All Chapters of Coming Out of the Deep : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Lake’s POVI blinked, disoriented, with my head throbbing and my eyes struggling to focus. Everything felt like a blur until it wasn't, and then I noticed Kairos standing there, looking at me as if he knew what was happening. My lips twitched to ask him what had happened and why I was in the room, but before I could, the memories flooded back: the dance, the kiss, the heat of the moment, and my panic as I stumbled away from the crowd after locking eyes with Kairos. My heart raced as I remembered, and then the rest of what had happened came rushing back, sending my heart lurching into my throat as the terrifying image of Kairos flashed through my mind. His eyes, his face, the way he had changed.My body moved on its own as I jumped to my feet as he stopped in front of me. “You… what… your eyes… your face…” With my heart thumping so loudly that I could hardly hear myself, I stammered, the words rushing out incoherently. Before he could respond, a voice in my head screamed at me to ge

Lake's Pov I stood frozen amid the chaos, my chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. My eyes continued to dart around the room, my pulse hammering in my ears. And just then, I felt eyes on me, so I turned around and locked eyes with Reed. His gaze fixed on mine, and for a split second, he appeared genuinely surprised to see me. But then, something changed. His expression softened, his lips pressed into a thin line, and I could tell he was not just surprised; he was calculating. A shiver ran down my spine as I followed his gaze, my stomach twisting into knots. He wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking at Darian, who gave me the same expression as Reed. It was like Reed had just told him something without speaking, and Darian’s entire demeanor shifted. He stiffened, turned his head sharply toward the door, and that was it. I was through with this place. Something inside me screamed to get out, and I yanked my gaze away from Darian, catching my breath as I returned my g

Lake's POVLux froze at my words, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"Exhaling sharply, I ran a hand through my hair. “You heard me.” She blinked as if she was trying to comprehend what I had just said. "Lake, what are you saying?" I could see it right away, the way she looked at me as if I was insane. It was the same expression Alec gave me before laughing, but it was worse because I needed her to believe me more than anyone else. “I’m not crazy,” I told her firmly.“Lake—”“I’m not.” I yanked my phone from my pocket and held it up so she could see the cracked screen. “Look at this. You see this?” Lux's expression changed slightly as if she didn't understand where I was going with this, but she nodded. "This happened when Kairos attacked me," I explained, still holding out the phone to her. She knew my screen was not cracked when we left the house. “After the dance with Olivia, I went outside to get some fresh air and saw him. He looked like something was wrong wi

Lake's POVMy eyes snapped open at Kairos’s words. “A mer prince… fated mate?” But the meaning barely registered before I noticed the veins. Dark and twisting, they crawled across his skin, blooming beneath the surface like black cracks in porcelain. “Veins,” I whispered, my heart slamming against my ribs while the terrifying images of earlier when he attacked me flashed through my mind. Just then, he swayed as if his strength was dwindling right in front of me. His body grew heavier and he rolled off me, sitting next to me with his fingers running through his disheveled hair, attempting to push it back as it fell all over his face.I shot up, my breath quickening while my pulse thundered in my ears.“What’s happening to you?” I asked, watching him as he appeared to be struggling to breathe, sweat streaking across his brow. But his response froze me in place. “Blood,” he rasped, barely above a whisper. “I need your blood.” My mind refused to process it, to accept that I had understo

Lake's POVMy heart sank to the pit of my stomach as Kairos's words resounded inside me like thunder in a hollow room, the kind that rumbled long after the storm had passed. “A cursed love… no place in this world.”The silence between us was excruciating. Then, without warning, he shifted again, and the golden tail and webbed fingers vanished. In their place, the human version of him stood once more, still breathtakingly beautiful. Just… not mine."My brother's here," he said suddenly, moving quickly toward the bed and grabbing his clothes, as if the air had changed and he could barely breathe. I watched him numbly as he pulled on his pants, then his shirt, his movements stiff and tense. He did not look at me. Not until he was fully dressed, and as he turned to face me, brushing his hair away from his face, there was a knock at the front door. He whispered, “I’m sorry,” and opened the door. Just like that, he was gone.I didn’t know how long I sat there. My knees remained on the floo