Page 25

Chapter twenty-five

T hessa would do anything to stop Raggon from making this vain sacrifice! All was lost already—the witches had outwitted her. Her father would die because she couldn’t see through Scylla’s tricks. And now Raggon would try to sacrifice himself for her? It wouldn’t work. He wasn’t her enemy, and she’d never let him touch Undine’s Blade! It hungered for his blood!

Raggon held her close, his fingers clamped tightly to her wrist, making it impossible to toss the dagger as far as she could into these sun-kissed waves where he’d never find it, but she’d find a way! It didn’t matter if she lost everything else—she’d beat him to the ground if it meant saving him.

His hand moved over hers. Panic jolted through her as she realized how close he was to taking the weight of this magic from her. He’d die in the process—the cursed hair had weighed her bloodline, judged it… and had only barely found her acceptable. “No! I beg of you,” she cried. “Don’t do this!”

Too late, he had the hilt in his hand, the rainbow of mermaid hair splayed through his fingers. She screamed as its powers hummed from her skin to his—she felt his body shaking against hers as the magic probed through the depths of his bloodline, searching for something it would never find: “Who is this son of men… of kings… of—of him!” It let out a roar that sent Thessa clawing against his arm to free him. It knew who he was—it would kill him! “The descendant of Huldbrand—the wicked! The treacherous! The deceiver! He wounded Undine with the deepest of griefs, twisted her heart from her chest, destroyed our sister!”

“Please!” Thessa cried. “Release him! None of that is his fault—take me instead!”

Emotion glittered in his eyes as he watched her—his heart in that gaze. She gasped for air, choking over the stuttering breath of her fear, expecting him to crumple into the water, for the skin to melt off his bones, for—for something dreadful!

But he seemed stronger than ever.

“How is this?” The wicked blade thrummed, the strands raising tentatively to touch his skin. “She lives in you? The enemy of our people… she lives in your blood!”

Somehow, Thessa managed to breathe again… because he still lived. She tried to make sense of all that was happening.

“Undine became the guardian of the air,” he whispered, “a beautiful, powerful being that served her people. Her family loved her and honored her memory. Through her, I’m an heir of the Divine Sea Sovereignty!”

It was true! The blade grew still between them, accepting the truth that she couldn’t before. Its sharp edge rested against his skin through the tatters of his shirt. The initial danger was over, but a new one threatened. She grappled with the hilt. “That does not make you an enemy of my people!”

“I love you,” he whispered. He stepped back from her.

“You bilge-rat!” she shouted. “Give that back!”

The orange sky burned the image of him into her vision as he got ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. Raggon’s hand tightened on the hilt. “No!” Thessa lunged forward, her scream tearing from her throat. Her fingers clawed desperately around the hilt, but something massive erupted from the golden waves between them. Scylla burst from the depths in a spray of glittering droplets, her iridescent tentacles rippling with otherworldly power in the golden light.

“Not you, Prince!” Scylla shrieked. “How dare you interfere with our bargain? It is not your fate to touch Undine’s Blade— she is the one I want!”

Thessa fell away, clutching to the dagger instead. Miraculously, Raggon had released it during the confusion! He stumbled back as the witch’s massive form forced him back, Scylla’s upper body bloated with stolen magic from the ages that pulsed beneath her skin like trapped lightning. Her bejeweled body dripped with exotic pearls, golden rings, and coral fragments that clinked together with each movement.

Thessa had never been more grateful for this witch’s meddling, horrified, and confused all at once.

“Ah! My treacherous goddaughter!” The Sea Witch’s voice cracked across the shore like thunder. “Your schemes will never rob me of my rightful power!” Unlike her sister’s blood-red eyes, Scylla’s were the pale green of shallow lagoons—beautiful, but devoid of warmth, a predator’s calculating gaze that assessed Thessa’s every movement. “You made a promise to me… as did your mother before you!”

Why did she insist on making this claim? “My mother would never deal with the likes of you!”

