Clash of Tides (A merman story)
Chapter 9 - |Ocean| Part 2

I remember the brunette woman I saw and realize I have not seen one woman since being brought to Assan’s home. I keep thinking when screams snap me from my thoughts. I shift my sight back to the battle. The humanoid creatures’ expressions switch to horror and intense fear. Their solid hues go wide, and they stare directly towards the ocean floor. I follow their line of sight and see Assan staying firm in the water. His raven locks float around his head, and his blue tail does not move. From this distance, I cannot see his facial expression; however, behind him, a bright sea-green light appears, illuminating the battleground.

Either I am tired from exhaustion, or my eyes deceive me. Walking towards the battle is a man. I’m shocked beyond words. As he walks, I can tell the water is not affecting him. His sea-green hair, like ocean colors mixed—dark blue to seaweed green—hangs down his back, and even though I can’t make out his eyes, he is looking straight ahead at the battle before him. Surrounding his body appears to be a glowing white shield, keeping the water from touching him. He is wearing a green robe, like the silted-eyed people in Lucas’ book. The clothing covering his body has different patterns of gold and blue, matching his hair. His dress style is so foreign to me, making me wonder who this man is and how he has legs underwater.

Despite my curiosity over the random male, I dart my eyes around and watch as the humanoid creatures try to retreat, quickly swimming away. What are they afraid of?

Then, the mermen stop moving and look towards the strange man, waiting for something. The sea-green-haired male stops next to Assan, and they begin to converse.

How does...what is...Assan...my mind is unstable with questions.

Assan shifts his gaze to the fleeing creatures waiting with the other mermen. The man with sea-green hair raises his hand, and a bright light covers the area within seconds. I quickly close my eyes and hear water rustling; however, there are no screams or yells. Then, the current flows towards me, shaking the water, but I grip the rock with my eyes still closed as I try to keep my body in place.

After a few seconds, the water stabilizes, and I open my eyes again, peeking out to see what happened. The mermen’s shouts of glee reach my ears, and the spot where the humanoid creatures are is ruby red. The human-like man turns his back to the crimson-mixed-blue liquid and quickly speaks with Assan. He starts walking and then stops, glancing in my direction. Somehow, even though we are far apart, his gaze meets mine—amber eyes meeting golden-blue ones. He then shifts his gaze away from me and keeps walking. How did he know I was here? I question.

Once he walks past, a familiar, angry aura hits me: Assan’s glance has spotted me; I’m dead. The water sways me back and forth, gently knocking me from side to side, even though there isn’t anyone or anything around me.

Not wanting to face his wrath, I hide behind the rock again, hoping I will disappear from his view and fade into the water.

“What are you doing here, Elena?” Assan’s deep voice comes from the other side of the rock.

I yelp. At this moment, I want to change into a tiny fish and swim away undetected. I stay behind the rock, thinking foolishly he may just go away. I doubt he will. Then, to no surprise, Assan appears in front of me. His brows are creased, and anger burns in his multi-colored eyes. Before I can answer him, he grabs my wrist, digging his nails into my skin. I wince from the pain.

“Answer me, Elena! What did you see?!” He yells, and the liquid surrounding him twirls like a storm.

I hiss from the pain, about to speak, but a burning forms in my chest. I gasp; my vision goes blurry, and I struggle to breathe. Assan gives me a deadpan expression through my cloudy sight and doesn’t move. He stays motionless; his face is stoic.

My thoughts are messy, and I wonder if Assan will let me die here; maybe he doesn’t need me after all. Black spots flicker in my vision as I continue gasping. Suddenly, something touches my wrist. Assan pulls me against his chest and wraps his arm around me. He glides and maneuvers through the water with inhuman speed, holding me tightly. Pain and the fear of death overtake me as I gasp for air until we surface above the water.

I inhale air and then cough up salt water. I keep going, coughing and searching for any land I can place my feet on. Assan releases me, and my instincts lead me to swim towards the rocks. Saltwater spills rapidly from my mouth, and I climb out of the water, crawling onto the rocky surface.

I move a few inches away from the bank, still coughing. My eyes rank over the room; it’s a different cave than before.

“Have you learned your lesson, Elena?” Assan’s angry, cold voice rings in my ears. He did this on purpose for me to believe he was going to let me drown.

Not paying attention to his words, I release the last bit of water blocking my ability to breathe and then finally regain my senses. My wet hair sticks to my neck, and my eyes roam around the new cave-like room. In the center, rays of sunlight beam down from the sky, illuminating the darkness. Like the other room, there is a bed, dresser, and washbasin, but the bed is bigger than the other one. Also, a small chest sits on the dresser, resembling a cosmetic box.

A growl rumbles from Assan’s throat, and I can tell he is growing impatient with me. I stand up and spin around, now looking at Assan in the water.

His eyes glare daggers at me, but I don’t care and return his glare with my own.

“How did you escape the room? I assigned a guard to watch over you,” he spats, anger fuming in his colorful hues.

After everything I have seen, I want answers and the truth. What were those creatures fighting the other mermen? Why did one touch me and try to drag me away? Who was that man? Where are the females?

“I want the truth, Assan! What is going on here? Why do you need a child? Why must I die for something I know nothing about?!” My anger rises, sipping to every inch of me as I raise my voice to Assan. We are now in a standoff, glaring each other down until the other budges.

The water rumbles around him and shoots into the air like a geyser.

“Don’t question me, Elena!” His roaring voice echoes through the cave, and water, in the form of hands, heads straight for me. I close my eyes, bracing for it to splash me, but I feel nothing. Quickly, I open my eyes again, and Assan is still.

