Page 119 of Cruel Tides

Without giving me a chance to answer, my captor’s body crackled with an electrifying surge of magic, and the floor seemed to drop from underneath my feet.

With a final puff of black smoke, the magic consumed us, pulling us down into a shadowy abyss.

29

Claira

The very fabric of the universe seemed to shatter around me. I plunged into a realm suspended in shadows. Darkness assaulted my senses, infiltrating my lungs with its all-consuming embrace. The husky voice in my ear soothed, “Easy now.”

Easy now?Like I was some wild animal for him to snatch up and expect to tame? I started to thrash, but the unyielding pressure of his body against my back served as a reminder of which of us was in control.

Dammit.

I reared my head back to headbutt him just as shreds of the universe bled through the darkness, weaving back together around us. My feet found solid ground, and I took advantage of the loosening arm around my waist by throwing myself forward.

“Miss you?” I yelled, my voice breaking. My hand dove deep into my satchel, and with a clumsy slash of my arm, I twisted, brandishing my shell in front of me, ready to slice him up. “What are you even doing here?” Each word was a struggle, forced out through the smoky magic still lingering in my lungs. I was half gasping, half pleading, my emotions rising. “Why here? Why on the Indian Ocean’s island, of all places?”

A thick eyebrow, black as pitch, arched at me.

“My kind hail from these waters,” he said, casually slipping the hand that had just been around me into the front pocket of a pair of dress pants. He stood straight, his tall frame clothed in a tailored black suit, every slick line and dark contour underlining his fearsome presence.

“Dammit,” I muttered. The memory was hazy, but it felt like Leander had mentioned something about cecaelia living in the Indian Ocean.

And here one of them was—the sea wizard. A man of undeniable power.

Darkness seemed to embrace him, highlighting the otherworldly white of his eyes that gave away what he truly was, even in human form.

“Okay, you come from these waters, but we’re onland,” I threw back, my mind grappling with my next move. If Barren’s sister knew everything that happened on this island, had she known of the sea wizard? Did she have something to do with him taking me?

“Oh, I’m well aware.” Completely calm, he straightened the front of his suit like he hadn’t just used magic to rip through the universe. An unseen wind streamed around us, ruffling his hair.

“What are you doing?” I scrambled back a step, shuddering as black seeped into his irises. It was as if his eyes were absorbing the dark magic pooled around us, soaking up every last drop. “Stop it,” I warned, holding up my shell as the last of the magic faded from the air.

His white eyes had been the only thing that gave away his true nature, but now that they were black, he looked like a different creature entirely. Human, almost.

I wasn’t sure I liked it.

A bitter smirk formed over his pale lips. “I see you kept mygift.”

My eyes snapped to the shell I was clinging to, and—shit.

Heat flushed over my face, but I continued clutching the shell’s ribbed surface. It was the only weapon I had. “And I see you don’t look so tough without all your extra limbs and your trident,” I lied, my lips curling. “Where the hell are we?”

The air was damp, heavy with the distinct smell of salt water. I glanced around the room with a feverish intensity, taking in every detail. Only there wasn’t much to see. Abstract art, a fish tank that sat on a decorative console table. Travel worn carpet and textured burgundy wallpaper that made the narrow hallway feel even more cramped.

Where the heck had he taken us?

Wait—my eyes caught on the decorative sconces lining the walls. They looked perfect for bashing my sea wizard captor over the head with if it turned out my magical seashell knife had no effect on him.

The dark clothed man stood there, not giving up anything. I edged closer, my instincts teetering between fight and flight. “We aren’t in the casino, are we?”

While his gaze remained cold and unmoving, a grimace twisted his mouth. “Your ability to solve riddles remains as impressive as ever, I see.”

His face seemed so different now that his eyes shared the same black as his hair. Sharp and chiseled angles that gave him an almost sculpted appearance. With a swift and confident glide of his hand, he slicked back his hair. “We’re not in the casino, no.” He took a step forward, and I raised the shell. The threat didn’t deter him. “Far from it, in fact.”

Fury flashed in his dark eyes, but what right didhehave to be angry? “So good at riddles,” he said, his voice dropping to barely more than a hiss. “Yet you couldn’t decipher the meaning of a decimated portal and a clear warning of the dangers you’d be facing here.”

My mind flooded with images of the shattered portal fragments. The anguish on Leander’s face. “Youdestroyed the portal? Then, the eel…”

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