Page 4 of Fionn (Starlight Mermen #1 | Starlight Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

It stared at me as if considering my words, then started to playfully bump against some shelves.

I took a deep gulp of stale water and prepared for whatever awaited me on the other side, then swam into the airlock.

A contact plate on the floor was glimmering in a gentle pink.

I lowered myself onto it. A strange fanfare made me look up in confusion.

Not a sound I'd expected. This system had to be old, really old.

My greenskin felt the pull of the water before I could see the water levels sink.

It started slowly, barely noticeable, before the current increased, drawing the water from the airlock.

The process took a lot longer than it would have in a modern building.

By the time my head was in the air, my hair heavy with water, I was impatient.

Whoever was on the other side of the airlock would have heard it activating.

They'd know they'd soon have company and had ample time to get rid of any incriminating evidence.

Breaking into the Archives was a crime in itself, but theft or destruction of public property would carry a higher sentence.

Finally, the last puddle of water disappeared into the porous floor.

I automatically arranged my greenskin over my crotch.

Most finfolk didn't care much about that, but my clutch-mother had always instilled a healthy amount of modesty into all her charges.

I shook the sonic gun to dry it. The sonic pulse wouldn't be as effective in air, but I was glad to have a weapon. For confidence. Just in case.

With another fanfare, the second portal opened, revealing a brightly lit room full of metal shelves covered in boxes, data chip tins and even a few old-fashioned kelp books.

I took in my surroundings in a fraction of a second while searching for the intruder at the same time.

At the end of the room, on the left side almost hidden from view by a shelf, lay an opened tin.

"Come out with your hands in the air!" I shouted with as much authority as I could muster. "I know you're here! There is no way out!"

A rustle from behind the shelf. My fingers tightened around the gun. I didn't know ifI could truly shoot someone.

"Don't shoot!" a male called out. His shaky voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Come out slowly!"

And he did. A young finman stepped into the light, staring at me with just as much surprise as had to reflect on my own face.

"Kelon?" I exclaimed. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Do I know you, guard?" he asked, a frown marring his exceptional beauty.

I wasn't surprised he didn't remember me. Kelon had always existed in a sphere of his own. One of the richest finmen in the city - not due to anything he'd done himself - he hadn't swum in the same circles as me in a long time.

"Fionn," I said, trying to keep the resentment from my voice. "We were in the same-"

"Clutch school! Yes! You have changed, Fionn."

I repressed a snarky response. So had he.

Back then, he'd been a chubby finboy with few friends and even fewer achievements. He'd had little going for himself - until he got adopted by a Matriarch and his fortune had changed forever. I’d seen him on chat shows and in the latest gossip reels, pretending he’d always been one of the upper class. I knew better.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated rather than continuing with the small talk.

Kelon had the decency to look ashamed. "Searching for something. Not that it's any business of yours."

I laughed sharply. "I guard the Archives. It's every business of mine. What was so important that you had to break in? And why couldn't you just make an appointment with one of the archivists? Speaking of breaking in, how did you get in?"

He looked at me shrewdly as if to decide how much to tell me. Then, his brows shot up as he came to some sort of realisation.

"You’re the same age as me. You were on the Panel!"

"What does that have to do with you?"

Kelon grinned. "You didn't get a mate. Neither did I."

I was aware of that. All of Finfolkaheem had gossiped about the Panel’s decision.

As the adopted son of a Matriarch, everyone had assumed he'd be given the opportunity to have a mate.

Yet the Panel had rejected him. Rumour was that they'd had to show that they were impartial, no matter what family you came from.

It had quieted the discontent for a bit, but not for long.

Too many young males were rejected by the Panel every mooncrossing.

Too many of us were desperate for a mate.

"I read something," Kelon said slowly. I was tempted to tease him about that - he'd hated reading as a finboy - but I kept quiet, letting him tell me his story.

"There is a planet with females that are compatible with us.

Yet the record I read didn't mention a name or coordinates.

There has to be something about it in the Archives. Has to be."

"An entire planet full of females?"

"Well, that's what it said. But it was an old record. Things may have changed by now. Maybe they have the same issue we have. But they might not. Only one way to find out."

"Why-"

A crackle in my ear warned me before Commander Myke's voice rang out. "Do you have an update, guard?"

