Page 29

29

Barren

I awoke gradually, a light pressure weighing on my chest.

So, I’d survived it, then. Like my father and Leander had before me, I’d successfully absorbed a trident.

Leander had made it seem excruciating, but the pressure wasn’t unbearable. I went to rub the center of my chest when something soft nudged my hand.

“ Mmreow. ”

I opened my eyes to see Spraut , his paws tucked neatly underneath him, looking down at me with half-lidded eyes.

“Mmh, it’s you,” I murmured in my native tongue. He let out another soft meow, urging me to pet him, and I reached out to scratch behind his ears. The warmth from his body seeped into my chest, and a weak smile tugged at my lips as I felt the familiar, rumbling comfort of his purr.

His ears twitched in a way that let me know exactly how he was feeling—worried that his friend had done something incredibly reckless.

“Sorry to worry you, little friend,” I mumbled, my chest warming even more when he responded with a slow, understanding blink.

Then his head turned away, and I followed his gaze right to my brace.

What’s this…?

Its shape had changed—morphed, really. No longer a rounded circle capping my shoulder, it had become an elongated oval, sitting much higher than it should have.

“ Alhey, ” I cursed.

If it hadn’t been for Spraut resting on my chest, I would have sat upright to make sure that what I was seeing was real. But the sight, or the illusion, remained. A right arm stuck out from under the brace.

It wasn’t real. I knew it wasn’t. But there it was, a fully formed limb where I knew only emptiness should be. Where that emptiness still was, even if the trident’s magic was making me see otherwise.

My heart pounded as I lifted it experimentally, half-expecting resistance or pain, but the arm flexed and curled at my command. Disbelief mingled with unease as I studied the arm, bringing it closer.

Claws dug into me, and Spraut hissed, whiskers twitching as he leaped off my chest and onto the floor.

“ Spraut eve ,” I called after him, but his tail flicked in agitation, and he darted under the bed.

My focus returned to the arm I didn’t recognize. I flexed the fingers, clenching them into a fist, the sight of them moving, obeying, captivating me.

The arm felt real. The sensation of movement flowed through it like any other part of my body. But it wasn’t real. It wasn’t mine.

It was the cruelest trick my mind had ever played on me.

Lynn had been right. A part of me longed for what had been taken from me. Longed to feel whole again. Untainted. But seeing it now, much like Spraut’s unease, I only felt a rush of dread.

I didn’t need it. There were those in my life now who already considered me whole, who never thought of me as the tainted one .

It’s just an illusion . I blew out a slow breath, knowing the only illusion I needed was the one currently keeping my home safe from the eyes of other merfolk.

I allowed myself to look at the arm for five more seconds before turning my head away. Magic hummed inside of me, a tug in my chest that seemed to pull at the fabric of reality as I willed the illusion to break.

Releasing another deep breath, I glanced back to find my brace as it should be. The illusion had vanished.

“No need to hide now,” I muttered, rising to my feet.

When Spraut didn’t reappear, I crouched back down, peering into the shadowed space beneath my bed where he’d sought refuge. His green eyes glinted back at me, filled with wariness. I reached out my hand, palm up, and whispered gruffly, “It’s gone. You can come out.”

Reluctantly, he crept out from under the bed, trailing behind me as I made my way to the kitchen. Despite a few lingering aches, my body felt revitalized, like I’d finally shaken off the fatigue of the last few days. But I knew better than to think it was from rest alone. This was the trident’s doing.

Now, its power was my burden as much as it had been my father’s.

I could feel its presence now, its magic hidden beneath my skin. It would be a constant reminder that, even if my body felt better than usual, the trident was still drawing from my life force.

After tending to Spraut with fresh food and water, I went to the back windows, staring out into the dark night. The ocean was calm, the moon casting a gentle silver glow over the water.

Would Claira be asleep?

I closed my eyes, my heart knowing the answer before I’d even fully reached out to the dream realm. She wasn’t.

I could already tell that somnial drifting would be easier with the trident. It was like it had unlocked a hidden door within me, granting me access to the dream realm. No longer would I have to fight to squeeze my mind through a space as narrow as a keyhole. Now, I could move freely through the door’s opening as I pleased.

