Page 23 of Fionn
Cerban stopped by the ramp. "I will stay here in case Kelon returns. Call me if you need me."
"Thank you. I hope I won't need to."
I gazed up at the portholes in the side of the ship. Shadows moved behind the glass, curious finmen wanting to know what was going on. I couldn't fault them for it. I'd be the same if I'd been holed up inside the entire time.
"Elise?" I whispered. "We've arrived at our spaceship."
Her eyes flew open. She had to blink a few times. The redness around her eyes was really worrying me now. I had to get her into a medpod as fast as possible.
"Wow," she gasped. "It looks like a giant metal whale."
I stopped for a moment so she could take in the ship and familiarise herself with it. If things worked out as planned, she'd join me on the Tidebound on our way home to Finfolkaheem. The matriarchs would huff and curse and complain, but they would accept a female's choice of mate in the end. I just had to get Elise to choose me.
"I will take you to the medbay to get checked over," I explained as I carried her up the ramp and into the belly of the ship. "Just to make sure you did not come to any harm."
"I'm fine. I just need a shower and my eye drops. I'm used to taking them before and after swimming, but I hadn't planned on being without my mask today. I guess I'm going to have to reimburse the resort for losing their equipment."
I sent more nasty thoughts in Kelon's general direction. "No. It was not your fault. I will tell them that Kelon will be responsible for all costs. And if he refuses to pay, I will do so in his stead."
"You?" I loved the way her lips pursed for that ou-sound. I wanted to lean down and kiss her. But that would be entirely inappropriate. Didn't make me want it any less, though. "It had nothing to do with you. Kelon took me, he ripped off my mask and regulator. You came to help. I'm grateful, but really, you're not responsible for paying for the damage."
I wanted to argue with her, tell her that from now on, I'd take care of anything she needed, but now that we'd entered the Tidebound, her attention shifted to our surroundings.
"It looks so...organic," she muttered, more to herself than to me. "As if parts of the ship were grown. Are those columns made from corals?"
"No, but they were inspired by a similar underwater plant. It makes them light yet incredibly sturdy both in water and in air. About half of the ship is filled with water, which adds to the weight. Everything else is therefore built to be as light as possible."
Her eyes were wide, taking in everything around us. "A spaceship filled with water... that's incredible."
I tried to see the Tidebound with her eyes. I'd been amazed when I'd first set foot on her, but I was used to finfolk technology. It was all new to Elise.
The corridors were rounded and reminded me of lava tubes. We were on the lower deck, which was mostly water-based and held the aquaponic gardens, the training pool, the song chamber and the cargo bay, most of which was air-filled. Underneath us was a deck I'd not set foot on as it was restricted to maintenance and engineering crew only, but I knew it housed the engines as well as a smaller shuttle and escape pods.
I carried Elise into the lift, a brightly lit cocoon that carried us up a deck. If I followed the corridor to the right, I'd get to the crew quarters - half water, half air - and the galley and mess areas, but I turned left, towards the medbay. It was surrounded by empty air-filled quarters reserved for the Peritan females we were hoping to bring home. I didn't mention that to Elise as I explained to her the different rooms we passed. I didn't want to overwhelm her.
"Above us is the upper deck with the bridge and the captain's quarters. It also has a conference room and weapons storage-"
"Weapons?" Elise repeated. "Did you come armed? Are you planning an invasion?"
I chuckled. "No, we're not that kind of aliens. The weapons are only to be used in case we get attacked by space pirates. It's rare in this part of the galaxy, but not impossible."
"Space pirates. I still think I'm dreaming. This is crazy. Next you'll tell me you have a lab where you probe the humans you capture."
"We do not-" I laughed. "Ah. A joke. I hope?"
"I hope so, too. You're not going to probe me, are you?"
"No. The medpod will scan you from top to bottom but unless it finds an injury, the machine won't touch you. Here we are now."
"Where is everyone? It's so empty."
"My brother has made sure that we are undisturbed. I didn't want you to get stared at by strangers. If you do want to meet other finmen later, I will of course facilitate that."
And hate every moment. I wanted to be alone with her, get to know her, talk, admire her beauty, bask in her warmth. I wanted her to realise that we were meant to be together.
But Pam had told us that Peritan females needed time. They did not have mate bonds like we did. They could partner with anyone, multiple times, multiple partners. Some were happy to stay alone forever. As someone who had been denied a mate until I'd taken charge of my own destiny, that thought horrified me. I wouldn't be alone. I could not. But now I had Elise. My pearl.
"Are you going to set me down now?" Elise asked, sounding a bit more energetic than before.
