Rowan stood on the island with the two hunters who made his mother horrible for twelve years. He had successfully frightened away their protection group and somehow accepted his future opportunities as the god of the sea.

Rowan felt powerful, but that didn't mean he could abuse it.

"I believe in second chances," he said, running a finger over his bracelet. "So, I'll ask you to agree to what we want. All of us who are a part of the supernatural world wants a chance to live happily. We want to live in peace. Please, agree, for your own sake because if you don't," Rowan leaned closer. "I won't give you another chance."

Michael's parents didn't move. They didn't look at each other or their son bobbing in the ocean. They only stared at Rowan.

"We will not agree," Michael's dad said.

Rowan glanced down to his parents. He didn't want to be the one to decide their fate. "Dad," he said quietly. "What should we do with them?" Rowan expected to see the anger in his dad's face, and Michael had every reason to leave his parents for dead.

"They killed Wez and robbed twelve years of my life that I will never get back. They deserve no chances and no sympathy," Mandy mumbled. "We should just leave them here and let them rot."

Rowan started backing off the island. The sea had calmed, and the sky lightened every minute. "They had this coming," Rowan said, joining his parents in the water. "They must have killed thousands of supernatural creatures over the years, and that's not including the ones they made mum hurt. They've denied every chance I've given them. They would rather die as hunters than give us peace."

As Michael thought about what to do, Rowan looked around for Kaerius. "Hey," he said, swimming over to his soulmate. "Is your head okay?"

Kaerius nodded. "That spear would have killed me if it weren't for you."

Rowan kissed his head, just above the small cut. "Then you would have killed me because my heart would have broken."

Kaerius tapped the water, rippling the surface. "Water protect Kaerius and Rowan. Good water. Strong water."

Rowan smiled. Kaerius's eyes looked deep red against the sky in the morning light. Seagulls flew around the island, staring curiously at the old hunters. "Dad," Rowan said with arms around his soulmate. Rowan turned to look at his parents and the words stalled at the tip of his tongue. His dad had been perched on the rocks, waiting for his tail to dry. Now, Michael stood on the island with a spear in each hand. The sharp ends touched against the throats of his parents.

"You ordered for my son to be killed. You cursed my family and me to live in misery for the past twelve years. You turned my soulmate into a monster who fought her own kind, just because you didn't like her." Michael's seething words hissed through his teeth. "If my son had died, I would have killed you days ago."

"What's stopping you?" his father asked, staring hard at Michael.

"I'm better than that. I'm better than you!" Michael twisted the spear, slamming the blunt end into his dad's chest. The older man stumbled and fell. "When I was a boy, and you took me hunting, I watched how you cornered Thalassic Mortals against land and water. You would force them onto the beach, then drive a spear through their hearts." Michael gripped the wooden end. "You deserve no second chances."

Michael lobbed the spears back into the sea as Thalassic Mortals returned. Heads popped up around the island and Michael sank to Mandy's side, and his silver tail splashed the surface. "I say we should leave them, and let fate take them," Michael muttered. "Leave it up to the Thalassic Mortals. I can see that they are desperate for revenge, even if we aren't."

Rowan looked away from his grandparents.

"You've done enough. They won't accept what you want, so just leave them," Kaerius thought. All Thalassic Mortals who had been innocently killed by hunters over the years deserved justice. Leaving Michael's parents to fend for themselves was what Kaerius would do without thinking twice about it.

"I guess we should just leave them."

"Yes. People like them don't even deserve a second chance. Don't beg to them for peace when they care so little about us to give it. They'd rather starve on that island than give up hunting. I wouldn't trust their word if they gave you what you want." Kaerius held Rowan's hips. "Let's go."

Rowan eyed his grandparents. Even after losing their hunters and their weapons, they glared at him with disgust.

"We're leaving," Rowan said out loud, looking around at the sea creatures. "The hunters are in your hands now."

Rowan and Kaerius dipped under the water and swam deep. Rowan pulled his shorts off and let his tail, gills and sharp teeth return. He sank with Kaerius to the ocean floor, wondering how long it would take for his parents to follow.

"Am I doing the right thing, leaving them to the Thalassic Mortals?" Rowan asked in his head.

"Yes. Your dad wants to get rid of them. He won't because you won't. Many Thalassic Mortals up there have lost children and bloodlines to hunters. If your dad's parents died, it would show the rest of the humans that they can no longer mess with sea creatures."

Rowan agreed that hunters might fear them in the future, but if he were to rule the seas, he wanted to be known as a fair and kind leader. He gave his grandparents a chance, and they didn't take it. That wasn't his fault.

