Lyric
Ibroke through the surface of the ocean, panting as my chest rose in short and harsh breaths. I’d been under the water for too long, searching for my human and finding nothing. Zolo’s laughter chilled me to the bone, and anger spread through me like a raging fire. I swam to the ladder of the boat and lifted myself onto the deck, my clothes dripping wet and my skin warm from the humid weather and the slowly setting sun that hung halfway in the sky.
I stalked over to the asshole and kicked his jaw as hard as I could. His face flung to the side and blood flew from his mouth and onto the floor of the boat. He cried out and the sound made me shiver in delight. I wanted to hear him scream more, Ineededhim to hurt.
“He’s dead,” Zolo whispered through whimpers of pain. “Your pathetic little human is dead.”
Another kick but this time I made sure to get him in the cheekbone. With his hands tied, Zolo couldn’t fight back, and that’s what I wanted. Down in Atlantia, I couldn’t fight back against him and his group of friends, and now it was his turn to be helpless.
He grunted, and I did it again and again until I’d heard his bones crack one too many times and he lay nearly lifeless on the floor. His chest rising and falling meant he wasn’t dead, but I wanted to take the life out of him, finally give him what he deserved.
My hand shook as I walked over to what Ethan called his toolbox. It had an array of weapons, from his saw to knives of all sizes. The one I wanted was a blade I’d always taken a liking too, sharp along both edges. My human had called it a dagger, but I didn’t care what it was. I’d always imagined that this was what would finally take Zolo’s life. I wanted to see the fear in his eyes as I slowly took what belonged to me—his last breath.
I turned back toward him and his motionless body, but didn’t miss the way his gaze moved toward me. So he still had the strength to look at me?Good.I shifted closer, the dagger clutched tightly in my fist until my knuckles hurt. If I’d lost Ethan then Zolo definitely didn’t get to live. I’d dump his dead and beaten body overboard.
A whistle stopped my journey toward Zolo, and I paused, frowning. Striding over to the side of the boat, I froze at the sight of the witch out in the water, not far from the edge.
“What did I tell you?” The witch shook his head. “Love is foolish.”
I swallowed and didn’t say anything—no, Icouldn’tsay anything.
He sighed and waved his hand, sparks of magic dancing in the air and hitting me in the chest. I went flying backward, landing on the deck with a hard thump. My shoulder throbbed from where I’d fallen, and I groaned as I sat up again.
“That hurt,” I murmured, and it took me a moment to realize I had my voice back.Fuck. My voice. I touched my throat and shoved myself to my feet, rushing back to the side to see the witch again. He smirked at me, running a hand over those crisscrossed scars on his face.
“You’re welcome,” he singsonged.
“Why are you here?” My voice sounded strange. Maybe it was because it’d been so long since I’d talked, but I couldn’t remember ever sounding like this.
“To take you to the love of your life, of course.” He rolled his eyes at me and waved his hand impatiently. “Come on. He’s with your father, and we all know howhegets.”
I did, but I wondered how the witch did, too. Glancing back at Zolo, I made a quick decision. Ethan was worth more than taking the time to torture Zolo, but that didn’t mean I was going to leave him here to escape, either. With the dagger still clutched in my hand, I took two steps over to him and slashed the blade through the air like Ethan had taught me once, and it slid straight across Zolo’s neck.
He gasped and gargled and sat up again, his neck splurting out blood. There wasn’t a thing he could do about it.
I kneeled in front of him, in the pool of blood at his side, and smiled. “That’s from the human lover,papayah.”
“Lyr—” He wheezed, but I stood and stalked over to the side again.
I jumped back into the water, my feet slicing through the surface first before my body went under, and when I came back up again, the witch was right in front of me, eyes narrowed in thought.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Lyric? The king is furious. Believes this human has corrupted you.” The witch reached for me and then stopped and snatched back his hand. “Is the human worth it?”
“He’smyhuman,” I murmured. “If father has hurt a hair on his head, I will destroy them.”
He smirked and the twist of his mouth pulled at one of the scars on his face. “I like to hear it.”
“And you? Would you destroy them to help Wily?” I asked.
The witch’s smirk disappeared, and his face turned dark with a furious expression. “How did you—”
“It’s not hard to figure out. The way you talked about him before…. The way you talk about love. He used to disappear for long periods of time, but Father never asked him where he went. He trusted Wily. I don’t care what’s happening between you and my brother, though, witch. I want to go to my human.” I swam closer, jaw tight. “Take me to him.”
“You’re a lot like Wily. More than you know. Obsessive about love. Possessive, too.” The witch grinned and reached up to touch my cheek. Magic danced from his fingertips and rushed through me like jolts of human electricity. I gasped as my heart seized, and then the witch was shoving me under the water.
Blackness seeped through me, and by the time I came around again, we were deep in the water, the witch dragging me behind him.
“Are you taking me to my human?” I asked, and then realized I could breathe underwater.
