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The creature cocks its head and examines Dace.

“It likes you, I think.” I move toward the dark passage that leads underground.
Friend.
I wave my hand in Dace’s direction.

Friend.
The Selk propels itself backward in the vegetation-clogged pool. It dives under the surface and disappears—headed, I imagine, back to its colony.

Dace and I navigate the dark passage without conversation. When we reach the lake, I note that most of the Selk have disappeared from the ledges. Several dark heads bob in the water, but not enough to account for all the creatures. “That’s odd. I didn’t see any of them in the canal, except for the one guiding us.”

Dace stretches his arms above his lean body. “Probably other underwater passages leading to who-knows-where. More to explore another day.” His face lights up in anticipation.

“But not today.” I sit down on the smooth ramp and use my hands to propel my body into the water. “Come along, we’ve experienced more than enough adventure for now.”

Dace slips by me, sliding down the ramp headfirst. Surfacing, he splashes water over my bare shoulders. “There’s never enough adventure. Ouch, if looks could kill … ” He grins. “Okay, show the way, fearless leader.”

I snort and give a strong frog kick to glide away from him. “You are so full of shit, Dacian Keeling.”

“Could be.” Dace swims up alongside me. “But it’s interesting shit.”

I laugh, swallowing a mouthful of water. Lifting my head, I expel the liquid—in Dace’s direction.

He dives too quickly to be hit. I follow him under the wall that separates the two caverns, and when we clear the wall I make a grab for one of his fluttering feet.

He rolls as my fingers close over his ankle. He shakes off my grip and leans in to place his hands about my waist. Entwined, we kick and shoot upward, breaking the surface.

“Let go!” I fling my head, whipping my ponytail into Dace’s face.

He sputters and throws up one hand to brush the wet strands away. His other hand locks firmly to my waist. “Your attempt to capture me failed. Now I’ve got you. Admit defeat.”

“Never.” I use one hand to slap a tiny tsunami of water into his face.

Dace shakes his head and leans in, pressing his forehead against mine. “Not so fast, fish girl.”

His eyes are fixed on mine, inches from my face, mesmerizing as the heart of an unfolding flower. Layers upon layers.

I tuck my chin to my chest. “I told you not to call me that, science geek.”

“But I like fish. They are infinitely interesting.” Dace’s full lips slide down my damp cheek and land on my mouth.

The lake laps against my skin, feet flutter, the feel of Dace’s lips on mine as we bob in the silky water.

Dace pulls away first. “Didn’t plan that.”

“You’re not supposed to.” I tap his nose with one finger. “Lesson number two in my kissing girls course, free of charge.”

Dace’s lips twitch. “Thanks, I think. Now—race me to the shore, mermaid.”

He releases me and turns a somersault under water. Swearing, I follow, kicking as hard as I can to keep up with his fierce strokes. We reach the ragged shoreline at almost the same moment. We hoist our slippery bodies onto the rocky ledge.

“What a great idea,” I pant. “Talk about exhaustion. And we still have to climb out of here, you idiot.” I wave my hand toward the path.

“Oh,” says Dace, in quite a different voice.

I follow his gaze to the bottom of the inclined ramp.

Raid is standing there.

Raid says nothing, merely saunters toward us, exaggerating his customary swagger.

“How’d you find us?” I jump to my feet as Raid moves closer. We’re toe to toe. I stiffen my back. Might as well meet that sneer with bravado.

“Followed the tracks. Saw your bikes parked outside and boot prints leading to an opening in the rocks. Figured it out fairly quickly.” Raid’s eyes narrow, slicing his face like razor blades. “May not be as clever as the professor here, but I do possess a few brain cells.”

Dace rises to his feet. “Don’t get the wrong idea.” He sweeps up our discarded clothes. “We’ve just been exploring.”

“Obviously.” Raid shoots a fierce glare my way before gazing around the cavern. “What’s this place, anyway? Besides your personal playground, I mean.”

“Part of an interconnected cavern system that runs beneath the surface of Eco.” Dace refuses to take the bait. He moves closer, dropping the clothes at his feet.

