Torrents (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 3)

by Rauscher, Meaghan

  “You were saying?” Tunder prodded, and Zale pulled his eyes away from me.

  “I know what was done to Verna,” he said, and my stomach flipped as I realized he was aware of what I had done. “Take me as your prisoner and use Lissie to gain your truth.”

  My throat constricted at his words. The thought of him being a prisoner was something I didn’t want to comprehend, but even more dangerous was what he requested. To use my voice, and to use it against him was a terrifying notion.

  “No,” I breathed. “I can’t.” Kryssa gave my hand a squeeze.

  “You can,” he said back to me, the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, “and you will.”

  “And you would do this willingly?” Tunder asked, and I tried to focus my eyes on him, pleading with him to not allow this to happen.

  “You have my word,” the warrior said, and my hopes crumbled.

  “Done,” the king said and I felt trapped inside a cell. He glanced to a group of mermen behind him and nodded in the direction of Zale, “Take him.”

  Without objection, the soldiers moved forward, their steps more cautious than those who lay on the ground still recovering from their wounds. As they approached Zale, he placed his hands behind his head in surrender. When they laid their hands on him, he obligingly bent to his knees. A mermaid appeared carrying long silver cuffs, and when she approached the warrior, she snapped them into place over his forearms. With a quick jerk, they pulled his arms down behind his back and chained his wrists together.

  “Tomorrow,” the king commanded, “you will be interrogated in front of the whole of Lathmor for your crimes against us.”

  Zale didn’t acknowledge his words, instead his eyes met my own, and then traveled down to my wrist where my dagger lay. The carving of the entwined tails faced outward and when he looked back at me, there was a glimmer in his eye.

  Feeling heat rise in my cheeks, I couldn’t tell if it was from the way he looked at me or from anger, and as I watched them take him away, Kryssa whispered to me that everything was going to be fine.

  But I couldn’t see how it would.

  10. United

  Soon after Zale’s departure, I had been brought back to Kryssa’s room where I now sat on the bed, worrying away at my fingers. One leg was folded in front of me, the other tapped a disjointed rhythm on the floor as I picked at the sheets. I was waiting, uncertain of when the right moment would present itself.

  Outside the barred window the moon was shining bright against the pitch of the sky and the shadows of the trees swayed in the breeze. Every now and again, a great gust would bend all the branches at once, only to allow them reprieve as they returned to normalcy.

  As far as I could tell, no one in the castle moved, aside from the occasional guard passing through the halls. It had been exactly one hundred and forty-three seconds since I had last heard a guard pass by my door. As I counted in my mind, I waited for his arrival once again and knew it was almost time. Without thinking of the consequences, I dashed to the door and began to sing a soft tune, my voice gentle at first and continuing to grow as I poured my will into song.

  Sure enough, the footsteps approached my door and I pressed my lips closer to the crack between the wall. My voice traveled through, and with it, my desire.

  I’m all alone, are you? Come here, come closer…

  Outside the door I heard the approaching steps slow down, as my voice swirled around them. I had caught this soldier off guard and pressed my advantage, knowing I didn’t have much time before he would begin to resist my attempts. Gathering more power behind my voice, I reached out to him with a stronger song, beckoning him to me, hoping he would do as I said. I could feel my grip on him was powerful, but I was pulling at loose strings without being able to see his eyes.

  Come closer, come closer to me. I want to see your face, unlock this door. Come closer, come closer to me.

  A soft footfall told me he was following my bidding and I tried to fight back the smile spreading over my lips. My concentration honed in on the last phrase, and I put all of my desire into the words, beckoning him to come and see me, to get closer. With satisfaction, I heard a key slide into the lock. The handle creaked as he turned it slowly.

  Stepping out of the way, I pressed behind the door and waited for him to enter the room, my voice softer now.

  The door opened with just enough space for him to slide through, and he stepped into the room with a befuddled slowness. I recognized him immediately and almost went back on my plan, but forced the thoughts aside.

  Moving gently, I slid up behind him and just as he was about to turn around, I wrapped my arm around his waist, all the while keeping my voice at a whisper. He turned slightly at my touch and just as Calmric’s dazed, golden-brown eyes met mine, his dimples formed on his cheeks.

  I smiled back, but with my other hand, my dagger rose in the air and I brought the hilt down upon his dark head with a loud crack. It had taken all the strength I could muster, and luckily, it had been enough.

  His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went slack against me. I struggled against his weight, dropping my dagger to the floor and hoisting my arms beneath his, as I let him slide down to the ground at an awkward angle.

  Feeling guilty, I bound his arms behind him with a sheet, making sure to keep the fabric away from where his blades could cut through it. Using my sailor knots, I was fairly certain he would be unable to break free, but to make sure no one was the wiser, I gagged and blindfolded him with pillowcases. If he did wake up, maybe he would think the Hyven had attacked and captured him.

  With each passing moment, I could feel my guilt rising and hurried to grab the keys from Calmric’s pocket. I silenced their jingling with my hand, picked up my dagger, and hurried to the door. After a few attempts, I found the right key to lock it.

