Page 31 of Sworn to Revenge
“Oh, and he doesn’t even know how rare he is!” she exclaims with glee, her eyes gleaming as she turns back to him.
“Yes, Prince Charming, you can draw electricity outside of your body, my little lightning bolt,” she says, squeezing his cheeks as she explains, and my thoughts become a blur.
“You can’t have him,” I blurt out, my voice trembling, already knowing what she’s going to demand in exchange for the heart.
“Him? He’s not what I’m after,” she replies, her gaze lingering on him.“Unless you’re offering?”
“In your dreams!” he snaps back, struggling to free himself from her grip, thrashing his tail furiously.
“As you wish,” she says with feigned disinterest, releasing him abruptly and sending him hurtling across the room before quickly turning back to me.
“What I want,” she whispers as she closes in, her voice cold and sharp, and my eyes widen as a burning pain suddenly rips through my side.
lood spills into the water around us, and the pain is so intense that I can’t even speak, only choking sounds escape my lips.
“Bayyyy!” Pedro’s roar echoes from the other side, and that familiar golden light surrounds us as bolts of electricity shoot across the cave, shattering everything in their path.
“No, no, no, my little lightning bolt, you won’t come into my cave and make a mess,” she says dismissively, blocking his bolts with a flick of her wrist and sending them back toward him.
“Nooo!” I scream with every ounce of strength I have left, thrusting my hand forward to create a wall of gemstones as a shield in front of him. I sigh with relief as the wall crumbles under the impact, but Pedro remains unharmed.
“There, that’s what I wanted,” she declares, swiftly filling a small vial with my blood.
“Here, your reward for your blood donation,” she sneers, tossing thegolden box at me, but I’m too weak to catch it.
“I’m here, Bay,” Pedro’s hands catch me as I start to collapse, and my gaze falls on the source of my pain—a sharp metal spear lodged just above my hip.
“Am I going to die?” I whisper to Pedro as I feel consciousness slipping away.
“I won’t let you die. You’re not going to die, do you hear me?” he says fiercely, holding me close with one arm while securing the box with the other.
A deafening familiar roar suddenly shakes the cave, causing stones to fall from the ceiling. Am I imagining?
“Get out of my cave, now!” Jocelyn demands. “And take your guardian dragon with you,” she adds, waving her hand dismissively before disappearing into the depths of her lair.
My guardian dragon? I knew that roar was familiar… I bet he can’t stand anyone else torturing me but him. I chuckle to myself as my vision blurs. I think I hear Pedro shouting my name just before everything goes black.
Pedro
I feel my body on the verge of collapsing as I reach the entrance gate to the city of Mal-El, still carrying Bay and Morlay’s heart with the last bit of strength I have left. After removing the spear Jocelyn had driven into her abdomen, the wound began to heal slowly on our way here—just like Alin’s injuries did in the past. But Bay still hasn’t regained consciousness. How much strength do these merfolk have? I don’t know if I should be envious or terrified by that thought.
“Stop right there!” a guard barks at me, shoving a golden spearhead inches from my face. He lowers it slightly when he recognizes his unconscious princess in my arms.Great, now he’s going to blame me for this?
My muscles ache horribly, but I hold Bay closer, ensuring that no bastard here even thinks about taking her from me. I have to get her to Alin and Queen Lora as quickly as possible. The guard, whose spear still hovers threateningly near my face, signals to another guard, who immediately darts into the city like his life depends on it. I can’t waste time waiting for him to return. I clutch the shell box containing Morlay’s heart under myarm and show the guard the palm of my hand, making sure he doesn’t miss the cursed crescent mark etched into my skin.
His eyes widen in shock, as if I’ve just told him that a few hours ago I had legs, but he resentfully steps aside, allowing me to enter. Before I can move, he adds with a hint of threat, “The royal family has already been alerted.”
If I weren’t in so much pain, I’d flip him off, but I have to reach the palace.
“Pedro!” The familiar voice I’ve been praying to hear for the past two hours, which felt like an eternity, calls out.
“I swam here as soon as I heard the guard’s report,” she says, her gaze now landing on Bay’s unconscious body. “Is she…?” She swallows hard, unable to finish the question, her gills contracting tightly.
“She’s just unconscious,” I assure her quickly. Her gills relax with a long sigh, and she swims over to me.
“We got Morlay’s heart,” I inform her as she reaches out to take Bay from me, “but Jocelyn wounded her with a spear. I think you need to call your mother.”
“The guard already alerted her that you’re here; she’s waiting for us,” Alin replies, swimming carefully ahead with Bay’s body, not waiting for my response.