This must have been why my father had spent so much of his time in dreams.

I could clearly sense that Kai, Leander, and even Laverne were all three asleep. Were they still on their way back to the island? “Mmh…” I hadn’t paid close enough attention to their itinerary to recall when they were arriving.

Lynn was awake. It was likely she wouldn’t rest until she found me and stole back my trident.

I wouldn’t make it easy for her.

The couch creaked under my weight as I sank into it, listening to the contented sound of Spraut chewing. I’d hoped to find out if the trident would help me reach Claira’s dreams again. Or, at the very least, figure out how the shark was connected to her mind.

Why? Why was she still awake?

Pressing my eyes shut, I let my head fall back against the couch as I grunted out a long sigh. Minutes passed before my little friend hopped onto my lap, nuzzling against the side of my hand. “Mmh? Finished already?”

I absentmindedly stroked his fur, my thoughts drifting back to Claira.

What would she think of me when she found out I’d taken in the trident? I hoped she would forgive me. If forgiveness was too much to ask for, at the very least, I hoped for her understanding.

I gently rested my hand on Spraut’s back, grateful to have him here with me. Although he was always free to come and go as he pleased, I’d noticed that he often brought good fortune with him when he visited. Even the plants he napped underneath seemed to thrive in his company.

Right now, I could use some good fortune.

It was time to test the trident’s power and reach out to the cecaelia who had taken Claira to the Undersea, assuming he was even asleep.

The cecaelian sea wizard.

I thought back on all I could remember of him. His complexion had been as pale as white sand, a sharp contrast to the straight hair that fell nearly to his shoulders, black as charcoal. According to Kai, his name was Abyssal.

I didn’t understand his magic or how he’d blocked me from reading his thoughts on the day he came to us on the beach. It was the first time anyone other than Lynn had found a way to keep me from their mind. But dreams were different, so I had to try.

I extended my mind, reaching out into the dream realm. Abyssal . Even if that wasn’t his name, I knew enough of who he was to trust that the trident’s power would guide me to him. Good fortune was on my side because there he was.

The dark spawn was asleep.

The transition into his dream was seamless, like stepping down a staircase into a cold, dark room. The comfort of my couch and the warmth of Spraut’s fur faded away as I found myself standing at the edge of a shadowed hollow.

Not underwater?

I knew that cecaelia were able to come onto land, but I’d gleaned from their thoughts over the years that they preferred the dark depths of the ocean instead.

At least there wouldn’t be sharks.

I cautiously moved deeper into the dream, my legs kicking up shadows as I moved. The darkness swirled around me like a vapor, chasing away glimmers of light from a source I couldn’t identify.

Then I sensed it, the air growing thicker with the balmy scent of sweat.

My muscles tightened as I caught the muffled sound of a deep, soothing whisper.

“ Such a good little captive .”

A moan followed, echoing through the darkness, freezing me in place.

The outline of a man was visible through the haze, his solid figure standing at the center where the shadows seemed to thin. Beside him was the swaying figure of a woman, a long tangle of hair cascading down her bare back.

My throat tightened. Red . The color of my tail.

Her skin was flushed with the same rosy tint. Ropes wrapped around her, taut and unforgiving, a pattern that worked around every curve of her body. My eyes were drawn up the lines of ropes as they twisted, securing her arms above her head and holding her suspended in mid-air.

My gaze snapped to the man beside her . Dark spawn.

Was he the one Claira had nearly kissed? The reason she’d cried in her dream, fearing that her mates would see it as a betrayal?

Or was this cecaelian male nothing to her at all, and this was his sole dark fantasy?

He was occupied at her lower back, plucking at one of the two ropes that disappeared between her thighs. She gasped and arched against her restraints, letting out a low moan that left my mouth dry.

“Exquisite,” he murmured, savoring the moment as if he were studying a work of art. His face was immersed in shadows as he continued his slow concentration, completely absorbed with coaxing another pleasured sound from her throat, an instrument for his amusement.

His hands followed the path of a new rope, and my stomach plummeted as she spun, turning her body to face me. Although my soul hadn’t sensed its other half, I knew it was her—or a dream version of her. Claira .

Her eyes were squeezed shut, tears slipping down her cheeks as she clenched her jaw to stifle a cry that was far from agony.

