Rowan hit the rocks with a thud that shuddered Kaerius from head to fins. Rowan screamed in agony, and his cries could be heard from Shroud Island. Kaerius hauled himself onto the rocks and tried to grab at Rowan.

The hunters leaned over the edge, and one started climbing down the ladders.

"Rowan," Kaerius said and stretched out a webbed hand. Rowan was in so much pain; he could barely breathe, let alone move the arm he assumed had broken in several places. Kaerius was running out of time. Yanking himself across the rocks would take too long. "Come to me," he begged, but all Rowan could do was cry and shudder. "Rowan please," Kaerius whispered, reaching out.

Then, something unexplainable happened. The sea around them started rising, up and up. Kaerius turned, fearing that waves were coming and would smash Rowan against the cliffs. The water behind him was flat. Kaerius watched as the water seeped up the rocks and surrounded Rowan. He was lifted by the water and pulled Right into Kaerius's open arms. As soon as Rowan was in the water, Kaerius connected their lips. He ducked below the surface, away from hunters who almost reached them. Kaerius didn't know whether Rowan had made the sea do that, or if the sea was looking out for its sovereign, or if the Goddess had heard their prayers.

Rowan was able to kiss Kaerius back once before passing out. His legs turned into a tail, and he breathed through gills. Kaerius swam deeper and deeper until he could trail the ocean floor. He was safe, but Rowan was far from okay. Rowan had been shot in the lower back, and the fall from the cliff had broken many bones. Kaerius didn't want to think about the inside damage.

"I know you're strong," Kaerius said in the Thalassic Tongue, ignoring all the fish that would usually get his attention. His heart set on the caves where Jaiker and Laiken prepared plants and healing remedies for Rowan. "You can get through anything." Rowan didn't respond, and Kaerius had to think a lot about his own breathing to stay calm enough to reach the caves without breaking down.

His tears were gone before they touched his cheeks, but Laiken knew he was crying when they helped pull Rowan into the cave. The whites of his eyes were all red, and Kaerius fought against his quivering bottom lip.

"We'll do our best to help him," Laiken spoke in the soft tone he used when people were upset. "You need to stay with him. Hold his hand and speak to Rowan in your head."

Kaerius wanted to wrap his tail around Rowan's, though Rowan's fins bent oddly. All Kaerius could do was stop Rowan from drifting. He pressed the sides of their faces together and started praying to the Goddess. He prayed for Rowan to pull through. He prayed for Jaiker and Laiken to have good knowledge of healing. He prayed for Rowan's parents to be okay.

After a while of Jaiker stuffing plant remedies into Rowan's stomach wound and wrapping things tightly to hold his broken bones in place, Jaiker said that Rowan was still declining. His heart was slow; his breathing was scarce.

Kaerius then prayed for Rowan to have an easy death. "Please, please, please," Kaerius whispered. "Don't take him from this world. He's not ready to go." Then he said, "if he is ready, don't let him suffer."

When Jaiker was done, all they could do was wait and hope that Rowan was fighting to wake up.

* * * * *

When two days passed, Kaerius felt a big weight lift from his shoulders when Michael and Mandy entered the cave in their Thalassic forms.

They rushed to Rowan immediately, and Mandy started to cry.

"What happened?" Laiken asked Michael as Kaerius and Mandy hugged each other and spoke about Rowan's strengths to pull himself through.

"Mandy's hunters were waiting for us when we got back. We went peacefully until they told us that they shot Rowan. We thought they had killed him when they didn't return with him. The werewolves luckily came to our aid this morning. They were furious."

"This needs to end," Laiken said. "Land is too dangerous. How realistic is it to get rid of the hunters?"

"Not very realistic. The sea is where my son belongs, but giving up doesn't feel right. He shouldn't be shunned from land." Michael swam over to Rowan and traced the plants that wrapped around his arms. "He only just healed from his other injuries. I can't see him like this again."

"We should move to the ocean for good," Mandy said in a tone that told Michael she had made up her mind.

Kaerius agreed. The aching he felt was almost unbearable. He couldn't eat or sleep, only worry and obsess over Rowan's breathing. Every time his eyes closed, he feared that Rowan would slip away and Kaerius wouldn't wake up. Jaiker and Laiken had prepared themselves to say goodbye to Kaerius, and for the first time in his life, Kaerius felt cold in the sea.

He ran a hand through Rowan's blonde hair and longed to look into his light green eyes. "He's healing, but he's not waking up."

"He just needs time," Jaiker said, trying to keep everyone's spirits up. "A few more days. He hasn't gotten any better, but he hasn't gotten any worse."

* * * * *

A few more days came and went. Rowan was unconscious for almost a week until he started to drift to the surface of his mind.

Laiken was trying to feed Kaerius a fish when Mandy yelled that Rowan was stirring. Everyone crowded the cave to see Rowan open his eyes for the first time in seven days. Kaerius made sure he was the first person Rowan saw. He leaned so close; their noses almost touched.

