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“Where?” I demand, not needing to ask what, or who, he found.
“Off the southeast coast of Australia.” Without pause, I spin in the opposite direction, heading for where I believe Australia to be.
“How many?” I ask him as he easily keeps pace with me, each of us gliding effortlessly through the water.
“I’ve seen six myself. Caspian says he’s seen eight.”
“Did you make contact?”
I glance over at him and see him shake his head.
“They’re skittish. The only ones I’ve seen are females. As soon as I get close enough for them to spot me, they swim away.”
I pick up my pace, a feeling of urgency sliding up my veins. If there is a group of female sea nymphs alone, something must have happened to the males among them. They must be terrified. The women of my species are just as strong as any man, but we aren’t violent by nature.
Our magic is meant to heal. It goes against everything we are to inflict pain on another, which makes defense unlikely. Even before the infertility crisis, women were sparse, averaging five men to one woman in each village. Even now, my sister and I are the only female sea nymphs on Supernatural Island. The others are all men, most of those being in my family. The idea that there is a group of women out there probably has both Mizu and Caspian excited.
“Show me where you saw them last,” I demand as we approach the island, and Mizu veers off toward the lights of a small city glistening through the waves.
“This is where Caspian and I saw them.”
I glance around, find a large rock protruding from the ocean floor, and lie down, getting comfortable.
“You can go,” I tell him, and he opens his mouth to protest. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This is the largest group of females I’ve heard of in decades. We don’t know where the men are or why they aren’t being protected like they should. They’ll respond better if it’s just me.”
He glances at the shoreline, a look of longing on his face. Like all supernatural creatures, he would be considered handsome by most. His algae-green hair is long and flows freely behind him. His eyes, almost the same color as his hair, seem to glow in contrast to his pale skin.
“I’ll bring them to the island,” I promise, feeling a bit of sympathy for the man.
He’s ten years my senior, in his early forties, and still without a mate. Before we were taken by the hunters and then rescued by the Westwood pack, my kind believed taking a mate of a different species to be impossible. We had been so removed from the rest of the world that we didn’t know it was an option, much less one that could result in offspring.
We obviously know better now, but Mizu has continued to search without finding a suitable mate.
He gives the coast one last look before dipping his head in acknowledgment and swimming off as I get comfortable, ready for the long wait.
Chapter Three
Loukas
“Thank you for your sacrifice,” I whisper to the two lobsters sitting in my hands because a sacrifice is exactly what it is.
I was a little boy when my father first took me to this part of the ocean and showed me how to provide for my mother and sisters. It has never taken any effort. Each day, lobsters would swim right into my waiting hands as if they knew how much we needed them. Just enough to provide for my little family—once four lobsters, now two.
We weren’t destitute, but our village only takes what we need from nature. My father was the alpha of our parliament, and he sought to lead by example. Every other member was watching us for cues, so we took what we needed—never more, never less.
Even as I think about my father and what happened to him, my throat clogs with emotion. The thought sets off a spiral I’ve been trying to avoid. Tomorrow is the day I return to my prison…
A small squeak reaches my ears, and I spin, trying to locate the source of the sound. I find nothing and assume I must have startled a small animal.
I turn back and walk the familiar path through the trees to our hidden village, my mind turning once again to my father. What I wouldn’t give to have him here with me, to hear his voice one more time. To apologize for what I did.
I shake my head to clear the thought. Regret is easy, but there’s little it can accomplish now. Meeting Antonia was the beginning of the end for me and my family, and I never saw it coming.
After a few years of living under her thumb in Northern Ontario, Canada, I convinced her to allow me to visit Greece. I had won some favor by giving her a son and being “such a good little pet,” so she even allowed me to bring our son, Zach, to meet his grandmother.
We were given one week of bliss. Seven full days with my family in the place I belong. One week of not having to look over my shoulder and worry about everything I say or do.
The weather was a definite improvement as well.
