Page 2 of Midnightsong
So mer did use echolocation. She grinned, remembering when they first met and he took a jab at her, asking if she thought mer communicated with echolocation like whales.
“That sounds incredible. You’ll have to show me next time we see each other,” Stefan said.
“For sure.” Angie secured the seaflute in her nightstand drawer and made sure it was closed tight, and when she meandered to her living room, Lulu sat by her food and water bowl, butt plunked down on the ground. Her unblinking eyes seared through Angie’s forehead.“So, what were you saying about business?”
“Business is great. People love to dive and look for merfolk.”
Angie froze at the entryway to her small kitchen. “Wait, what? You’re making that into a business? The mer have been staying away from people for a reason! We still don’t have a great relationship with them.”
“I know, Ken and I, and the volunteers give them strict rules to follow. Like they’re not expected to see mer, and they are never to touch, try to feed them, or take photos. We take tiny groups, and if anyone tries anything, they’re escorted back to the surface, and we ban them from coming back out with us.” His explanation came out quickly and smooth like he was giving the spiel to his tour groups. A shudder rippled through his voice.
Angie grunted. She loved Stefan and Ken like her young-at-heart second fathers, but unease filled her. “Tough show, huh?” she finally said. “But I get it.” Her voice lowered a pitch as she swiped a can of wet food from her cabinet full of Lulu’s food and snacks.
Lulu was still staring at her when she left the kitchen. Another meow.
“Well, we want to stay on the mer’s good side. They already believe humans don’t respect other species, and you know what, they’re not entirely wrong. We’d like to maintain their trust.” A rustle from his end. “I gotta go.” His tone grew lower, more hurried. “There’s a group of divers going out nobody authorized. I’ll call you back.”
She had hardly finished saying ‘okay’ when her phone beeped, indicating he’d ended the call.
He never called her back and when Angie dialed him again several minutes later, he didn’t pick up.
Something was off and her body thrummed with dread as she dumped a chunky chicken and turkey meal for Lulu into her food bowl. The cat dug in and Angie took the opportunity to leave the apartment while her cat was distracted.
Her next two texts to Stefan went unanswered, and with her stomach tied into knots, Angie silenced her phone or else she would check it every few minutes to see if he responded.
She forced herself to go to bed early for classes the next day.
Sleep never came.
Her professor’s words couldn’t come at a better time the next day. “Class dismissed!”
Angie hoisted her backpack over her shoulders and left biogeochemistry. She groaned at the weight thanks to the brand-new, chunky, gaming laptop that Bàba and Mia, her older sister, bought for her before she left for school.
Thank the ancestors because the sooner she got out of here the sooner she could meet Kaden this evening.
Stefan still hadn’t gotten back to her, and she fidgeted with her phone, as if it would make him respond.
The entire class, her mind didn’t stop comparing what she was learning to what she’d seen last year exploring with Kaden underwater. He had taken up residence in the Central Pacific Queendom, where Serapha’s sister, Cassia, ruled. He was an advisor to them, while his mother, Mer-Queen Serapha, remained at their queendom in the Bering Sea.
Thankfully, since the truce the humans and mer made that day on the docks, they lived in relative peace. At least, last she heard from regular conversations with her friends and family back home.
Two years had passed since and Angie was in her second year of Pacific Grove University’s Marine Biology PhD program.
A dull shiver ran down her spine at the alternative—not surviving the war.
Finally, she was free for the weekend. That was, as free as she could be with two papers addressing plastic and trash pollution in the sea, brainstorming for her dissertation, and studying for the ichthyology midterm at the end of next week. Ghostly hands squeezed her temples at the work lying ahead.
No, she banished the thought of researching from her mind. She vowed to enjoy the evening swimming with Kaden. Her heart raced. Or they would do more than simply swim. A flash of heat formed at her core, radiating to her thighs.
“Angie, wait up! God, what’s the rush?”
“Dying to get back.” She took a deep breath to calm her quickening heart. The voice came from her friend and classmate, Reesa Park, and with her was the other person in their tiny friend group, Leo Alvarez.
“Yeah, same. Hey, how’s it going with, what’s that company’s name you’re trying to collab with?” Leo asked Angie.
“Bio-nauti-klean. They want to interview me next week.” A tiny smile tugged at a corner of her lips as she thought of the Port Angeles based company, which was devising a machine to clean up tons of trash from the sea without harming sea life. An absent peek at her phone showed there were two hours left before she’d see Kaden and a dreamy smile spread from cheek to cheek.
“Awesome, good luck! And—” Leo’s deep brown irises twinkled. “—Judging by that look on your face, you are thinking of someone special?” he asked with a knowing grin. “’Cause that’s the exact smile I get when I see Sandra. Or so she tells me.” He fanned out his tapered fingers, glancing at his thick wedding band.