Kelon shot me a panicked look. "You want a mate too, don't you? I can help you. If we find the coordinates, I will send a ship there. You can come along."

I hesitated. Kelon had broken into the Archives, which meant he was now a criminal.

I should hand him over to my superiors, maybe get a reward for doing so.

Yet what he was saying... That ache deep inside my chest painfully flared to life.

It had sat there ever since the Matriarchal Panel had spoken their judgement.

A mate. I could have a mate. If I arrested Kelon, that possibility was lost forever.

Even if I went searching for myself and found the coordinates of that planet, I had no means to get there.

Kelon was rich, filthy rich. He could make the impossible possible.

"Can I trust you?" I asked hurriedly, aware my commander was waiting.

Kelon grabbed the greenskin beneath his left arm and bit on it hard. I squirmed a little, knowing just how sensitive the greenskin was in that place. "I vow that I will not betray your trust," the finman said solemnly, showing me his hand now stained with turquoise blood.

I grasped his hand. "A vow made cannot be broken without losing your honour."

He nodded. "Now tell the officer that you didn't find anyone. Then we can continue our search together."

I did so, my mouth tasting bitter as I spoke the lie.

"The sensors must have been malfunctioning," Commander Myke replied, clearly unperturbed and trusting my report. "Now return to your post outside the Archives."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

Kelon walked over to the portal, leaving a trail of tiny blood splatters on the floor. "There's nothing in this room. Let's continue our search outside."

I followed him through the airlock portal. In the water-filled corridor, the catfish was waiting impatiently.

"What's that thing doing here?" Kelon asked, pointing at the fish.

"It's been following me. It's harmless." I didn't see any reason to lie.

The catfish bumped against my hip and purred.

I gave it a quick scratch on his scaled head, then turned to Kelon.

"Where do we search next? I don't have much time before I have to be back at my post." The catfish nibbled on my greenskin.

I pushed it away in annoyance. "Unless you can show us the records we're looking for, go away. "

The fish cocked its head, purring louder than ever.

"It almost looks like it's listening," Kelon observed. I couldn't help but agree. The catfish's eyes shimmered with intelligence. I’d assumed for a while that it understood more than everyone assumed about catfish. Maybe it was worth a try.

I turned to it, feeling more than a little silly.

"We are looking for records that mention a planet which harbours females that are compatible with us.

I don't suppose - no, this is stupid. You can't understand me, and even if you did, why would you know anything about what's hidden in the Archives?

" I shook my head. I'd embarrassed myself in front of Kelon.

The catfish swirled around in a circle as if it wanted to catch its own tail. Yeah, this was just a fish. I was an idiot.

Suddenly, it took off, swimming fast while continuing to purr. I exchanged a look with Kelon.

He shrugged. "I have no idea where to look next. We might as well follow it."

We swam along corridors, then up a tunnel to the third floor, before turning to the west wing. The catfish was waiting for us in front of a shelf holding record chips. Above it was a sign. Animal Studies .

I groaned. This was not what we needed.

I was already turning back when the catfish bumped against a record tin above me, pushing it off the shelf. It slowly sank down and I grabbed it before it could hit my shoulder. A faded label read Fin and Ma’vel, A Story of Peritus .

"What do you have there?" Kelon asked.

"Do you have a record scanner with you?"

He nodded and pulled a tablet with an attached scanner port from his satchel.

Kelon had come prepared. I pulled the record chip from the tin and handed it to Kelon.

When he pushed it into the scanner, I realised I was holding my breath.

Beside me, the catfish was purring with satisfaction.

If this ended up helping us, I'd feed it treats until the end of its days.

A document opened filled with tiny, yet beautiful writing interspersed with images. I increased the size of the first image, barely trusting my eyes. I blinked as if to dispel any illusion. This couldn't be.

A finman about my age grinned into the camera, holding a catfish with a stark resemblance to the one swimming at my hip.

And next to him, an arm around his waist, was a female, gazing at him with pure love.

Her skin was pale, lacking scales and greenskin, her features softer than that of a finwoman. She was an alien. She was hope.

"We have found it!" Kelon whispered. "We will have mates."

A mate. For me. I wanted to kiss the universe.

And that's when the alarm started ringing through the Archives.