by Amy Marie
As soon as they dove into the water, the bracelet burned bright gold. The transformation happened immediately after.
He hated the pain that twisted Aria’s face as her body contorted and reshaped, new bones and muscle growing, others absorbing until they disappeared. It was over before he could cast any spell to ease her pain, and left her dazed and swimming in a few tight circles.
Now, nothing remained of the terrible transformation. Her extraordinary, iridescent tail with flowing fins twinkled despite the lack of light at this depth. Her hair, still stunningly red, floated around her face whenever they slowed to contemplate their plan. The pale ridges along her cheeks and forehead, enhanced by matching iridescent scales, the short gills along her neck, everything captured his heart as much as Aria’s human form.
The farther out to sea they swam, the calmer the undercurrents became. Caspian made out a break in the clouds above the water’s surface, an indication that the storm did not affect these parts. Or an indication the storm had already passed.
Night drove them on as they approached Timarra. Caspian stopped, drawing Aria around to face him. Her wide irises and slitted pupils questioned him. He lifted a hand, holding up a single finger in a signal for her to wait, and scanned the immediate area.
“She’ll have a barrier up around Timarra, like I placed around Alamari. She’ll know we’re coming.”
Aria glanced in the direction of her home. “Is there anything we can do? Any magic we can cast to counter it?”
“I need to get a feel for the magic, the spell, to counter it. If I cast carelessly, it’ll alert her. She will know I came of my own accord because the bracelet allowed you to transform.”
“I didn’t transform last night at the docks.”
“Because we weren’t returning to Timarra. We returned to my home.” He paused, his attention dropping to the bracelet. He caught the essence of the spell wound through the gold, but thought little of the mechanisms beyond how they prevented Aria from changing until she’d convinced him to return to Timarra. “Wait.”
Adjusting his hold on Stacia’s wrist, he lifted Aria’s hand and scrutinized the bracelet, sending tiny threads of magic into the object in hopes of understanding it better. Complex, yes, but nothing deceptive.
Nothing obvious, at least.
Then how would the cursed bracelet know the difference between when Aria was returning to Timarra and when she was just in the water? If the spell detected his compliance, his willingness to return, she should have transformed last night. He’d already made up his mind to face Dima.
Unless…
“She already knows we’re here,” he groused, glancing around again. “She must have placed a barrier around Alamari, but I kept close to the shore when I brought you to my house, and used an unknown pathway in the cliffside a little ways down from the tunnel to get you out of the water.”
“You used a burst of air to carry us further away from the cliff when we dove from the tunnel.”
“Which must have placed us within the warded area, hence your change.” Caspian flapped his tail in frustration. “Damn it. Okay, let’s get Stacia somewhere safe. We’ll retrieve her once we’re done with Dima.”
Aria nodded. Caspian led them deeper, searching for a secure cavern or structure. He found a small cave occupied by an octopus, drew the eight-legged creature out, and carefully placed Stacia’s body inside, using a large rock at the entrance to keep predators away. He captured Aria’s hand in his, folding their fingers together.
“She’ll be okay,” he assured her.
“I know.” She frowned and swam into his chest, hugging him. He embraced her in return. “I don’t like any of this, Caspian. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“We’ll make it through this. Together, princess.” He kissed the top of her head. “What do you say? Should we keep our hostess waiting?”
Aria moved away, keeping their hands entangled. “That would be utterly rude.”
He smiled. “I agree.”
With a quick glance around, noting the solemn sea and the lack of life besides the bottom dwellers, they rolled their tails and propelled forward.
No reason for a stealthy entrance.
Not when Dima would be waiting for them at the kingdom’s edge.
Timarra lay in ruins, a staggering sight to behold.
Caspian masked his shock, his sadness. So many memories of a beautiful kingdom shimmering with colorful gems and alive with underwater plants and coral and fish.
All dreary and desolate.
It would have been unrecognizable if not for the untouched circular archway, the monumental landmark that led the way into the once-rich kingdom of Timarra.
Caspian tugged on Aria’s hand, keeping her close to his side. He observed the ruined kingdom, his senses reaching out for resistance to his magic. He received none.
“Dima!” he barked, throwing his voice on a sound wave through the destruction. Only the plink of falling rocks answered his call.
Aria hugged his arm as they crept deeper through the waters, swimming over patches and mounds of dead sea life and structures that once used to dress this place in beauty. It brought back memories of Astauria, the glory of his kingdom and how quickly it could be taken away.
Caspian caught the slithering tendril of kelp reaching up between the cracks of rocks for Aria’s tail. He spun them away, protecting her from the enchanted plants.
“Where is she?” Aria whispered.
“Watching us, I have no doubt.”
“Great.”
Caspian would have laughed if his scales and skin didn’t sting under the acute watch of his enemy. “Dima, you wanted me to return. Here I am!”
“Forgotten Prince, it’s been some time.”
Caspian spun around, but he wasn’t fast enough.
A shark bulleted from somewhere below, plowing into his gut and driving him back until his body slammed into the jagged rocks spread over the ocean floor. Somehow, he kept his grip on Aria. She shrieked, her voice painful and high, the scream of a siren. Tremors racketed through the ground and the water pulsed.
