Page 28 of Sworn to Revenge
I inch my face closer to his, watching for his reaction, my gaze dropping hungrily to his lips as a school of fish swims by, sending a gentle current that lifts my hair, wrapping it around both of us, closing us in a world of our own.
His eyes return to their gemstone-like glimmer, the strange light fades, and he bites his lip hard.
“No. I can’t, Bay,” he pulls away suddenly, driving another painful arrow through my chest, one that burns more than anything I’ve ever felt. I laid my heart bare before him, and he rejected it. I’m grateful we’re underwater and he can’t see my tears.
“I want to, Bay. Believe me. I want to, more than anything,” he adds suddenly, and my heart, as if jolted back to life, starts racing again.
“I just can’t. It’s too complicated…” he says quietly, avoiding my gaze now.
“What could be so complicated? We’re both here, and we both want this,” I press, as if he doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘complicated.’
“You wouldn’t understand, Bay. I just can’t,” he says and swims aheadalone, leaving the burning pain in my chest to be replaced by anger.Now he’s just looking for excuses?
“Fine, this is the last time I’ll ever bring it up. Forget everything I said, let’s just finish this mission, and then we’ll go our separate ways,” I snap back at him, as if it’s a threat. “And in case you didn’t notice, you’re swimming in the wrong direction,genius,” I add, rolling my eyes before swimming off in the opposite direction without waiting for him.
“Bay…” he calls out from behind, but I ignore him. I’m not wasting another minute on this man.
“Bay!” he shouts now, and I turn sharply to silence him, but my eyes land on his raised hand, glowing with the same golden light that flashed from his eyes earlier. What is happening?
“Pedro, what did you do?” I ask, my voice more accusatory than I intended.
“I didn’t do anything, it just started glowing,” he says, bringing his hand closer to me as I approach him, and suddenly, golden sparks shoot out from it, like tiny bolts of lightning.
“What the hell is going on?” he asks, pulling his hand back to his chest, covering it with his other hand as if that could stop the lightning show.
“When you looked at me earlier, the same light came from your eyes. There’s a chance…” I trail off, thinking if this could really be possible.
“A chance of what?” he presses, grabbing my arm in frustration.
“It doesn’t make any sense, you’re not from a royal lineage… merhell,you’re not even arealmerman…” I think aloud, trying to piece together everything Aunt Lora showed us. Could it be related to the chamber? Or to Luca and Mariano’s mother?
“Bay,” he calls my name sharply, snapping me out of the chaos in my head.
“I think you’ve gained powers too,” I finally say, voicing the most logical, illogical conclusion I’ve reached.
“Powers? Me? What kind of powers?” His eyes are filled with fear now, as if he’s wondering, just like me, if that potion he drank has done permanent damage—damage that might stick with him for life.
“Well, I can’t handle any more news about what’s happening to me. Let’s just get this over with. We’ll talk to Alin when we get back,” he says with uncharacteristic resignation, like he wasn’t the one yelling in shock moments ago, demanding answers.
The more answers we get, the more questions arise. It’s probably best if we just focus on the mission right now, or we’ll lose our minds.
At least he didn’t end up like Florencia, stuck in a glass case for decades.
Pedro
“Are you planning to stay mad the whole way?” I ask Bay, frustration bubbling to the surface as I watch her swim ahead of me, that scowl on her face sharp enough to rival my only human sister-in-law when she’s arguing with Mariano.
“What are you talking about? I’m not mad,” she replies without even looking at me, and I wonder if I should be more afraid of her right now than of the sea witch. I’ve seen Cora throw things when she’s mad—Mariano’s lucky he has quick reflexes, or he’d have ended up in the hospital.
“Bay, talk to me. I came all this way here, grew a tail, and now weird things are happening to my body that God knows if either of us will survive,” I shoot back at her, thinking if anything’s going to kill me, I’d rather it be her.
“I’ve already told you; I’m not going to repeat myself. It’s over. Done,” she snaps, stopping abruptly and turning to face me.Finally!
“Then talk to me about something else. We’ve been swimming for over an hour, my head’s still spinning from everything we saw at the castle, andnow with these powers, we both need a distraction,” I try to reason with her, and it seems to work. She rolls her eyes, her gills flaring open and close as if releasing all her frustration in one long sigh.
“We’re almost there, so let me prepare you for what’s coming,” she says, pointing a sharp finger at me in warning.
I nod. “Whatever you say, Princess Bay,” I tease, giving her a mock salute. A small smile escapes her lips, and I flash her a sly grin in return. Good, I managed to lighten her mood a bit.