“Oh, but she did, sweetling! Amphitrite wanted her last child to live, so badly that she’d stoop to deal with so hideous a creature as I! A prissy snob was your mother! And still she demeaned herself to make her bargain when you grew so ill—and all I asked for in return was to gift you powers far beyond your birthright—healing abilities that only your siren voice could channel, a strength that would make you silly and arrogant in your attempts to save your people!” The speech ended with a snarl that revealed her true disdain. “I gave her that shell necklace, knowing someday I’d trap your siren voice within it—as well as all the magic you’d bring to me.”

Raggon had guessed it! Scylla and her sister had been plotting her father’s downfall for years! Had they been the ones to make her ill as an infant too, driving her mother to desperation?

Scylla giggled, a self-satisfied sound that set her teeth on edge. “Ah yes, Amphitrite doomed you long before you came asking for legs, my dear!”

Thessa’s hands tightened over Undine’s Blade, its weight suddenly alien in her grip. Her instinct to hurl the dagger into the depths where Raggon could never reach it warred with the knowledge that Scylla would get everything she wanted the instant it disappeared.

Before she could make any decision, the witch’s tentacles, monstrous and adorned with golden rings, shot forward with terrifying speed. “None shall possess the powers of the Sylph, but I!” Scylla shrieked. Her tentacles wrapped around Raggon’s torso and yanked him backward into the deeper water. His surprised shout cut off as he was dragged beneath the surface.

Thessa screamed and rushed after him, the tattered banyan billowing around her like blood in the water. Raggon’s head broke the surface, his black hair plastered to his face as he gasped for air. Scylla’s tentacles wrapped tighter, dragging him down again.

Thessa dove forward, fighting to get to him, but Scylla’s thick body served as an impenetrable wall between them. Raggon thrashed against the witch’s grip, but the waters bound him as effectively as Typhon’s Kiss had earlier. He couldn’t shift while inside them.

Scylla was the true enemy of her people! Circe too! Who cared about arcane technicalities or magical loopholes—surely whatever fates governed the blade knew where the real threat lay? After all, had it not judged him and found him worthy to touch the mermaid’s hair? Thessa would end this curse by taking out these dangerous enemies. She no longer cared that she wasn’t born for it! Revenge drove her now. Diving into the waves, she slashed at Scylla’s tentacles with Undine’s Blade.

The witch’s screech split the air, a sound so piercing that the very sea seemed to recoil. And still, the touch of the blade did not kill her! The severed appendage writhed in the surf before dissolving into sea foam, but three more wrapped around Thessa’s ankles, lifting her just above the water’s surface.

“Stupid child!” Scylla hissed, her sneering lips cracking to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. “You made a bargain with me—don’t think to force my hand before our pact is fulfilled!”

The blade sliced cleanly but did not destroy her. Thessa’s heart hammered against her ribs as realization dawned—a mere cut wouldn’t end this nightmare. She twisted in the creature’s grip, the enchanted hilt warm against her palm. Only Poseidon’s blood allowed her to grasp it without perishing, yet Undine’s Blade required more. It lusted for her enemy’s heart.

“When the time comes,” Scylla promised, her voice like corroded metal scraping against bone, “I shall savor every moment as I drain you, princess—you’ll watch your prized powers seep away like blood in water while you remain conscious enough to witness your undoing!”

Raggon surfaced again, coughing violently as he twisted in Scylla’s grasp. The sun touched the edge of the waters, glimmering in the distance behind them. Sunset had begun its fiery descent! The rays glinted off his wet skin, turning the droplets into fire. His eyes met Thessa’s, wild with a storm that she’d seen in him before. With a desperate twist of his body, he jabbed his elbow into Scylla’s heavy jaw, causing the tentacle over his neck to spasm just enough for him to gulp another breath of precious air.

