Page 59 of Of Rime and Ruin (Sirens of Adria #2)

Chapter fifty-six

Nahla

The clawbeast cages me against her chest as we tear through the water. I thrash within her claws, my tail smacking a fury of bubbles.

She’s smaller than Aethan, but she still dwarfs me easily. A goddess among the fish. One twist of her hands, and I’m dead.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My face is smothered against her rock-solid abdomen. Claws dig into my skin as I try to wriggle free, and pain flares through my muscles. Her admonishing growl rumbles through me, and I grow still. Scales prickle along my spine, rising in fear.

She doesn’t eat me, yet, and I can’t decide if this is a good thing or not. I glimpse the water passing beneath her arm, darkening as we plummet into the depths. She must be taking me somewhere, then. To feast in private? To feed me to her young?

Shit. I know little about clawbeasts, besides what I’ve learned from Aethan. But he’s an anomaly of the species—part merfolk, driven by more complex instincts. This female is a mystery.

I can’t fight her. Not physically. But I could persuade her to let me go. My magic worked on Aethan. Why not her?

Magic churns in my stomach. I place my hand flat against her stomach’s rough scales. I won’t have much time to subdue her once I make mental contact. She could become violent. I could push her to the brink. As my heart pounds, I suck oxygen through my gills to steel my resolve.

The beast twists, angling us through the gap in the glaciers. The sea floor drops away, and we pass into open water.

Now or never.

With a low note, I lift my mind and spiral towards her defenses. Dark mist swirls around the outer shell of her psyche. They rise at my approach, coiling as if to spring.

I press my fingers into her abdomen, strengthening the connection.

An opening appears in her defenses, a small crack in the outer wall. I slip through and plunge into a sea of emotions.

Chaos greets me. Rage. Pain. Frustration. I weave through, planting a new emotion: disgust. Revulsion. I warp her thoughts to my will.

The beast snorts and shakes her head. Can she sense me? Is it working?

Let go , I urge. You don’t want to eat this vile, disgusting meat. Too much fat on the bone.

She snarls, tightening her grip. Her claws cut into my skin, and the scent of my blood wafts into the water.

Her thoughts converge, swirling to form a single thought: irritation.

With a kick of her feet, she angles toward the glacier. A cave is carved into the rock, the mouth just large enough for her to fit through. The water darkens as she slips inside.

Let go , I press. Abandon the meal. You’re not hungry.

The tunnel into her lair twists like a labyrinth. We weave and turn until I no longer recall the path we’ve taken. I couldn’t find my way out if I tried.

This is where I die, in some nondescript cave at the edge of nowhere, as food to a beast. My flesh will tear, my bones will dissolve into the foam whence I came, and no one will be the wiser.

Beasts don’t care if you’re royal or low-born.

You’re either food or foe, and tonight I become both.

It seems right that I should die to an animal, after I spent so much of my magic to bring about the demise of other fish.

The gods will even the score of the sea.

At least I won’t taste good, when she finally eats me. Meat tastes best when the prey dies happy.

Disgusting meat. Unworthy of your taste buds. You’ll get indigestion.

Her hand wraps around my throat. My song falters, and our connection wavers. She slams me against the cave wall. Stars explode across my vision as the impact rattles my skull.

Quiet. Her command rumbles through my mind, enraged and raspy.

I freeze.

She releases her grip on my neck and crouches in front of me, dark blue gaze steady on my face.

Intelligent, searching eyes. Her thick tail curls around clawed feet, the barbed tip flicking.

She’s gorgeous, in a shocking kind of way.

Sharp cheekbones. Jagged teeth. Small breasts.

An athletic body with broad, muscular shoulders and an angled waist. She’ll kill me in a second, if it comes to a fight.

I slide my hand against the wall behind me, grasping for any loose bit of stone to clobber her with. I find a decent sized piece and secure it in my hand. As I drag it closer, it catches on something, and shale clatters in the silence.

Her eyes flick down, then back to my face. I bite my lip to stop it from trembling. She reaches for me, hooking her first claw, and trails it down my cheek. Slips beneath my chin. Tilts my head for a clear shot at my neck.

I brace for her killing blow. A slice through my gills would be the quickest. Easy. It’ll only hurt for a few seconds as I bleed out, and then I’ll be dead.

The color of her eyes reminds me of Aethan’s. Blue as midnight with small flecks of white. A small piece of him to comfort my final moments.

I shouldn’t have left him like that. I should have stayed. Should have been braver. Smarter. More forgiving.

He fucking needed me, and I left him at his worst. We’ll never have a proper goodbye. His last memory of me will be my face, covered in tears as I ran away.

The beast’s claw slides lower, grazing the soft hollow of my throat.

What’s taking her so long? She should have finished me already.

I squeeze the stone in my hand to channel my anger. Isn’t she a beast? Am I not her prey?

Her lip curls, and a deep rumble emanates. Raspy. Chortling. Her eyes glint with dark humor. Is she laughing at me?

Fuck it.

Hefting my rock, I swing out and smack her in the temple with all my might.

It bounces off her head like a pebble.

The clawbeast blinks. Her rumbling stops. Then she rolls her eyes and launches away, leaving me stunned against the wall.

Alive.