by Ashley Meira
“You don’t understand!”
“What?” Snow said disinterestedly, her mask turning her voice back into that robotic trill. “That you can’t go back? That everything is ruined? You’ve been saying that all day.”
“They’re going to realize it’s me!” he continued like he hadn’t heard her. “Maybe they already have. What if they find us here?”
“Us? My magic can be tracked by very few people.” Snow turned around, her gazed fixed on the cave entrance. Crap. “If you’re worried about trackers, you shouldn’t have removed your bangle.”
He had, I realized. I’d been so distracted worrying about, well, everything that I hadn’t noticed his magic. It smelled like crisp apples and shot around him like a caged panther. My Fire roared, the terrified magic dancing on my tongue making me drool. His fear fueled my hunger, and blood seeped from my palms as I dug my nails in.
Thomas froze mid-step and turned to her. “What do you mean by that? Is someone here? The nereids? You said these things would stop them!”
She shrugged. “You said those assassins would kill the mercenary you were afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid of her! She’s not a threat. It’s her guard dog that’s the problem. She noticed something when I was on the phone with Mr. Ryder. I’m sure of it.”
Not a threat? And he’d sent those assassins after me. I growled, unsure which to be angrier about. I was going to hurt him way more than I originally planned, that was for sure.
“And you think Adam Pierce wouldn’t have found out you ordered the hit?” she asked. “Has the necklace’s magic shattered your mind, or are all bluebloods as unstable as you?”
“Unstable? I am the perfect level of paran— suspicious for this situation! Do you know who I am?”
“A dead man, if you continue speaking.”
Thomas sneered. “Your master won’t allow that.”
“Our master is not here.”
“He’s not my—”
“You do his bidding, follow him like a lovesick puppy.” She turned back to the altar. “You want something to do? Help the fish people deal with our guests.”
Everything shifted gear at her words. Thomas turned, electricity crackling around him, as the charybdis raised their weapons and charged toward us.
We rushed out of the cave, magic at our hands. Fiona attacked first, throwing a Fairy Blast at the charybdis coming toward us. The one in front went down, but his comrades leapt over him and continued charging.
We split up as a hail of spears flew toward us. Their sharp tips slammed into the earth, cracking the rock like an earthquake. More spears soared through the air, this time made of ice. They hit the charybdis with unnatural accuracy as the nereids sprung from their hiding spots.
Figuring they could handle these guys, I slid under an enraged fish monster. An ice spear nearly stabbed me before hitting him, but I didn’t take it personally. Unless Theo threw it, then I couldn’t be sure.
Ozone filled the air. I took the warning and dived away. Lighting crashed where I’d been standing, leaving charred rock in its wake. A succession of bolts followed, chasing after me like an overly aggressive boyfriend. I ran, wondering how a pencil-pusher like Thomas managed to be so strong.
I rolled past another bolt before taking a moment to breathe. Adam helped me up while Fiona charged ahead.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “A nervous mage can be as dangerous as a powerful one.”
“Nervous?” I watched Thomas throw a barrage of lightning at Fiona, who flitted around in miniature form. Every dodge made him hit harder. “He’s gone crazy.”
“At least we don’t have to deal with all the charybdis.” He looked behind us. The nereids were keeping most of them busy with their attacks. Some charybdis had even taken to the water and were swiping at the nereids with their meaty claws. Blood stained the water’s surface red, but I didn’t see any bodies floating around.
Fiona tumbled toward to us, landing on her side. “Ow. Adrienne’s getting a talking-to about her taste in men.”
A bolt of lightning separated us, and a trail of it chased after me. What? The assassins he sent couldn’t do it, so now he was cleaning up? Unfair.
I threw lightning back at him. It missed but spooked Thomas enough that he stopped attacking. Adam threw a fireball at him, which he also dodged. Guess losing his mind made him faster too, because he outran every attack we threw. I had half a mind to just go up there and start slicing.