Rowan looked straight at Kaerius and didn't get a chance to ask where he was because Kaerius kissed him, long and softly. His kiss fuelled Rowan strength, and he lifted a hand to embed it into Kaerius's hair.

"Am I okay?" Rowan asked. His voice was hushed and very muffled under the water. Everyone was close enough to hear him.

"You will be," Mandy said, and everyone smiled.

"You scared us so much," Kaerius thought as Jaiker unravelled the plants from Rowan's healed body. "We didn't know if you would pull through. You worsened for days."

"Days? How long have we been here?" When Rowan was told he had been in the cave for seven days, he started to panic. "Where's everyone else? Where's Jack and Braiken? What are the werewolves doing? Are they fighting dad's parents yet? Oh my god, I was shot, wasn't I?" Rowan touched the scar on his stomach and felt it on his back. It had healed well. He wasn't used to feeling better so quickly.

"The werewolves have Jack, Braiken and his soulmate. The vampires are joining forces because of Braiken's vampire soulmate. Wez's soulmate is outside the cave. She's distraught. She says Wez is injured and was taken by the hunters and beaten for being a traitor."

"We need to find him," Rowan said, trying to swim out of the cave but everyone stopped him.

"You need to take a moment. You almost died," Mandy said. "Eat some food, and we can figure things out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What if Wez doesn't have another day?"

"Rowan," Mandy snapped so sternly, everyone stopped talking and moving, allowing the water to let them drift. "You are resting for another day because you're lucky enough to have one. Don't argue with me."

Rowan reluctantly nodded. Even Kaerius matched his mother's stern features. Everyone had been so worried, so Rowan relaxed and let them fuss over him some more. "Sorry, I'm just so desperate for this to be over."

"We all are, but we'll all get hurt if we rush into this," Mandy cupped Rowan's face and kissed his forehead.

Now that Rowan was awake and well, Jaiker and Laiken went to stock up on food and kept Wez's soulmate busy. Kaerius pulled Rowan through the kelp forest and down a sandy slope. They kept going until they reached a reef vibrant with plants and all sorts of life. Rowan looked around for a while, enjoying the swooshing in his ears and how there was no distant car horns or kids laughing on the beach, or planes or birds or radios. The seas silence was a lovely change.

"You want me to live in the sea, don't you?" he thought to Kaerius, who nodded straight away.

"You're safe here. You look very calm in the water. You don't have to worry about hunters or university or chaotic human life. Here we play and have fun. We travel the world and eat good fish. I would never usually push a decision like this onto you, but I can't stop seeing you fall off that cliff. The scream you made after... I would have given my memories never to hear it again."

"Oh Kaerius," Rowan thought and wrapped their tails around each other. "You've been through so much because of me."

"A lot has been great, but a lot has been very stressful. The hunters will never stop."

Rowan knew that. He also knew that he couldn't hide in the sea and let the hunters go about their missions of terrorising the supernatural world. The Royals had been made to hide, but now they have awoken, and capable of making a difference. "I can't rest until I know that my grandparents and the hunters here stop. As Jenya said, the storm is coming, and we can't control it. We need to show the hunters that they can't hurt us anymore."

"By fighting until we lose the ones we love?" Kaerius asked. He held onto Rowan's face. "I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of wasting my life. What if it's a war that never ends? Do you want us to fight forever?"

"I wish we didn't have to fight at all," Rowan thought. If only he were confident enough to make a peaceful agreement with the hunters, though they would never accept it.

"I love you, Rowan," Kaerius said and Rowan's mind emptied. "I didn't say it back at the cliffs. But I do, I really love you."

For a moment, Rowan's anxieties washed away with the current. "I really love you too. Sorry I almost died on you."

Kaerius scoffed and brushed his lips against Rowan's. "You're forgiven."

They spun in the water. Rowan watched Kaerius's black hair move softly. "I've missed a week of classes. Do you think Jack went?"

Kaerius shook his head and poked at Rowan's bullet wound. "Can you just think about yourself for one minute."

"You're right. I have bigger things to worry about than university."

"That's not what I said." Kaerius pulled Rowan down to the ocean floor. "Think about me because I'm right in front of you. Be present for once."

Rowan was often lost in either the past or the future. Sometimes he wasn't mentally there, and days were passing him by. "Fine. I'm thinking about your purple eyes." Rowan pinched Kaerius's cheeks. "The smile you rarely show me." Rowan's eyes traced down Kaerius's chest, and so did his hands. "Your body, and your beautiful tail." Rowan looked back up until he reached his eyes again. "I'm always thinking about kissing you." Rowan stared around Kaerius's face, and when their gaze connected, his soulmate's pupils grew hungrily. Their heads pulled together. After seven days, they yearned for affection.

"Then kiss me."