His eyes are shut, and his arms are crossed. What is he doing? First, he was mad, and now he is quiet. I take one step forward, and Assan’s eyes snap open.

“That is enough for today,” he says calmly, “I don’t have time to deal with you right now.” He starts to swim away. However, I can’t miss this chance; I will no longer let Assan push me aside. If anything, I have to make him angry, to push him as he does me.

Feeling my heart thump in my chest, I part my lips and say, “You told me you are not a liar, but it’s clear you are withholding information for me. Perhaps you don’t even know. You talk of taking me, bedding me, but I doubt you even know how to pleasure a woman,” I taunt him with mockery in my voice.

With a swift movement, Assan spins around, and his hues turn solid blue, burning with a rage I have never seen before. His angry aura hits me like a rock, causing me to stumble where I stand.

In a blink, he swims towards the edge of the land, with his eye remaining cobalt. “Are you challenging me?” he asks in a deep voice that sends a shiver through my spine.

My mouth is dry, and I am deadly afraid; I poked the monster inside him, and now I must confront it.

“I…”

“Come to the water, Elena,” Assan orders as his lips twist into a smirk. Despite the previous rage, his body seems relaxed as he lazily places one arm on the ground and uses it to hold himself up.

I shake my head, starting to walk back from him. I haven’t been making the best decisions, and I doubt I can return from this one. An angry man is already frightening, but a calm man oozing with confidence is even scarier because his thoughts are masked by a collected nature.

As the silence passes between us, his half-smile drops into a frown. “You demand the truth from me, call me a liar, and then you try to run?” He scoffs. “You are weak, Elena, and not fit to be the mother of my child,” he hisses out, and my body runs wild with hate for Assan. Clenching my fist, I know what I have to do.

I lower my gaze towards the cave floor. “I won’t let you win…” I mutter, barely audible. I have seen things, survived, and lost too much for Assan to beat me now. If I want the truth before I die, I must prove him wrong, just like how I showed my mother I could handle myself. He wants to show that I’m incorrect, and I need to show him he is wrong.

I raise my sight to Assan and start walking towards him. The smirk returns to his lips, and he waits by the water. I have no idea what Assan will do to me: he may force himself on me, kill me, I don’t know, but I can’t lose, not before he tells me the truth.

Walking to the water’s edge, I see Assan’s eyes remain solid blue. Now, I am at the pool’s edge, with Assan in front of me.

“Sit down,” he orders coolly, inviting me to sit for a leisurely conversation. I swallow the gulp in my throat, and adrenaline flows through me. Doing as he says, I bend down, placing my legs into the water.

“What are you going to do?” I ask softly. I am afraid, but I prepare myself for the end, for whatever he has planned.

“You challenged me, Elena, and I do not flee from a challenge,” he says smugly, making me almost regret starting this game. To my surprise, with gentle movements, he wraps his digits around my ankles, and his irises return to their original color. Then, he lifts my legs and parts them, causing me to move back from him. I yelp and squirm.

“This will feel better for you if you don’t move, but of course, if the ecstasy is too much, I don’t mind hearing you moan,” his voice is smooth yet playful, but I don’t know what he is speaking of. With every squeeze around my ankles, he tightens his grip on me. My body shakes with fear, and my heart beats so fast I wonder if I will die at this moment. Mother always taught me how to pleasure a man, but she never told me how a man pleases a woman. Given that Assan is a merman, I wonder if his member is the same as a human. Is he--

“Lay down.” His voice cuts off my thoughts, and I expected his words to be harsh, but they are calm.

Too scared to question him, I lie flat on my back with my legs lifted. Under me, my back greets the hard cave floor, and the moistness of the gravel soaks into my dress and skin. The sound of shuffling water rings in my ears, and splashes of liquid brush my lower torso. As he spreads my legs apart wider than before, I gasp and stare right at Assan. My intimate parts are exposed to him; he can see what men only should be paying for.

“What are you doing?!” I yell out, twisting my legs, but he holds me in place.

A demonic smirk formed on his lips, and his wet raven locks fell across his eyes, creating a curtain of black strands with piercing dark blue and sea-green eyes watching me through them.

“Taking on your challenge,” he says firmly, and then he hikes up the hem of my dress. He swims closer to me, burying his head under the lower fabric of my saturated gown.

I challenged him, and he is challenging me. If I want to learn the truth and replace a way to freedom, I cannot let Assan think I am weak. This is the game I started, so I must see it through. No matter what happens, I must replace out the truth. I prepared for this.

Even though this is my path, to give men their desires in exchange for money, it’s still overwhelming. I whimper when I realize what may happen, but I will not and do not want to falter.

“Assan…” His name mummers from my lips. What is he going to do? What is he thinking?

He sways in the water, shifting his gaze back towards me. “You challenged me, Elena, or are you afraid?” He clicks his tongue. “Will you be weak?” He questions me.

I tremble, shaking my legs, but respond, “No, I stand by what I said.”

Assan chuckles darkly and says, “As do I.” And with those words, we continue this dance between us, proving the other was wrong.

I remain quiet, not saying anything as I close my eyes. Images of Seidon flash in my mind, and even though tears want to stream down my face, I won’t let them. I always knew this day would come, and it’s here. I am my mother’s daughter; she trained me for this. I chose to bait Assan and won’t back down from what I said. If he wants a child from a human, why, and why, a human and not a mermaid? If he is this confident, then has Assan slept with a human woman before? As more questions run through my mind, his chill fingers caress my flesh, running up my legs.

“Are you ready, Elena?”

I swallow the gulp forming in my throat. “Yes,” I breathe.