But he’d been backing up, and Snow was only a few feet from him. I could still do it, but I’d have to kill him so I could focus all my attention on her. We didn’t have concrete proof that he killed those women, and I wasn’t going to risk him being cleared posthumously. He needed to survive and answer for what he did.
I met Fiona’s eyes. She nodded. Adam too. I followed, and we all rushed Thomas. His terrified magic hit a crescendo, and I itched to rupture the panicked rhythm it was thrumming to. A wave of electricity exploded from his fingertips, rolling toward us like a tidal wave.
“What the hell?” Fiona cried before opening a portal.
We ran through it and appeared back at the cave entrance. A flash of white behind us was our only warning before a shockwave of water slammed into our backs and sent us flying. We were so distracted by Thomas’ spell that we missed Snow running toward us. Stupid double-sided portals.
I hit the ground hard and skidded forward. Something soft stopped me. When I looked up, I saw Adrienne’s tired face. I’d hit her thigh — and probably several other nereids.
I groaned, sitting up and seeing stars. Magic hurt. “Sorry.”
“How did you get through the barrier?” one of the nereids asked.
Ah. That’s where the stars were from. I thought I felt jittery, but the pain of being throw twenty feet away blocked it out. Who made this barrier, anyway? Thomas? Was Snow a barrier mage? Did our kidnapper just have a guy on retainer?
“Ask the chick who threw me here,” I said, shaking my head. It just made the colors blur further. Why did I keep doing that? It never worked. “Are you guys okay?”
“Can you get us out of here?” the same nereid asked. She had wavy brown hair and scared blue eyes. “Please, you have to help us!”
“I will, but first I need to stop this ritual.”
“You know what they’re doing, then?” Adrienne said, her voice raspy and tired. “I always thought she was a myth.”
“I’m hoping you’re right, and if we fail, all they summon is a really chubby baby seal. What happened to you?”
“Obviously, I was dating the wrong guy. I can’t believe I never noticed how crazy he was.” She let out a frustrated groan. “What an ass.”
My eyes widened. Adrienne never swore.
“We met after he left Sandra’s. He looked stressed, so I suggested a drink at my place. He kept asking about the necklace.” She sighed. “When I mentioned it was in my safe. He kept pushing me to show him. Eventually he just lost it. Hit me over the head. Everything is groggy after that. I remember the woman in white breaking into my safe. Then, I was here.”
She raised her arm. It was littered in finger-shaped bruises. Around her wrist was a thin gold bangle. “This was on me when I woke up.”
That’s where his bangle went. I tried to get it off, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck until a Council member or Inquisitor gets it off. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Adrienne looked at the other nereids. There were children here too, saved as food for some evil witch. Most of them were all cried out, but a few still shed tears. “We saw the sacrifices. Some of these children watched their parents die, some saw their spouses get their throats slit…. It was awful. They just want to go home. I can relate.”
I chewed on my lower lip. I could absorb the barrier. None of them were bound, so they could escape once it was gone. Plus, I’d have more strength to fight Snow. But everyone would see me do it. Would they? It wasn’t very obvious. Unless I got super hyper, but I had en
ough self-control to hold on until they escaped. I think.
The barrier was visible to me, so tangible that it looked like a room around us. I kicked myself toward a wall. “Turn toward the water. Get ready to run.”
I made sure they were all looking away before touching the barrier. My chest tightened on impact, squeezing the air from my lungs. This barrier wasn’t as powerful as the one on the Pyrenees, but it was close.
My Fire screamed in bliss at the surge of magic while my insides roiled at the sudden influx of adrenaline. Pressure crushed my heart. I thought it would stop beating, but it kept going until all I could hear was a riotous thumping, the erratic beat almost maddening. Everything went white as the magic slid through my veins. It felt like they would burst. A moment later, nothing mattered as my panic turned into sheer joy.
White turned to black, which turned to grays. Then greens, blues, pinks, and golds. I hit the ground, feeling nothing but a tingling against my side. Through a tie-dye filter, I watched the nereids hurry toward the water. Some ran, others crawled. Most of them stumbled until they fell over the edge. I giggled as I watched them, enjoying the dance they were performing. My Fire danced with them, rushing around like an exuberant child.
