Page 97 of Secrets of the Void
She turned to see the beast falling down the last bit of the stairs and landing on the hard stones. It stood, shaking its head, and then its gaze was back on her.
"Shit," she hissed, backing away with her hands raised. "Good doggie. Nice doggie."
It was neither. She didn't make it to the sea before it leapt at her, all teeth flashing and hands reaching out for her.
Clawed fingers caught it long before it could touch her. Proteus emerged from the sea like the god he was, all rage and flashing teeth himself as he brought the creature to the ground and eviscerated it.
The attack was over in seconds. She stood there, hands shaking and her entire body quivering as she stared at the animal that lay dead at her feet. Whatever it was, whatever monster those scientists had made, it was nothing like anything she might have seen before.
Proteus dunked himself in the water again. She thought he was maybe leaving her again, which made fear spike in her chest again. But then she realized he was washing the blood off of himself with quick, efficient movements before he reached for her.
She collapsed against him the moment she could, her eyes still locked on the body that was slowly surrounded by a pool of bright red blood.
"Here," Proteus said. "I had gotten you this wetsuit while I was gone. There's a sunken city around here too, but... We go. We go now, Ellie."
She had never agreed with him more.
Thirty-Nine
Proteus
Proteus had never expected himself to go back to the domes without an explicit plan to destroy their homes for good. He still wanted to tear into them, and ripping through every single person there would satisfy some ugly part of him that longed for vengeance.
He had proven that he was worthy of worship. But the undine here didn't care if he was worthy or not. They weren't going to do it.
And that was a strange feeling. Proteus's entire life had been framed around the fact that he was the son of gods. He could see the future just like the depthstriders, if he wished. He had simply stopped using that ability since he... he...
He looked down at the sleeping human in his arms and he realized he'd stopped using it since he'd met her.
Proteus didn't want to see the future anymore. It had always been vague anyway, but he enjoyed knowing that he knew nothing about his future with her. He didn't want to ruin these quiet moments.
Like right now. With her resting in his arms, exhausted, in an ill-fitting wetsuit that had clearly been designed for a man. Yet she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
What would it have been like if he had ruined the moment where she had taken him into her body, shocking him, but also opening up his world to a whole new kind of pleasure? No, that would have been foolish to ruin that.
She made him enjoy the spontaneity of life. She made him want to keep trying to see and find new things, because he had never done that before.
He wanted to live, Proteus realized. Not as a god worshipped by all who met him, but as a regular man with the woman he loved.
The undine knew he was approaching the domes long before he reached them. He would have been disappointed if they hadn't. They were all warriors, hardened by years of fighting against the humans. They, at the very least, should know when there was someone in their waters.
The red one was the first to approach. He still wore that metal arm, and flexed it at his side as though he prepared for a fight.
"You are not welcome here," he boomed, his voice carrying across the waters.
As expected, it was far too loud. Proteus nearly scolded him but then was far too busy trying to manage the flailing woman who was bound and determined to heave herself out of his arms.
"Drop her," the red undine snarled. "If that's what it takes to get you to pay attention to me."
"She can't swim," he replied, glaring at the other male as Ellie finally settled in his arms. "By all the gods of the sea, woman, settle down."
She did so, but pressed her hands to her ears. "I can feel his voice vibrating through the water, Proteus. And now, you as well. Both of you quiet down."
For a moment, he swore this wasn't the first time the red undine had been told that. All his lights illuminated at once, tiny dots that sparkled like red stars before he coughed through his rib gills and they all turned back off.
When he spoke again, the words were much quieter. "My apologies. I often forget that human ears are so delicate."
Proteus glared at him, ready to scold the much younger male, but he didn't have to. Ellie already pointed at him and said, "Aren't you the one married to Anya?"
