The Thalassic Mortal swam away in a furious rage. He gave an exaggerated push of his tail as he moved deeper and deeper under the ocean. He kept swimming until he reached the ocean floor and followed it for a while. The Thalassic Mortal occasionally dragged his fingers through the sand or yanked out seagrass to throw at fish.

He wasn't as alert and focused because he couldn't stop thinking about the stupid land mortal who had ruined his life forever. The silence of the ocean didn't help to distract him.

"Kaerius," a voice said in the Sea Creatures tongue. The Thalassic Mortal stopped in the tall seagrass and waited for the sand to settle. Out of the rocks, his uncle swam with his long blonde hair waving against the current.

"Laiken," Kaerius replied in the same tongue, inspecting his uncle's tail. "Have you recovered?"

"From getting shot in the tail by that human? Yes, my tail has healed, but my father will never let me live it down. I'm glad you got a chance to end that human's life," Laiken said, circling Kaerius to show him his tail. His red scales reflected a beautiful shine from the sun that lit up the reef.

"I didn't kill him," Kaerius said, running a hand through his black hair when his uncle moved his tail in a way that pushed the water over him, and his hair went in his eyes.

"But I saw you pull him off the boat."

"I couldn't kill him."

Laiken stopped circling him and stared. "You couldn't kill the human who tried to kill me?" he asked, trying not to appear as insulted as he felt.

"It's complicated," Kaerius mumbled, eyeing a Codfish who manoeuvred through the seagrass. He had barely eaten in three days.

"Did he get away? Are you embarrassed about it? Some thought you were dead," Laiken said, slapping his tail against his nephew's tail to get his attention.

"Yes, he got away," Kaerius grumbled and slapped him back.

Laiken shook his head, and his blond hair floated back and forth. "I'm disappointed in you."

Kaerius's purple eyes darkened when his brows pushed into them. He moved closer to his uncle. "I don't care what you think of me. You're the one who got shot in the tail and screamed about it like a whale."

Laiken shoved him away, though he was used to Kaerius's insults. He looked him up and down like there was something different about him and he didn't quite know what it was. "Where did you go for three days?"

"For a swim, now leave me alone," Kaerius muttered and started moving along the sea floor, stalking anything that moved.

"You're a bad liar," Laiken said and followed him, also hungry.

"And you're a bad father replacement."

"Kaerius, you're twenty-years-old. You don't need a father figure anymore." Laiken grabbed his tail, and Kaerius spun like a shark ready to attack. "I only looked after you to keep you out of trouble, that is all."

"Well, Laiken, what in the seas are you still doing here? The group is moving west in a few days. Go without me if you don't care that much." Kaerius changed direction, but Laiken still followed him.

"Stop nephew, now!" Laiken demanded, and the fish Kaerius stalked swam away from the raised voices. "What do you mean 'go without you'? You're coming with us."

Kaerius clenched his jaw and gripped the sand. He didn't turn around. "I'm staying."

"You're what now!" Laiken yelled. "You're not staying! Your entire family is going!"

"Family? You're the only family I have left! And I don't even like you." Kaerius crossed his arms and let himself drift. It had been strange for him to talk in the air earlier. His throat felt all tingly.

"Now is not a time to have one of your tantrums, Kae. You're coming with us. You'll be left on your own if you don't."

"You'll leave me on my own anyway," Kaerius said, staring up at the surface. "I have some news."

"For the sake of the sea goddess Kaerius, now is not the time to be dramatic. Let's go. It'll be nice to let your family know that you're alive," Laiken sighed and reached out to pinch his nephew's tail.

"I'm not dramatic," Kaerius said in his deep and powerful voice.

"Let's go," Laiken demanded after twitching his tail with irritation. "My father is waiting for us both. You have to pay your respects to those who died on-"

"I have a soulmate," Kaerius announced. His heart started to beat unnaturally fast. Saying it out loud didn't feel as good as he thought it would. Well, he never thought he'd ever say those words even among his own thoughts.

Laiken stared at his nephew through his hair. "A soulmate? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Yes."

"Kae-"

"He's human; that's why I can't go west with you."

Laiken stared for an uncomfortable amount of time. The fish started to swim by them, but Kaerius was too fixated on his uncle's reaction to catch one.

"That's not funny nephew," Laiken growled.

"Because it's not a joke."

Laiken tugged on the seagrass and moved closer. "You don't have a soulmate."

"I do."

"Only royals get soulmates, and the royals fled or died out years ago. Idiot."

"Then I must be royal."

Laiken snorted, and the bubbles scared the fish. "Trust my words Kae. We're not royalty."

"We have to be!" Kaerius growled and angrily threw a chunk of sand at the fish who had started to brush past him. "Because I've got a soulmate, and I hate him, and I need to know how to get rid of this bond before it's too damn late!"

Laiken watched him run a hand through his hair with frustration, and it felt like his guts dropped through his tail. "You're serious?"

"Obviously."

"No, you can't be serious."

