Page 161 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“Hmm,” Barron mused, observing her. “What to do with you.”

“You had your fun,” Kora snapped. He had enjoyed revealing the betrayal layer by layer, his smile sickeningly gleeful. “Be done with it.”

“Sending you back to the God of Death would be most unwise.” His head tilted and he signalled to Blake. “Desiccate her again, some time in the forest might make her change her mind.”

Desiccate?

She needed to escape.

Now.

She lurched as the groans of the dead swarmed the forest. Blake hesitatingly stepped forward, and the ground rose to meet his foot. Knots of grass latched onto his boot, the ground coming alive and rumbling in response to him.

She shoved with her might against the tree as the groans increased. Clawed, tree-barked hands erupted from the ground, grasping for her legs, searching for a fresh body to pull under. Vines cracked around her body, and the one circling her head crumbled.

“It was you, in the forest!” she cried as he neared.

“As I said,asterya, I was quite disappointed you didn’t recognise me then for what I was.”

“You see, my son has a singular exceptional gift.” Barron placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “He can drain the life from any being, and gift it upon himself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t extend to another, otherwise I’d have exceptionally smooth skin.”

Blake’s injuries from the battle with Skylar healed as he leeched her life, his skin knitting together, blood re-absorbing into his body and smoothing over, leaving no trace of injury. Pain spliced through her as her leg shrivelled, her trousers sagging as her muscles atrophied. She collapsed, the weakening vines holding the upper half of her body up as she lost one limb.

“Stop!”

“Not only that, but he can also keep someone on the precipice of death, in a state of limbo, if you will. And that’swhere we’ll keep you. Desperate to die, unable to live. Unless you change your mind about joining us willingly.” Barron flashed a smile.

She attempted to spit at him, but she only managed a couple of dried, blood-crusted teeth as the decomposition spread up her left side. Her drying tongue scraped against the hollow sockets in her mouth.

Blake flicked his wrist and the vines snapped in half. Kora tumbled, falling at his feet, and a devoid, expressionless face graced her as he directed his power across her frame. Her bag-of-bones frame tickled her mind, dragging up figures of familiar gaunt faces with rapidly thinning bodies that possessed impossible strength.

Barron applauded Kora’s decaying form. “Well done, my son. You’ve earned a promotion. A spot for commodore has just opened . . .”

Their voices trailed off, and her mind spun. She’d be gods-damned if she died now. Not after everything that’d been revealed. With a mighty roar, she painfully pushed her decaying body up and lunged at Blake, grabbing on to his hands.

She was descendent of Calypso. He was descendent of Kaiah.

And so, she called upon the gods.

Power erupted between them in a clash of green and blue, wisps of darkness leaking through. Her teeth gritted as water pooled, writhing around her body, lifting her hair into the sky. Nature exploded around Blake, leaves of all colours, vines and rocks cutting through the air as her power reached out and reclaimed what was hers.

Life slammed back into her all at once and she rocked back, her body and power invigorated. She conjured her water-sabre dagger as Blake unsheathed his golden cutlass sword.They dropped into a fighting stance, mirroring each other, and memories of the Darkoning Trials swarmed her mind.

He blinked, shaking his head.

“You went through all ofthat,” she hissed. “Subjected yourself to the trials, under your father’s orders tospyon me?”

“You’ve no idea what I’ve been through,” he snapped. “I never lied about us . . . about my feelings . . .everything.”

“Everything?” she parroted.

“Everything,asterya. You were the light in my dark life.”

“Your life was never dark.”

“There’s more going on here than you know.” For a moment, desperation flashed from his face and she screamed, unable to fathom the complexity of her own emotions towards him. He had betrayed her. He was her enemy.

“I don’t believe you!”