Page 88 of Secrets of the Void
She floated into the void, her arm outstretched toward the people who had thrown her into the water hoping to appease him. He would not forget this. He would return to this place, and he would tear it all to the sands. They would never be able to use this town again. All of these useless scum could return to their main city that was overrun with humans. They could rot in there for all he cared.
No longer would he be kind or lenient toward humankind. They would stay where he put them. No outposts. No freedom. They would leave his waters for good and leave both him and those he loved alone.
He reached her before the void claimed her. He had known that he would, but the terror was hard to shake. The fear that she would sink beyond his reach and he wouldn't catch her before the pressure had crushed her.
Proteus wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her into him. The soft weight of her, held to his chest even as the current tried to pluck her from his grip. He was an immovable force in this sea. And she clung to him like she knew it.
He heard her soft gasp, bubbles erupting from her mask as her limbs curled around his waist. Proteus knew, knew without a doubt, that she had been waiting for him to save her. The way her hands grabbed onto him, not a single mark of fear in her touch, healed some part of his soul that had been blistered since she'd been taken from him.
"Proteus," she whispered. "You came."
"I hope you weren't waiting long."
He glanced up at the dome where she had fallen, and some part of him whispered, "Finish this”. He could put her on the ledge, knowing that even the currents wouldn't dare take her from him. Then he could raze the entire place to the ground. Just as he had planned. He would use all of his massive body, the strength that should terrify those within, and kill everyone inside. He would drown them. Any who had rebreathers like her, he would hunt them down and rip it from their faces.
Their deaths would calm him. The sounds of their screams would ease the ache in his chest that told him he had somehow failed.
But then she pressed her hands to his thundering hearts, one for each of them, and he glanced down to see those big eyes watching him. By the gods, she was pretty. So innocent. So delicate.
So much kinder than he could ever dream of being.
"Take me away from here," she whispered. "Please."
"Where do you wish to go, Sisu?" He had to know the answer. Did she wish to return to her human city? Did even a few moments with those of her own kind convince her that perhaps she wished for a life that he could not give her?
"Somewhere they can't find us."
He could see a shadow of doubt in her gaze. The way she looked back at the town for a mere moment, before all her attention was once more on him. A small part of her didn't want to leave these people behind, but a large part of her did. It was a battle she would likely fight for the rest of her life.
He ran his hands down her back, scooping the backs of her thighs so she would wrap her legs around him and he could be sure that she was secure. Then he turned away from the domes and headed out into the sea.
The pace he set for himself was brutal. Even he could feel his muscles burning as he launched himself through the currents and fought against any trail that the sea wished for him to follow. He knew where he was going. He knew exactly where they would be safe.
The place was old. Hidden. It had been one of the first caverns he had found as a child, and it was one of the few places where he knew none of the undine would follow them. Because it wasn't entirely underwater.
It took a while for him to get there, but he didn't mind how long the journey took because she was cuddled up to him. Her tiny feet had found purchase above his fins. And while there were no holds for her feet, the tentacles on his hips had wrapped around her toes to make sure that she felt more secure. It was as if his body worked on its own, holding her even while the rest of him worked to bring her to safety.
He felt out of control. No one had ever been so daring as to steal something important from him. He'd never lost something as dear to him as her, and he was feeling all sorts of emotions that he'd never experienced before.
A large part of him wanted to crawl inside her. He didn't know what that meant, only that he wanted to cling to her until there was no him or her, but just the two of them existing in a way he did not understand. Another part of him threatened that he should consume her. Then no one else but him could have her, and he would always have part of her inside of him no matter how far she went.
But that was the animalistic side of him. A creature who had never truly seen reason, and one he rarely listened to these days. That side of him knew only how to hurt others. It lashed out when it was feeling uncomfortable or raw, as he was now.
He curled his arms around her a little tighter. He had promised that no one would ever hurt her again. Not him, not the humans, no one. And already she had bled.
Proteus curved a bit, his tail still propelling them through the waters at a speed that would have been hard for anyone else to follow. But he needed to see her arm. Gently, ever so gently, he ran his palm down her arm to hold her wrist up so that he could see it.
The water pressed back against her so powerfully, she wouldn't have been able to hold her arm up on her own. It might have been a little uncomfortable for her to hold it as he was. But he had to see. He had to know that she wasn't going to bleed out in his arms while he brought her to safety.
The cut was shallow. Thankfully, the saltwater of the sea had washed it clean long before this moment, but he could see there was still a faint line of red that was prevented from clotting because of the surrounding water.
A flash of fear seared through him. If he didn't get her to safety fast enough, she could bleed out. She could die and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He'd thought she would be all right with the humans. They wanted to get back at him. They wanted to show him that they were truly in control, and that was all.
He had been so wrong about them. They didn't care about others of their own kind. All they cared about was... whatever they had wanted. He truly didn't know.
"Not long now," he told her, praying to all the remaining gods of the sea that they would listen to their son.
He would not lose her. Even though the scent of her blood was beautiful and blooming in his gills. Even though part of him wanted to devour every inch of her skin just to savor that taste for a moment longer.
