KAELIS'S POV:
"You're doing it wrong."
"I'm not doing it wrong! I'm doing it my way!"
"Your way involves flailing like a dying fish."
"HEY!"
Nyx crosses his arms, floating—because of course he's floating—above me while I struggle in the crystal pool. We're in one of the deeper chambers of the Tidelands, supposedly for "advanced swimming lessons."
Which is code for "Nyx watches me almost drown repeatedly while looking unfairly attractive."
"You need to relax," he says for the fifteenth time. "Stop fighting the water. Let it hold you."
"The water is trying to kill me!"
"The water is literally my element! It does what I tell it! It's not trying to kill you, you're just—"
I go under.
Come up sputtering. "—TERRIBLE AT THIS!"
Nyx sighs that long-suffering sigh he's perfected over the past few days. "Come here."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to show you. Properly."
I wade over to where he's floating—because walking through water like a normal person is apparently beneath the Sea God.
"Turn around," he instructs.
"Why?"
"Kaelis."
"Fine! Fine!" I turn my back to him.
His hands land on my shoulders.
I jump.
"Relax," he murmurs. Close. Too close. His breath on my neck. "I've got you."
"That's what you said last time before I almost drowned."
"You didn't almost drown. You panicked and thrashed."
"SAME THING!"
"It's not—" He stops. Takes a breath. I can hear the effort it takes not to strangle me. "Let's try this differently. Lean back."
"Back?"
"Against me. Let me support you."
"I don't need—"
"Kaelis." His hands slide down my arms. "For once in your life, just trust me."
I want to argue. Want to be difficult just on principle.
But his hands are steady. His voice is gentle. And I'm tired of fighting everything all the time.
I lean back.
His chest is solid behind me. Cool skin against mine. Arms coming around to position my body in the water.
"Good," he says quietly. "Now just... float. Let the water hold you. Let me hold you."
"This feels weird."
"That's because you've never relaxed a day in your life."
"Rude."
But I'm smiling despite myself.
He adjusts my position—hands on my waist, tilting me back until I'm nearly horizontal. The water laps gently around me. His arms steady me. His face is close—so close I can see the way the bioluminescent light catches in his silver eyes.
"See?" he murmurs. "You're floating."
I'm actually floating.
"I'm doing it," I breathe.
"You are." His smile is soft. Proud. "I told you the water would hold you."
"Only because you're making it."
"Maybe." His hand slides from my waist to my hip. "Or maybe you just needed to stop fighting long enough to realize you were safe."
We're very close now.
His face above mine. His arms around me. The water warm and gentle.
His eyes drop to my lips.
My breath catches.
"Kaelis," he says quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Can I—"
SPLASH.
Something huge breaches the surface right next to us.
I scream.
Nyx swears.
We both go under in a tangle of limbs.
I come up gasping, hair plastered to my face. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"
"DRAVEN!" Nyx roars.
A massive sea serpent—iridescent scales, way too many teeth—surfaces nearby looking absolutely delighted with himself.
"Sorry!" the serpent says in a cheerful voice that does NOT match his terrifying appearance. "Didn't mean to interrupt! Just wanted to remind you about the—oh. Oh. Were you two about to—"
"OUT!" Nyx points at the exit. "NOW!"
"Right! Yes! Leaving!" Draven is already swimming away. "Sorry! My bad! Continue your... swimming lesson!" He disappears around a corner but I can hear him laughing.
Silence.
Nyx and I are both treading water now. Soaked. The moment completely destroyed.
"I'm going to kill him," Nyx mutters.
"Your advisor is a sea serpent."
"Yes."
"With terrible timing."
"Yes."
I start laughing. Can't help it. "We almost—and then he just—"
"I know." Nyx runs a hand through his wet hair. "I'm aware."
"Were you going to kiss me?"
He looks at me. Really looks. "Would you have let me?"
"I..." I don't know how to answer that. "Maybe?"
"Maybe." He repeats, moving closer. "That's not a no."
"It's not a yes either."
"I'll take it." He's right in front of me now. Water lapping between us. "Can I try again?"
My heart is racing. "I—"
"YOUR MAJESTY!" Another voice. This time coming from the entrance.
We both turn.
A small sea nymph—Lyria, one of Nyx's messengers—hovers nervously at the doorway. "I'm so sorry to interrupt but there's an urgent message from the—oh." She sees us. Goes bright red. "Oh no. Were you—I didn't—I can come back—"
"WHAT," Nyx says through gritted teeth, "is the message."
"The Eastern Currents are acting strange and you need to—"
"I'll handle it later."
"But Your Majesty—"
"LATER."
"It's kind of—"
"Lyria." His voice goes dangerous. "Unless someone is dying, it can WAIT."
She squeaks. "Right! Yes! Later! Sorry!" She vanishes in a burst of bubbles.
Nyx closes his eyes. Takes a deep breath.
"You were saying?" I prompt, trying not to laugh.
"I was saying—" He turns back to me. "That I'd like to—"
The entire pool suddenly glows bright blue.
