Page 24 of Tides of Time

“The choice is yours, my daughter of the sea. Destroy him and save yourself and him, or destroy yourself and many within this pod.”

As quickly as everything appeared, Ariana was alone with Galene, her tail brushing against a shallow ocean bottom.

“What will you do, sister?”

Galene’s words echoed in her mind and pulled Ariana into a cyclone.

If she never saved Orion, would someone else in the pod?Of course they wouldn’t.He wouldn’t survive in one way or another to save her one day. Poseidon said as much.

But what if he doesn’t die beneath the waves? What if it happens on land, and then we’re both free?

The thought slammed into her, causing Ariana to stop the gentle tail swish that kept her upright. She didn’t want to escape life, she just wanted to escape life as a siren.

“I’m saving my husband.” She spoke through a clenched jaw, not because it wasn’t the choice she wanted, but because it was accepting that everything would start again. She would live as a mermaid and eventually tire of the constant need to be with the pod.

“What you’re feeling is common, sister.” Galene set a hand on her arm. “It can be quite a lot living life in service to another.”

For the first time, Ariana realized that perhaps Galene carried a weight on her shoulders that no one else could bear. Without her, there was only death if one could not escape the watery hands that grabbed the feet of those unfortunate enough to fall in unprepared.

“Are you prepared to see this?”

Again, the other woman was kind and compassionate. Ariana knew that once about Galene, but she’d forgotten with her anger over the years. Galene watched countless men and women take their final breaths, only to decide if they would ever take another.

“I’m sorry for your burden.” Ariana set her hand on Galene’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry for what you must bear. Chronos was definitive in his torment. You must drag him to his death to save his life and countless others.”

Ariana closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, relieved that the cool water did not flood into her lungs as it had mere moments before. The gentle lapping of the waves against her skin calmed her racing heart, and she savored the weightless feeling of being submerged in the ocean's embrace. Just thirty minutes ago, she had been fighting for her life in these very waters, but now she was grateful to be alive and floating peacefully on the surface. As she opened her eyes and gazed up at the expansive blue sky above, she felt a sense of pure bliss wash over her. This moment of serenity was a stark contrast to the chaos and danger she had faced earlier, making it all the more precious.

“You must take us there.” Sea foam green eyes filled with sympathy. “When you are ready,” Galene held out a delicate hand.

Ariana nodded.When I am ready.She blew out a slow breath.When you are ready to kill your husband so you may one day be together again.Another deep lungful of air from the water, and Ariana set her hand on Galene’s.

“Will I recover from this?”

The older woman shrugged solemnly. “I cannot answer that. I live with the choice of death for many. It is nowhere near the same, but I should think a part of you will always live with this.”

Ariana's head bobbed in agreement as she focused on out at the frigid, churning waters just off the coast of France and a very specific date she now knew from living it. Orion’s new birthday.

The iridescent bubbles swirled and danced around them, the only indication of their journey through the tides of time. Each one reflected a different color, like a prism in motion. The bubbles were delicate and ephemeral, popping with a soft whisper as they burst against their skin. As she guided them through the currents, she could feel the powerful energy surrounding them, guiding them to their destination. Time seemed to stand still as they moved through this mystical world, surrounded by an otherworldly beauty that only those who traveled through it could truly appreciate.

A bullet whizzed past her arm as it slammed into the water, some of the danger undone by the force of the water the bullet crashed in to.

They’d made it.

“It’s a war,” Galene reminded her, nudging her forward. “Orion, he was shot in the shallows, wasn’t he?”

Ariana nodded, trying to figure out a way to get him into the depths without her tail being seen.

I remember the life fading from my body and then being tossed, thrown further out to sea, likely so they didn’t have to bury a body.Orion’s pained voice sounded in her mind as she remembered him sharing the details of his death.

“How could I have forgotten?” Ariana shook her head. “We don’t move. We stay here. Someone will do their worst to him.” Her stomach grew heavy. “This is not a punishment, correct? I will not drown my beloved for you to watch and taunt me?”

Galene’s features twisted as if Ariana struck her. “I will not give that a response.”

Thanks to Ariana’s thoughtless question, they waited in silence as bullets and men fell into the water. Ariana wished they could save more, but Galene did not budge no matter how many took their final breath beneath the sea. They were here for Orion, and though her soul broke with each death because Ariana knew they would only save her husband.

Every splash drew her eyes to the source. Every ripple twisted her insides with what would come.

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