She was swimming next to Timothy, easily making her way out into the ocean by his side. Beneath them, the ground gently sloped downward, but the water was so clear they could see all the way to the bottom.
Every now and then, a swarm of fishes appeared, but they paid them no heed.
There was still the sizzle of need between them. Even the ocean water couldn’t cool that. Even underwater, she could feel the heat of his gaze on her, something inside her tight with want for him.
Perhaps, once they made their way back up, Timothy would find them another convenient sandbank...
Below them, the bottom of the ocean suddenly dropped away sharply. The water there looked much darker—the trench was so deep that they couldn’t see the bottom.
Timothy headed straight towards it. And after a moment, Liana could feel what had pulled him there.
The ocean was singing to them in a low, deep melody. Single notes of indescribable beauty pulled them forward.
The ocean wanted them to come explore. And even though she still hadn’t quite overcome her fear, Liana hesitated only for a moment before she followed.
She could feel the ocean’s love for them. It wanted them to admire its treasures.
She’d be perfectly safe in the embrace of the water. Even without Timothy, because she was now the lady of the water. It was her element, too.
And perhaps now the time had come to prove that she trusted the ocean, no matter what.
They swam downward for a long time.
At first, Liana wished that they’d brought some kind of waterproof flashlight, but after a while, their eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Or perhaps it was just the ocean gently helping them, because she now thought that she saw a faint blue light illuminating the darkness before them.
It grew brighter the deeper they swam.
There were more fishes now—strange creatures she hadn’t encountered before. But even though once, she would have been scared of them, some
thing inside her knew that these were her friends. They were all a part of the ocean, and nothing of the ocean could ever harm her or Timothy.
She waved at a shark, who ignored her, and then barely kept from colliding with a toothy fish with bulbous eyes.
The fish stared at her for a long moment with obvious disgust for the clumsy land creature who had invaded its realm of quiet darkness. Then it turned around, speeding off as if it was afraid that she’d crash into it again.
Liana laughed silently. Perhaps not every fish was her friend, but that was okay. She was just a visitor to their realm, after all. And the dolphins she’d met last week had been happy enough with their company.
Out of the eerie glow beneath them, she could now see a strange outline appear.
At first she thought that they were swimming towards a strange rock formation. Then, when they came closer, she saw that it was not a rock, but a sunken ship.
An old ship—from an age when ships were made of wood instead of steel, with tall masts and sails.
This ship’s sails were long gone. If it had once had a name, it was now covered by a thick layer of corals and shells.
The one remaining mast was broken—perhaps that was what had sunk the ship in a storm centuries ago.
Cautiously, they swam closer.
They could now see that the light came from the ship. Even though there shouldn’t have been any light down here, Liana was able to see the ship clearly. There was a large hole in its side—and from the hole, more light pulsed.
She could hear the sweet notes of the ocean again, calling out to her and Timothy.
For a moment they hovered in the water outside the hole. Timothy looked at her, and through the mate bond she could feel his question.
Instead of an answer, she reached out for his hand and pressed it in encouragement. And then, hand in hand, they swam inside.