Of all things that Ethan could imagine waking up to, having a merman lying next to him was not in his list.

It went down vaguely like this; blisters from the fire when he was salvaging the treasure they stole from the city, the heatwave blasting him off board the ship, the sudden darkness as he hit the sea surface.

It ended with the weird sensation of someone trying to pry his fingers off the treasure in his hand, him waking up immediately because it was his damn treasure, clutching the thing close to his chest as his throat burned from thirst and salt, his eyes burning from the bright light of the rising sun.

Someone touched his arm, a feeble sensation of warm fingers against his skin. He slowly opened his eye to find himself staring into the depths of blue ones, pale eyebrows raised in concern. Their proximity was so close, their foreheads were practically touching each other. Ethan shuddered from cold sweat running down his back. 'W – Who are you?'

His throat felt gravelly. He was not sure if his voice came out at all.

The person shushed him, gently so. His (Ethan guessed they were a he, then) voice was soothing, words rolling out of a strange tongue, forming themselves in even stranger vowels and sounds, 'You're safe now. Do you need anything?'

Need. What did he need? Thoughts began to swirl themselves into existence, memories of the eventful battle prior flashed through his mind into muddled and strange conceptions. Recollections of his frigate, the legion, his crew –

He remembered. He needed to move quickly. 'I – I need…'

Thoughts and memories faded away into a new sensation bubbling through his chest as his eyes trailed down the strange man's bare torso, down to his waist where skin seamlessly transitioned into shining blue scales and –

Oh, gods.

He couldn't move, his mind a useless blank. Where was his gun? Did he even have anything useful on him right now?

There was that touch again, so gentle it felt like a caress. Ethan's reflexes went overdrive, and he did the least pirate thing he could ever do; squealed like a little imp and scooted backwards as far as he could away from the creature. Oh gods, oh gods, oh sweet Nemesis –

The creature then did a peculiar gesture. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, almost as if he was contemplating on Ethan's ridiculous reaction. It was a gesture so human-like that Ethan stopped his frantic attempt to get as far away as he could. He needed to calm himself down, being unreasonable would not help any buccaneer in a dire situation. Not that the situation was dire itself, as the creature five feet away from him seemed to be pretty harmless.

'What in the name of Poseidon are you?'

The creature mirrored his gaping mouth before closing it shut and shaking his head in… light irritation? Mild amusement? Ethan had always been bad at reading expressions but he hoped he hadn't misjudged the creature in a negative way. Especially when he would never know what to expect. He could have been eaten, for all the gods care.

'Hey. I'm not going to hurt you.' There was that voice again, a pleasant timbre in Ethan's ears. He kept his guard up; his experiences with sirens taught him that magical creatures always have a trick up their sleeves. The creature dragged his (serpentine? Amphibious?) tail along as he slowly approached Ethan, lifting a hand in placation as if Ethan was the wild creature. He felt himself leaning away.

Warily observing the creature, who sullenly settled to sit nearby less than a metre from him, Ethan could finally see fins at the end of his scaly tail. That was when realisation dawned upon him, mouth parted slightly in awe as the creature waited out in apprehension, teeth biting the inside of his cheek. 'You're a merman?'

'Took you long enough, Captain.'

Ethan started, before glowering at the merman. Well, this one has an attitude. And to smoothly pointing out his position as well, you couldn't just blame Ethan for being downright suspicious. He huffed, before asking, 'How did you know that?'

'You always wear that big hat over your head back in your ship. I guess that differentiate your position amongst your followers, does it?' the merman noted, his eyes (one has a nasty scar slashed down to his cheek) glancing to the waves lapping at the shore. If it did not sound much like a cult, Ethan would have agreed. 'They are my crew. Rather than that, how long have you been watching our ship?'

'For the past few days. Ever since your ship set sail from the port at the other side of the Bay.'

'You followed us?' Ethan just couldn't believe this. A mythical creature was following them for more than few days, and Percy had failed to even report this at his quarters. The son of Poseidon must have noticed this, at least.