I moved forward without thinking, my steps silent on the cold, dark-stained floor.

“Abe—” she began to groan, and the dark spawn’s posture instantly changed.

“ Shhh, ” he whispered, reaching up to silence her with a gentle finger before she could finish saying his name. His finger lingered, dragging down her lower lip as he leaned in, planting a kiss below her collarbone where the ropes were flush against her skin. “It seems we have an uninvited guest,” he murmured against her skin before pulling away.

He brushed a strand back behind her shoulder, careful not to disturb the intricate ropes binding her, then cut his gaze over to me.

His eyes were piercing black, void of any emotion. “I suppose I should have kept my mind guarded from you,” he said with a hum, a chilling whisper in the darkness.

Shadows hid most of his other features, except for his tightly pressed lips, but unlike the rest of my kingdom, I didn’t fear cecaelia.

My attention shifted to the vision of Claira hanging beside him. I didn’t understand it—the ropes or the symmetrical way they held her. She looked too real. Too vulnerable.

Even if that was only a dream version of her, I had a duty to protect her. Despite the pleasured look on her face, until I knew who this cecaelian male was to my mate, my thrall -crazed mind would have me intervene.

I pressed forward, parting the shadows to place myself between them. “Did she give you permission?” My voice was rough, my throat tight with unrelenting tension. I looked down, meeting his gaze squarely. “Do you have her permission to see her like this?”

The cecaelia stepped back, observing my protective posture. A flicker of amusement glinted in his eyes.

“Permission is a fickle thing,” he said finally, his voice velvety smooth, concealing something dangerous underneath. “But let’s say that she did grant me her permission, once. What would you do then?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting for my response.

I cleared my throat, redirecting my focus from her soft, panting breaths behind me. “If she gave you her permission, then I would respect it. But I have my doubts that she did.”

The cecaelia’s lips curled into a sardonic smile, shadows dancing behind his shoulders. “You think you’re quite perceptive, don’t you?”

I didn’t consider myself overly perceptive, but I could find out the truth if his mind would let me. I reached out to it from my place inside his dream, feeling a strong, immediate wave of his emotions wash over me as he took a step forward.

Embarrassment. Frustration.

“Ah, ah,” he warned, a composed hand pushing through his dark hair, betraying no hint of his inner turmoil. “Read my mind, and I’ll end this here. I doubt you came all this way to admire the scenery. Although… the scenery is undeniably appealing.”

He could sense when I was intruding into his thoughts? That was a first.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” he remarked suddenly, admiration coloring his tone as he glanced past me to see her. Then he added, almost bitterly, “I’m sure you know the dream is nothing compared to the reality.” When he reached around me, I shifted, blocking his path with my arm.

“She is beautiful,” I replied carefully. “But her beauty doesn’t entitle you to look at her this way.”

Abyssal chuckled, the sound as cold as the shadows surrounding us. “As expected from one of her lovers.” His smile faded, replaced by a mask of indifference as he turned away. “I’ll admit, this must have been uncomfortable for you to come across. But tell me you haven’t imagined her in your own fantasies. As an Arwa, you should know how the mind works. Can you really fault me for what my sleeping mind creates?”

My jaw ached with how hard I clenched it.

“I thought not,” he said with a shrug.

“Is she safe?” I asked, unable to hold back the question any longer.

“Safe?” he repeated, a mocking lilt to his voice. “She’s as safe as she chooses to be, which is often not at all. Rest assured, I’m trying my best to keep her from harm, though I can’t say the same for the rest of the Undersea.”

He paused as if caught in contemplation, then added, “Although, since you’re out visiting dreams, perhaps you should have a conversation with the lady in question, hm? I’m sure she would appreciate hearing one of her lover’s concerns.”

My chest tightened. “I’ve tried. I succeeded once, but now—” I hesitated, unsure of what not to reveal. “Her dreams are no longer her own.”

The dark spawn’s head cocked to look at me. “ Ah. And am I right in assuming that you’ve found yourself in another’s dream entirely while looking for hers? A shark’s, perhaps?”

I nodded warily, keeping a close watch on his reaction. “Mmh.”

