“You know, we wouldn’t be friends if I didn’t come close to the surface so often,” Adrian teased. That shut Moona up. Manatees usually stuck to rivers, bays, and the coast. They didn’t wander far out to sea often… and Adrian’s adventurous nature was the reason they had met in the firstplace.
Adrian turned downward. Waiting by a large collection of coral was his seahorse, Celer. Celer was larger than Adrian, and had the body composition of a regular seahorse, but his color was spectacular. His body was turquoise, and he had a dipped nose with two large ears on the top of his head. He had a mane, and it waved as soft tendrils in thewater.
“Hey, boy,” Adrian whispered. “Look what wefound.”
Adrian pulled out a piece of seaweed from the bag. He fed it to Celer, who ate ithappily.
Adrian climbed astride Celer’s back, sitting at an angle with his fin off totheside.
“We’d better get back. The party’s already started, I bet,” Moonaquipped.
“Oh, goody.” His nineteenth birthday— a day he’d dreaded the arrival of sincelastyear.
“Cheer up, Adrian. You get to pick out your queen from a bunch of babes. What’s not to love?” Celerwhinnied.
Adrian made a face. He wasn’t ready to get married, even if it was to ababe.The minute he said “I do,” to a mermaid, all his exploring would be brought to an instant halt. He might as well be handing hislifeaway.
A shadow from above caught his attention. There was a boat sailing above them. Not a big one, but a thirty-footer, a tour boat that tourists took out on the water in search of dolphins or whales. Adrian’s curiositypeaked.
“We should go up there and get a glimpse of the leg-walkers,” he mused. “What do you say,Moona?”
Moona had gotten distracted and was happily chewing on a spare bit of seaweed she’d found in Adrian’s bag. Shedidn’tcare.
Adrian shook his head and got off of Celer to swim upward. “Whatever.”
The seaweed fell out of Moona’s mouth when she realized what he was doing. “Adrian.Adrian!”
Adrian wasn’t listening. Moona anxiously weaved back and forth, unsure of whattodo.
But Moona wouldn’t leave Adrian’s side, not for anything, so she paddled up to her friend as quickly as she could and joined him at thesurface.
Adrian poked his head out of the water, and Moona’s nose appeared beside him. He remained silent as he crept up to the tour ship, trying not to makenoise.
Adrian had always been fascinated by humans. He wasn’t sure why. There was just something about the leg-walkers that was special to him… like their technology. Humans were constantly evolving and on the move, onto the next bigthing.
The city of Aquatica never changed, and neither did merpeople. Adrian didn’t think his kind had any advancements or excitement since the Middle Ages. But humans… there was always something thrilling to see and doonland.
A girl was talking at the head of the boat. She was the tour guide. Though she was supposed to appear chipper and bright, she soundedbored.
“And over there is one of the biggest coral reefs in the region,” she said monotonously, like she was reading from an old book and not explaining one of the area’s localtreasures.
Adrian liked the way her voice sounded. He wanted a closer look. He swam a little nearer, and Moona held herbreath.
“Look, a manatee!” someone shouted, and everyone ran to the side of the boat that Adrian was under. He went to slip underwater, but something saw himfirst.
Someone.
It was the tour guide. The girl. Her eyes had flickered downward before the man had said anything, but she’d spottedAdrian.
Their gazes connected for a singular moment, a millisecond. It was all Adrian needed to burn her shocked expression into his mind forever. She had green eyes, like the shallow waves upon the shore, and blonde hair that was wavy, like it’d just dried after she’d gotten out of the sea. Her skin was tan, like she couldn’t help but soak up the sun. Her round lips curved as he took in her long legs andshapelyhips.
He liked whathesaw.
Moona tapped him, and he woke up. Adrian dove downward before anyone else saw, giving the girl a glimpse ofhistail.
Adrian swam downward as fast as he could. He spun onto Celer’s back, and said, “Get us out ofhere,boy.”
Poor Moona struggled to keep up. By the time the boat was out of sight, she’d had to go back for airagain.
