Rising

  Sara was getting the hang of the whole swimming thing. It only took daily lessons along with a very patient teacher. Swimming proved to be a great way of keeping her mind off the impending surgery. Three weeks away. Sara shuttered at the thought.

  Today, Xanthus took her to a large, remote reef several miles out from Kailau Bay. This reef was pocked with holes and tunnels. From a distance, it looked like a giant misshapen block of colorful, fuzzy, Swiss cheese. It presented the perfect place to hone her maneuvering skills. Or so Xanthus said.

  Sara swam through a jagged, three-foot wide tunnel in the coral. She snaked her body through and she didn’t even add to the many scrapes and scratches on her battered fin. Too bad females didn’t have tough grey skin on the lower half of their bodies like the males did. Xanthus said that females didn’t need the added protection—they had males to protect them. He simply smiled when she told him that was chauvinistic.

  Instead of swimming about in dresses that tended to float up (very embarrassing), Xanthus bought her a whole slew of modified swimsuits that clung to her body. The one she was wearing now shimmered blue. Sara loved how pretty it looked and how wonderfully supportive it felt. It was more comfortable than her normal modified underwear. So she had taken to wearing them under her clothes all the time. It also made it easier when Xanthus decided on impulse that they needed to go for a swim.

  Sara twisted her body around and through another gap in the coral. The tip of her tail brushed the coral again. Ouch. She hoped he hadn’t seen that.

  “Perfect,” Xanthus shouted. Nope, he hadn’t seen it. “Wait a minute.”

  Sara followed his eyes to a small swirl of blood coming from the fresh scrape on her tail. Darn it.

  “Well, almost perfect.” He shrugged.

  She thought she might be imagining it, but she suspected there was a perimeter of sharks around them, just out of sight. She could almost see their dark shapes in the distance. Xanthus said they could smell a drop of blood from miles away and she had put more than her share of drops of blood in the water lately. But as long as Xanthus swam near her, the sharks stayed away.

  He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “You’re a natural, Sara.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s like telling a human woman she’s a natural at walking.” She shrugged.

  “Only if she’s been living her life in the water and has just stepped out onto dry land,” he said. “I’d say you’re a fast learner. Did I ever tell you how long it took me to learn to walk?”

  “You… Oh wow. You had to learn to walk?”

  “Yes, and it took me over a month to master it. Just in time to come here. I would still stumble and fall on occasion if I didn’t have my maj bands to help me out.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, I didn’t want to tell you. It’s pretty embarrassing. I just don’t want you to feel like you’re not doing well. You’re learning to swim much faster than I learned to walk.”

  Sara smiled and brushed her lips across his. “You sure have a way with words, which is surprising since English isn’t your native tongue. By the way, you don’t speak Atlantian much, could you say a few words to me?”

  “You’ve already heard a few words, Moro Mou.”

  “What does Moro Mou mean?”

  “It’s a term of endearment. Its literal translation means ‘my baby’.”

  “So when you call me Mou, you’re calling me baby?”

  “Yes, Mou.” His lips caressed hers.

  “I like that.” She smiled.

  “Oh, you did? I wasn’t even putting much effort into that kiss. I can do much better.”

  Sara’s smile widened. “I know you can. I was talking about you calling me Mou.”

  Xanthus smiled back. “Sorry. My mistake.”

  His smile soon melted away. He kept his eyes on hers as his body inched close. His hands reached out to cradle her cheeks. He looked as if he held the world in his palms and was afraid of dropping it. Sara’s chest tightened in response.

  “Sagana po parant poli mi landana, patdrép ma?” The words rolled off his tongue in a foreign question.

  “What did you say?” Her heart thumped against her chest.

  He hesitated before he spoke. “I said… I love you more than my life.” He paused before continuing. “Will you marry me, Sara?”

  “Marry you?” she asked, feeling a bit dizzy. “You want to marry me?”

  “Yes, Moro Mou. More than anything.”

  “I don’t understand why you’d want to. I’m not anything special.”

  “Sara, I don’t understand how you could not know how amazing you are. You’re sweet, beautiful, frustratingly independent, and the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. I love you more than I can say.”

  “But still… Are you sure you want to be tied to a half-human forever?” she asked.

  “I couldn’t think of anything better.” Xanthus caressed the side of her face.

  “But, what if I’m found out? Would you be punished too?” Sara pulled herself in closer.

  Xanthus leaned down toward her. “Sara, no one will find out. After your surgery, you’ll look just like a full Dagonian. You’ll just need to hide out for a while until you learn to speak Atlantian.”

  “Xanthus, can’t we just stay here in Hawaii?” Sara looked around at the beauty and abundant life.

  “I’m sorry Mou. We can’t. Triton has given me only a year. After that, I have to return to Corin. And Sara, you truly can’t stay here. You know that. Can’t you see how you have isolated yourself from the humans? Deep down, you know you don’t belong with them. You belong here in the sea, with me.”

  Sara trembled. She loved this Dagonian so much. Could she really go with him, live the rest of her life in the sea, away from her best friend, away from her mother? Okay, that one wouldn’t be so hard. But the thought of living without Xanthus nearly choked the life out of her. What choice did she have? She loved him so much.

  “Okay,” Sara whispered.

  “What are you saying okay to, Mou?” He looked hopeful.

  “Okay, I’ll marry you.” Xanthus swept her up in his arms and swirled her around in the water. Sara’s laugher bubbled up as she accompanied him on his underwater ride.

  “You’ve made me the happiest Dagonian in the sea, Moro Mou,” he exclaimed just before his mouth took possession of hers, making her tail curl.