Page 74 of Poseidon's Trident
“Fuck, your magic feels so good, baby. I’m gonna fucking come. Need to be on top when I come.” He rolls us again and slams into me one final time with a roar and I tumble into the abyss right alongside him.
18
The ocean breeze tosses a strand of hair in my face as I sit alone on the private beach. Everything is fucked up around us. The waves churn angrily in the sea.
I stand from the comfy deck chair. Everyone else is still asleep and a peaceful walk on the beach is just the thing to soothe my fried nerves.
The beach is deserted. There are no humans around so I let my magic loose and sparks crawl over my skin. They aren’t blue anymore but tinged in gold and the new color bothers me. Why is everything turning gold? What was the deal with gold blood gushing from my shoulder? I wish Artemis were around, as crazy as that is.
She already told us she doesn’t know what being gods touched will do to us but pair that with the mark of the warrior on my skin and nothing makes any sense.
I wander aimlessly down the beach, staying far enough from the water that the churning waves don’t hit me, and play with my magic. It’s soothing.
“Help,” a distant cry startles me but it’s so low.
Did I imagine that? I turn in a circle but find nothing out of the ordinary. “I’m losing my mind now?”
I stroll farther down the beach, still scanning the area. It was probably nothing but my stomach knots with worry. What if it wasn’t nothing and someone dies because I didn’t think there was anyone there?
“Help,” the shout sounds again, a little louder this time.
I rush forward down the beach and scan the waves. “Is someone there?”
“Here. Help me, please.” A hand shoots out from the ocean.
“Fuck,” I mumble to myself. “Why would anyone go into the ocean like this?”
I race to the water. It’s freezing and my teeth chatter almost instantly. I wade out until the water is waist-deep but all that’s there is the top of a man’s bald head in the distance. Seaweed surrounds him.
This is such a bad fucking idea. What if there’s a sea monster out there? What if the man himself is a sea monster looking to lure unsuspecting travelers to their doom, pretending to need help?
“Please, help,” the man screams again.
He sounds desperate. I can’t just leave someone to die because they might not be what they look like. I have to at least try and if Poseidon strikes me down or the man turns out to be a monster, I guess I will face those consequences.
I dive into the water, careful to call my sword beneath the waves so the human doesn’t see it. Why on earth would this man be in the water like this? I swim faster as I glance up. The man’s head can’t even be seen now from the top of the churning sea. There’s no sign of a surfboard or anything near him and if I don’t hurry, he’s going to drown.
Fuck. Why did I go out alone? Why didn’t I bring Jayden with me? It would be so much easier.
I kick my feet beneath me as I stop right at the edge of the mass of seaweed. It’s tangled all around the man, pulling him beneath the sea. Raising my sword, I hack at the seaweed closest to me and move closer to the man but it’s too slow. He’s already completely under the water. How long can a human hold their breath?
I dive beneath the waves as something crawls up my legs. The seaweed is wrapping itself around them. I kick out at it but it just squeezes tighter until I can’t even keep myself from sinking beneath the sea.
Gripping my sword, I slash the seaweed again and again until my legs spring free and I shoot closer to the man. He’s been under too long. I have to help him. With my free hand, I tug the seaweed from his ankle and slice at the piece around his thigh, careful not to cut him with my blade.
The seaweed retreats away from the man. Is that even seaweed at all? What the hell is it? There’s no time to waste wondering though. The man’s eyes are closed as he floats in the water. I wrap an arm around him, pulling him up to the surface, and gasp for air. I was almost right there with the man I was trying to save.
The man coughs and splutters as I tow him to shore. Relief floods through me. He’s still alive. I was able to save him from the demon seaweed.
We finally make it to shore and the man flips on the ground. The cold breeze sends an icy chill through my body and I rub at the goosebumps prickling on my skin.
“Are you okay?” I ask the man.
He stares up at me a smile painted on his face but his eyes are what grab my attention. They are eerie like someone who has seen too much. What the fuck have I done? I take a step back, gripping my sword in one hand and I call my whip to me with the other as I widen my stance and prepare for the attack.
Fuck. I did just rescue a sea monster or something. Dammit. Jayden is going to be fucking pissed.
“You have nothing to fear from me, daughter of Zeus.”