'I am very good at concealing myself,' the merman said as if he was reading his thoughts. Ethan wondered if he really could, and distanced himself from the merman some more. He had never met one anyway, so being careful was a wise choice. For his benefit, the merman had not commented anything, though Ethan had to ignore his incredulous expression.

'Where am I?'

'On the beach?'

'For the love of – I mean, what is the name of this place?'

He must have sounded a bit harsh. The merman slightly bristled, before replying, 'The Fortunate Isle.'

'What?' Gods.

He must have looked so surprised that the merman nodded again in confirmation. This is the place. The destination of their long voyage across the seas. He sailed for years, from a lowly cabin boy to a full-fledged pirate captain, just for this moment. The Fortunate Isle. A secret island that no one could ever reach without its map. A paradise named after the Isles of Blest, which could only be found during the high tide of the absent moon, and only for those whose souls were bound to the seas. A place where his treasure was kept hidden for hundreds of years. Gods.

Finally.

But it was without his crew.

His heart deflated a bit. They were the only people who supported him until almost the end of his journey, they were his unlikely family, and a pang of sadness resonated through his chest. He hadn't known if they even survived the wreck or not. Of course, it would have been more than meaningful if they were here by his side. Which was painfully obvious; they were not.

'They are safe, you know. At least most of them. I saw them on the boats.'

Ethan could not even reprimand the merman intruding his thoughts right then; he just let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank the gods. Fumbling all over his now ruined clothes, Ethan managed to retrieve his compass from the front pocket of his shirt, hastily clicking it open and see where the needle pointed.

East. He followed the direction with his eye and was met with a questioning gaze by the merman. He groaned, shaking the compass a tad too violently before clicking it open again. The same result was obtained, and he sighed in defeat. Some days he would wonder if his mother was even serious in helping him. Over the years Ethan had learnt that the gods were not as holy and divine as they were told in the legends. They were not trustworthy, they were terrible parents, and their wraths were irrational.

Were they even worthy of their titles? Ethan thought the answer was clear.

After deeming that the compass was useless beyond this point, Ethan clicked it shut and turned to the merman, who was playing with the cluster of seashells dotting the beach, darkened eyes staring at him. 'Do you know where the Lovers' Cove is?'

'I've been around the island a few times, there is a cove at the eastern side.'

'Can you take me there?'

'Sorry to disappoint you, Cap'n, but I can't walk.' Ethan threw a conch at him, and the merman laughed at his own deadpan. It was a sweet sound, deep and clear and oddly comforting, but Ethan tried not to dwell too much on that. Perhaps merpeople were generally a playful kind.

'Please. This will be the only day a pirate say "please" to you and you probably won't hear it again.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Please take me to the Lovers' Cove. I'll make sure you have your own share.'

The merman hesitated for a moment, lips drawn in playful thoughtfulness, and Ethan could see that the creature was mocking him. After a few moments of Ethan gripping his compass and refraining himself from bashing his head with it, the merman nodded before smiling in a way Ethan could only describe as mischievous.

'Carry me back into the water. It was literal hell dragging you up the shore, might as well return the favour now.' Ethan made a face at the demand, but he nodded tersely, much to what he believed was the merman's utter delight.

'Besides, I don't bite.' At Ethan's apprehensive silence, he continued reassuringly, 'Not often, anyways.'

xxx

The captain was indeed an interesting man. He sure had some issues with his temper, and while Luke felt like getting on his nerves even more, he looked better in other circumstances.

Like when he was frightened.

Luke could not believe himself, but the surprised squeal that the captain gave out destroyed every presumption Luke had had in mind of him. And his terrified face, oh praise the gods, it almost had Luke snorting, if not for the awkward situation they were in.

Not to mention how adorable he looked then.

