All Chapters of Beneath Blood and Water: Chapter 21

The feeling of moving against the force of the crowd felt both familiar and strange, like I was back in the river pushing against the current, but unlike the river, this current was followed by the warmth of bodies and unknown smells that tasted foul on my tongue.I covered my nose with my hands, trying to breathe as little as possible. I had the lung capacity to last longer than regular humans.“Uncomfortable?” the familiar deep voice reverberated from above me.I nodded, then shook my head.The voice huffed almost like a laugh, the breath from that sound sent a shiver down my veins, “Which is it?”“Eh…it smells”“Okay.” He didn’t press, just rolled me toward a less crowded spot.I spotted Caius, lounging against a booth with his usual lazy air. The booth manager kept sneaking nervous glances at him, while Caius casually sucked on a stick of something.“Done playing?” he asked when we were within earshot“It smells,” I muttered, eyeing whatever he was eating.He smiled and pulled it