Rowan's eyes darted to the horizon where they locked into place, just like his lungs. "What?" he squeaked. He felt Kaerius's gaze burning into his face, but he couldn't look.

"I hoped because you were human, this wouldn't happen to you." Michael's voice was emotional, but all Rowan could hear were the words.

"I don't understand," Rowan whispered. "I really, really don't understand."

"Rowan tell me what you know about royal Thalassic Mortals," Michael said, and when his son didn't reply, he said, "Tell me what you know."

"I um..." Rowan swallowed and regrouped his scattered thoughts. "Um, royals died out years ago."

"Or?"

"Well, they either fled or died out. Nobody really knows." Rowan looked down to Kaerius who was still holding onto the rock. He didn't expect to see such a shocked expression. The sea creature looked as though he had been told his whole life was just a dream, and at any moment, he would wake.

"Your mother knows," Michael said, and just for a moment, Rowan thought he heard a vicious tone in his voice. His spine shivered.

"Are you like... drunk or something?" Rowan asked. "What you're saying doesn't make sense. Are you calling me a royal Thalassic Mortal? Last time I checked, I had legs. In fact, I have legs right now. Also, I can't breathe underwater, I don't have gills or sharp teeth or weird poisonous fingers or-"

"Rowan, you're not a Thalassic Mortal," Michael said calmly.

"Then how am I a royal and not Kaerius? Humans don't get soulmates."

"No, but you're a sovereign of the sea. Royal Thalassic Mortal blood runs in your veins."

Rowan tingled from his head to his toes. Sometime, a few minutes ago, he stopped blinking and he only just remembered to breathe. "My parents hunt the supernatural. There's no way any of this is true."

"I don't hunt anymore. I couldn't after I found out. I should have told you when you were younger, but your mother would have fled with you, and I would've lost you."

Rowan scrunched his eyes shut, and his hands turned to fists. "I don't want to believe any of this. What even is a sovereign of the sea?" Rowan knew how absurd it sounded. Somehow, hearing it from his dad made it harder to think of it as a lie.

"An understandable response," Michael said. "I really should have written you a letter."

"Has this got something to do with mum?" Rowan asked. He hadn't yet opened his eyes, but he could still feel the scorching stare from Kaerius. His silence was unnerving.

"This has everything to do with your mother," Michael said, and Rowan decided he had heard enough. He hung up the phone and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Before Kaerius could say anything, Rowan dived over him and into the water. A big splash bubbled to the surface. Kaerius looked under the water, and his eyes followed Rowan, who swam deeper and deeper. In a panic, because he knew humans couldn't breathe in his home, Kaerius swam after him, leaving Rowan's phone, flip flops, and t-shirt on the rocks.

Rowan needed the numbing pain of the British seas to clear his mind. The cold wiped his memory clean, but it was only a temporary solution. Before he knew it, Kaerius was in front of him with big purple eyes. He didn't try to bring Rowan to the surface right away. Kaerius studied him and his emotions. Rowan was calm on the surface, but a storm was forming within.

Rowan floated a few metres below the surface. He could see Kaerius quite clearly, and he felt his tail wrap around him to keep them close.

"You're crazy," Kaerius said in the Thalassic tongue. If he couldn't breathe out of the water, he would never surface. Humans were brave to risk it all in a place that could take their oxygen forever.

Kaerius held Rowan's shoulders. Even in the ocean, he was warm. When they made that physical contact, Rowan covered his face with his hands. Kaerius then felt the storm erupting.

He uncoiled his tail and with one swift motion, they moved towards the surface so Rowan could breathe. When their heads felt the hot air and sun, Kaerius heard Rowan's low and pained cries.

"I can't do this," Rowan sobbed, not even bothering to keep himself above water. Kaerius held onto him for that reason, but Rowan needed to feel him right there. "It's too much, all of it!" Rowan let his tears fall, unashamed.

"Yes," Kaerius agreed in his deep voice. "Overwhelmed." He swam back to the rocks.

Rowan held onto the side, and Kaerius's arm moved to wrap around his waist, keeping him close and above the surface. Rowan rubbed his face while his soul was becoming preoccupied with their bare chests pressing together. He wanted to drop his head onto the Thalassic Mortal's shoulder and cry his pain away, but he didn't because Kaerius was looking into his eyes with such focus, Rowan wanted to feel his gaze on him for hours.

