Page 125 of Ruthless Scoundrel
“Al’shan’hai’goi,”I scream out the gated exit. “My people need your help. Please! Lend your strength one more time!”
The water ripples and swells until the purple eye of the god monster appears behind the gate. My people scream and dive out of the way, and some even try to crawl up onto the stones. Many bow their heads, but they all say his name with fearful reverence.
The purple eye scans the room appraisingly, then falls on me. “They are very sick,” he says.
“Yes, but we can heal them. We can save them. Please, if you can carry them,” I beg, desperation flooding me.
“Carry them where, little one?” he asks.
Gods, I don’t know.I don’t know.
“The mainland. If we can get there, I can heal them—we can heal them,” I say, grabbing Reina’s hand. She has no idea what’s being said, but she holds my hand steadfastly and nods in agreement.
Fuck. I love her.
“There are creatures detained here that cannot swim, and I cannot carry them all,” the god says.
“Then carry the sick,” Reina says and I look at her with surprise. She understands my people’s words? Or is the god speaking in a tongue that is universally known? “We’ll find a ship for the rest. There must be one here somewhere.”
He grunts in agreement. “Very well. Release them to me, and I will carry them and follow you, then return to this place to destroy it.”
Reina runs to the crank wheel and throws down her torch. She grabs one of the spokes and looks at me, waiting.
I turn to my people in the pool. “He’s going to keep you safe.”
Hai’na bows to me and turns to the rest of our people. “Even if we die, at least we will not suffer here any longer.”
The others nod in agreement, some having much more spark in their eyes than others. At their behest, I grab one of the lower spokes and lift as hard as I can. The wheel turns and Reina uses her weight to keep it in place as I grab the next spoke down. The gate grinds and shifts, water sloshing off it as it rises.
My muscles burn from the effort, but I keep pulling until the gate is just above the water. “Go now,” I grunt out.
Hai’na leads the way, her tail marred with scars and missing chunks. Some of them will be beyond healing. Some of them will die. A selkie that can’t swim is like a bird that can’t fly—easy prey.
I grit my teeth and banish the thought. Perhaps some of them will just have to live as humans for the rest of their lives. That’s not so bad. They can join Reina and I in her court of liars until we clean out the filth and remake it.
The last selkie swims under the barrier and my straining muscles give out. I drop to my hands and knees, panting heavily. Reina crouches beside me, her dress in bloody, inky tatters.
“There are still more prisoners to free.” Her fingers are warm on my chin as she lifts my head. “Get up, my love. I know you can.”
“Yourlove?” I ask with a heavy pant.
“You heard me,” she says with a grin that lights up my whole being. Her eyes are so full of hope, so bright. She’s as brilliant as a hundred thousand stars in the void of night. As beautiful as an aurora of the far north.
With her confidence to bolster me, I take one last gulp of air and rise onto my knees, then gain my feet. “Lead the way, my queen.”
Chapter thirty-eight
Reina
We run to the next two cells but they’re both empty. Jasper’s eyes are full of panic as he scratches an “X” on the wall leading to the chambers we’ve investigated.
“We’re going to find them,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “A ship is approaching. We’re running out of time.”
“We have a god standing guard,” I say.
“And only so many favors we can ask of him before he requests payment.” Jasper runs a hand through his curly hair.
