Page 102 of Song of the Abyss

The choked sound that came out of him was unlike any he’d ever made before. His hearts shattered. He could barely see through the ache in his body. All of it was gone now. Every hope. Every dream. All of it decimated in the wake of that beautiful light that had been snuffed out.

The device in his hands kicked, and he let it fall. Perhaps they would find it later, but right now, he swam with his own body. He used every muscle, every fiber, every twitching pain to get him to her side.

“My love,” he called out, his voice echoing through the ocean and pushing through the currents. “I am coming.”

He hoped her soul knew. That perhaps some part of her could find peace in knowing that she might have died alone, but she would not stay that way. He would find every piece of her and bring her back. Every bone, even the smallest one, he would carry it to her final resting place. With him, as she deserved.

When he reached Alpha, all the city’s defenses were down. None of the other undines had made it before him, but that was all right. Right now, he needed to find a way into the underbelly of this city. Even it meant he had to dig through the mire to get to her.

37

Anya

30 Minutes Earlier

The undine loomed over her. No, not undine. Depthstrider. He was breathing hard, all of his gills flared wide as though he had forgotten he had a second set of lungs that could help him breathe easier here. Regardless, it mattered very little. He was going to kill her, and maybe she deserved it.

Her people had been the ones to hurt him. Her people had been the ones to capture him, bring him to this place, and then force him to watch them experimenting on all of his friends. Perhaps family. The woman on the table behind her was someone who had a life before this.

A life Anya’s people had stolen.

He lifted a hand to her neck, those deadly claws dragging down her skin in fine pinpricks of pain. She’d already disconnected all communications with Daios and the others. She didn’t want them to see her die. Not like this.

But then the depthstrider touched Bitsy gently and turned. He leaned down to pick up the axe she had broken him out of his case with and dragged himself toward the other undine.

She thought to ask if he needed help, but she recognized the posture of his body. He had to do this, just like she had to let them out. An alarm suddenly blared over their head. Delayed, of course. But someone had figured out that the undine’s cage had been broken and soon enough, there would be swarms of people in this room with them.

“Hurry,” she said, her throat aching with the sound.

She didn’t have to say anything. The depthstrider coiled his tail underneath himself, pushing up to a great height but still able to use his body like a weapon. Unlike her, it only took him one strike to break through the glass.

The other undine fell to the floor with a wet slap. Water rushed out of this one too, but she was prepared for it this time. Grabbing onto the legs of the table weighted down with the massive dead body above her, she held on until the water had stopped flowing.

Blowing out a long breath, she dragged herself upright. Her leg was on fire where she’d been sliced with that stupid tool. Who knew what had gotten into the wound, but did it really matter? Her father wouldn’t let her live after this.

The depthstrider picked up the other undine in his arms. Somehow, the sleeping male looked so small in the arms of the other.

She pointed to the disposal shoot she’d wedged open. “I already opened it for you. I don’t know if you can understand me, but you have to go now. I can distract them long enough for you to get out.”

But not enough time for her to get out. Her father would send countless people to this room. There was only one way these undines would get out, and that way was her. Her cover was blown. Now, she could only hope that she’d set enough bombs off to do some real damage.

The depthstrider nodded, almost as though he understood her, and then slipped into the shoot. She could already hear boots outside the room in the metal halls, so she waited until the last possible moment before yanking out the metal she’d jammed it with. The shoot closed with a finalistic thud, and she knew this was it.

She was going to have to distract a group of men and women who had been told to stop her at all costs. Lives depended on it.

The doors slammed open. Metal struck metal, the room shaking with the force of it as she turned to look at the last person she had expected to walk through the room with a wall of people behind him.

“Hi Dad,” she breathed.

The General stood in the central area of his research lab, face beet red, so angry that he didn’t know what to do with himself. His eyes scanned over what she had done. The broken tubes. The way she leaned against the table with the dead body, obviously injured. His eyes saw everything but back to the room with all the weapons.

Because why would she go linger in the room that had caused her permanent damage? Why would she ever risk herself like that again? To him, she was still a foolish little girl who had too much pity for creatures he hated.

“Anya,” he said, clearly trying his best to not yell at her. “What have you done, child?”

“I’m not a child. And I set them free.”

“Why?”

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