“Having a familiar must complicate things,” he murmured, pacing a circle around Claira, which I mirrored, shielding her from view. “But you managed to reach my mind instead of my familiar’s, so perhaps you’ve just been unlucky?”

A familiar? That was a term I didn’t recognize.

“Or perhaps it’s that trident you carry.” He halted abruptly, his gaze fixed on the center of my chest. His tone then took a dark turn. “It’s curious that you possess such power, yet here you are, scraping for knowledge in dreams instead of fighting to return her to you.”

“Illusions can’t bring her back,” I said with a shake of my head. It was surprising that the dark spawn didn’t already know the limits of my kingdom’s trident. “Nothing can until she decides to return on her own.”

“So, you would wait for her to decide on her own?” His voice sliced through the air with frustration, a hint of something darker simmering beneath the surface that I knew I needed to investigate. “How noble of you. But tell me, how long are you willing to wait? Until after the Undersea has destroyed her?”

With every word, his voice grew louder. “She may never return, you know. No matter how desperately you cling to the hope of her presence by your side, she may never—you will NOT pry into my mind, merman!” He grabbed my arm, his grip like ice against my skin. “There are truths in there that would be your undoing .”

Even stopping my attempt to read his mind did nothing to quell his anger. “Do you even care about the danger she’s facing?” he spat. “If she perishes down here because of your hesitation, know that it was your choice, your doing, not mine .”

A cold fear gripped me tighter than the dark spawn’s icy hold. “She’s in danger? But she’s…” I hesitated, searching for the right words. “You do know what she is? I don’t understand why your kind would harm her.”

His lips tightened. “I do know what she is, yes. Do you? ”

I nodded stiffly.

“Then you should know she will never be safe in the ocean.”

I wasn’t sure about all of the ocean, but I knew that merfolk would always pose a risk to her safety. “I thought she would be safe among the dark spawn.”

Anger narrowed his eyes. “Yes, well, I know the queen of the ‘dark spawn’ well enough to know that she won’t suffer a sea witch for a granddaughter.”

Granddaughter? The cecaelian queen was Claira’s grandmother? “She’s a…” The word caught in my throat.

“The Undersea’s only living princess,” he confirmed, his voice washed in bitterness. His gaze softened as he glanced up at the ropes suspending her. “Now you understand why I was ordered to take her from the three of you. I had expected my taunting and revealing of her location would possess you to use the tridents’ powers to rescue her. Clearly, I overestimated her lovers’ devotion.”

I furrowed my brow, placing my hand on my chest where I could feel the trident’s energy hum. “No,” I grunted. “This trident can’t bring her back from the Undersea. It only creates illusions.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “An illusion cannot, that’s true, but its other powers can.”

I frowned, trying to understand what he meant. Somnial drifting couldn’t bring her back to land, either.

“I expected her lovers to be more clever than this. Do you really not know what that trident is capable of?” Impatience tinged his voice as he paced a few steps, the shadows flickering across his face. He sighed heavily. “Couldn’t you, say, seize the mind of someone near her? Force their hand in returning her to the surface for you?”

My gut clenched at the suggestion. “Even if I could, I would never.”

“Your father did it,” the dark spawn said coldly. “Routinely, in fact. He wasn’t held back by morality when he sought to grow his kingdom.”

My father hadn’t controlled minds. He’d listened to them, manipulated them through their dreams, not directly through forcing their actions.

“I am not my father,” I said firmly. “Even if he had, I could never use the trident’s power in such a way.”

“You’re a fool, then,” he said, shaking his head. “What other way can you expect to bring her back to you? Swim to the Undersea as a fish?”

The dark spawn paused, one eyebrow lifting as he studied me. “But if you’re truly not like your father, then perhaps there is one way.”

My jaw tightened. “Mmh?”

“I know of one thing that would draw every last cecaelia out of the Undersea. Close enough for maybe even a helpless betta fish to swim to,” he said with a cunning grin. “But it comes down to the material cost you’re willing to pay for the opportunity.”

A material cost? “Anything,” I said without a second thought. My resources had lessened now that I was cut off from using my sister’s contacts, but if Claira were in danger, I would give anything I could for a chance to save her.

“Anything, you say?” The dark spawn’s grin stretched wider. “How about everything? ”