Raid looks me over. “Interesting outfit. Been swimming? Didn’t know you had it in you, Solano.”

“You don’t know everything about me.” I pluck at the edge of my tank top. My wet top and shorts cling to my curves like a second skin.

Raid’s expression changes. The anger morphs into something else, something that sends a flush radiating out from the nape of my neck. I cross my arms and hug my body.

Raid flexes his fingers before shoving his hands into his pockets. “Learning more all the time.”

Fabric drapes over my bare skin. I turn my head. Dace is standing behind me, adjusting my jacket around my shoulders.

“Anyway … ” Dace steps back. He grabs his T-shirt and continues to talk while he slides it over his head. “We suspect Eco’s laced with a network of underground lakes and rivers, all linked together.” Pulling down the shirt to cover his slender torso, Dace eyes Raid without rancor. “Something you might have found sooner if you’d bothered to, you know, explore the planet you live on.”

Raid yanks his hands out of his pockets. The fingers are balled into fists. “Think you’re pretty clever, don’t you, spacer? Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, some of us have to work. Don’t have the luxury of farting around all day.”

“It’s not play.” I lift my chin so I can stare into his face. “Dace’s research is every bit as important as your job, Raiden Lin. And I’ve been his guide, not some follower.”

Raid taps my lips with two fingers. “No doubt. Seems like you’ve been teaching him quite a few things.”

I swat away Raid’s hand. “Who says I had to teach him anything?”

I catch the flash of a smile before Dace ducks his head and concentrates on pulling on his pants.

“So, thought you’d experiment a bit before spacer here blasts off for parts unknown?” There’s a flicker of pain in Raid’s eyes.

“Honestly, Raid,” I grab one of his fists and pull it to my chest, “is that all you think of me? Just some girl making out with any guy she can get her hands on? I thought you knew me better than that.”

“So did I.” Raid unclenches his hand under the caress of my fingers. “But I did see the kissing, Ann. More than once. Don’t think you can pass it off as a bet this time.”

Dace fishes through the pile of clothes at his feet. “Ann might be blasting off with us, you know.” He tosses my jeans at me. “And—what bet?”

“Never mind. Isn’t important.” I shoot Dace a warning look. Turning my attention back to Raid, I toss my hair and lift our entwined fingers to my lips. “Kisses are fun. But I’m not looking for something more right now. You should know that better than anyone, Raid.” I press a kiss into his palm and drop his hand. “And when I am, it’ll be me that decides, not any boy. You got that?”

Raid examines me with great deliberation. After a moment a smile curves his lips. He reaches out to smooth down my unruly hair. “Got it.”

“So, might as well chill, dude.” Dace sits on one of the scattered boulders and tugs on his socks. “Ann hasn’t sworn her eternal love or anything. We’ve really been concentrating on the research. And, news flash—we’ve discovered some amazing things down here. Pretty major stuff.”

To my surprise, Raid looks at Dace with admiration. “Yeah? Well, I’ve already heard about the mineral that’s going to make us all rich.” Raid’s lips twitch. “Promissium, your mom’s calling it.”

“You must be joking.”

“No. Kind of stupid, but the others are already throwing around the term like it’s some magic spell. Like it’s going to change everything.”

“So they’re going along with Ms. Solano and her mining plans?” Dace glances up from his boots, his expression darkening.

“Cooper,” I reply automatically. “Tara Cooper. She never took my dad’s name.” I slide past Raid and scoop up the rest of my clothes. “Stupid tradition anyway.”

Raid nods. “One of those independent types. Like mother, like daughter.”

“And proud of it.” I wobble on one foot and then the other, aware of Raid’s scrutiny as I work my jeans up my damp legs. “So—the colonists agree with Mom? We’re going to mine the crap out of Eco?”

“Maybe. Your grandparents are opposed. And a few others.”

“My father?”

“Goes back and forth.” Raid steps forward to offer me his bent elbow. I meet his sardonic grin with a frown as I balance against his arm.

“And the kids?” I pull on my socks.

Raid shrugs. “Not really decided. Wait, that’s the wrong foot.”

