Page 58 of Of Rime and Ruin (Sirens of Adria #2)

Chapter fifty-five

Aethan

How could I lose sight of her? She was with me not twenty minutes ago, and now… She’s gone.

I charge into the Rime, leaving the shore behind me.

Icy water swallows my bare legs, but I push forward.

My knees lift and fall as I cut through the tide, and I scan the water for signs of her—a flash of golden tail or a splash of water.

But the ice floes crowd the surface, monotonous piles of snow blocking my view in the darkness.

Gone.

I plunge deeper, wading to my waist as panic rises in my throat. I should have gills by now, and a thrashing tail. I should be gliding through the water, racing to bring her home. To explain everything so she understands.

But the Beast is gone, and I do not transform. My bare skin grows numb from the cold, refusing to sprout scales.

No.

My feet slip on the stones as a wave rolls, lifting me in its crest. I float off the seafloor.

Water rushes over my head, and I submerge in the icy current.

Muted sound thuds in my ears. Gills sprout along my neck, filtering well enough, thank goddess.

Still, no tail. My feet hang like clubs, useless.

I paddle wildly, ineffective with unwebbed fingers.

My vision is dim, and I can’t see farther than the reach of my hand.

With an awkward flail of limbs, I haul myself to shore. Heaving and spluttering, I crawl onto the stones. Water beads on my skin, evaporating in a cold hiss of night wind. My chest expands with every rush of panicked breath. The aethersky swirls above me, bright colors mocking the moon.

Even if she comes back, Nahla won’t want me like this. What siren can’t swim? I’m broken.

Rage twists in my belly, desperate for an outlet. My limbs grow cold and stiff as the residual chill of my magic leaks from my body. I’m fucking useless. No mer-form. No magic. No Nahla.

After all I did for her, after all I went through to make sure she could be safe with me. She fucking left me. The longer I lie here, the farther she speeds out of reach.

Fuck.

Nahla is gone. The Beast, gone. But the rage remains.

“NAHLA!” I roar her name until my throat grows hoarse and the sound of it echoes across the Rime.

She does not appear.

I slap the ground and shards of ice splash into the frothy water. I scrutinize the path of shards. Did I just…?

A tingle forms in my throat, centered on my voice box.

Magic.

It’s not gone. Lucas managed the impossible, after all. He destroyed the Beast and kept my Voice.

Stones bite into my palm as I slap my hand down again. More ice shoots from my fingers. With a growl, I roll upright.

Nahla is never coming back. The truth will spread with her, and soon the kingdoms will turn against me.

It won’t matter to them I’ve resolved the Beast, only that I’m a killer. I’ve killed them. How many, by now? How many more will fall, by my stupidity?

I am not a good king, and I never will be.

Why shouldn’t I succumb to my power?

Rising to my feet, I face the churning water. Focus my intent. With a growling Voice, I shoot ice from my hands. No one will enter the Rime again. I will seal it, as I should have done twelve years ago. No water? No unwelcome guests.

The Rime freezes over, crackling and stiffening at the touch of my magic.

The spell courses through me until I’ve formed a wall of solid ice.

Then, clenching my core, I shove it away.

Ice spreads, freezing everything in its path.

The crust ripples, swallowing the ice floes and waves, holding them in place.

Glosswhales shriek and thread the surface, skipping away from the incoming ice.

In the distance, a flick of a golden tail reflects skylight. Her face surfaces moments later, and she looks around wildly. When she spots me, she screams. My name spirals out of her mouth in a desperate plea.

Behind her, a dark shadow rises.

Dread flips my stomach, and my breath hitches. My spell stutters and stops. There’s a clawbeast in the water with Nahla.

She screams my name again, moments before the clawbeast pulls her under.

I run.

My feet pound over the frozen sea. I push myself faster. Faster. The ice creaks as I weave through the fixed peaks of paralyzed waves. Not fast enough. My lungs burn. My feet grow numb. The Rime stretches before me, endless and taunting.

There’s another clawbeast.

No, that can’t be right. I am the only Beast in the Rime. I’ve checked a thousand times over. I’ve scoured every inch of this basin to make sure of it.

How could there be another?

Pressure builds in my chest, threatening to absorb my frantic heart. It can’t be true.

But the clawbeast was there, before my eyes, seconds ago, and it took her. It fucking took her, while I stood here and watched.

Goddess fucking dammit, what a fool I’ve been. All this time I thought I was acting alone.

And I destroyed the half of me that could save her.

What the fuck am I going to do? Jump into the Rime in my bare skin and punch the damn thing? She doesn’t need me —she needs my Beast. My teeth and claws. Fighting for her. Protecting her.

I’ve ruined everything.

And now I’m going to lose her for good. Soon enough, her body will wash up on my shore, like the others, and it will be my fault.

My feet slip on the ice. I go down. Hard. Pain explodes through my shoulder. I push to my feet through gritted teeth. Run again.

The beast can’t have her. It cannot haunt my waters any longer—I will not allow it. My kingdom, my future, my love—everything is at stake. I have never claimed to be a good king, but I can try.

I have to try.