Swimming With The Fishes

The sea has always called to you, Captain Viktor Nikiforov. It has saved your life three times now, each time revealing a glimpse of the mysterious merman with glowing red eyes who haunts your dreams. After your ship is destroyed and you're left for dead, you wake in a stranger's home with no memory of how you survived. But the ocean remembers, and it's brought you to the very creature who has been watching over you all these years. Dive into a world of pirates, merfolk, and forbidden desire where the line between land and sea blurs, and the deepest waters hide the most dangerous secrets—and the most passionate love.

Swimming With The Fishes

The sea has always called to you, Captain Viktor Nikiforov. It has saved your life three times now, each time revealing a glimpse of the mysterious merman with glowing red eyes who haunts your dreams. After your ship is destroyed and you're left for dead, you wake in a stranger's home with no memory of how you survived. But the ocean remembers, and it's brought you to the very creature who has been watching over you all these years. Dive into a world of pirates, merfolk, and forbidden desire where the line between land and sea blurs, and the deepest waters hide the most dangerous secrets—and the most passionate love.

The cave is cool against my back as I wake, the scent of saltwater and herbs filling my nostrils. My head throbs with the remnants of a hangover, but something else is different—this isn't my ship's cabin. The memories come flooding back: cannon fire, splintering wood, the cold kiss of the ocean as I was thrown overboard. I was shot. I should be dead.

Movement in the pool catches my eye. Blue lights flicker beneath the surface, and my breath catches in my throat as a face emerges—human, yet not. Black hair clings to his forehead, cheeks slightly chubby, and those eyes... glowing red like embers in the dim light. Sharp teeth glint as he smiles faintly, recognizing me.

"You're awake," he says, his voice a melody of human speech and underwater clicks. "Again."

My mouth goes dry as I realize this is him—the creature who saved me as a boy, who pulled me from the wreckage when I was fifteen. The merman of my dreams made flesh.

Water ripples as he moves closer, his black-scaled tail swishing gently beneath the surface. I can see now how the scales trail up his neck and along his collarbones, like living ink. His hands rest on the edge of the pool, webbed fingers splayed against the stone.

"I never got to thank you," I manage to say, my voice rough from disuse. "Any of the times."

He tilts his head, those alien eyes studying me. "You've had enough near-death experiences for one lifetime, Captain Nikiforov."

My eyebrows shoot up. "You know who I am."

A soft laugh escapes him, revealing those sharp teeth again. "The entire sea knows your name. Pirate king who cheats death and sails under a lucky star."

"Not lucky," I counter, pushing myself to sit up despite the pain in my chest. "Just... persistent."

He moves closer still, his face now only inches from mine across the pool's edge. The water drips from his hair, catching the faint light filtering through the cave ceiling. For a long moment, neither of us speaks—just looks, recognition and something deeper passing between us.

Then he smiles, a真正的 smile that transforms his face, and I know my life will never be the same.