Page 13 of Sworn to Revenge
“Bay, are you okay?” Alin bursts into the room like a storm, sittingdown in front of me on the bed, placing her hands on my shoulders.
Her usually glowing turquoise eyes are swollen and red—I can’t tell if she’s been crying or just hasn’t slept well.
“I...” I start, but stop immediately, having no idea how to even begin explaining to her what’s going on with me. I’ve never opened up to anyone about what I went through with the Hunters’ pod. Those months were so dark and difficult that I preferred to bury them deep and pretend they never happened. Elyr’s dying face is engraved in my brain. Now that the time of the month has come and he’s still calling me, I don’t know what to do.Can Alin help me? Will she understand?
“Bay, talk to me. I need to know what’s happening with you. How did they manage to take control of your consciousness like that?” she presses, and my body tenses at her words. She’s already figured out that I’m under someone else’s control.What the hell did I do?
“It’s a long story...” I manage to say, avoiding eye contact. I’m not sure if she’ll judge me or if she’ll keep locking me up out of fear that she won’t be able to control me if something happens. I’m a risk to all the men in the Spallo family when I’m here.
“You woke me up at five in the morning, I’ve got all the time in the world. Start talking,” she insists, and I know there’s no escaping this now.
“The water dragon, the Guardian of the Coral of Life, is calling me to hunt,” I release the truth in a whisper that seems so loud in the quiet that envelops this dark room.
“Bay, are you sure it’s not just nightmares from the trauma you experienced with the Hunters’ pod? I’ve never heard of the water dragon summoning huntresses to hunt every month. And besides, you were pardoned.” Her voice is soft, dripping with sympathy—as if she thinks I’ve lost mymind. Of course, she doesn’t understand. She never could.
“He calls me his chosen one. The Coral of Life itself calls the huntresses to hunt every month, but for me... I was‘lucky’enough to catch the Guardian’s attention, and now he won’t let go of me. He refuses to let me leave the Hunters’ pod. If I don’t go out to hunt now, he’ll haunt me. I could end up hurting the Spallo family here on land,” I release the truth along with another few tears, collapsing into her arms with loud sobs. This is the first time I’m sharing it, and it feels like I’m living through it all over again.I want peace, I want my freedom. Why do I never get a happy ending?
My tears soak into Alin’s shirt, but she remains silent, her gaze distant and clouded.
“What do I do, Alin?” I whisper, my voice breaking, but she doesn’t respond. Her body feels stiff against mine, and a chill of unease settles over me. I pull back, wiping my face with my sleeve, and look into her turquoise eyes—now brimming with tears. A pang hits me; have I broken even her? The Guardian dragon, my own fate... How much worse could it get?
“Alin?” I ask again, my voice small, desperate. A deep breath escapes her lips, and a lone tear traces down her cheek.
“The Sacred Bride…” she murmurs, almost to herself. “No, no, no…”
Her words send a jolt through me. “The Sacred Bride?” I echo, bewildered.
“Bay, the prophecy of the Sacred Bride. You’re the Sacred Bride!” she finally manages, and her words hit me like a slap. Sacred Bride? What is she talking about? I stare at her, feeling my heart pound in my chest.
“I’m definitely not a bride, and sacred? You’ve lost me, Alin. Care to explain?”
She takes a deep breath, gathering herself before she speaks. “When we learned about the Coral of Life in survival classes, there was a prophecy—about the ‘Sacred Bride.’ The one who would free the Guardian Dragon. He’s been waiting for his bride for over six hundred years. According to the prophecy, only she can sever his bond to the Coral, unleashing his power across the oceans,” she says, her voice trembling. My chest tightens. A prophecy that’s six hundred years old? He thinks I’m his bride!? He expects me to free him and bring chaos to the oceans? The old dragon must be delusional.
A frustrated laugh escapes me, snapping Alin from her daze. “I’m not anyone’s bride, especially not some ancient, deluded dragon,” I say firmly, the surge of anger wiping away the last of my tears.
Alin, now seeming more like herself, straightens and reaches out, grabbing my hands in both of hers. “We need to talk to my mother—find a way to sever this connection. I’m not going to let you be handed over to him—not now, not ever,” she declares, her grip tightening, anchoring both of us. Her determination sparks something inside me.Together. I’m not alone in this.
“Thank you,” I choke out, pulling her into a tight hug. “What would I do without you?”
“Probably live a much better life. You were exiled to the Hunters’ pod because of me,” she says quietly, a pained look crossing her face.
I sigh, familiar with this old guilt she clings to. “Alin, I chose to run. I chose to wound that guard. None of this is your fault, it’s all on my parents,”I tell her, for what feels like the thousandth time. She falls silent, absorbing my words.
We both know we have a much larger battle to face, and dwelling on old scars can wait.
“Come on,” she says, getting up from the bed, “it’s time to visit my mother. If anyone knows what to do, it’s her.” Alin grabs my hand, pulling me along. Aunt Lora used to teach some of the survival classes at sea—she knows a lot about prophecies and the curses that have drifted through the oceans over the years. Alin is right.
As she pulls me along to the first floor, an inexplicable sense of relief washes over me. For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel like it’s just me against the world.
“Where are you two going?” Pedro stands at the entrance of the apartment as Alin opens the door. My body tenses—Alin still hasn’t told me what I did to him.
My eyes scan his face anxiously, searching for any sign of fear or dread, but he looks at me with tired eyes and immediately wraps me in his arms. My heart pounds in my chest—Pedro is hugging me? What the hell happened when the dragon had control of my mind?
“Can someone here explain what happened while I was under the Guardian’s control?” I turn my head toward Alin from within his embrace, trying to get some answers.
“Guardian what?” Pedro asks quickly, his chin resting on the top of my head.“You were completely frozen, not responding to anything, and then when you snapped out of it, you started stammering and acting strange,”he steps back to explain, but his body remains close. I have to tilt my head up to look at him. His golden hazel eyes, as clear as the royal’s nectar, send unfamiliar waves of excitement through my chest every time they look at me like that. I quickly suppress them—he’s already made it clear he’s not interested in a relationship.
“I was acting strange?” I take a step back, distancing myself from him, and ask, looking at both of them.