I wanted to join it, to dance around and shoot magic every which way. Instead, I closed my eyes and waited. The last time I did this, I’d gotten sick before settling down. Now that I thought about it, I’d thrown up on the Pyrenees, too. Maybe vomiting did help. I made retching noises before laughing and clapping my hands.
Ice interrupted my celebrating. I scrambled to my feet and dodged another blast before throwing a fireball in my attacker’s direction. Snow dodged with ease and stomped toward me, water swirling around one hand and ice around the other. How did she do that?
“Teach me!” I giggled.
She threw an ice blast. When I dodged, she hit me with a burst of water. The cold water was a shock to my system. Her fire had been hot, so this shouldn’t have surprised me. But it did, and it helped calm me a bit. Not much, but I no longer saw four of her. Which was good, because quintuplets would’ve been ridiculous.
We threw spells at each other. Her flinging ice and water while I shot off fire and lightning. My instincts did most of the work as I ran and flipped around, dodging her attacks. She moved with as much grace and speed as before, but the boost from the barrier’s magic had made me faster, making it easier to match her move for move.
“What are you doing?” Thomas yelled before throwing a bolt of lightning at Fiona. “Complete the ritual!”
Not being able to kill him was making it hard for her and Adam to manage. Adam could knock him out if he was close enough, but Thomas proved talented at keeping his distance. His charybdis backup dancers weren’t helping matters, either.
“Idiot.” Snow sighed before turning to me. “You should’ve destroyed the altar instead of fighting us.”
I jabbed a finger in her direction. “You attacked me.”
She shot a blast of water toward the glowing altar, dousing the fireball Adam had thrown at it. Before he could throw something else, the ground began to crack, deeper than any charybdis’ spear could’ve done. The crack spread from the altar, going all the way to the edge of the plateau. Intense rumblings turned my legs to jelly as the earth split, separating me from Adam and Fiona.
The nereids and charybdis had vanished, though I could see shadows darting around under the churning waves. The water’s movements grew increasingly violent, further cracking the island. The glow from the altar was nearly blinding at this point.
I ignored everything and ran toward the it. The tremors made moving hard, but the rush of water that finished cracking the island in half was what stopped me. The water flooded over me, knocking me off my feet. My fingers dug into rock, trying to keep myself from being washed away. I latched onto something solid and held on for dear life.
The wave was coming.
And it would destroy everything.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I brought my ring up and called Symeon. “Run! Run, run, run!”
It was impossible to hear his reply through the rushing water, but I kept yelling at him to run until the flood died down. I gasped, my vision clearing. The wave had left us and was rolling toward land, growing bigger and faster with each lap.
My shock overwhelmed my terror. Everything was magic. The altar was bright white with lilac streams rushing from it, the magic turning every hue imaginable as it flowed toward the wave. Seraphine’s magic swirled around the waters, making it rise higher and churn harder with each pulse from the altar. Like her necklace, her magic wove around in delicate strands, forming a rope so thick nothing could snap it.
Except me.
I could break her magic — sever the strands and rip it apart. Without hesitation, I drew on my magic, letting it come out in full force. I’d need all of it to even stand a chance against Seraphine’s.
At first it was stagnant. My magic floated around like it was lost. I decided to focus on her magic instead. That’s how I did it in my dream and with Lightning Bug. I’d focused on the mage, on their magic, not mine.
My chest felt like it had caved in, and if I hadn’t been flat on the ground, I’d have fallen on my face. Power surged through me, igniting every cell in my body. Gold lights flashed behind my eyes, blinding me with a searing heat. I heard screams in the distance. It took a moment to realize they were mine.
Then everything stopped. No lights, no magic, no screaming. Nothing. Just a blistering agony coursing throughout my body, like every vein was bursting open over and over again. The magic I’d absorbed from the barrier was all used up. Darkness reigned until I realized my eyes were clenched shut in pain. When I forced them open, the salty air bit at me, as if the real world was finally coming back.
