Page 42 of Sunken Empire

Days. It's been days since the last time I felt whatever it was that's been calling me. The same thing that set me out on this journey, leaving all that I've known behind. Not like there was much there to begin with. Ever since the darkness took over, none of us have seen the sun. We've been banished to the darkest, deepest parts of our realms to suffer an existence some of us didn't earn. I had no choice but to follow the orders given to me by the man who stole me from my mother's womb before slaughtering her where she lay. Anyone who risked questioning the king and his followers never lived to share the tale.

Keeping my head down for years in my youth proved to be just as pointless. My mother was specifically bred to create me, a weapon to use against the false king of the south and his three sons. A perfect diversion to coerce their anger into thoughtless actions leading to war.

Only something else had other plans. Before any of that could be put into motion, the darkness swept through our kingdom and swallowed everything whole without spitting it back out. I watched as the color drained from the eyes of the people around me until they were left with nothing but black pits. Those were the ones we had to watch out for. It seemed as though whatever the darkness leached from them, it replaced with a conscience-less anger.

I'd just decided to take my chances as a rebel on the run from the kingdom when hell rained down upon our heads even further. A jagged hole appeared in the middle of the land, swallowing everyone and everything. It sucked us all right down to the bottom of the ocean and trapped us there. Those of us who weren't touched by darkness were able to restrain those who were. Falling through that pit made their powers useless and the clans blamed them for the curse brought down upon us. If there’s ever a day when the curse is lifted, there won't be a corner of our realm that would be safe from the wrath of those we've held captive for so long.

We've been trapped inside a bubble for all these years. No need to eat. No sunlight. No access to our magic. Majority of the clans didn't survive losing their minds. What few of us that are left won't last much longer. Madness will claim us all in the end.

Which is why, when a few days ago I felt something brush against my magic, demanding I leave the prison I've been confined to for centuries, I set out not knowing what to expect. No one has been able to leave since our imprisonment, so I fully expected to be spit back out when I tried to pass through. I was pleasantly and nervously surprised to find that wasn't the case. I was able to glide through as easily as as the sword through my mother, ending her life.

Though I may have slipped through a loophole somewhere, that doesn't mean I'm any better off here than I was there. At least within the walls of my prison, I didn't feel like I was being hunted. I've not stopped for days for both that reason and the persistent beat at my ribcage. It started small, but the further away I swam I began to notice a flickering of my magic beneath my skin. Not enough to draw from it, and still just out of reach. A tiny doubt has begun to creep within my mind that I may be falling prey to yet another trap. Especially considering I've been lured too far away from the protection my prison offered. I'd never be able to turn back at this point. Plus, I haven't felt my magic stirring in days. I can only hope I'm heading in the right direction toward the last blast I'd felt.

Sights and sounds surround me in a parade of a dreamlike quality, things I thought I'd never see again. If I hadn't been deprived of them for so long, I wouldn't have noticed as they begin to disappear. First the schools of fish that seem to have taken a liking to following me. Then the coral lining the sand at the bottom of the ocean bed. The color seems to have been drained from within, causing a rot of the likes I've only seen once before. Without warning, it vanishes completely. One swish of my tail, it's there in front of me and in the next, it's gone, leaving nothing but sand in its wake.

That's when I feel the dark presence do a full circle around me. I can't see it, but it pushes against my magic, making me want to retch into the water. Using no sharp movements, I drop closer to the sand, and it looms closer than before. Malevolence pours from the being, undoubtedly preparing for attack. If only there were somewhere to hide and get my bearings before having to confront it.

No sooner than the thought is put out there into the universe,I see a system of caves ahead. Now, the tricky problem of distracting this thing long enough to lose it and duck inside. I have no weapons in my arsenal other than my gods given body that hasn’t been in its true form for years and been driven to the point of pure exhaustion for days.

An accidental stirring of the sand by a ray near my face gives me an idea. Without hesitation, I drag my tail in the sand whilst making a circle before giving it a vigorous flap, stirring as much sand as I can. The water turns murky almost instantaneously. If an opportunity was ever going to present itself, now is the time.

Shooting off like a dolphin, I cut through the water, pushing myself to the absolute breaking point. Stopping to see if this escape attempt has worked isn't an option when I barely dare to breathe in my haste. The predator gets left behind for certain as the weight begins to work its way from my shoulders down to the tip of my tail until it disappears completely. Never one to be made a fool of, I don't deter from my initial plan. Forcing myself to keep going, I dreg the bottom of the barrel for the reserves of my strength as I shoot for a cave opening barely large enough to squeeze through.

I'm within a few more flicks of my tail away when I feel the furious hunter bearing down upon me once more.

So close.

I'm so close.

If only I can...

The thought is left hanging as a sound cracks through the water loud enough to radiate pain through my eardrums. It's quickly followed by a blinding flash of light that makes the twisted hunter at my back screech and pull back, gifting me a few more seconds of much needed time. That's when I spot her.

Sinking down toward the sand bed is the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes upon. Dark hair that's only a pitch lighter than that of the creature tracking me; however, the water flows through it, bringing more color to light that matches the vivid hue of her tail. A flash of gold at her ear could easily be mistaken for a glint of the sun. For a moment, I let her beauty distract me from the terror stalking and waiting in the shadows.

Diving down, I swoop her up in my arms and aim for another cave. The opening is slightly bigger, but I'll need it to get us both through anyway. We've almost made it when those perfectly framed eyes open with confusion and quickly widen with horror. Thankfully, she doesn't put up a fight to get away. Otherwise, we'd both be dead as I can see a looming shadow slithering its way to us.

My shoulder batters the rock on our way through the small opening, but I ignore the pain for more pressing issues. Doing a quick sweep of the cave to make sure there aren't any other predators lurking, I then flick my gaze back to the hole we just passed through to make sure we aren't being pursued. Seeing my distraction, the female in my arms starts to struggle. At the tightening of my grip on her, she opens her mouth as though to speak. Even knowing she can't speak human words in this form doesn't stop me from pushing her back flush against the cave wall and covering her mouth with one of my hands, trying to communicate the best way I know how.

Don't move. Don't make a sound. We're being hunted and it's out there right this second listening, waiting for us.

Her eyes widen in surprise as her chest expands against mine, making me acutely aware of her feminine form pressed against my rough hardness. Something I'd easily explore were it not for the fact that I'm pretty sure she understood the thoughts I'd pushed at her. Since being locked in our prison, all of us suffered one ailment or another. Mine was the loss of speech. I haven't heard my own voice since before that fateful day. Even still, I consider myself lucky compared to what the darkness did to some of the others, finding a way to mutate and make new monsters.

Can you hear me? I ask her, merely to confirm I'm not finally losing my mind.

At her nod, that feeling returns of a tether being pulled taut across my chest, the other end tied to her. This can only mean one thing.

I found my mate.

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