Chapter 174 The Heartbeat of a Drowned Man (1/2)

Lua and Lia knew they were in trouble as soon as the guards spotted them. Well, of course they knew they were going to be in trouble before that, what with them sneaking off and all, but they didn't know exactly how much until they realised that Kaesius, the Captain of the city's guard, was talking with the two on-duty guards at the main entrance.

To put it mildly, Lua and Lia were well-acquainted with Kaesius. He was a legend in the merfolk circles, a warrior and a talented leader. Many other merfolk cities had been jealous when Kaesius had chosen to guard their city of Luven. To Lua and Lia however, Kaesius was little more than nuisance who's one of many duties were keeping the two young princesses out of trouble.

Was Kaesius aware of this part of his job description when he chose Luven? It was unlikely. However, it'd become a trouble unavoidable part of his week to hunt down the twins wherever they'd managed to sneak off too at least once a week.

Now, as he turned to find the two of them dragged a human body behind them, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in silent fury. Great. Not only had they gone outside city limits this time, but they'd also brought back an outsider. A human.

Kaesius swam out to meet them where the girls paused. They knew they couldn't swim from him so instead they waited with nervous looks as he arrived before them, his blue-silver armour glistening in the low-light as he appraised them with stern dark eyes.

”So…”

His tone made the girls flinch, particularly Lia, who was docile as it was.

”…not only did the two of you think it was appropriate to venture beyond city-limits without an escort, but you also saw fit to bring back a drowned human?” asked Kaesius, ”Exactly what do you think we'll do with him, he's better off as shark food”.

”Well…he's not dead,” Lua said hesitantly.

Kaesius's eyes narrowed, ”Humans can't survive underwater, you know that. And if he had a water affinity we'd know”.

Lua shook her head, ”No, not a water affinity”.

”Come on, your parents are worried sick,” Kaesius turned to swim back to the gate, ”And drop the stranger. The last thing we need is to cause a stir about the princesses being interested in humans”.

Lua hesitated as she looked back at the man, ”To be honest I don't know what his affinity is, we can't read his Life Lines”.

Kaesius paused, looking back at them, ”What do you mean you can't read his Life Lines?”

Lua looked at Lia, then the two drew the body closer and lifted the shirt of the man's back to expose the black line.

Kaesius's eyes widened as he saw the lines, then he swam quickly back to them, pulling the shirt down frantically, ”Where did you find him?”

Lua looked at Kaesius's shocked expression and then hesitantly pointed west, ”The new ship wreck by the crevice”.

Kaesius frowned, looking at the body.

”You said he was still alive?” asked Kaesius.

The two girls nodded, ”He's got a heartbeat, though it's not a normal heartbeat”.

Kaesius pressed a couple of finger's to the man's neck, waiting for a moment. Eventually, a single heartbeat pulsed through the body, then there was only stillness once more.

Kaesius looked at the body, then at the two girls. He turned and motioned to the guards.

”Get back to the palace,” Kaesius ordered.

”But-”