Page 64 of Guarded By the Vodnik

I laughed wetly, the words I’d said to him earlier coming back to comfort me.

“But he’s still gone,” I said, grief bursting in my chest.

“Yeah. As is my mother. Sometimes you do things right, and yet, nothing is right afterwards.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry,” I choked out. “This is… Ugh. Just look at the pair of us. And I know we’ll be fine. Everything will be fine in the end. I just wish I could have saved Azahl. When I think about what they must be doing to him, wherever he is… Oh shit. No. Thinking about it is useless. All of that goes back under lock and key.”

That was what I had to do ever since it happened. My role was clear: survive until Carver’s trial so he’d go to jail and never hurt another kid again. Except, how could there be a trial if he’d run away? God, how I hated him.

“Saving the boy is important to you,” Vodyan said softly.

“Of course! I’d do anything to bring him back. But even if he’s rescued, he’ll need so much help after that. I don’t even… I can’t fathom his suffering.”

Vodyan hummed, hiking me up a little higher. “Rest until we get to Yeseera. I think you’ll like it.”

Chapter 21

Vodyan

My world and all my priorities pivoted in just a few days. I went from simply doing my job to planning multiple murders, and now, a rescue mission for a child I didn’t even know. And all that among half-baked visions of starting a family that were more fantasies than real plans, because I had no fucking idea what a happy family even looked like—I only knew I wanted Zoe, and having her would be enough.

My wounds barely throbbed, half-healed already, and I was excited. No matter how many times I reminded myself I shouldn’t get distracted, and that Zoe was my principal first and foremost, I was still giddy about showing her my home.

The feeling was unsettlingly foreign, and yet, it also felt light and happy.

“Are you asleep?” I murmured when the lights of Yeseera loomed ahead, pink, purple, and green. “You will want to see this.”

Zoe stirred, humming softly. “I was kind of drifting in my happy place, but I’m awake. What is it? Are we there?”

“We are.”

I turned my torso to the side so she could look comfortably at the view stretching ahead. Zoe gasped with a shiver, and I grinned. Yeseera was a stunning city, a real gem in all the Great Lakes, and I never failed to be in awe when I saw it after a period of being away.

“What… But how…”

I laughed softly, looking at the tall, intricate structures of glittering stone that marked the borders of the city. A thin but extremely durable net stretched between them, banning entrance to anyone who didn’t have a pass. Yeseera was where all the shanta production happened, and we took our security seriously.

I swam over to a border check—a circular portal in the net, lit with blue lights. Two vodnik guards swam out to meet me.

“Halt. Is that a human? We need to ID both of you.”

I nodded, offering my palm for a scan. It was good to see they were already on high alert. Since Carver’s people were on Isle Royale just a few hours ago, it was very unlikely they would have managed to infiltrate the city before security tightened.

Zoe would be safe.

The guards managed to scan her iris through the goggles. While we waited for the system to load her data, she craned her neck around me, looking in through the portal with wide eyes.

I understood her awe. Yeseera shone brightly in the ubiquitous gloom of the lake, like a beacon of fantastic colors that glittered and mesmerized. Right beyond the net, the lake bottom was covered with luscious, gently swaying carpets of green and blue. Beyond the stretch of greenery, the apartment buildings started, each surrounded by a generous area of space with more plants.

The apartment towers were wide, cylindrical structures of dark stone, draped with lights, each building in a slightly different color scheme.

“All in order. Enjoy your stay,” the guard said, smiling to Zoe.

She thanked her distractedly and turned back to look at the city as we swam through the portal.

“Wow. This is… So unlike the rest of the lake.”

I smiled, ridiculously proud, as if I’d single-handedly raised the city from the bottom. Yeseera was an integral part of my identity. After I finally got here as a child, it became a sanctuary and a home. I embraced it with all I had as a form of rebellion against my grandfather, and Yeseera embraced me back. I got a place to live, a small income to support myself, and access to education. At ten, I was considered big enough to take care of myself, and no one had bothered finding me a guardian as long as I didn’t cause trouble and attended school regularly.

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