"What the hell did you do to me?" Rowan asked, sitting up. His hand still lingered by his chest scared that if he let go, the pain would start again.

Kaerius shook his head. "Bond. Not Thalassic Mortal."

Rowan's spine shivered at the sound of his voice. His eyes flicked to the creature's mouth. "I feel weird."

Kaerius lifted his chin from the rock and narrowed his eyes. "Feel bond?"

"I... don't- I don't know what I feel," Rowan said, staring at the creature. For some reason, he started to notice his beautiful qualities. The sea creature's black hair, short on the sides and longer on the top dripped water from his forehead and down his face, dripping off his strong jawline. His pale skin popped the purple in the creature's eyes, making them unique and intriguing.

Does he feel what I feel? Kaerius thought, focusing on the buzz in his chest because the human stared in a way that made Kaerius want to shy away.

Suddenly, Rowan scuttled forwards and flicked the Thalassic Mortal on the temple. The creature flinched away, and the ferocious glare returned to his face.

"Ouch human," Kaerius growled, rubbing his head.

"I just needed to make sure you were real," Rowan breathed. The colour in his cheeks paled. He didn't look very well. Now that he was a little closer, his heart ached for him to reach out and touch the creature again. Something was definitely not right. "The bond," Rowan whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. "I don't want to believe it."

"If no bond, sea mortal gone," Kaerius said. "Sea Mortal die if-if leave human. Bond strong."

"And that's why I can see your kind, and that's why you keep coming back," Rowan said and stared at the horizon. His expression looked like he had discovered how the earth came to be.

Kaerius nodded and curled his lips down, adding more sadness to his expression. He wanted to tell the human how he didn't want the bond either and how it was slowly turning his world upside down. He didn't know enough English words.

"I can't live with this," Rowan whispered. His eyes were glued to where the sea met the sky. "I've fought so hard for a normal life." He chewed the inside of his lip until it started to sting. His eyes dropped to the Thalassic Mortal next to him. He watched Rowan with interest, but when their eyes met, the sea mortal scowled. "I can't be bonded to a... a creature!"

Kaerius floated back and crossed his arms, letting himself sink, so only his mouth upwards was exposed. "You. Stupid land mortal. Kill bond. You help."

"You don't want this as much as I don't want this?" Rowan asked and pinched himself to make sure he wasn't trapped in a nightmare.

"Kill bond," Kaerius said with more anger. He tried to aim that anger at the land mortal, but he scrambled to his feet and rushed back across the rocks. "Human!" Kaerius shouted.

Rowan yelled, "I'll be back. I'm getting something that might help!" Without stopping, he rushed all the way to his house. He slowed as he entered, but he was still moving fast enough to catch his mother's attention.

"Rowan? I thought you were going to get an education," Mandy said the last part mockingly.

"I forgot a book!" Rowan said before entering his bedroom. He paused by his desk and picked up the file that said: 'THALASSIC MORTALS'. Rowan stuffed it into his bag and turned to leave, but he stopped himself. Rowan looked out of the window. There was a sea creature waiting for him in the water, claiming that he and Rowan were bonded by some supernatural force. If Rowan didn't already feel a pull in his chest to be near the ocean, and a craving to see those odd purple eyes, he wouldn't believe a word the creature said.

With a deep breath and some words of encouragement, Rowan forced himself out of his house and back to the rocks. The sea creature was lying on his back, lightly splashing the end of his tail up and down on the water, watching the ripples it made on the surface. His abdomen muscles tensed, and Rowan bit his bottom lip to stop himself from staring.

"I have a file that might tell us how to get rid of the bond," Rowan said, catching the creature's attention. Rowan sat on the edge of the rocks and was about to dip his feet in the water until he realised how dangerous it was with a Thalassic Mortal so close to him.

"No kill human," Kaerius said and pulled himself up onto the rock.

Rowan flinched away from the water that splashed onto his board shorts. He watched as the creature sat next to him. His eyes traced the tail that curved over the rock and dipped into the sea. The deep turquoise scales were beyond eye-catching.

Kaerius, annoyed by the way Rowan was looking at him, ripped the file from Rowan's hands. "Thalassic Mortal," he said and pointed at the words on the front, pleased with himself.

"Uh, yeah it's all about your kind," Rowan said nervously, not daring to take the file back. "My dad made it... I think."

Kaerius opened it and flicked through the pages. He stopped at a drawing of his species, and his jaw dropped at the horrifying image. The sketch made the Thalassic Mortal look like a crazed monster with huge fangs, black eyes, massive claws and an ugly jagged tail.

"My mum drew that," Rowan cringed.

