mind the most. Rowan decided to focus on the shimmer of the ocean. It was the one thing that never stopped moving, so it captivated his attention with ease.

"I'll tell you the thing that I think will shock you the most. Is the Thalassic Mortal with you? You might need someone to talk to after I tell you."

"Yes," Rowan said. His gaze flicked to Kaerius who was listening closely. "He's here."

"Well, you know how only Royal Thalassic Mortals have soulmates?"

"Yeah," Rowan said, still staring at Kaerius. The sight of him stopped Rowan from freaking out.

"Well," Michael continued, "Kaerius isn't royalty. You are."