Callie clapped her hands together. It was so unlike her normal calm demeanor that I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what happened.
“I have always wanted to be a mermaid,” she said, almost breathless. “This is a dream come true.”
You and me both, sister. You and me both.
Xander met my gaze then and I couldn’t help the broad smile that spread across my face.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked, and I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that my chest tightened at his question. It felt … intimate. Maybe it was just that we’d been naked an hour ago, but home was such a huge concept, especially for someone who’d never really had one.
“I’m so ready,” I finally said. “I’ve been dreaming about a world where I could live under the water since I was old enough to swim.”
He held out a hand for me and I blinked at it. So much for keeping the relationship a secret. No one said anything though, and I didn’t hesitate to place my palm against his. We were going on an adventure and I had literally never been more ready.
By the timewe took the transporter back to the main platform, I was jittering on the spot like I’d had ten energy drinks. The eight of us stood across the edge of the platform. Below us were the waters of Royale. It wasn’t like the ocean in Hawaii. There were no waves outside of the small movements from whatever was going on below. Far out, it looked like something broke the water line, rocks maybe—I couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.
My skin felt tight, like I’d been out of the water too long and it was starting to dry out. “The legreto here is a little different to water,” Xander explained as we all ditched our shoes and any extra pieces of clothing. “It has tiny bubbles throughout it that allows us to stay under indefinitely—we can filter the water and oxygen through our lungs. For the rest of you, though, you’re going to need a little extra help.”
He lowered his hands, and with barely a flick of his wrist, an entire plume of water shot up into the air, hovering at Xander’s side. He stepped up to Lexen, who remained relaxed, despite a torrent of water circling around him. Something told me the Darken overlord knew exactly what the extra help entailed.
“The key is to relax. Don’t fight it,” Xander said as he lifted his hands, placing them close to either side of Lexen’s head. He didn’t touch his friend, but there was not much space between them.
The water slowly trickled up in the gap between Lexen’s face and Xander’s hands, forming a bubble covering Lexen’s head entirely. When Xander stepped back, I realized I couldn’t see Lexen at all, his face obscured by the water swirling around his head.
“It’s like the exprendo channel,” Xander said as he moved toward Emma. “But this is an exo-exprendo bubble. They filter the oxygen in the water for you and are superstrong—woven more tightly so you can’t break through it easily. I don’t want you all to accidentally bust through it when we go deep.”
Emma looked nervous, swallowing roughly, but she didn’t stop him.
By the time Xander had gone down the row, the water he’d drawn from the House of Royale was almost gone. I was the last one. He paused in front of me, his expression intense. “They can’t see or hear us clearly right now,” he murmured.
He leaned in closer, and I closed my eyes as his lips gently brushed across mine. “Are you ready?” he murmured against my mouth.
“Yes,” I said with urgency. “I’ve been ready for this since I was born.”
He nodded. “Yes, you have.”
He stepped back, his hands cupping my face briefly, before he pulled them back to allow the cool water to wash over my cheeks. There was a decent gap between the bubble and my head, and I immediately understood what he meant about limited vision and hearing. When fully covered, I could only make out some shadows and muffled sounds.
I was just wondering how we knew to go in the water, when my feet were swept out from under me and I found myself being tossed into the air. I would have screamed, but it was over too quickly, water closing over my feet as I sank below.
The moment my head went under, the bubble turned translucent. “I’ve linked the bubbles,” Xander said, his voice echoing, “so we can chat to each other. The water takes your message, so it’s a little slower than normal speech. Be patient.”
“Best freaking day ever,” Callie exclaimed a beat later. “This is a dream come true.”
Daniel’s low chuckle reached us all, and I realized that we would all have far less privacy than normal. We were going to hear everything everyone said, even if it was whispered. I’d have to remember that.
“Is everyone a strong swimmer?” Xander asked abruptly. “I should have asked that earlier. I tend to forget that not everyone is born swimming.”
“I’m not,” Callie replied.
“I have her,” Daniel said a moment later. “I’ll keep her safe.”
“Everyone else okay?” I asked, prepared to help if needed.
There was a bunch of yeses, and it was hard to differentiate them, but no one had said no, so it didn’t really matter.
“Stay close to me,” Xander said as he turned in the water, facing away from the platform and the wall that descended into the depths below. “There are predators in these legretos, and while we have an accord with them, they’re still hunters.”
He’d mentioned the meglam being like a shark, and while I’d love to see one, I also really hoped we didn’t. They sounded scarier than the sharks I was used to.