Luke found no fault in doing anything to see that face again. The captain grumbled muffled profanities as he hoisted the merman up in his arms, and Luke smirked as he felt the young man tremble under his weight. He settled with his forehead leaning against the jugular of the boy, tracing his collarbones and feeling the smoothness of his skin under his finger. More shudders. The boy was now ankle-deep in the water, adjusting the merman in his arms. His neck was tensed.

Luke mouthed the boy's collarbone, making a playful biting sound.

The effect was immediate. The boy practically threw him in the water, backing away with a squeak before falling on his buttocks on the wet sand. While Luke was not lucky enough to have a graceful landing, the boy was not any better, groaning in pain as he struggle to hoist himself upright.

The boy glared at Luke, who laughed shrilly as he lazily let himself drifting in the water. The merman was positive that tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes from laughing too much (though no one could tell from his wet face). Noticing the glare directed to him, Luke grinned and waved apologetically. 'Sorry!'

The boy flipped him off with the finger. Was he supposed to be offended? Luke sneered in return before diving underwater for a minute, relishing the embrace of the warm seawater. As much as he liked sun-bathing, he should not have been in the sun for more than half an hour. His skin was definitely not made for living on land. When he surfaced, the boy was much more nearer, arms crossed while waiting for Luke. His eye was averted to the side, and was that a pout on his lips? It changed his demeanour completely, and Luke swore to the gods. He was certain that his interest for the boy has developed into something else entirely.

'When the hell are we going?'

Just for the fun of it, Luke splashed some seawater to the boy's face. Yes, his face was much better like that.

xxx

If Ethan had never associated playfulness with being annoying before, he now did. Who knew magical beings would be so infuriating.

In fact, it defeated the purpose of extraordinary creatures being… well, extraordinary. He knew they were supposed to, because Ethan had seen a variation of sea-witches being sinisterly magical, sirens being deathly alluring, sea serpents being viciously nasty, as to how people would generally associate them. Now, he guessed that all those mermaids depicted being elegant, with sea-shells in their braids and tails of gleaming scales, were just a bunch of artistes' codswallop. Might be fair, as well.

Because the merman, who swimming in the water near him, was rude as hell. Definitely not what he expected.

Ethan might've not been able to refute the point that merpeople were indeed beautiful creatures, but vulgar attitudes annoyed him to a fault. And indeed that merman was a feisty one too, with that stupid smirk permanently stuck on his face. And that cocky eyebrow thing, gods. And a wild thing he seemed to be, judging from the scar on the side of his face, and his crippled fin. And more so the spear he held tightly in his hand, a lethal weapon for an equally feral creature.

But after a while, though Ethan hated to admit, he could somehow see the acclaimed beauty underneath the rough appearance of the merman. How his tail would swish in an enticingly graceful manner, his body as fluid as the water he was swimming in. And of course as time passed by, Ethan would sooner learn that he hated it even more when he was caught staring for a good many times too.

They were heading upriver, moving up a path the merman was claiming to be a shortcut to the Lovers' Cove. Ethan walked near the shore of the river the merman was swimming in, which directly connected the sea to the body of water that was their destination. It was said to be located near a vast saltwater lake bordering a small cliff, where an underwater cave was formed within the vicinity of the Cove. The map claimed it to be where the treasure was located, the endpoint to the last piece of the map Ethan had been consulting for his hunt. It made his heart beat a tad faster just by thinking about it.

Ethan reached for the compass neatly kept in his pocket and clicked it open. Even though he would question its reliability several times on a daily basis, Ethan knew that the compass had contributed to most of his journey as a sailor. It's as if the compass was an instrument leading him along his path of survival, and Ethan would know better than objecting. Its needle has offered him the right directions and wisdom more than the treasure maps he possessed.

Except for the current moment. The needle of the compass was pointing to another direction than the one they were heading, and he wouldn't so much as even glance at the direction it pointed. He had enough of being caught staring, not without the merman being cheeky about it. So it was only safe for Ethan to conclude that the compass was indeed broken.

'This is it.'

