I chase after them. “They can’t get in yet, but we must leave. They shouldn’t be able to track our scent in the water.” At least, I hope they will not be able to do so.
Once we’re back upstairs, we waste no time getting in the canal.
“We have to go together,” Phoenix says. “Will you be able to take turns breathing for each of us? Or will that be too much?”
“I can do it.” I pull Madi against my front. “Climb on my back,” I instruct Phoenix. “If either of you need a breath, pinch me.”
Phoenix wraps himself around my back as Madi clings to my front.
“Oh, and if you see an aqual—no, if you see any movement at all, tap me.”
“What do you mean?” Madi asks.
“Just keep your eyes open.” I kiss her, then instruct both of them to take a deep breath before we dive under the water.
42
It’s been too long. I’ve explored the room twice over and haven’t found anything. If the library is here, it’s more well hidden than I thought. The receiving room, as Caspian called it, is beautiful, though. There’s an elaborate tile mosaic along one wall, a shelf full of pottery on another. Some of it is even still intact, which—based on the destruction in the rest of the city—is a miracle. It’s like this room was skipped over by whatever disaster happened here. A perfect specimen of a slice in time. The archeologist in me can’t wait to bring a team in to date these artifacts and find out how old they are.
Guilt socks me in the gut. Why am I thinking about the scientific significance of this when my pack still hasn’t made it back?
My pack.
A little thrill dances up my spine. It feels as if everything I’ve secretly longed for is right there, a ripe fruit ready to be plucked, but I can’t reach out and take it. Not yet. Not until Madi graduates. Will she wait for me?
I stop and stare into the rippling water. They should be back by now. Did they have another run in with that fish? What did he call it? Or did those cat-things get inside? My chest squeezes tight. I wish I had a bond to tell me she’s alright.
Pacing in front of the water isn’t productive. I should search the room again for any sign of the library. That should take my mind off the potential harm my pack has come to, right? I know I'm lying to myself, but I go back to investigating regardless.
Wandering over to the mosaic, I tilt my head as I study it closer. The tiles depict what looks like a king and queen. The male is holding a trident. And has a tail. The woman looks human. Taking in the wider effect, I realize they’re meant to be underwater. The teal and green bits of ceramic that surround them bleed into a darker lapis at the edges, as if the water is getting deeper. But if that’s an accurate assumption, how is the woman alive? Art is interpretive, I know, but this feels intentional.
One thing it does prove is merfolk and humans clearly lived together, as the city indicates. Not only that, but may have even ruled side by side. The discovery of Ocearus is mindblowing on its own, but to discover our ancestors may have cohabitated or even mated with merfolk? It’s going to take a while to process that. But it gives me some hope. Ever since I discovered Caspian’s not human, I’ve had a niggling worry at the back of my mind that I’ve tried to ignore. My mate is bonded with a merman, and I don’t know what that will mean for her, for us, for our pack and our children. This city feels like the key to my pack’s personal future as well as the past.
I trail my fingertips along theart piece, not quite touching the stones for fear of ruining an archeological find. A row of tiles catches my eye. They’re a slightly different color, just a bit lighter than the lapis that surrounds them. When I follow their path, they start to look intentional, not like the crafter was just using whatever they had. This close, I can’t tell what the pieces form, so I take several large steps backward.
Now that my eye is attuned to the lighter color, it’s easier to pick out. The lighter tiles definitely form a shape. I step back even further to get a view of the whole wall. The realization of what it is smacks me in the gut.
Runes. They aren’t just pretty patterns created at random by an artist. These are symbols with meaning. Tracking them around the edges of the mosaic, I recognize about half of them. Health. Prosperity. Wisdom. All pretty common tenets of any civilization. All symbols I came across recently in the documents I’ve been pouring over ever since I first noticed the runes on Caspian’s hands.
I pause on a specific shape that surprises me.
The rune I’m staring at means knowledge. Well, if the ancient texts are to be believed, and after seeing a real live merman and discovering an ancient lost city, I’m inclined to take them as fact. It stands out because I already clocked the symbol for wisdom. Why would both be on here? Nothing else is repeated.
Wisdom and knowledge are two very different things, but they’re similar enough that it strikes me as odd.
Five big strides take me close to the wall again. I know I shouldn’t touch it, but something about these specific tiles makes me want to break all scientific protocol. As if in a trance, my hand lifts, and I touch the wall, tracing the runewith the pads of my fingers. The tiles light up, and I rip my hand away in surprise.
Inspecting my skin, nothing’s damaged, so I chance another touch. The glow they emit when I activate them is the same as the veins of ore that illuminate the walls. Over and over again, my finger follows the shape of the rune, tiles glowing and fading in my wake. I must be speeding up, because now instead of a few tiles lit at the same time, nearly all of them are. I wonder if I can get the entire thing to light at once, would it stay lit like the rocks in the walls?
All I can hear is the pounding of my heart as I go faster and faster. As soon as I trace it quick enough to make the entire mark glow at the same time, a clunk echoes in the room. My head whips toward the noise, but the sound bouncing off the walls makes it hard to pinpoint. Looking back at the symbol, I suck in a gasp. It’s now fully lit and isn’t fading again. That can’t be a coincidence, right?
Walking the edge of the room, I step onto the small dais at the front, and nearly trip. Looking down to see what I hit, my eyes widen when I realize a large piece of the rectangular slate floor is raised. There’s a gap about half an inch where there wasn’t one before. All sense of archeological propriety gone, I hurry to heave the stone up to reveal a staircase. It was a trap door.
Holy fuck. My foot is nearly on the first step down when my self preservation kicks in. Not only is it wrong to explore this without Madi and the rest of the pack, but it could be dangerous.
Just as I’m contemplating going in search of them, which is admittedly a horrible idea, there’s a loud splash from across the room. I turn to see Caspian and Phoenix locked in an embrace as Caspian’s strong tail lifts them outof the water. Their mouths are smashed together like Caspian was giving him air, but the moment Phoenix gasps, he dives right back in, kissing the merman like he needs him to live.
Madi’s treading water next to them, biting her bottom lip as she watches the two men. The water can’t mask the way her scent thickens and fills the room.