“I’m aware,” I snap, making the switch with my boots.

Dace stands and strides over to us. “We need to get back. As soon as possible. Ann needs to talk to her mother about delaying the mining.”

“Ann? Talk to her mother?” Raid’s grin broadens. “That’ll be interesting.”

“Interesting or not, it needs to happen.” Dace’s gaze never leaves my face.

“It will.” I let go of Raid’s arm and press my toes down into my boots. “I’ll corner her as soon as we get back. As soon as I can trap her alone, that is.”

“What the hell is that?” asks Raid, peering over my shoulder.

Dace and I turn as one, just in time to see a sleek brown head lift above the surface of the water.

Raid moves to the edge of the lake as if drawn by a tractor beam. The Selk swims closer to shore and rises up before him. Its dark eyes scan his face for a full minute before it emits a trill of sounds.

Dace and I dash forward to catch Raid as he stumbles and falls.

“Shit! Make it stop!” He claps his hands over his ears.

The sounds ring in my head as well, but I allow them to ripple through my body without fighting the sensation.
Hello. Friend.
Good.

I tap Raid’s leg.
Yes, friend.
But sound hurts.

The Selk cocks its head to the side.
No hurt.
It snaps its mouth shut.

As the reverberation falls away, Raid slumps back on his heels and stares at the water creature. “It said ‘friend.’ I mean,” he shakes his head, “it didn’t say that, but that was the idea in my head, somehow … ”

“Yes, they can communicate with us, to a certain degree. Conceptually, anyway.” I grab one of Raid’s arms as Dace grips the other and we help him to his feet. “I hear it too.”

Raid looks down into my face. “But it didn’t affect you.”

“Not anymore. It did at first. What you have to do,” I reach up to sweep the fall of dark hair out of his eyes, “is allow the ideas to just roll over you. Don’t focus on the sounds.”

Raid traps my falling fingers between his palms. “So how long have you known about these … creatures?”

“Not long. Dace and I encountered them a few days ago. We call them the Selk.”

“And what are they?”

“Don’t know exactly,” Dace says. “Mammals, for sure. They breathe air but live primarily in water. I mean, they’re an alien species. I haven’t worked up all the biological info yet.” Dace fiddles with the closure on his equipment pouch. “I’ll know more when I can run a full panel of tests.”

Raid stares back into eyes of the Selk. “It isn’t frightened.”

I focus on Raid’s face. There’s a look of wonder in his eyes—a childlike gleam I’ve never seen before. “No, not at all. Of course, humans have never caused the creatures any harm.”

“Yet,” says Dace.

“Are there a lot of them down here?” Raid lifts one hand and holds it before the Selk’s snout.

“Quite a few. We saw at least forty in the adjacent cavern. Many more spread throughout the underground waterways, I expect.” Dace smiles as Raid flexes his fingers. “Go ahead, it won’t bite.”

Before Raid can stretch out his hand the Selk pushes its snout into his open palm. Raid stands transfixed as the creature rubs against his fingers.

I jab Raid’s arm with my elbow. “Wow, it really likes you. I didn’t get that warm a welcome the first time.”

“What does it mean, ‘us’?” Raid turns to me, his eyes bright as stars. “I keep hearing ‘us.’”

I duck my head, ashamed to meet his brilliant gaze. “I don’t know. I’ve heard that too. Talking about the entire group of Selk, maybe?”

Dace coughs, loudly.

“So, about that getting back … ” I tug on the sleeve of Raid’s shirt.

Raid gives the Selk a final pat before stepping back from the edge. “This mining,” he turns his face toward Dace, “it will destroy these creatures? Or at least their home?”

“Probably.”

The Selk barks once. Arching its neck, it dives directly down into the water. Its bulky form somersaults with the grace of a falling leaf before it levels out and speeds away toward the opposite wall.

“Where’d it go?” Raid rubs his neck with one hand and stares across the lake.

“There’s a passage under the wall.” I take Raid’s arm. “Let’s go now, okay? And Raid—don’t say anything about these creatures to anyone else yet.”