'It' referred to a dead end. They had reached a small hill, its foot a place where an abundant number of cypresses grew in clusters. The river continued flowing from what Ethan assumed to be an underwater pathway, disappearing into a small cavern. Which would definitely not be leading to a cove. Ethan bristled internally. The merman must have thought he could fool him, pirate captain of the infamous Invidia's Judgement –

'The route is now submerged down under, so you might as well get into the water now,' said the merman as he emerged from the water, wet hair as if spun from gold. Ethan wondered if the merman's monotonous voice was prompted to irritate him, or if he was just imagining it. Rude. Warily studying the water flowing downriver, he narrowed his eye at the merman and approached the edges of the riverbank.

He paused for a moment. This couldn't be a ploy to whatever the merman was planning on doing to him, could it?

All thoughts in his head did not last for long when he fell into the river.

One of his legs was grabbed under him in a strong pull, and before Ethan knew it, he was spluttering and spitting water, his wet bangs getting into his eye and obscuring his sight. Panic began to bloom in his chest as he felt himself dragged underwater.

There was water everywhere as he struggled to breath, only to inhale more water, hands blindly grabbing for purchase of anything, anything at all, while his feet kicked on to maintain his body upright, not exactly registering the depth of the river, more thoughts rushing in, I'm drowning, I'm drowning, I'm –

'Hey, you're alright, I got you.'

He felt arms holding his body tight, and it was moments of being disoriented before he realised that he was once again afloat. The merman was there right in front of him, their proximity so close that Ethan could feel puffs of his breath fanning over his face, could see his blond eyebrows furrowing in concern. Ethan coughed, his lungs hurting from being forced to breathe in anything other than air. Rubbing his face roughly, he looked at his surrounding and found his breath taken away.

The river and the cypresses were gone, replaced by tall hills and lowly shrubs surrounding what seemed to be a vast lake. They were right in the water, floating inconspicuously near the bank. A waterfall crashed down near them, the small cavern they had swam through hidden behind it.

'You're holding me a bit too tight there,' the merman said in mild amusement, and Ethan realised that he was indeed holding both of his biceps like a lifeline, nails digging hard onto his skin. They were firm and nicely shaped. Surprised at his own thoughts, he could feel blood rushing to his face as he immediately loosened his grip, averting his eye away from the merman. If anything, their proximity grew closer, a smirk forming on the merman's lips as he silently laughed. Irritation returned to Ethan with a vengeance.

'You're enjoying this too much, you wanker.'

'I saved your pirate bottom back there, so be nice.'

'From what, exactly?'

The merman scoffed. 'From being devoured alive. You're weaponless, and having only a compass won't actually do much to fight off those empousai, will it?'

'There were empousai here?'

'Yes. I sensed their presence, they were getting closer. And it's only a matter of time until they locate you by your scent.'

They were being followed. Ethan grimaced, the thought of narrowly evading men-eating monsters sent a shudder down his spine. He hadn't noticed anything at all. Give him a sword and he would be fine, but without? He wouldn't even think about it. The Fortunate Isle seemed to be holding more secrets than those it was known for.

He felt goosebumps on his neck. The merman was blowing at his ear to get his attention.

'Oh for gods' sakes –'

'You seemed so out of it,' the merman chuckled. The nice timbre in his deep voice returned. Ethan felt a different kind of chill down his spine. 'We're here.'

And they were. Now that he could focus less on his well-being and more to his surroundings, beautiful was an understatement. The place was impressive beyond words.

It was described to the last detail in the map, but even words and illustrations paled in comparison to the real place. The lake was an amazing vista, its water a deep shade of sapphire blue. The scenery was beyond Ethan's coherence, the surrounding as if it was painted by the Muses themselves. The sun was low, casting its rays in pillars of light, illuminating the crystalline water and tinting the whole place in a warm glow. And then there were the distant sounds of waves crashing down the shore, presumably located beyond the cliff, soothing his heartbeat to a steady pace.

And just at the other end of the lake was the Cove.