"That!" Kaerius boomed in his deep voice, and the human jumped. "Insult! Me!" he pointed to himself. "Pretty sea creature."

Rowan scoffed. "You're not very modest, are you?" he chuckled.

Kaerius raised a brow with amusement, staring at Rowan's smile. When their eyes connected, the warmth was all the boys could feel, until Kaerius remembered his hatred. He frowned and darted his eyes back to the file. He felt Rowan's eyes linger on him for longer, and he loathed how it excited him.

Kaerius flicked through a few more pages until he realised that he had no idea what any of it was saying. "Sea mortal no read," he said and handed the file back to the human.

Rowan took it. He was careful to avoid the creatures poison-laced fingers. He turned the pages forwards and backwards until he found the soulmates and royals section. "If I read it out loud, will you understand?" The sea creature nodded, then Rowan asked, "What's your name?"

"Kaerius."

"K-ree-us," Rowan repeated, and the sea creature's frown deepened. "My name is Rowan."

"No. Filthy land mortal."

Rowan shook his head. "I won't help you if you're mean to me," he warned.

Kaerius rolled his eyes and grumpily flapped his tail in the water. "Fine. Ro-wan."

Rowan nodded and turned his attention back to the file. His eyes scanned over the paragraphs until he found the sections that talked about soulmates. Rowan cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly on the edge of the rock. As he opened his mouth to start reading aloud, Kaerius spoke first.

"Ro-wan's father know Thalassic Mortal well. How?"

Rowan shrugged. "He comes from a family of hunters. I guess the information was passed down." Rowan cleared his throat again. "Ready?" Kaerius nodded, so Rowan began reading. "A bond between Thalassic Mortals binds the souls with an unexplainable force. Once the force is completed, it is untouchable. Three stages will happen in order to complete the bond. The first stage is felt by the older Thalassic Mortal. Their soul will cry to be close to the other soul and continuously pull them close. The second stage is connecting the skin with the two chosen Thalassic Mortals, so the bond is felt by both creatures, and both souls soon yearn to cross into each other. The third stage is the touching of the souls by..." Rowan stopped abruptly, and Kaerius watched the blood rush to his cheeks.

"By?" Kaerius said.

"Um, by mating."

"Oh."

Rowan's eyes stared at Kaerius's tail, and his cheeks deepened, turning crimson. "H-How would you even... you know... I mean, do you even have what I... have?"

"Yes." Kaerius rested his hand over a spot on his tail. "Hidden. I show you?"

"No!" Rowan squeaked. "No, no, no, I-It's okay! I don't want to see."

Kaerius frowned at Rowan's embarrassment. The human looked incredibly flustered as the redness spread down his neck. "Read," he said.

Rowan fixed his eyes on the printed words. "Uh, where was I?" Kaerius pointed to a paragraph. He recognised barely any words, but he could tell where Rowan's eyes had been pointing. "Yes, um, the mating. So um... The third stage is the touching of the souls by mating. If, by incredibly rare occurrences, the Thalassic Mortal bonds with a human, the Thalassic Mortal will transform to a land mortal for the third stage and the completion of the bond."

Rowan glanced at Kaerius. His horrified expression almost made Rowan chuckle. "Don't panic, it says that after you can go back to a sea mortal straight away."

Kaerius tensed his jaw. "We," he said pointing at Rowan then at himself, "No mating."

The blush flared on Rowan's cheeks once again. "Yes, yes, I know. Of course. I know that. I was just... I mean, you looked worried. I know we won't. I was just reassuring you."

"Mate with human? Ugh," Kaerius groused and dropped from the rock, plopping himself back into the water. His skin and scales were drying, except for his fins that sloshed in the water. Kaerius hated the feeling of dryness. "Read," he sighed, resting his arms on the rock by Rowan's leg.

Rowan scanned the page again. "When the second stage is complete, Thalassic Mortals can visit land if their soulmate is human. Sea Creatures do this by airdrying. After four hours in the air, Thalassic Mortals require salt water baths, where they will return to their sea creature state until they are ready to turn again."

"Turn?"

"I guess, turn your tail into legs."

Kaerius grimaced at the thought. He poked Rowan in the thigh. "Fleshy."

Rowan tensed and shuffled away. "Don't touch me, you'll poison me. Also, the collection of English words you know is so odd."

"Odd," Kaerius repeated. He used to listen to humans play by the sea when he was young. He sometimes longed to play with them because he was the only young Thalassic Mortal in a group of adults. The human children couldn't see him, so all Kaerius could do was listen to them play and desperately try to understand.

"Shall I read more?" Rowan asked.

Kaerius nodded and rested his chin on his arms, listening to the soothing sound of Rowan's voice.