The vine perked up and lifted from my palm. Astaroth was so far ahead, I started to jog to catch up. An opening in a wall caught my attention along with the sound of water. I stopped and backed up. Tucked into a closed off area was a beautiful overgrown oasis. Awestruck, I followed the sound inside. A gently flowing waterfall cascaded into a concrete pond in the corner. Frothy bubbles floated over the surface before bumping into floating flowers and popping.
I sat on the edge and peered into the murky, rippling water. I didn’t recognize myself anymore, and it wasn’t only my physical appearance. The person staring back wasn’t the one I grew to be. So much had changed in a short period of time, and I wondered if I would ever recognize myself again.
I startled when the face moved, drifting closer to the surface and morphing into someone else. Hair floated around her face, and she studied me with large doe eyes before her full lips turned up in a small smile. She was beautiful.
Anxious worry trickled through our connection before Astaroth yelled, “Where are you?”
“Over here,” I called out and faced the opening. It was no longer there.
As I went to stand, something sharp wrapped around my arm and jerked me down. The woman launched out of the water, wrapped her arms around me, trapping my arms at my sides, and bared jagged, pointy, and broken teeth. They sank into my collarbone as she sucked me beneath the surface with her. Thewater muffled my screams and trapped them in the bubbles rising above me as she dragged us lower. I wriggled and fought within her iron grip while she tore into my flesh. Every time I knocked her mouth loose, she’d strike again, until suddenly it felt like I was being constricted and bitten all over.
Something jerked me from her hold, and I reached down to find vines around half my body. They reeled me to the top with intense speed. A piercing shrill rent the water as she gave chase, claws out and a large billowy tale pumping behind her. It reminded me of the hideous fish Ziggy tried to serve me. When she went to strike again, bloodsuckles reached out and attacked her instead. Their little mouths opened, with teeth sharper than hers, trying to find skin to latch onto, but she was quick.
I shot out of the pool, high above the walls, and gasped for air. The water broke beneath me, and I tried to curl my legs closer to my chest to keep her from reaching me. Several bloodsuckles were latched onto the tender flesh of my stomach and back and along my arms and legs. I struggled against the tightening of the vines as their teeth sunk deeper with every tug I gave, drawing my blood out with desperate, thirsty pulls. The searing burn made me grit my teeth, but it quickly turned numb, and I couldn’t feel anything but the pressure. As suddenly as it all happened, they stopped and cocooned me.
That ear-piercing shriek came again from below. Astaroth held the creature by her throat, his fingers digging into the gills on her neck as he fished her out of the water. Her body rolled and wiggled like a snake that didn’t want to be held. And with one swift jerk, his arms flew out to his sides ripping her throat wide open. She hit the ground with a wet slap, bouncing on the bricks until she jumped back into the pool.
Astaroth tilted his back, waiting for the vines to lower. “Bring her to me.”
One second, I was in the air. The next, I stood in front of Astaroth on shaky legs.
He went to untangle me, and a bloodsuckle hissed in his face. The vines writhed wildly on the walls around us, and I feared they would attack him next. Astaroth squished it in his fist. “She belongs to me, not you! Know your place.”
Shocked, I looked between him and his bloody fist as the vines unwound themselves and retreated.
“Are you okay?”
My voice cracked. “I think so. What was that thing?”
“That,” he checked the bite on my neck with a gentle touch, “was your precious mermaid.”
He cupped my face with worry when I laughed nervously. I think I really was in shock. Astaroth ripped a fish’s throat out and screamed at a plant that I belonged to him. The last few days became crystal clear in my mind, along with his earlier comment. He said I was tied to his life source. I thought he tied me to his magic. That meant… we were one.
Ibelongto the Goblin King.
Fuck.
How do I get out of this now?
“Breathe. I have you now.”
I gasped for air. That he did. In more ways than this.
Astaroth raised the hem of my shirt, and I hissed as he inspected the bites there. “The bloodsuckles ridded you of the mer’s toxin. Your wounds are healing.”
I flipped my hands over and back, and sure enough, the small cuts had already knitted together in angry red welts. I pulled my shirt up. Those would take a bit longer, but they had stopped bleeding. I looked up at Astaroth as I touched the massive wound on my shoulder. What the hell did I agree to?
“Don’t look at me that way,” he growled.
My voice quivered from the energy pouring off him. “What way?”
“Like I turned you into a monster.”
The image of him stalking me in that bloody skull prowled through my mind. He was terrifying. I hated to admit I’d never felt more alive, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be like him.
“Didn’t you?”
His jaw ticked.
