Page 60 of Cruel Tides

But to look into minds and know my father’s thoughts? To act and answer questions in ways that would keep me from being taught any more hard lessons? Foolish merfry that I was, I hadn’t feared Barren’s gift. I’d envied it.

And at our very first meeting, the young Indian Ocean crown prince had stared at me for so long I knew he must have looked into every corner of my mind. And when it came time for our parting goodbyes, he’d carefully uttered the words I would never forget.

“Not a single captain among us respects your king.” The sternness on his face as he mumbled those words far surpassed his years, and it compelled me to believe him. “Yet every one of them cherishes the day when they’ll finally serve you.”

He’d given me a stiff nod as he pulled away, and that was all it took to make me want to believe he could truly see into minds. And later that night I realized that, instead of using his gift to point out my weaknesses, he’d used it to build my confidence. To give me hope for my future that I’d been so desperate for.

I’d thought then that Barren was going to be the sort of king I hoped I would become one day.

And maybe that was why Barren and I had so easily chosen friendship. Because, unlike others, I’d never feared him.

He’d looked inside me and seen my insecurities, yet instead of fear, it gave me a sense of comfort to know that someone had seen all my holes. Stared into all my flaws, my fucking imperfections.

And I never had to pretend to be someone who I wasn’t around Barren, because no one could ever hide anything from him, could they? He had to be aware of the darkness inside each person he came across.

But now, circumstances had changed. We were a long way from the merfry we once were. And for once, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him.

Something passed over Barren’s face, almost unperceivable, when Claira suddenly hissed, “Kai, shut your eyes!”

“My eyes?”

“There’s something down there.” Her voice dropped, going deathly calm. “Slithering through the rocks.”

When I glanced down at the debris, there was a pair of bright white eyes set above a line of crooked teeth looking straight at us. Undulating lines tracked down the creature’s dark, slender body—at least the length of Barren’s tail, if not longer. An eel, I realized. But its coloring was unlike any of the eels known in the Atlantic.

Upon seeing our interest, the creature’s narrow body shifted, slipping between the rocks with a predatory silence that sent a shiver through my scales.

Had it come through the portal before it had been destroyed?

Kai’s eyes closed, and darkness spread over my vision until all that was left was the tension between us in the water.

“I don’t like the dark,”Laverne whimpered, her body cowering closer to us.

“Is it dark spa—?” Kai couldn’t even get the words out before Claira shushed him, her body going rigid.

Dark spawn?Apprehension coiled around my gut. Perhaps it wasn’t just an eel, after all.

Claira was always seeing things others could not. I trusted her vision more than I did my own.

“Swim,” she whispered, and even though we couldn’t see a thing, Barren’s tail thrashed through the water, sending us moving back in the direction we’d come.

I felt a weight join us as Kai grunted. “I’ve got you, Laverne. Hang on.”

“Get us out of here,” Claira said, louder this time. More urgent. My tail joined in, and despite the extra weight we were carrying, my fins sliced through the water twice as fast as I’d ever moved them before.

Blindly, we navigated the dark sea at a lightning-fast pace until we had gained enough distance from the portal for Claira to calm down enough to whisper, “I don’t believe it.”

“What did you see?” I asked, but she only let out another sound of frustration. Whatever it was, she wasn’t ready to say it out loud.

“Can I open my eyes?” Kai’s voice cracked with desperation. “I’m about to—to drop her.”

“Don’t you dare drop me, Kai-Kai!”Laverne trilled.

For once, I couldn’t blame him—with Barren’s and my combined strength, we were moving too fast.

“Not until I’m sure it’s not following us,” Claira said in a rush, and I didn’t like how nervous she sounded. “Sorry, Kai. Hold on a bit longer.”

We swam through the darkness for what seemed like ages before she finally relaxed enough to let Kai open his eyes again.

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