The blade in Thessa’s hand hummed with power, but the tentacles kept her just beyond striking distance of Scylla’s heart. The blade must reach that target or do nothing—its magic bound by ancient laws that could not be broken. Thessa slashed at the appendages holding her, but for each one she cut, two more seemed to replace it.

How could she stop the witches from using her powers against her people? She must prevent Scylla from absorbing whatever sylph-like abilities she’d gain after the sun left their skies… without driving the blade through her own heart!

“Loose the muzzle, ye bilge rats!” The parrot’s shrill cry cut through the chaos as Sterling cannonballed through the air. “Fire in the hatch! Fire in the hatch!”

Gasping, Thessa twisted toward the sound. Tobias! He hovered just above the waves, his massive wings creating vortices in the water. He was the key to all this! A snout that could breathe fire was effectively locked shut with a bone muzzle. If she could just get to the dragon, rip that muzzle off and have the power of a thousand armies!

Without hesitation, the dragon dipped low. Her heart raced. He was coming for her instead! She felt Tobias’s talons snatch her around the waist, pulling the breath from her as he wrenched her from Scylla’s grasp and rose skyward.

The world tilted crazily as his ridged tail slithered around her and tossed her upward with a deft flick. She screamed at the blur of clouds, seconds before landing atop the treacherously thick scales of the dragon’s back. She clamped her knees against his sides, desperately trying to balance on the slick obsidian surface, all while grappling with the blade.

The rope flying from the muzzle slapped against her back, then slid up Tobias’s neck, just out of reach. The banyan clung to her, heavy with seawater. Gasping, she tucked the blade into the knotted sash, before she strained to touch the rope. It was impossibly far away.

Below them, the beach swarmed with Circe’s monstrous army scattered across the sands. Their scaled bodies glistened in the glorious rays of the setting sun. Thessa forced her eyes ahead on the rope, feeling the blade jolt in the knotted sash. It wasn’t staying put with all this jostling around, and so she did the unthinkable and put the hilt between her teeth, breathing carefully around the strands of mermaid hair whipping around her mouth. Scarcely believing herself, she lunged forward, catching the frayed end of the rope and using it to crawl up Tobias’s thick neck.

She had to reach his muzzle. The beach shrunk beneath them, the white sands becoming a distant ribbon against waves crested with fire, the world tilting and swaying with each powerful beat of Tobias’s wings. She’d do this for Raggon! Crying out with shrill determination, she slid her fingers over the clasp, grappling with it, her wet fingers slipping against the mechanism.

Her frustrated sounds vibrated against the hilt while she felt around the muzzle until her fingers found a snap. The clasp had finally given away! But only partially. Another jolt in the air sent her sliding back down the dragon’s back. She growled at the defeat. She’d loosened the muzzle enough that Tobias could work his jaw, but that was it!

Below them, Circe stood at the water’s edge, tentacles writhing from her exposed back like living shadow and flame. Had these sisters actually vowed to share her sylph powers? Doubtful that these scheming harpies would be happy with only a portion—there would be inevitable betrayal… and they both knew it! She and Raggon were merely puppets dancing on strings in their ruthless bid to take control after Poseidon was out of their way.

Her attention snapped back to the sea, searching for Raggon. Where was he?

Without warning, Tobias folded his wings and dove, disappearing mid-air with a sound like tearing silk, only to reappear directly above Scylla. His massive talons extended, snatching at the witch’s tentacles like a heron spearing an eel. Scylla’s shriek of rage was cut short as Tobias’s weight drove them both beneath the waves.

Thessa toppled into the warm, salty water, the force of the currents jerking up her chin. Undine’s Blade sank. She snatched at the hilt before she could lose it in the glittering waves, struggling to the surface and shouting desperately for Raggon as soon as she had breath to do it.

“You will not kill the Sylphorian!” Circe sang over the water in the haunting melody of Thessa’s stolen siren’s call, amplified a hundredfold. The sound froze the very air, locking Scylla’s attack mid-strike, writhing appendages arrested in their deadly dance, a strange painting caught against the moving waves.