Rowan took Kaerius's hand and thought, "I think we should swim away or else I might try begging them for peace again."

Kaerius pulled him along the ocean floor, down and down until the fish looked strange and the sea got colder. With every mile, Rowan tensed a little less. Rowan didn't know where they were going until they started swimming up the sand, getting closer and closer to the surface. Kaerius led Rowan up the side of sheer rocks covered in plants and sea-life.

They surfaced, and the orange sun was halfway above the horizon. Rowan looked around, not recognising his surroundings at first. Then he noticed the dunes and his house at the top of the beach. "You took me home, why?" he asked Kaerius who pulled himself onto the rocks.

"Because you need to sleep where you feel safe."

Rowan hauled himself up too, sitting next to his soulmate. Kaerius's turquoise tail and Rowan's white one looked like crashing waves from a distance.

Rowan rested his head on Kaerius's shoulder and watched the sunrise, and the light it brought. He felt the warmth it gave. They stared for what felt like hours until their legs returned. Still, they sat together while they were lucky enough to see another day.

Rowan inhaled the salty ocean air and felt Kaerius's hand softly circling his arm. He saw the birds, the sea reflecting the sky, and the open space around them. The sea went on and on as far as his eyes could see.

The higher the sun rose, the more conscious Rowan felt about sitting on the rocks with no clothes on. The boys eventually got up and made their way to the house. They went straight to Rowan's bedroom.

Rowan shut the door behind them and leaned against the wood. He looked around his room. Clothes were on the floor, books and notepads cluttered his desk. His bed hadn't been made from when he last slept at the house, and a few cups of half-drunken water sat on his windowsill.

"How can I return to normal life after that?" he whispered.

Kaerius returned to his side and held his face. He kissed Rowan once, then kept their faces close. "You were brave and fair. I know you were scared and angry. You could have easily killed every hunter on that island, but you didn't, and I'm so proud of you." Kaerius pressed their foreheads together. "I aspire to be as fair-minded as you one day. If it were up to me, I would have killed them all because I saw no other way."

"You let me know when I'm too kind, and I let you know when you're too harsh. We're perfect, you see." Rowan smiled, and the fog in his head lifted when they kissed again. Slowly at first, but when they were alone, they had the freedom to go as far as they wanted.

Kaerius trailed his hands down Rowan's sides, then gripped his waist as Rowan wrapped arms around his neck. Their noses squished against one another's face. Their lips meshed in a warm rhythm of lust.

They kissed like each time their lips touched was as vital as breathing air.

The tension grew when Kaerius pressed their unclothed bodies together, and Rowan's back pushed against the door. Kaerius's mouth trailed down Rowan's jaw and to his neck. He kissed Rowan where it made him moan.

The deep rumble of pleasure from Rowan's throat Shivered Kaerius, and he kissed him more until Rowan wanted their lips back together. Their faces parted for only a moment, and Kaerius saw the love in Rowan's eyes, blocking the colour with his dilated pupils.

Rowan's eyes darted to Kaerius's mouth before they clashed their faces together, kissing harder.

With Kaerius's hands on Rowan's hips, he pulled them off the door. Without separating their faces, he guided Rowan to the bed. They fell onto the mattress, bodies squashing together.

Rowan softly chuckled and rolled over the top of Kaerius, holding his chin tight and kissing him again as Kaerius's hands explored his body.

Rowan's heart thumped. His skin felt hot with another body under him.

They kissed until the world was a distant memory. The hunters seemed like it happened weeks ago. Suddenly, nothing other than Kaerius mattered to Rowan. One moment, he was so caught up on his stressful life, now he was so engrossed with Kaerius's affection.

Their love had the power to make even hell seem beautiful.

Their legs tangled together, their mouths explored each other, their hearts beat as one, and their souls embraced. There was nothing a soul wanted more than the senses of its mate.

Rowan breathed heavy and kissed Kaerius desperately.

The sun peeked into their room, coating everything it touched in golden light. Rowan dared to look at Kaerius's face. Kaerius's desire grabbed at Rowan's heart and squeezed it tight. The yearning for Kaerius oozed out of his chest and to every limb.

Rowan's arms locked around the back of Kaerius's neck. His other hand smoothed along Kaerius's thigh, up and up until he cupped his face.

"Don't ever stop kissing me," Kaerius thought with his eyes closed and Rowan on top of him. "Please, please don't ever stop."

Rowan ran a hand through Kaerius's black hair, whispering against his lips that he never would, not while they both walked and swam the earth. Though even in death, their souls would weave as one.