We both look down.
The crystal formations at the bottom are pulsing with light—which apparently means something because Nyx's expression shifts to alarm.
"What is it?"
"The Tidelands' protection wards just activated." He's already moving toward the exit. "Something's approaching. Something powerful."
"Is it—"
"I don't know. But we need to—"
The water around us starts to shake.
Not ripple. Shake. Like an earthquake but underwater.
"Nyx?!"
He grabs my hand. "Hold your breath!"
"WHY?!"
But we're already being pulled down by a current that shouldn't exist, and I barely manage to suck in air before we're dragged under and through a tunnel of rushing water and—
We burst into a different chamber.
The throne room.
Where Draven is waiting with a dozen other sea creatures, all looking panicked.
"Your Majesty!" Draven says immediately. "We have a situation."
"What kind of situation?" Nyx is still holding my hand. Hasn't let go.
"The kind where Queen Isolde just tried to breach the Tidelands' barriers."
I freeze.
My mother?
"She what?" Nyx's voice goes cold.
"Tried to force her way in. The wards held but—" Draven looks at me. "She's looking for him. Specifically."
All eyes turn to me.
"Fuck," I breathe.
Nyx's hand tightens on mine. "She's not getting him."
"She's powerful, Your Majesty. The wards won't hold forever if she keeps—"
"Then we strengthen them." Nyx releases my hand reluctantly. "Gather the council. Now. We need to discuss defensive strategies."
The sea creatures scatter.
Nyx turns to me. "Are you—"
"I'm fine." I'm not fine. My mother just tried to break into an underwater god realm to find me. "I'm totally fine."
"Liar." But his expression is soft. "Come on. You're staying with me. Where I can protect you."
We start walking toward his private chambers.
"So," I say after a moment of silence. "That was... something."
"That was your mother trying to kidnap you."
"I meant before that. The almost—the thing that almost—"
"The kiss?" He glances at me.
"Yeah. That."
"We got interrupted."
"Three times."
"I'm aware." He sounds deeply frustrated.
"Do you think—" I stop walking. "Do you think the universe is trying to tell us something?"
He stops too. Turns to face me. "Like what?"
"Like maybe we shouldn't—"
He cups my face with both hands. Leans down until we're breath-close.
"The universe," he says quietly, "can go fuck itself."
My heart stops.
"Kaelis." His thumb brushes across my cheek. "I've waited twenty-two years for you. I'm not letting bad timing, interrupting advisors, or your psychotic mother stop me from—"
"YOUR MAJESTY!" Draven's voice echoes down the corridor. "The Council is assembled!"
Nyx closes his eyes. Makes a sound between a growl and a scream.
I start laughing. Can't help it. "Four times."
"I'm going to murder everyone," he mutters.
"You can't murder your own Council."
"Watch me."
He presses a quick, frustrated kiss to my forehead—not my lips, because OF COURSE NOT—and stalks toward the throne room muttering about "terrible timing" and "cosmic conspiracy."
I stand there alone in the corridor, face still warm from where he touched me, and think:
We almost kissed.
Four times.
And I think... I think I wanted to.
Fuck.
Later that night, after the Council meeting, after defensive wards are strengthened, after we've established protection protocols...
Nyx finds me in my chamber.
"Hi," I say awkwardly.
"Hi." He looks exhausted. "Can I come in?"
"It's your realm."
"It's your room." He waits at the threshold.
I nod.
He enters. Closes the door behind him. Leans against it.
We stare at each other.
"So," I say finally. "My mother's trying to kidnap me."
"Yes."
"That's... bad."
"Very bad." He pushes off the door. Crosses to where I'm sitting on the bed. "But she won't get you. I promise."
"You can't promise that."
"I can and I do." He sits beside me. Close but not touching. "I will keep you safe, Kaelis. No matter what."
"Why?"
"You know why."
"Say it anyway."
He turns to face me fully. "Because I care about you. Because you're important to me. Because—" He stops.
"Because what?"
"Because I think I'm falling in love with you," he says quietly. "And I know it's too soon and you're not ready and I'm probably terrifying you but I—"
I kiss him.
Just lean over and press my lips to his.
It's brief.Awkward.Our noses bump.
I pull back immediately. "Sorry! I don't know why I—that was—"
He's staring at me.
"Did you just—"
"It was an accident!"
"You accidentally kissed me?"
"YES! I mean—NO! I mean—" I'm panicking now. "I just—you were talking and looking at me like that and I panicked and—"
He kisses me back.
Properly this time.
His hand in my hair. His lips soft.
I melt.
It lasts maybe five seconds.
Then he pulls back, resting his forehead against mine.
We sit there, foreheads touching, breathing the same air.
"For the record," Nyx says, "that was our first kiss. Not an almost. Not an accident. Real kiss.."
"I know."
"And I'm counting it."
"Good."
"And I'm absolutely doing it again."
"Okay—mmph!"
He kisses me again. Longer this time. & Deeper...
And this time, nothing interrupts us...