Page 93 of Sworn to Revenge
“Who are you running from? I hope it’s not that human jogging thing. That’s not for me.” I’m surprised she’s even answering at this hour.
She laughs, out of breath, “Again. That’s not quite right.” I hear her shout in the background before returning, “I’m training Pedro. He needs full control over his powers, so he doesn’t burn us all.”
She’s what now? “Since when are you training him that hard?” I ask, my voice coming out as a weird squeal.
“Since you went off withmyhusband to send your victims to the Coral of Life,” she replies, not hiding her annoyance amidst whatever strange movements she’s making. Acrobatics, maybe?
“It’s hard to tell if that venom in your voice is aimed at me or Pedro,” I remark, half-questioning. But then, suddenly, it clicks, and I can’t stop the laughter that bursts out of me. “You’ve heard of the Huntress’ Kiss...”
Her irritated growl on the other end proves I hit the mark. “Alin, I saved your husband’s life, and you’re mad at me?” I can’t stop laughing. These two are seriously a pair of obsessive lunatics.
“Shut up,” she snaps, her voice still full of annoyance. “Pedro! That’s not even close to the target. What’s wrong with you?” She’s scolding him again, and now I really want to go see what’s happening there.
“Where are you?” I ignore her clear dissatisfaction and ask excitedly, bouncing naked from the bed to Pedro’s wardrobe to quickly find something to throw on. I’m surprised to discover he’s already moved all my clothes here. Possessiveness should be the Spallo’s middle name, I sigh, though far more pleased by it than I want to admit.
“Take the elevator down to the first floor and ask Pablo, the guard at the entrance, to take you to level minus three. That’s their training floor,” she reveals another important detail and hangs up just as I slip on a light pink tracksuit that Cora had pre-matched for me before. She’d never trust me to pick out human clothes on my own.
You may be enjoying your time with your new family, but we have souls to deliver to the Coral of Life. We need to swim there soon.
Myko, you always know how to ruin my mood.Why do we even need to go there? Didn’t you already consume them?I really don’t want to hear the answer to this, but of course, it doesn’t take long to arrive.
I store them. The Coral of Life still needs to absorb them. It’s not in crisis yet,but it’s still weak, which means you’ll soon feel hunger.Great, more fantastic news.
“You mean,youwill feel hunger?” I roll my eyes, sliding my phone into my pocket and heading down the stairs to the apartment’s entrance floor.
If I’m hungry, you’re hungry. It will weaken us.His roar makes it clear he won’t ask twice. But fear no longer exists in me when it comes to him; I know he won’t harm me by now.
If I’m now Black Blooded, I shouldn’t have to worry about the Coral of Life affecting me. Black Blooded should be detached from all lineages, so why does it weaken us?I actually ask andwantto hear the answer this time.
My dear huntress, use your head. The Coral of Life may balance the lineages by absorbing all that power into itself—but what do you think created the Coral of Life?
I sigh.I’m guessing you’re going to tell me?
I skip towards the elevator now, trying not to push Myko’s buttons too much. He’s finally sharing some useful information, and I won’t argue with that.
I feel every cell in my brain registering his heavy sigh, like a disappointed father with his child, and I chuckle to myself, glad I finally managed to annoy him.
The Coral of Life was created by the first Black Blooded in all the oceans. The firstborn of every royal lineage.I gasp.
“Galienos, the first royal, was Black Blooded?!” I choke on my words asthe elevator doors open on the first floor, but I can’t even take a single step forward from the shock.
How do you think the royal lineages started gaining powers? Made a wish to an Aqua Corn?His sarcasm echoes in my head, but the shock prevents me from responding.And no, before you ask—Aqua Corns are really just a myth.
“I wasn’t really going to ask...” I mutter in frustration.
According to our pod history, Galienos, the first royal blood, had five sons—one for each ocean. They tried to keep the peace underwater. But when humans discovered them, they murdered his wife. He swore to protect their secret and prayed to the gods for powers to maintain peace, and they gave him the Coral of Life. When his children touched the Coral, they were marked as the heads of different pods and declared the first royal lineages. That’s how their descendants continued to gain powers and protect their pods.It’s the story we’ve heard countless times in our lessons in the city.
I relay the version of history I know to Myko, afraid to learn how many more lies our families have fed us. Does Aunt Lora even know all this? I doubt she knows enough about Black Blooded either.
Myko’s chuckle reverberates in my head, and I already understand it’s far from the truth I’ve been told.
You live in a shell filled with pearls and sea flowers. So much optimism and joy in your tales.His laughter grows louder.Galienos didn’t ask for powers to keep the peace! He prayed to the gods for revenge, and they gave him wild magic, powers of nature—but his heart blackened with hatred. When his sixth son tried to stop him from making a grave mistake, he murdered him.
“Hewhat? He had a sixth son?” My finger keeps pressing the elevatordoor’s open button, but I can’t take a step forward. All this new information feels like a messy storm in my head.
“Is everything okay, Miss Bay?” Pablo appears in front of me, snapping me back to reality. I quickly nod and ask him to show me how to get to level minus three. He leads me to a locked door behind the reception desk, opens it with his fingerprint, and points to a staircase, the exposed concrete clashing with the luxury of the building.
His sixth son was born deformed, with squid-like arms and mermaid fins. Galienos treated him like a curse, as if the gods had punished him with the merman’s birth.My eyebrows shoot up in absolute shock at this flood of information. He wasn’t the peaceful creature we all thought he was.
