Page 27 of Claimed By the Deep
I take his hand, noticing how cool his skin feels despite the warm afternoon. "Then change back. Be comfortable."
"Here? With you watching?"
"I've seen you before, Cyreus. I'm not going anywhere."
He searches my face for doubt or discomfort, finding only genuine acceptance and worry for his wellbeing.
"You keep surprising me," he says quietly.
"I'm practical. And I care about you too much to watch you hurt yourself just so we can have a conversation."
Something breaks open in his expression, revealing depths I'm only starting to understand. "No one's ever worried about my comfort before."
"Well, someone does now."
He brings our joined hands to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. "What did I do to deserve you?"
"You saved my life. You trusted me with the truth. You're sitting here in pain just so we can talk properly." I squeeze his fingers. "I think the question is what I did to deserve you."
He closes his eyes, making some kind of decision. When he looks at me again, I see resolve mixed with vulnerability.
"Will you stay while I change?"
"Of course." I give his hand another squeeze. "Go be yourself."
"Thank you," he says, relief evident in every word.
He slides into the water, and I watch him submerge, anticipation building. The water around him starts to glow with that subtle bioluminescence, and I lean forward with a smile, ready to greet him properly.
Cyreus
THIRTEEN
The transformation flows through me like coming home, my human form dissolving into the shape I was born to wear. The relief is immediate and profound—muscles relaxing into their natural configuration, skin shifting to its true color, appendages emerging to move freely through the warm water.
Meri watches from the dive platform with the same fascination she showed the first time, her eyes tracking each change without fear or revulsion. When the shift is complete, I float before her in my true form, dark red flesh rippling with burgundy undertones in the afternoon light.
"Better?" she asks, settling more comfortably on the platform's edge.
"Much." My voice carries its natural harmonics now, no longer constrained by human vocal cords. "Thank you for understanding."
"You don't need to thank me for basic consideration." She dips her feet in the water, and I curl a smaller tentacle gentlyaround her ankle. "It was hurting you, wasn't it? Staying in that shape?"
"Yes. More than I wanted to admit." I move closer, bringing myself within easy reach. "I wanted to talk to you properly, but maintaining human form for extended periods is... taxing."
"Don't do that again." There's genuine concern in her voice. "I mean it, Cyreus. I don't need you to hurt yourself just to have a conversation."
The care in her words still amazes me. After decades of hiding, of carefully managing every interaction to avoid detection, having someone worry about my comfort feels revolutionary.
"In my culture, enduring discomfort to please a potential mate is considered... romantic. A demonstration of devotion." I trace lazy patterns along her calf with my tentacle. "I'm still learning that human courtship works differently."
"Human courtship varies widely, but most of us prefer our partners to be healthy and comfortable." She leans forward, studying my face. "Tell me about your culture. About where you come from."
The request sends an unexpected pang through my chest. It's been so long since anyone asked about Agual V, about the world I can never return to.
"My home world is called Agual V. It's mostly ocean—perhaps ninety-nine percent water, with scattered ice formations and small landmasses." I let my mind drift back to memories I usually keep buried. "The seas are deeper than Earth's, andcolder. Dark turquoise in the shallows, nearly black in the deep trenches where my people originated."
"Is it beautiful?"