  A gust of a breath passed through my lips and I hurried down the halls to where I knew the staircase to the dungeon was located. At each corner, I waited to listen for anything which might give me a hint for another guard passing by on duty, but only once did I hear anyone. They were walking in the direction I was headed and all I had to do was wait for them to pass. Every now and again I had to skirt around a room where a guard was checking corners, their blades out and ready for an attack.

  Swallowing hard, I saw the entrance to the dungeon up ahead and hurried to reach it before getting caught. The marble archway led to a straight staircase descending directly downward, as though going to the center of the earth. Each step was an awkward height, and I kept a hand on the marble wall for balance.

  With each step I took, cool air rose higher around my body. It was different from the air in the Hyvar dungeon, where the room had been dank and musty. Instead, there was a coolness that seemed to come from the walls, reaching out from the marble as though trying to get inside me. Suppressing a shiver, I continued down the steps. Through the dim light, I noted the color of the walls change. Moving from white marble to black, the difference was startling and obvious, making me aware of the overwhelming chill.

  The staircase turned and retreated back in the same direction I had come, the steps seeming to grow larger. Being as careful and as quiet as possible, I darted down the steps and came to another corner. Taking a silent, but deep breath, I peeked around the edge and alighted my eyes on two guards standing duty at the front of the prison entrance.

  There were only three more steps down to reach the ground floor, and from there it would only be a mere fifteen feet to reach the entrance of the dungeon. But there was nowhere to hide or any way to sneak past the mermaid and merman, who had their arms folded across their chests as they stared into space. In particular, the mermaids eyes were glazed over, as though her mind was far away from where she stood.

  Realizing there was no other way, I turned my thoughts into song and let it stretch out in a soft murmur before me. The black marble felt like fresh-fallen snow beneath my fingertips as I leaned against it to peek further around the cor
ner. The moment my voice reached their ears, they snapped to attention and I felt my grip on them slip. The use of my voice on Calmric earlier had drained some of my energy, but not enough to stop me.

  Casting my voice like a net over them, I strained to bring them both under my control at once, something I had never done before. In my mind, I had to concentrate on what I wanted them to do, pushing the thoughts in two different directions, splitting them in half, and putting as much power behind them as I could.

  For a moment, the mermaid looked in my direction, but I pushed her eyes away as I beckoned to her. The merman struggled beneath my voice too, and yet, he succumbed more easily. He gave way to my voice by trying to distract himself from what he was hearing. He was unaware that his attempts at distraction were making it easier for me to push my way in and persuade him.

  Taking the advantage he gave, I urged him toward the door where he slipped a key into the lock. He let the metal door swing wide, the chamber within as black as midnight. Having done his duty, he stepped back and I ventured out from my hiding place, still using my voice to keep their eyes averted.

  As I crept closer, fear began to work away at my insides. I could see both soldiers’ chests rising and falling as they breathed, though their heads were cast downward and they stared at the floor. My bare feet made not a sound as I whisked past them and grasped the key from the lock, only to slowly shut the door.

  You are dreaming, I hummed to them, the tune musical and light, the sound passing through my lips with ease. You are dreaming, the same dream. You are dreaming.

  Both heads bowed a little further and when I beckoned them to nod if they understood, they did. Feeling the exhaustion begin to grab at my mind, I pulled back slightly while shutting the door. As soon as the metal closed with a solid click, my voice came to an end, only to be echoed back to me a second later in the large chamber.

  I waited, straining to listen at the door, but no sounds came from the other side. They were either still nodding off, or at least thought they had. Either option was good enough for me, and after hearing nothing but silence, I slipped the key into my pocket and turned around.

  My heart gave a tiny jolt in my chest as I took in the great expanse of the prison chamber. Black marble covered everything I could see. There was no light from the empty naked torches on either wall. I could barely make out a distorted picture of my own reflection in the scuffed marble floor. The appearance was haggard and ghostly, as my pale feet stood out against the pitch of the marble.

  The chamber was nearly the size of the throne room, its length the same, though its height was lower. Thinking back to where the staircase was located, I presumed I was beneath the throne room itself, though various floors below. At the end of the long room was an open hearth, but no embers glowed in the remains of the fallen and crisp-burned logs. All along the sides of the wall were lank chains and restraints attached to a metal strip, which ran about shoulder height.

  There were four pillars of incredible girth lining the room, they stood half way between the wall and the center of the room, two on each side. Around each pillar hung more empty chains. I counted twelve open cuffs on the one side visible to me through the shrouded darkness.

  “Zale?” I whispered and heard a clinking of metal to my left. My heart leapt once more in my chest and I side stepped around a pillar, the smile on my face fading quickly as I saw who sat on the floor, her eyes boring into mine. A shiver ran along my spine and I cringed back in fear.

  “Not who you expected?” she taunted, her eyes as dark as they had been the day I interrogated her. She looked paler somehow, her face gaunt and haunting.

  Verna sat on the floor, her back to the marble wall and her arms hung loose in her lap. Her hands were covered by large metal cuffs and the chains reached high above her head. Whenever she moved, the metal jangled with an almost whispering reminder of where I was. Without answering her question, I turned to leave.

