บททั้งหมดของ Coming Out of the Deep : บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

Lake's POV“Lux!” I dashed after her, my socks slipping on the hardwood as I rounded the corner into her room, but she did not stop. She slammed the door shut just before I reached it, but it wasn’t locked. So I pushed it open and found her pacing, both hands tangled in her hair, breathing fast and shallow like she couldn’t get enough air.“He’s not human,” she choked out before I could speak. “Lake, he’s not—he has a tail. I saw it. You were right—oh my God, you were right!” I froze in the doorway for a moment, my heart sinking at her terrified expression, before taking a cautious step forward.“Lux, what are you talking about?”She whipped around to face me, eyes wide, trembling. “Kairos! He—he has a tail. A tail, Lake. Like a fish. Like a, what the hell even is he?!” My throat tightened, and every fiber of my being wanted to reach for her, calm her down, and then explain who Kairos was and how he had not hurt me and would never hurt her but I couldn't. I had to protect him and doin

Alec's POV I stopped as well, even though I clearly heard her ask Reed to stay. However, my feet seemed to lock in place on their own.Both of them turned to look at me as if I were stuck in the wrong scene, and Lux's brows lifted slightly, her eyes squinting in confusion. It was the most intense minute of my life. "Um, Reed. "I am talking to Reed," she said, visibly perplexed despite her efforts not to show it. And I cleared my throat as a reflex to relieve the tension."Yeah. Of course," I muttered, swallowing hard as I stepped back out, the door closing slower than intended. I just stood there, hand still on the handle, heart racing as I stared at the white paint of the door like it would crack open and show me what was happening on the other side. What did she need him for?I was grateful Lake did not look back as he walked toward the front. I stayed there for maybe ten seconds—maybe thirty, I don’t even know. Then I moved. I told myself I was being ridiculous… weird, but before

Alec's POV Opening the door, I saw a man wearing a blue windbreaker with a brown cardboard box in his hands. "Package for Mr. Lockwood... Lake Lockwood?" he asked, reading from his phone, and I informed him that Lake wasn't in. "But this is his dorm, and you can leave the package with me, and I will give it to him," I said.The guy nodded. “Hang on.” He turned his back a little and muttered into the phone as he dialed Lake. After a few seconds, he faced me once more. “Please sign here for me.” I signed on the small screen after he took my name.He then gave me the box and I walked back in after thanking him, closing the door. Still sitting on the couch, Lux was examining the package in my hands with her eyebrows up, and I held it up saying. "It is for Lake. I’ll just drop it in his room.”“Thanks,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”“Not at all.”I walked down the short hall, set the box on Lake’s desk, and came back out… And that’s when it came crashing back that I was just about to con

Reed's POV I stood there, staring at Kairos, his eyes distant after he mentioned his father was coming. I swallowed and asked with a low voice. "Are you ready?" Kairos’s gaze didn’t shift; he didn’t even look at me as he answered. “I have to be.”He walked over to the sofa and sat down with a calm I knew was only on the surface, and I followed suit, but the silence between us did not last long. Not even a minute had passed before the front door clicked shut. Then there were footsteps, and we both got back up.Even before I saw him, I could feel the air pressure change, like gravity had doubled. The door opened, and my father entered first, followed by the mer king. Everything in the room seemed to shrink around the king as the atmosphere thickened. And I had no idea if I would ever get used to his aura.The king was terrifying, and otherworldly, just like his sons. He had a pale, pearl-like glow to his skin. His golden eyes glistened as though they contained whole storms beneath thei

Kairos's POV By the time we returned to the dorm, the sky had turned a quiet ink-blue over the campus. And my thoughts turned to Lake, who I knew was probably waiting to hear from me before glancing at Darian who walked beside me, hands stuffed into his pockets.We were returning from seeing our father off. He never liked the surface; it was too dry, too exposed, and too unfamiliar. So, even though it was late and Reed's father, Micah, suggested he stay the night, he declined.The sea was treacherous at night, but he had not trLakeed alone. The royal guards remained in the water, which provided some comfort. Now it was just me and Darian, and I unlocked the door and let us in. We had not talked much since leaving the ocean, and I didn't want to continue walking around with all of this between us.So I turned towards him. “Why didn’t you expose me?” I asked, closing the door behind us, and Darian sank into the couch. He did not look at me right away, instead staring at the floor, as i