Until the sound of her voice cut off abruptly.
Kelp sprang up from the rocks again, this time snaking around Aria at a speed he could barely register. When he tried to slice through the sprouts…
Nothing happened.
He focused on the shark that kept him pinned to the rocks as Aria’s hand tore out of his and the kelp bound her to Dima’s wishes.
He tried to thrust out a wave to get the creature off him.
Nothing.
A sickening weight settled in the pit of his stomach.
“You have no power here, except for the power I need.” The demon finally came into sight, her sleek form curling through the water with ease. Her dark eyes glinted with malice, her dark scales like an ominous shadow coiling around her body. “I drained you along your journey here.” She laughed, her pointed teeth as lethal as her black claws. Claws she clicked together as she said in mock apology, “I know your power. I’ve seen what you can do. I wasn’t taking chances. I’m sure you can understand.”
“I’m here, Dima. There’s no need to keep Aria and her family any longer. I’m here, so release them.”
Dima coiled around Aria, coming up behind her. She patted Aria’s hair, her smile caustic. “You have yet to fulfill your end of the bargain, prince. You value honesty? Equality? Well, release me from this curse your father placed on me and I’ll release your beloved Aria and her family.”
Caspian grunted, laying a punch into the shark’s snout. “Tell your pet to release me.”
“But how am I to be assured you won’t try to attack me?” Dima tapped one of her claws on her chin as she pretended to give it some thought. “Ah, I’ve an idea.”
The shark dug its snout hard into his abdomen.
A shockwave shot through him.
Numbness followed.
When he tried to fend off the shark, his arms wo
uldn’t obey his command.
When he tried to shout at Dima, his lips didn’t part and no sound formed.
“I think that’s a compromise. Now, prince. I want to make one thing extremely clear to you, and to your princess here. I give the orders. I’m in control. One way or another, you will reverse the curse.” She snapped her fingers, sending tiny bubbles upward. Anger filled his chest, but he couldn’t release it. Couldn’t fight. “Sit over here.”
She pointed to a mound of rocks and coral. The shark wiggled backwards, releasing him.
His first instinct was to conjure up power and magic, but his body did not listen. Instead, he moved against his will to perch on the ledge as Dima demanded.
Like one of her pets.
Aria struggled against the bindings, her mouth opening in a soundless scream as she fought. Her battle filled him with pride while he shouted and roared inside. His powers, elemental threads, coiled and curled and knotted deep in his gut and throughout his chest.
Dima circled him, raking her claws through his hair. “I think the little princess there knows what’s in store for her.” She laughed. “I gave her a preview while she slept.”
Trapped inside his own body, Caspian’s thoughts froze in horror.
Aria thrashed violently as Dima swam toward her, the kelp repositioning her body horizontally.
She woke from a nightmare, and he never asked about it.
And he delivered her right back into that nightmare.
Dear gods, help me.
Chapter 12
A nightmare come to life. A manipulation that would end in more bloodshed.
Aria stopped fighting the kelp. It was no use. The harder she fought, the tighter the bindings held her. There were more tonight than when Dima arrived in Timarra and leveled her home to the ground. Aria had to come up with some other way to escape and help Caspian. As in her nightmare, his eyes blazed with fury and hatred, but his body perched calm and relaxed on the ledge.
Dima floated above her, tapping her claws in front of Aria’s face. “How did you like my sneak peek into the events of this evening? I wish you had seen more. You’d know exactly what my plan for you is.”
Aria started to respond, but her voice remained lost. Dima tipped her head, cupping her ear.
“What was that? I’m afraid I can’t hear you.”
Aria scowled. Dima grinned and shrugged.
“Oh, well. Guess it wasn’t anything important. Let’s get started, shall we? However, instead of starting with your arm, I think cutting your tongue out might be more fitting, followed by your voice box.”
Dima lowered herself to Aria’s side and tugged down her lower lip until she winced. The demon snickered and looked at Caspian.
“If, at any point, you wish to stop this, all you have to do is reverse the curse. The only words you can speak to me are, ‘I will release you.’ In case you wish to have some part of your beloved princess left to cherish.”
Aria clenched her teeth, but the demon snapped her fingers. Aria’s mouth opened against her command. Dima pinched the end of her tongue with two claws, piercing the muscle and delivering a bolt of pain. The sea witch pulled on Aria’s tongue until it became taut and agonizingly stretched.
Aria tried to scream when she felt the razor sharp edge of Dima’s nail against the back of her tongue. She tried to order her mouth closed, but it remained open. She tried to twist her head away, but the demon quickly stilled her fight.
“The more you move, the more it hurts. But who am I to steal the joy of pain from my captives?”
“I will release you.”
Caspian’s monotone voice stopped the demon in her tracks. Dima released Aria’s tongue and swam over to Caspian. His eyes followed her, the storm in them remained hidden behind a mask of surrender. Aria shook her head wildly, trying to get his attention. Panic swelled within her chest, a pressure that spread up to her head.