  “Did they send you to torture him too?” she asked.

  “No,” I said over my shoulder and pushed back at the guilt threatening to overtake me.

  Stepping away from her, I tiptoed down the hall getting closer to the hearth, all the while scanning the walls for where he might be chained. As I reached the end of the chamber, I glanced back and noted I couldn’t see where Verna was held captive. The large pillars provided her with some semblance of privacy, and I bit my lip as I pushed my way to the right side of the room. Brushing my fingers along the icy stone, I rounded to the other side and met a pair of deep-brown eyes.

  “Zale,” I breathed. Before I could say anything else, I ran to him, throwing my arms around his broad chest and resting my face against the softness of his shirt. The chains clinked as he wrapped his arms around me, the metal brushing against my skin and sending goosebumps over my flesh. In a way he seemed larger somehow, as though I had forgotten the way he towered above me, the way my head could easily rest upon his chest and he could kiss my hair.

  Turning my head to look up, I whispered his name again, but it was silenced upon my lips as he covered mine with his own. All thought was lost to me in an instant. His hands tightened on my back and I pushed my body against his; my hands resting against the chill of the marble wall. Suddenly, he moved around me, the chains jingling, and it was my back instead of his pressed against the black expanse. One hand pushed at the wall near my head and the other wound its way to the side of my face, where he caressed my cheek before covering my mouth with his again. He smelled and tasted of the sea, the saltiness of his lips lingering over my own, as he breathed against my mouth.

  “I missed you,” he said after pulling away and bringing his lips to rest against my cheek, then my forehead, and down to my neck.

  “Me too,” I gasped and laced my fingers into his hair.

  “I can tell,” he said, and there was laughter in his voice.

  “Oh, stop,” I said and did just the opposite by groping in the darkness.

  I grasped his chin and pulled him back up to my mouth, but this time kissed him gently, the passion of the moment settling in the knowledge of being together after being apart for so long. I felt the tears of long awaited desire creep toward my eyes, but I kept them from falling as I leaned backward in the kiss, his lips moving gently against my own. He deepened it, but remained still, his arms encircling the small of my back, to press my body into his.

  With a sigh, he pulled back once more and looked down at me, the shadows making his face new to me. There was a sharpness in his features which reminded me of his warrior-self, but the tilt of his head was different. The side grin he wore contrasted the heaving breaths passing through his lips, and with each inhalation his chest moved upward, I felt my own rise and fall in perfect synchronization. His dark-golden hair hung longer than when I had last seen him. I brushed my fingers through the soft strands, reveling in the thought of being able to touch him.

  “I love you.” I reached up again to gently press my lips to his for a mere second. He smiled, and when I pulled back, he ducked his head.

  “I know you do,” he said. His hand slid along my left arm to where my fingers rested at the nape of his neck. His touch left a trail of goosebumps along my own. When he encircled my wrist with his large palm, I felt my breath catch in my throat. Entrapped in his fingers, my hand was lifted from his shoulder and he brought my arm to rest between us. His fingertips slid against my skin again, this time moving upward until they came to rest on the handle of my dagger.

  “This is how I know,” he said and lifted my wrist to his lips. He trailed kisses along the inside of my arm until he placed one on the entwined carvings of the merfolk tails. My breaths had grown short and choppy by the time he raised his head once more, when his eyes met mine again, he smiled.

  “Here,” he said. With the loud clanging of his chains, he sank to the floor, pulling me with him. He braced his back against the wall and guided me to sit in front of him, his arms around me as I sat between his legs and leaned my back aga
inst his chest. I smiled to myself when he pressed his lips against my neck, and for simply a moment, I felt truly and wholly safe.

  “Where have you been?” I asked. He raised his head enough for me to look at him.

  “Why don’t you go first?” He nudged me and I almost laughed.

  “No,” I said and shook my head even though my eyes remained focused on his, the depths of his own gaze seemed to deepen; the churning storm inside warming my gut. “Besides, you probably already know everything.” I was rewarded with a smug smile and knew I had guessed right.

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head slightly. “I want to know all about this trick you’ve somehow mastered.” As he spoke, he passed a hand over my hair and I looked away. A part of me was thrilled to be in his presence, wrapped in his arms, but another part grew afraid of what would happen if he knew all I had done.

  “Oh,” was all I said and I busied myself with sliding my fingers inside his own, reveling in how strong he felt around me.

  “Won’t you tell me?” he asked, kissing the top of my head.

  “Maybe,” I shrugged and then sighed, not really sure if I was making the right decision. “What do you want to know?”

  “How did you manage to master your voice so quickly?”

  “Oh,” I said again, thinking he was going to ask something much more personal. “I practiced with Derek and Sean. It was kind of fun.”

  Not anymore though, I thought, having now seen what it could do. I wondered if Verna could hear us, but thought to expel her from my mind, knowing it wouldn’t do well to think of what I had done to her.

  “Yes, but I heard of what happened with Verna,” he said and I tensed, even though I had just been thinking of her. “How did you manage to bend her to your will?”

  “That wasn’t so simple,” I said and added, “or fun.”