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My brows furrow together, the edge of my nail tracing the small carvings in the wooden railing, as I listen to her speak. “That’s why I live the way I do. I should have fought, but I didn’t. The loss of him is a constant ache on my soul. Like a cage of spikes piercing my heart with every beat.”
“Why?” I ask the question even though it’s one I feel she won’t answer. But she surprises me.
“Because I saw his soul get consumed by Whiro if I went after him. The vision still haunts me, even when I shut my eyes.” She rubs her thumb over her left palm in circles, where a faded black swirl of diamonds marks her skin. Mates.
I let her get lost in her thoughts as I silently watch the haze blur the horizon. Mauve punishes herself by letting her regret and grief eat away at her. She does well to put on a strong face, but deep down, she’s tormented from her past and grieving the one she loves.
“Anyway, forget about me. I came because there is something I saw in a vision, and you are the center of it. The last time I saw you, you became a mystery to me, one I can’t seem to solve but wish to know the answers to. And it seems I learned one thing that makes sense.” She tips her head down an inch to study me. “The Goddess of Darkness, and yet, your black heart still beats to the shade of red.” She twists her torso towards me, a gleam twinkling in her eyes.
I raise an eyebrow at her in question even though my face is flat, unenthused.
“Fate requires my assistance to guide it on the right path.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, blandly, already done with the conversation and wanting to be alone.
It’s as if she can read my mind and smirks like she didn’t just confess her own haunted past mere moments ago. “Remember, darkness can be broken by the light, but you have to open your eyes.” My mouth opens to ask her what she’s talking about, but she speaks before I can. “Fight with your heart and hold your breath.”
“Wha—"
Her power flows from her hands, paralyzing my body, right before she presses them into my back and shoves me overboard. My voice is silenced in my throat as I fall, slamming into the water with a splash. The moment I hit it, she releases my muscles from her hold. The last thing I see is purple eyes watching me from above as I sink beneath the sea.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Emma
My dress harmoniously floats with the waves as my eyes are trained up on the diamonds of light reflecting off the surface. The sea continues to pull me down, farther and farther until my lungs are screaming for air. A burning sensation rises up my throat as I’m caught in a current that keeps swallowing me down.
I slice my arms through the water and kick my feet to launch up, but somehow, I don’t budge. The current keeps hold of me, forcing me to stay in the sea’s embrace. The sting in my chest radiates like a roaring fire, and a black blur starts creeping around the edge of my sight.
Maybe this is what Mauve meant by guiding fate—to end me.
To somehow lock me in this current with no way to swim free. Because ridding this world of me will save Prince Draven. And if I’m gone—by another’s hand—then there’s a chance Whiro will spare the lives of everyone.
You can’t threaten someone who is already dead.
And a piece of me has been tormented since last night. My heart unknowingly reached for the prince, and now, I have to sentence my mate to a fate worse than death. That thought twists my stomach into a million knots.
My eyelids fall shut and my arms fall limp as the pain begins to numb. This is it, isn’t it? The moments before falling into death’s hands?
I’ve come to realize that someone either fears death—doing everything they can to avoid it until their last breath creeps up from behind—or they accept it and face it head-on with open arms. Knowing that the clock on their life will eventually stop ticking. Death is inevitable. Even for a God. My mother is proof of that.
I’ve always known there is no in-between. I thought I would feel peace when the moment greets me. Instead my chest cracks, ripping open with the pain of losing something worth cherishing. Of finally finding a reason for hoping my heart will never stop beating. My mate.
I don’t wish this.
I don’t want to die.
I want to fucking live.
A tear slips free from my closed eyes, getting lost in the sea to be forgotten.
Right when I’m about to lose consciousness, I’m yanked forward, my body shaken with extreme force. It jolts me awake, causing me to inhale deeply.
Stunned, my wide eyes stare at two that shine like molten gold. My heart pounds roughly in my chest.
I blink once. Twice. My mind slowly comes back into focus, and the air suddenly filling my lungs relieves the tightness. I’m still far below the ship, floating in place, when I notice the air bubble covering my mouth and nose. My chest rises and falls rapidly as I keep greedily filling my lungs until it hurts, thankful for the creature before me.
The Masiren. A creature so deadly it’s a haunting nightmare of the sea. And yet, it found me worth saving.
