Page 11 of Secretly Abducted
"I don't mind close," he says, and something in his tone makes my skin flare again.
I dive down to activate the shelter release, using the moment underwater to try to calm my bioluminescence. The emergency shelter is meant for solitary waiting, not... whatever this is.
The structure rises from the sea floor, breaking the surface just as the first drops of rain begin to fall. I help Alex climb onto the platform—his hand is warm in mine for just a moment—and key in the descent sequence.
"We're going under?" he asks, but there's no fear in his voice, just curiosity.
"It's safer below during storms. The structure can withstand the pressure changes."
The shelter descends, water rising up the transparent walls until we're fully submerged. The interior is basic—emergency supplies, a single resting platform, communication equipment that hasn't been updated in years. Through the transparent walls, we can see the zhik'ra forest beginning to sway as the storm builds above.
Alex stands in the center, turning slowly, taking it all in. "This is incredible. We're underwater but dry. I can see everything."
His minimal clothing clings to his skin. Water droplets trace paths down his chest, and I have to look away before my bioluminescence betrays me again. The space is so small that we're only an arm's length apart no matter where we stand.
"How long do storms usually last?" he asks.
"Several hours, typically. Sometimes longer."
He smiles, and there's something in that expression that makes my heart race. "Good. That gives us time to actually talk. Without me drowning."
I sink onto the resting platform, suddenly very aware that we're trapped here together. "I don't know how to talk to you."
"Sure you do. You're doing it right now."
"That's not what I mean." I pull my legs up, wrapping my arms around them, trying to make myself smaller in the limited space. "You're so direct. You say things that no Nereidan would ever say. You look at me like..." I trail off.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm worth looking at."
Alex sits on the platform too, careful to leave space between us, though in here that's still quite close. "Vel'aan, you saved my life. Even if you don't see it that way, that's what happened. You're absolutely worth looking at."
"I was just trying to keep you stable—"
"Exactly. You tried. You cared enough to try." He leans back against the shelter wall, and I try not to notice the way hisbody stretches. "Tell me about the zhik'ra. Why did you start farming?"
I consider how to explain. "It seemed... safer. No assessments. No possibility of making mistakes that could hurt someone. Just plants."
"But you love it," he says. "I can see it when you talk about them. This isn't just hiding. You actually care about the forests."
"They're predictable," I say. "They grow or they don't. They thrive or they need adjustment. There's no... confusion."
"Like there is with people?"
"Like there is with you," I correct, then immediately regret being so direct.
But Alex just smiles. "I confuse you?"
"Everything about you confuses me."
"Good," he says. "That means you're thinking about me."
My bioluminescence flares before I can stop it, gold racing up my arms. Alex watches, fascinated.
"Does it always do that?" he asks. "The glowing?"
"It's involuntary," I explain, embarrassed. "Emotional or physical responses trigger bioluminescent reactions."
