Page 161 of A Storm in Every Heart
Far below me, I see the queen. She’s dragging Kastian deeper, nearly reaching the very bottom of the ocean.
It seems as if he’s still moving, struggling to free himself. I have no idea how he’s not drowning. Maybe it’s his magic? He did something because this time he knew he was going into the water? Maybe it’s something else, but at the moment I don’t care.
I tear after them, still clutching the trident, and behind me, I can feel rather than see the other sirens hunger and anticipation. The pack is feverish—starving—their bloodlust electrifying the water.
The queen wraps two of her tentacles around Kastian’s chest, one around his throat, and another coils about his ankle, pulling him in a corkscrewing spiral. He claws at the tentacles, but the queen is too strong. The more he fights, the tighter she squeezes. He’s being crushed alive.
My chest spasms with a panic so deep it seems to reverberate outward. I feel the sirens behind me grow nervous, some of them let out ghostly wails of their own, adding to the collective panic.
Stop!I shout—half in my head and half out loud, the sound coming out in a long, keening wail.
Kastian looks up and his eyes lock onto mine. His gaze burns and I feel the bond throbbing warm in my chest.
In the same instance, the queen turns to look at me too and her lips peel back in a hideous grin.You pitiful, insolent child. Can’t you see that I’m doing this to help you?
I don’t answer—don’t hesitate. I draw the trident back and slash, aiming for her torso.
The queen’s eyes widen, and for a moment I see pure shock on her face. Somehow, even now, she didn’t believe I’d want to hurt her.
Her tentacles whip around, catching me hard across the cheek.You’ll destroy anyone you care about. I’m helping you!
Her blow sends a shockwave through my head, but I barely feel it.
I drive the trident forward with every ounce of fury and fear and love I have ever known. The barbs pierce her side, ripping through cartilage and muscle and bone.
Her body convulses in a spasm so violent that she drops Kastian entirely. Dark inky blood flows out of her body, turning the water black. And for a heartbeat her thoughts flash through me—an electric jolt of agony and rage and something like pride.
I scream, a triumphant, guttural howl, and the sound ignites the sirens. Some scatter, some dart toward me to help, while still others let out screams of their own, the ghostly cries ringing through the water so loud that I’m sure they can be heard up above.
ODESSA, PRESENT
Kastian and I erupt from the sea, gasping.
I cling to him, and he to me. For a moment, we just hang there, suspended, both of us too exhausted to move.
Below us, the sea is still roiling. I can feel the rioting chaos of the sirens awakening. I can hear their tangled voices roaring over each other, screaming, wailing, their thoughts now fractured and disjointed. A thousand hungry voices with no conductor.
It’s so loud I can’t think. I can barely swim, Kastian grips my waist and pulls me toward shore, until at last, we collapse onto the rocky beach.
The moment we touch land, everything goes silent.
“Dessa?” Kastian asks, voice strangled. “Are you alright?”
Am I alright?I don’t know. I can’t speak. I can’t even find words to describe what I am right now.
Overwhelmed.
Exhausted.
Alive.
Dazed and silent, I push myself up, bracing my arms against the damp sand, and look around.
The beach is empty. The air smells of rain, and the sun has shifted behind a cloud, turning the sky a strange blue-grey, like a storm is coming.
When I glance down at my fingers, they’re normal—not webbed or elongated into claws. That’s a relief.
That is, until, Kastian’s dark eyes dart toward something behind me and widen. I turn my head to look, and I’m startled to realize that we haven’t made it that far out of the sea. We’re lying on the sand, just barely beyond where the waves are lapping at the shore. His feet are still in the water, and mine…aren’t there at all.