“You’ve always known how to take the fun out of things, Caspian. It was only her tongue, unless that’s a valuable commodity to you, prince.” She pouted, a terrible look for her, but it quickly turned into her usual malicious smile. She waved her hand in front of Caspian’s face one time. Caspian moved his lips, only choppy words escaping. “You’ll have to repeat the reversal a few times until it becomes clear. Let me warn you, should you try to trick me, my pets are waiting for a treat. Oh, speaking of treat, did you receive my gift? The lavender-haired gift?”
Aria seethed at the mention of her sister. Caspian’s eyes cut to her as Dima twirled around in delight at her own cleverness.
Aria caught the fierce swell of his emotion, the boiling power restrained in his eyes. She nodded once, when Dima wasn’t looking. She understood what Caspian was trying to relay.
The choppy words escaped Caspian’s mouth in rhythm. They grew clearer with each repeat.
“Your sister, princess, was a rebel. She had a problem listening to directions. I warned them all to remain in the cage and not try to escape. What did that one do?” Dima shook her head. “She escaped! The nerve! I had to send my pets to fetch her before she got too far, and when they returned with her, ohh, I made sure the others understood the consequences.”
By the time Dima was through recounting Stacia’s murder, Aria was heaving breaths filled with anguish and rage. An unusual prickle coasted down her arms. She built on that prickle, the heaviness behind her sternum, the expanding well of emotionally triggered power.
She may not know how to use it, but anything to stop Dima and free Caspian would be good right now.
“You sirens have a terrible scream. It can do almost as much damage as mine. I tried to reassure your mother that she still had three children left, but it didn’t seem to help much. I even allowed her the opportunity to hold your sister one more time before I left her for the sailors. She tried to curse me, like Caspian’s father, but I don’t make the same mistake twice. I shut her up, but it didn’t prevent her from conjuring that storm.”
Emotions.
She pulled on the reservoir of emotions, those she’d stifled since she discovered Stacia’s demise. She picked at the seam she’d sewn into place when Caspian calmed her and they had to escape the warehouse. The prickling sensation intensified.
A faint ripple coursed through the water.
Dima stiffened, tilting her head. She twisted, her joyous demeanor turning solemn in a blink.
Another ripple cut through the water.
Aria focused on her grief. Her pain. Her desire for revenge.
A tremor shook the ground.
Dima coiled around herself, her dark eyes sharp and focused. Aria stole a glance at Caspian, who had stopped speaking. His eyes pulsed with power. Power she felt resonate inside her bones.
It fed her the spark she needed.
The sky over the ocean cleared.
A thick bolt of white struck down, cutting through the water, and striking the shark swimming closest to Caspian.
Dima shrieked, spun, and launched herself to Aria’s side. She raised one hand, baring her claws, and threw a lethal glance at Caspian. “I warned you!”
Aria’s eyes widened.
Dima’s hand dropped.
The tips of her claws pierced Aria’s skin. She threw her head back and screamed in silence, the burn spreading everywhere along her body.
A fierce current slammed into them, throwing Dima back. Aria rocked in the kelp bindings, shuddering from the pain. She glanced at her chest where beads of blood ribboned around five superficial punctures.
Another powerful current rushed them, missing Aria and crashing into Dima. This time, the water caught her, trapping her within its sphere.
Aria watched in awe as another bolt of lightning struck down, stabbing through the water.
And piercing through the sphere, through Dima.
The demon shrieked, her deadly scream muffled by the watery prison. Smoke rose from her skin and between her scales. The bolt sizzled, persisting until the demon’s skin charred t
o black and her body disintegrated into a pile of ash.
The sphere reabsorbed into the sea, and the ashes dissolved in the water.
The lightning winked out.
The kelp holding Aria prisoner shriveled and disappeared within the rocks.
“Caspian!”
Aria rushed to Caspian, who remained perched on the ledge. He followed her with his gaze, but didn’t move. She sat in his lap, curling her tail around his waist, smoothing the swirling hair that floated around his head. She caressed his face, worry seizing her.
“Caspian, what do I do? How do I help?”
He puckered his lips.
She didn’t hesitate to kiss him, and kiss him hard. She threw her arms around his neck, begging silently for him to return to her. For him to wrap his arms around her waist, pull her close…
She leaned back and looked down at his arms, embracing her and holding her tight. When she lifted her gaze to his face, he wore a wicked smile and offered her a wink.
“You worried for me, princess?”
She smacked his arm. His eyes went wide before she laughed. She couldn’t help but share in the laughter as the tension and fear finally began to leave her body.
“You weren’t stuck, were you?”
He shook his head. “The spell ceased the moment she did.” He traced a finger over her chest and the healing punctures in her skin between the scales covering her breasts. “I think it’s best if we never find out how powerful I might become if my emotions get involved. I think I was on the brink of destroying the entire ocean to save you.”
“As long as you’re with me, I don’t mind living a life on two legs. In fact”—she pressed her forehead to his—“I think I prefer two legs when it comes to certain activities. “
“Ahh, I have to agree. Far more pleasurable than what we might have in this form.”
Aria pressed another kiss to his mouth and leaned back. “We need to find my family. I have to make sure they’re okay. And then we need to give Stacia a proper burial.”
Caspian nodded. “Let’s end this, once and for all.”