"Laiken, I don't care whether you believe me or not. Really, I don't, but just know that this is happening, and I'm not going anywhere until this bond is lifted. Either you help me or leave me behind. Pick one." With that said, Kaerius turned and swam away without looking back.

* * * * *

Rowan sat by the sea for as long as he could without getting stranded by the tide. He kept scanning the water like he expected the Thalassic Mortal to be watching him. Rowan didn't know why he didn't run. The Sea Creature had tried to kill him and almost succeeded.

Rowan's feet were in the water when the Thalassic Mortal popped his head up. He had the perfect opportunity to inject Rowan with more poison and drag him under. Maybe his mother was wrong about the creature wanting to watch the poison kill Rowan, but why would he keep a human alive? It made no sense.

That night, when Rowan went to bed, he tossed, and he turned until he had to open his window so that he could hear the waves better.

When he got back into bed and started drifting, he didn't have nightmares like he thought he would. Instead, Rowan's thoughts filled with purple eyes. Rowan assumed he'd be traumatised by dreaming about the creature who tried to kill him. He didn't feel that way when he woke up the next morning. Rowan was a little sad to have woken up. In his dream, something was enchanting about having those purple eyes on him.

As Rowan stared at the seashells around his bedroom light, he pondered on the thought of maybe he was a little disturbed. The Thalassic Mortal had affected him enough for Rowan to dream about him. Seeing the creature again must have troubled him.

Rowan eventually forced himself out of bed and walked into the kitchen, looking groggy.

"Why are you awake so early?" Mandy asked. "Don't tell me you're going to university today."

"Fine, then I won't tell you that I'm going to uni today," Rowan sighed, slotting bread into the toaster.

"Rowan, don't you think it's too soon? You almost died-"

"Mother, I love you, but you know that I blame you for me almost dying right now, so maybe you shouldn't mention the fact that I shouldn't go to my lectures today because of how you dragged me on a hunt I didn't want to go on, and got pulled into the ocean by a sea creature and found six hours later, barely alive."

Mandy tapped on the worktop, left with nothing to say as her son wolfed down his breakfast.

Rowan didn't dare to mention that he had seen a Thalassic Mortal yesterday, or the fact that it was the Thalassic Mortal who almost drowned him. He still couldn't explain how he was able to see the creature or why he had come to Rowan to talk.

All Rowan currently cared about was moving on from the trauma and diving himself into his studies. He wanted a normal life, even more so after such a disastrous hunt. Getting into a routine would be suitable for Rowan, and he knew he had to carry on like everything was okay. He was given another chance at life, and Rowan sure as hell wasn't going to waste it.

"I'll see you later," Rowan said and left without kissing his mother's cheek. She knew he was upset with her, and she didn't blame him.

Rowan left and purposely slammed the door. He liked to be petty sometimes, especially when he had the right to be. Rowan checked his watch and relaxed when he had enough time to take a gentle stroll across the sand. He didn't like to rush.

As Rowan climbed down the sand dune, his eyes skimmed the ocean's surface. The sky was clear, and the water was beautifully calm. Rowan was pleased that his love for the sea was strong enough to cancel out his fear. It would take a little while for him to get brave enough to swim, but it wouldn't take him forever.

Then, as the curiosity spiked within him, Rowan turned to look at the left side of the beach. The tide was in, so there wasn't much rock to look at, though that wasn't what Rowan was looking for. He had felt eyes on him ever since he reached the bottom of the dune. The morning was early enough for him to be the only one on the left side of the beach.

Rowan stopped in his tracks when he saw a head by the rocks. It didn't dip out of sight as he had expected. The head merely stared, and it intrigued Rowan enough for him to start walking towards it.

Rowan gripped his bag straps and stepped onto the rock. He was close enough to recognise the eyes that watched him. It was the Thalassic Mortal. Rowan felt his heart flip against his ribs. He went as far as he could on the rocks without getting his feet wet.

The sea creature was a few metres away, glaring.

Rowan wanted to be polite and say hello and good morning and engage in classic human small-talk. The creature didn't like his babbling yesterday, so Rowan decided to stick to the important stuff. "Is there something you want from me?" he asked.

Kaerius' eyes flicked down to the human's bare feet and trailed up his body. "Bond," he said in his deep voice. "Kill."

Rowan arched a brow. "Seems like you can understand English pretty well. It's a shame you struggle to speak it because I have no idea what you want."

Kaerius wanted to grab the human and shake his head until his brain rattled. If he couldn't tell him what was happening, then he could show him. With a grumpy eye-roll, Kaerius lifted a webbed hand out of the water and stretched it out, palm up.

Rowan stared at it, shuffling back nervously. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Touch," Kaerius said, knowing that once their skin connects in the water, the bond will awaken in Rowan, and Kaerius can get his help in removing it. He didn't know if it was possible, but he was confident enough to believe that Rowan would do all he could to get rid of the bond, judging by the fact that he was from a family of hunters, and the fact that Rowan was on a hunt to kill Kaerius' kind when they first met.