Onyx’s arm slips from my hold as I pick up speed, weaving water around me to push forward. Only now I notice just how fast I’m going. When I look back, they’re all blurry little dots.
My gills pull water in and out in a slow sigh as I stop and wait. I tuck Onyx’s hand back into my hold, my eyes landing on that red talon mark again.
Rune whisperer.
The words pulse in my head. I reacted to the mark in the chamber too—but the way she spoke, the strange words, the way she locked us out… the king’s explanation—
They didn’t banish her because of what she did. They banished her because theyrealizedwhat she was.
She had nothing but her voice for years—the king said she was the only one of his merlings who bloomed late. The others knew their powers as hatchlings. She found joy only in drawing new shapes, symbols—the weird marks on their castle walls.
Until one day, she opened the old stone door by accident.
Until the guards heard her chanting, caught in a trance.
Even when they exiled her to the hunter’s pod, they weren’t sure if her powers were tied to her pod mark. Because it never lit up on her.
That shouldn’t be possible. My stomach tightens.
She could still tap into her abilities without being linked to a mark, without being linked tome.
That can only mean one thing: Morvakar was involved, even then. And now she’s taken him in...
A cold pulse ripples through me.
I don’t know what it all means. But Mom knows more about runes. She’ll understand more. I think.
We need to keep Onyx close for now. Very close.
“Bay would know how to give her legs, right?”I ask Myko as the thought hits.
“I don’t think Onyx’s ever seen land. Let alone walked on it.”
“Legs aren’t the only thing she’ll get. Morvakar’s inside her now,”he snarls.“We can’t let her out of our sight. Not for a second.”
“Would he bekindenough to teach her how to walk, too?”I shoot back, though the truth is—I’m getting worried. A beast like Myko inside a banished teen princess? That’s an unstable cocktail.
“I’m starting to think you ocean beasts have a type,”I jab when the pattern clicks.
His irritated growl answers me before his mouth does. He shuts me off.
I smirk anyway.
The currents shift—finally—the rest of them catching up. And Myko? He’s worried enough to swim outside of Bay, still.
And with that thought—my smirk is officially wiped off my face.
Roran
Why isn’t he back yet?
It’s been almost a day since Luca said he was on the way. Where is he even coming from?
Diana doesn’t have much time—we need to act fast.
I lean back on the sofa in the entrance floor of Malec’s house, my gaze climbing the high ceiling above me. It’s so tall, it makes me feel small every time I look at it.
I’m used to rooms that choke me. Now I sleep in a stunning guest room next to Chris’s. Spacious. Calming. The bedding is lavender and white, the furniture a sleek gray. And those glass walls open up to a private world—quiet, clean, safe.
