Page 80 of Claimed By the Depths

“Was I supposed to do so? Warn of my presence, I mean.” When I didn’t answer, his black lips lifted in amusement. “Ohhh. That’s what it is. You’re flustered.”

“I am not⁠—”

“Who’s flustered?” The thick voice asked, belonging to none other than the one who had planted himself in my subconscious and waltzed through my dreams every night.

I had never seen a man wear confidence as effortlessly as Kael did.

The deep navy vest hugged his broad chest and narrowed perfectly at his waist, its high collar framing the open neck of a cream linen shirt. Sleeves rolled, dark bracers wrapped around his strong forearms. Three weathered buckles brought the parted fabric on his abdomen together, the paired gold buttons just above them catching the sun’s rays. A broad belt rested low on his hips, layered with worn straps and polished brass. Trousers dark and fitted, clung to his lower half, seeming to be tailored to emphasize the effortless strength behind each step he took.

Everything about him was extravagant, and I stared at him far longer than I should have. Each peak and valley, and every glimpse at his open collar only deepened the ache growing inside my chest. I wanted to look away, to spare myself, but I couldn’t. My eyes kept returning to him as though they had forgotten every other place they belonged.

I had fallen, and the sight of him standing there, dressed so simply and yet so devastatingly well, had ignited my yearning to cross the space between us and feel the warmth hidden beneath the layers of his attire.

Swallowing the list of compliments I wished to utter, I met his seafoam gaze. “No one is,” I drove the heel of my boot into Ignis’ toe, “the two of us just ran into each other unexpectedly. Isn’t that right?”

With his back turned to Kael, the Fae offered me a smug expression, but I didn’t miss the slew of curses he mouthed before replying, “Yep.”

I moved back, granting Ignis’ foot what would be only a momentary reprieve if he elected to open his mouth again. As I went to step around him and toward Kael, the brush of something familiar, yet not, caressed the back of my mind. And, before I knew it, my knees hit the deck, everything around me fading until only a white sheen remained.

For a long, suspended moment, I simply stood there, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. It was as though I had wandered into a dream too magnificent for mortal minds to imagine. Ivory pillars stretched impossibly high, vanishing into vaulted ceilings that resembled the ribs of some slumbering celestial beast. Every surface shimmered with pearlescent marble, polished until it reflected light like the still sea beneath the dawn.

Golden chandeliers floated overhead in graceful tears, each bearing hundreds of flickering candles whose flames danced without heat or smoke. Their warm glow bathed the hall in a honeyed hue, softening the impossible grandeur of the space into something far more… welcoming.

A crimson carpet trailed toward a refined throne like flowing blood. Rich scarlet banners hung from towering columns, their silken folds swaying gently despite the utter stillness clinging to the room.

Then I noticed the roses.

Thousands of them.

Soft crimson, blush, and midnight-black petals blanketed the floor, drifting lazily through the air as though gravity itself had forgotten its purpose. They spiraled around me in slow, hypnotic currents, brushing against my skin with featherlight caresses. Their scent was intoxicating, not overpowering, but subtle enough to awaken forgotten longings buried somewhere deep within my soul.

Every breath drew me further into the illusion.

Somewhere beyond the pillars came the faint sound of distant laughter—soft, melodic, and undeniably feminine. It echoed off the walls, impossible to place, and vanished the instant I turned toward it.

For the briefest moment, I swore I saw a figure standing between the columns, but just as fast as it had been there, it vanished. I pivoted, half-expecting whoever or whatever it was to be behind me, but only the vastness of the hall greeted me. Loosening a sigh, the relief that briefly flooded me evaporated entirely as a hand closed around my shoulder. As a blanket of warmth curled around me, a caressing sense of motherhood flooded every ounce of doubt, fear, and self-loathing I harbored, replacing them with insurmountable acceptance.

“Hello, Syoran Kao.”

With the prompt of her touch, I turned to meet a stare blanketed by black thorns that traversed to settle on her head in the shape of a crown. Their branches withdrew, rose gold irises peering through the shield they provided to pair with her blush-colored hair that billowed just as the petals did. Their vibrancy clashed with the shadows that wrapped around her like fierce protectors, but one slipped forward to brush against my arm as if testing all I was.

“H-How do you know who I am?”

Her lips curled into an infectious grin. “I have known who you are for as long as you have lived, for I am the Goddess of Seduction, Illusion, and Delusion.”

One of the five Damned.

“I am… How am I here?” I breathed, glancing around at the space that slowly began dissolving from the edges of my vision.

“As much as I wish to delve into details, our time is rather minimal, so I need you to listen to me.” Seirdra cupped my cheeks, drawing me toward her monolidded stare. “All five Divari sail together, but the ticking seconds are pushing them toward an irreversible danger. One that will split them in two and swallow two halves to a whole. Travels must be expedited to recover the artifacts, or there will not be a chance to⁠—”

A gasp tore free from my lips, and I flattened my palms against wood in an attempt to level myself. Unable to avoid it, I coughed, struggling to draw in an ounce of untainted breath. It was as if I had just broken the water’s surface, oxygen assaulting my lungs with searing intensity. Blinking through a filmy haze, I lifted my chin weakly to find two sets of widened eyes—Kael and Ignis.

“Fuck, Syoran,” Kael exhaled, his hand rubbing generous circles on my back. “What the fuck happened?”

What happened?

Racking my mind, I struggled to piece together the events between my shift away from Ignis and coming to breathless, on my hands and knees. Prodding the edges of my conscience, a deep ache settled at the base of my skull, and I hissed at its presence.