Page 90 of Female Fantasy
But I was suffocating inside those walls. Even now, I feel the water all around me, ready to rush into my air bubble. I need to get out. To think. To let myself feel everything clearly, precisely.
I rush through the sand banks of Atlantia in a panic, not bothering to hover overhead, not caring whether I am seen. I fly by the theater where I first learned the truth of who Ryke is. Crowds of mer and merchants part as I move with agility and precision, a form of chaos upheld by the graceful movements of these great underwater beings. I care not. After the day I have had, my unhinged behavior feels like an outlet rather than a cry for help.
Turning into a side alley by the market, I find myself at a dead end. I sigh, turning around, when I hear the water rumble behind me.
“We have been looking for you,” a voice says. “Did nobody tell you never to swim alone at night?”
And then everything fades into darkness.
When I come to, I have no way of telling how much time has passed. It could be minutes or days. My body is bound to a chair with rigid sea kelp and sailor’s ropes, and I am in some kind of dark cavern.
“Good, you are awake,” says the voice I heard on the street.
Nix, the false queen Talassa’s younger brother, inchestoward me. His bloodred eyes trail over my restraints with cruel delight. His white hair seems to glint, though there is little light in the cave.
“Here I thought kidnapping you would require some effort,” he croons. “Imagine my surprise when the human heroine of the mer was spotted fleeing from her protectors, alone in the streets of Atlantia without even the magical items from the treasure trove to protect her.”
He inches closer to me, his beautiful tanned skin smelling of rotting fish. “I owe you a great deal of pain. After all, you filleted my most seasoned marksman with a mere flick of the wrist. How do you plan to fight back now without your precious trident, my dear?”
I open my mouth to respond, only to discover—to my horror—that it has been sealed shut with some kind of gooey ink, the kind excreted by a squid.
I am trapped.
Despite all my training, my power, my abilities, I never stood a chance.
The sirens have abducted me.
It was never going to be a fair fight.
And now they will kill me before the coup even begins.
I will never learn the extent of my powers.
I will never discover whether I have the ability to shift.
And I will never get to tell Ryke that I am desperately in love with him.
Against my gag, I let out a small whimper.
Nix smiles at the sound, his teeth jagged and sharp as claws.“Let us begin, shall we?” he says. “When does the Prince of Atlantia plan to strike?”
I shake my head vigorously, unable to answer. If these are my last moments in this world, I will spend them with dignity, protecting those whom I have come to love. Kai and Mira. Dylan and Guinn. All of them.
I will take their secrets to my watery grave.
Nix raises a brow. “Very well, then.”
He pierces my air bubble.
Water pours in, filling my shield from the bottom up. I pull violently against my restraints, attempting to move. If I can stand, I can hold the water off a moment longer.
But it is no use.
The water is pooling around my calves.
Soon it will be at my waist.
And after that…
