Page 161 of Storm and Sea

Leo was the first person to come alive, dashing to him.

“He’s alive! He needs a doctor!” Atreus shouted, his voice shaken and chest heaving as he limped through the water.

Leo halted at the sound of his friend’s voice coming from the mouth of a foreign creature. He froze in confusion, but it was enough time for Atreus to transfer Edgar into Leo’s arms and step back quickly. The Mer backpedaled until he was waist-deep in the surf, arms raised in surrender.

Emelia darted to him, pushing Edgar’s curls from his face. “Oh, mio bambino,” she cried. Then went still as she took in her son’s rescuer.

All eyes were glued on Atreus. Everyone asking themselves the same question.

Friend or foe?

Atreus stood there, bleeding into the setting sun. Vulnerable. Alone. A creature carved from the sorrow of the sea.

Nyel’s heart ached so much that tears pooled in his eyes, scalding his cheeks as they fell. He couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand to watch Atreus bear the crushing weight of their scrutiny. Not alone. Not anymore.

He shoved his way free of the crowd, stumbling in the sand before diving headfirst into an oncoming wave. Marvassa embraced him, and it felt like coming home. His skin rippled, his hair vanished, and a tail manifested behind him.

Nyel was Mer, and he was done hiding it. He burst from the waves, fins flared, and tail raised.

“You shouldn’t have Ny,” Atreus whispered to him as he approached.

“I told you before,” Nyel said, reaching a webbed hand and intertwining their fingers. “You aren’t alone anymore.”

He came so close.

So close to not doing it.

Almost let his fear stop him from jumping.

From saving Edgar’s life.

All that fear melted away as he lost himself in gold-flecked eyes.

Instinct and adrenaline took over his body as he crashed into unforgiving waters. Each wave struck him as if the ocean was determined to beat him into submission. It hurled him toward the jagged rocks, slamming him against their unyielding mass, sending pain radiating through his ribs and arm. The impact left him gasping, the saltwater stinging every scrape and cut. Somehow, despite the searing pain, Atreus managed to navigate the brutal tide as it tossed him like a rag doll.

By some miracle, Edgar managed to land in the only spot clear of rocks. The water cushioned his fall, and the helpless boy clung to the cliffside just long enough to take one more breath before succumbing to the waves. Atreus found him sinking in the surf, a trail of bubbles leaving his mouth.

Grabbing the boy and rocketing them to the surface took every ounce of strength he had. The sharp ache in his ribs and the numbness creeping into his arm made each stroke agony. Fighting through the maze of rocks with Edgar’s deadweight sapped what little remained of his energy. Pure adrenaline allowed him to march through the shallow water, carrying Edgar in his arms. His legs shook beneath him, protesting the weight. If not for the threat of attack from the people he loved, Atreus would have collapsed in the sand.

“He’s alive! He needs a doctor,” Atreus hastily said, stopping Leo’s charge. He was sure Leo would have attacked him if he hadn’t spoken. Not that a single human posed any threat, weaponless as he was. Once Edgar was safely in his brother’s arms and under his mother’s care, all fell silent. Atreus could have sworn that even the ocean waves quieted, waiting for the verdict. Waiting for the people of Baia Vita to pass judgment.

Waiting… for his life to fall apart.

Dark wavy hair cut through the crowd with a cry, crossing the beach and disappearing beneath the waves. Atreus barely had time to process the leap before Nyel surfaced beside him, jade scales catching the light in a way that made his breath hitch.

Their eyes met, and the world narrowed to just the two of them. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of golden thread manifested in the air around Nyel. Tears pooled in Atreus’s eyes; the feeling was akin to seeing a beloved friend after a long time apart. He wanted Nyel to see it too, to share in this feeling. But at this rate, Atreus was resigned to the fact that he alone witnessed its glow.

The delicate thread was nearly transparent in its faintness… but there, just like on the night of the fireworks. It tried to take hold between them—so terribly fragile yet insistent, daring to exist in the space they shared. In a place it shouldn’t. But without a tether, it hung there, suspended. And Atreus knew it wouldn’t survive long.

Just like last time, it would break… and die.

But for now, it remained, and he would delight in its presence—in Nyel’s warmth. The sea surged around them, the high tide roaring as waves struck the shore with force. Yet to Atreus, everything felt hushed, falling into quiet reverence. As mighty waves crested, they bent like bowed heads, as if the ocean itself knelt before the golden light—knelt before them.

Whale song echoed far in the distance; whether from the open sea or the depths of his own mind, Atreus didn’t know. Didn’t care. Because Nyel… was here.

Nyel’s jade scales shimmered, shifting to azure before deepening into black—a cascade of colors rolling like thunderheads across his skin, shifting and swelling like an oncoming storm. Slowly, Atreus reached out, his fingertips brushing against Nyel’s arm, grounding himself in the impossible beauty of it all—the connection, the golden light only he could see, the sense that this was something he would never fully understand.

“You’re here,” Atreus whispered, his voice unsteady.