Relief soothed my pain. The wave had died down. It wasn’t gone, but it had shrunk enough that it wouldn’t reach the city. My eyes were glued to it as it undulated forward before dying out halfway, leaving nothing but foam and smaller waves rippling away harmlessly.
I stared at the calm waters a moment longer, letting their peace seep into me. As it did, I began taking in more of my surroundings. The altar was at the edge of the island, which was now two islands resting ten meters apart.
Adam and Fiona were on the other island. She was sitting on Thomas, her pale arms moving up and down at a rapid pace. Adam pulled her off after a few punches, though he seemed more than happy to let her kill the bastard. He seemed less happy when charybdis pulled themselves up on land and began attacking them.
Snow was hunched over a few feet away from me. She’d taken her mask off, clenching it in her hand as she hacked up water. Thank goodness I had the Tooth. We were the only ones on this island, though I kept an eye out for Seraphine. The ritual had succeeded, hadn’t it? Was she underwater? My eyes met Snow’s, and I searched for a hint of the girl I was born with. But no memories came.
“Why can’t I remember you?” I whimpered.
Surprise flashed in her eyes before being replaced by hurt, then resignation. The emotions shifted through her face so quickly I couldn’t be sure I hadn’t imagined it. I reached for her and definitely didn’t imagine her hand twitching toward mine. She pulled it back, however, and rose to her feet.
“Why can’t you remember me?” Salt water made her voice raspy. She sounded bitter. Who wouldn’t be if their twin forgot them? “Your weakness is not my fault.”
“I didn’t say it was.” I managed to sit up, but my legs refused to support my weight. “Please, I just want to understand. I don’t remember anything.”
“You want my help?” She tilted her head with that birdlike curiosity.
“Yes,” I said. “And to help you. What our kidnapper did…. Don’t you want to be free? You’re my sister. I want to—”
“What? Save me?” Her features twisted up in anger, and she pressed the mask back against her face. “You tried that. It didn’t work. Only one of us was good enough. Firs
t you, then me. I’ve surpassed you in every way, and you still try to play hero.”
I tried to save her before? Had we attempted to escape? What did she mean only one of us was good enough? “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
A flash interrupted us, and Snow dropped to her knees. I felt his magic before I saw him. The cold scent of death washed away the sea air, and tar chased the taste of salt water out of my mouth. If I had anything in my stomach, I’d have hurled. As it was, bile and saliva pooled on my tongue waiting to be thrown up. But I was too scared to open my mouth. I was too scared to do anything except watch as the faceless monster from my nightmares strode toward us.
He looked so plain. His hair was light brown, and he wore a beige tweed suit with elbow patches on them. If it hadn’t been for the waves of power rolling off him, I’d have confused him for a regular man.
But he wasn’t, and the magic around him shoved itself down my throat like a fist, forcing me lower to the ground. The taste of tar filled my throat worse than before. This time, fear didn’t trap my jaw. I threw up, thin streams of saliva and bile dripping from my lips.
“Ah, a family reunion.” His voice was soft, but felt icier than it had been in my dreams. Frozen needles prickled my spine as he walked toward us, tossing something in his hand. “What a lovely surprise. My little wayward lamb has made her way back to the shepherd.”
Run. Even my Fire was shrieking. But I couldn’t move. I wasn’t me anymore. I was the girl who’d woken up scared and alone eight years ago. Dead eyes bore down on me, dark as mud but clear as ice.
“Sophia.” My name sounded dirty coming from his lips, diseased. “Such an ungrateful child. Running away from daddy after all he did for you.”
A scream escaped my lips, broken and airy. He had to be speaking metaphorically. There was no way he could be my father. I looked at Snow, but her mask revealed nothing.
“Diana,” he continued, his voice eerily calm. Just like it had been in my dream before he cut open my back with his whip. “How long have you known about this?”
