She looked at him in horror. What did he mean let go. The shark had all their supplies. The current pushed against her harder and started dragging her down.
“Let go!” he shouted again.
Trusting him, she loosened her grip. The reins tore through her hand, and the shark immediately swam free of the current. She tried to swim out of the current as well, but rocks started closing around her leaving her no room to maneuver.
Proteus wrapped himself around her as the water carried them down towards a hole in the rock. Broken stones grew larger on either side of them and she was grateful for the armor they both wore when her helm protected her as her head hit a stone hard. The solid stone around them acted as effectively as a funnel as it pushed them through. They had no choice but to let the current push them through the tunnel.
The darkness closed around them, and Araxie knew she should be feeling panic. But the warmth of his arms around her, the gentleness of his words as he told her over and over that they'd be fine calmed the fear inside her. Even the box inside her soul, holding the curse at bay, seemed to strengthen at his reassurance. Her own arms wrapped around his back, and they hurtled out of the tunnel.
Light blasted the shadows away, and the force of the current dissipated as the water went were it willed into the open sea. For a moment, they stared at each other, arms still holding on as they hovered in the water.
She broke the connection first, dropping her hands and looking around. Below them in a valley of cliffs formed in white rock were wrecked ships as far as she could see. The darkness in her hummed and swelled at the sight of so much chaos and destruction.
“The Saldows Sea,” Proteus said. “We made it faster than I expected.”
Nodding, Araxie slowly swam towards the nearest wreck in a daze. The bow had a large hole in it, the mast missing, but the wood looked like it had only started to rot.
“We should find the others,” Proteus said.
She kept moving towards the wreck as if the wreckage were pulling her in. A swirl of red and grey moved at the edge of her vision and she turned expecting Proteus to be there. But he was where she'd left him above her. She twirled, but there was no sign of any other red. Only the white stone and decaying ships.
“What is it?” Proteus asked.
She shook her head, and it started throbbing. “My head hurts, I must have hit it harder than I thought.”
“I'm so sorry!” Nami shouted from above them.
Leena approached Araxie's and Proteus's shark. “Are you hurt?”
Proteus said. “Let's make camp here. Tertis check Araxie, she hit her head in the tunnel.”
While the others set up the tents and crystal boundary, Tertis had Araxie sit on a boulder. She tapped her braces and her armor faded. She pulled the combs out of her hair and found that several of the teeth on one comb were bent at an odd angle. She tapped the braces again and the helm formed in her hands. The spot where she'd hit her head was partially crushed. She'd hit a lot harder than she'd thought.
“There's no blood or obvious swelling which is good.” Tertis pulled out a green marble. “Without moving your head keep looking at the marble.”
He moved it up, down, and side to side. Then he moved onto other tests and asked her questions about where it hurt and how she felt. By the time the camp was set up, he'd finished looking her over.
“What's the diagnosis?” Proteus asked.
“I'll check on her a couple times during the night, but otherwise with some rest she'll be fine.”
Proteus dismissed Tertis before turning to her. “Take my tent tonight.”
“I can't do that,” she protested.
“It's not a suggestion.” Proteus pointed to the nearest tent. “Get some sleep.”
She crossed her arms. “Just when I thought you weren't so bad.”
Proteus frowned. “You're injured, you need rest and sharing with Leena isn't going to help you feel better.”
“I don't need special treatment.”
Nor did she want it. The last two weeks, with this group, with him, she'd felt like one of the team. They hadn't treated her like a princess, they'd treated her like any other knight. No one, aside from her sisters, had ever done that.
Jett had come close, but she'd seen the way his scales would brighten when they got a table because the restaurant didn't want to keep a princess waiting. Calista had thrown her title around for anyone who would listen wherever they went. Then she'd make snide remarks asking nervous shopkeepers if that was the best they could do for one of Triton's daughters. Inevitably the staff would flounder for something else to give her just because Araxie was the daughter of the King.
Now, just when Araxie had let the princess title go, Proteus had to make special accommodations for a little bump on the head. Like he’d just been letting her pretend to be normal.
He let out an aggravated sigh, “Stop being stubborn. You’re hurt, go lie down.”
Leena shouted across the camp. “Healer's orders Araxie. Proteus takes them very seriously. He once sat in front of the door of my tent to make sure I didn't injure my fin further when I was ordered to rest until transport was ready.”
“Fine.” She hurried to the tent and sprawled across the padded floor.
His tent was more comfortable than Leena's. Her muscles were stiff from the days of travel and sitting on a shark. It felt glorious to stretch out her fin in the warm water of the tent. She fell asleep before Proteus could bring her a sand cracker.
Chapter 8
She slept soundly aside from when Tertis woke her with a bright light and asked her questions she'd already answered. The last time he woke her the water was turning grey from the morning light and she couldn't fall back to sleep. In the early light she saw Proteus leaning against the boulder where Tertis had looked her over. Proteus's head leaned to the side and it looked incredibly uncomfortable to her.
Keel spotted her when she left her tent, he nodded in greeting, then continued his watch. Proteus must have put them all on a single watch last night to give them a chance for more rest.
Araxie was eating her sand cracker ration when Leena woke. The mermaid nodded at Keel, then looked at Araxie.
“Swim with me,” Leena said. “I need to stretch my fin.”
They swam together a small distance from the camp before Leena stopped by the ship Araxie had been drawn to the day before.
Leena spoke softly. “He's a good one Araxie. Don't toy with him.”
Araxie looked back towards the camp. They were far enough away that Keel and the others wouldn't be able to hear them.
“I'm not sure—”
“You know what I'm talking about. And if you don't Proteus deserves better.”
Their argument the day before had been small, but she feared the emotions that were growing around him. In the tunnel, it had felt so right to be held by him. But she didn't want to be controlled by anyone else. Her life had first been controlled by her Father and the role of a princess, then her desire to please Jett or Calista had controlled her choices. She didn't want her feelings for Proteus to control her further, or give him the opportunity to use her position against her.
“He's practically family.”