Page 46 of Blood of the Sirens
“Urgh, that’s a hard no.”
Tangy salt and rotten seaweed met my tastebuds. This definitely wasn’t freshwater.
Wait.
Merrick had mentioned that the only way out was an underwater tunnel. What if it was more than that … What if this cave wasin the ocean?
Claustrophobia and panic kicked in, tightening my chest.
Don’t panic. Breathe.
The anxiety edged back, slightly. I focused on the sound of running water, finding it soothing.
Except it sounded a bit more than a gentle stream. Turning around, I put my hand back on the water and water ran all overit, a steady stream that was pooling onto the stone floor and running into the larger pool.
If I was under the sea, and the water leaking in was salty, then that meant—
Don’t. Panic.
“Ha, yeah, because the cave I’m inunderwater could be fucking collapsing!”
What was more terrifying: being here if the cave collapsed or the inky abyss of the pool in front of me? Merrick had swam in it unmolested, so there was likely nothing too monstrous hanging out beneath the black depths.
OK. I was brave. I could do this.
Burning agony assaulted me as the salt water hit my wounds, and I sucked in a pained breath. I was pissed at hell, but could understand he was trying to protect me. Even if he was being an absolute twat about it. If we could just face this together, then I knew we’d figure it out.
How I wish I could follow him.
For a moment I let my mind be crazy and imagined the impossible: both of us with large tails and webbed fingers, darting through the ocean together like a pair of fish. It’d be much more fun to see the world this way with him than unconscious, after all.
I grinned despite myself. What a ridiculous notion! And yet … I yearned for the freedom to just exist with him and only the ocean around me. No bullies. No jobs. No family to disappoint.
Just Merrick, and only Merrick. Oh, how I longed to join him.
A sudden pain burst across my abdomen, tearing a gasp from my throat. I sucked in air, suddenly unable to catch my breath. The pain spread down my legs and I grasped the edge of the rock pool just to keep myself above the water.
Black flooded the edges of my vision as my throat closed and I couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t I breathe? White-hot agony raced up and down my lower half, and my fingers lost their purchase on the edge.
Don’t pass out. You’re gonna drown.
I reached out but couldn’t find the edge of the pool. Where had it gone? I tried to kick my legs, but they wouldn’t work right.… It felt like one large throbbing appendage that didn’t work the way I wanted it to.
I sank beneath the water, confused and afraid.
FOURTEEN
Merrick
I didn’t bother tryingto find the boat or going back to the place where I knew it docked. After sensing the surrounding area wasn’t full of pissed off hunters, I vacated the area. The only scent more telling than Jesse’s around the cave would be mine, after all.
So I headed straight for home, knowing I was likely already too late. The other mers would have returned by now, angry and calling for my blood. I didn’t care, and would make the same sacrifice over and over again if needed.
Jesse isn’t safe yet. Keep moving. Figure it out on the way.
I didn’t make it far into my village before the other mers saw me and screamed with feral anger, over thirty of them rushing toward me. I didn’t turn to fight; I simply tightened my arms to my sides and shot as fast as I could like a porpoise through the water, toward my father’s throne in the open courtyard. My heart felt like it was exploding in my chest with myeffort. If the pack of my brothers got to me first, they’d likely rip me apart before any of their fathers (or mine) could intervene.
Luckily, he was there, holding court with the other clan leaders, all of their faces drawn and serious. I zoomed past him and shot behind his throne like a little guppy being chased by a shark. There was no shame in it if it kept me alive.