"I know what you're thinking," Rowan breathed. His bottom lip quivering. "I shouldn't be this emotional."

Kaerius's thick black brows sank into his eyes with a frown. "No," he said. "Let emotion go." He then pointed to Rowan's head. "Bad inside. Make human very sad."

Rowan nodded, continuing to wipe his tears. "Do you believe what my dad said?" he asked, and the thought made him whimper and cover his face again. "I don't want to believe that I've been lied to like this!" Rowan sobbed, and his head finally fell onto Kaerius's shoulder. He was thankful that Kaerius didn't shrug him off. Rowan couldn't deal with humiliation as well.

"I unsure," Kaerius mumbled, contemplating patting Rowan's head. His tail wrapped around Rowan's legs again for comfort. He knew humans embraced with arms, so he eyed Rowan's hand that rested on the rocks.

Rowan's eyes opened when he felt something wet and cold. He tilted his head to the side and looked at the webbed hand that had been slapped onto the top of his. Slowly, Rowan turned his wrist, and Kaerius's fingers ran smoothly across his skin until they ticked his palm. Rowan wrapped a few fingers around his, enjoying the odd feeling of Kaerius's tough skin. Though it looked very smooth.

Kaerius stared. He couldn't explain how such a simple action had made him so eager for more. Laiken's words repeated in his head. What if Jaiker had really lied to him? What if there was no way to remove the bond? What if he was stuck with Rowan for the rest of his life? If so, moments like this were crucial.

"Rowan," Kaerius said, thinking about how cruel he had been to not care about his life just because Rowan was human. "Sorry."

Rowan lifted his head, and his eyes were red and still collecting tears. "What for?" he questioned.

"Kaerius selfish. I sorry." If they could understand each other better, Kaerius would have said much more. Rowan deserved to hear much more.

"You're not selfish for wanting a normal life. I wanted the same."

"Wanted?" Kaerius asked. His heart jolted.

"I don't know what I want anymore. At this point, I feel a normal life might be impossible."

What point have we reached? Kaerius wondered. "Maybe," he said, captivated by the way Rowan's bright green eyes were like looking into the shallow waters of a southern beach. They didn't suit the sadness that polluted them.

"I should probably find my mum," Rowan said. His teeth started to chatter. Kaerius let go of him as Rowan pulled himself up and onto the rocks. He sat down, and the warmth of the sun felt like heaven against his skin. Kaerius pulled himself up too and sat closer than what Rowan would usually expect.

Kaerius still felt Rowan's panic, and he couldn't waste the opportunity to be close, not when he was struggling. "Mum angry?" Kaerius asked.

"Probably." Rowan's eyes fell onto Kaerius's tail. It shimmered in the sunlight. "I'm just so confused by all of this. I should phone my dad back." Rowan looked around for his phone, and it was on the other side of Kaerius. He reached over him, pushing his chest into Kaerius's shoulder. When his fingers touched the phone, Kaerius's hand gently touched his arm, stopping him.

"Wait till calm. Rowan not calm," Kaerius said, and when their eyes met, their hearts beat together. Their faces were close, their bodies were touching, and their souls were crying for each other.

Rowan's eyes flicked to his mouth. "I need to know what's going on," he said in a small voice. He had never been so aware of someone else's features before. He had never longed so much to touch someone else's lips with his own, until now.

"Know later," Kaerius replied, watching and feeling Rowan lean closer. This is a human, this is a human, this is a human, he repeated in his head, but his soul overruled him. He couldn't move, and he certainly didn't care enough to push Rowan back.

"I feel like the bond is getting too strong to destroy," Rowan whispered. Their faces were only inches apart. "I wanted a normal life, but I'm scared that if we remove the bond, I won't be able to escape this life anyway." The werewolf was right, Rowan was incredibly fortunate to have a soulmate in the first place. Was a mundane life really worth throwing an opportunity like that away?

Kaerius hated having legs instead of his glorious tail, but he had tasted a drop of adventure, and the taste was so addictive, he had to taste it again. Could he really live a life on land and in the ocean? Was Rowan worth it?

"I don't think I could just forget about you," Rowan whispered. His worries about the university, his parents, his need for a regular and boring life, all drifted away. His soul was speaking for him, but deep down, he knew that some things happened for a reason. Bonding with Kaerius somehow felt like a second chance to go down the path he was born to walk.

Kaerius then stared at Rowan's mouth too, and his heart tried to make up his mind as their heads moved even closer.