Though visibly fighting against her sister’s command, Scylla’s tentacles loosened enough for Raggon to break free from the coils, gasping. His eyes locked with Thessa’s. Circe’s voice was focused on this final battle with her sister to free Raggon. At least for now! Shoving his fist into the jiggling tangle of coiled limbs, he gave them one final kick and swam for her. Thessa fought to reach him through the waves.

As soon as the spell released Scylla, her body rose further from the water, revealing the full grotesque splendor of her form—half woman, half writhing tentacles, adorned with the plunder of a thousand shipwrecks. “How dare you use that voice against me?” She snarled at her sister, her face contorting with fury.

“You will not drown him,” Circe commanded, each syllable resonating with unnatural power.

“Of course I must!” Scylla shot back. “He’s touched the blade! The curse affects him too. He must die or he will also inherit all the unadulterated sylph power when the sun vanishes from the sky! He will be as Undine with power over land and sea and beyond!”

Circe received the news with a strange high-pitched giggle. “Perhaps that’s exactly what I want.”

Of course, the Land Witch had planned for this betrayal all along! Thessa’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Circe’s slender form near the water’s edge, her black dress suddenly billowing outward unnaturally, defying both wind and gravity, spreading like wings of a predatory bird about to strike.

Scylla recoiled, her tentacles coiling defensively around her torso. “You—you let him escape your men. You wanted him to touch the blade!”

“Oh, and you expect me to stand aside while you devour the seas with your newfound dominion, sister?” Circe’s red eyes narrowed, the crimson paint around them dripping like fresh wounds in the amber glow of a sun balanced precariously between two worlds. “A prince is far more useful than begging for scraps at your table like a dog. He will be mine to control!”

Scylla let out a shriek of anger that shattered the air like glass, her tentacles thrashing wildly and churning the water to froth.

“Raggon!” Thessa had almost reached him through the water, though she feared what he’d do when he saw she still grasped Undine’s Blade. “I’m here!” she shouted.

A blood-red tentacle slapped around her. The sudden jerk tore Thessa from the water. Undine’s Blade tried to slip through her hands. She barely caught it with her other as the tentacle dragged her through the air and slammed her onto the white sands.

The impact drove the breath from her lungs.

“Give her back!” Scylla shrieked at Circe, her voice rising to a wailing pitch. The tentacles from the Sea Witch churned the golden water to froth as Scylla undulated closer to shore, her lower half creating disturbing patterns in the water as she propelled herself forward. Her bulging eyes protruded from their sockets as her rage mounted. “She is my goddaughter!” Each wave carried her bitter words to shore like dutiful servants bearing poisoned gifts. “Unhand her!”

“Oh, dear sister, give it up. You’ve lost already!”

Twisting her neck, Thessa saw Circe had captured her with one of her terrible appendages lodged from her shoulder blades. The Land Witch’s lips parted in a triumphant sneer, her pointed fangs glistening in a ruby-painted mouth. “Now that the prince has touched the blade… we no longer need her!”

“She’s mine! Mine! I won’t share my power with you!”

Circe giggled. “Greedy barracuda! I knew you never meant to work with me!”

Thessa felt herself dragged across the beach, her knees cutting a serpentine trail through the pristine sand. Each grain felt like fire against her skin as she was pulled inexorably toward Circe and that witch’s black heart…

Thessa could use the blade for what it was truly meant for!

Tobias’ muffled roar showed he was still wrestling with that muzzle. His claws scraped uselessly past it. Sterling circled frantically overhead, feathers rustling in fury. “Two captains, one ship!” he squawked.

Circe’s chalky fingers trailed across Thessa’s face, leaving trails of numbing cold behind. “Your blood will feed my ascension, child of Poseidon,” she hissed. Her viscous tentacle still held her captive firmly in place. “It’s nothing personal, of course!”

“Thessa!” Raggon’s voice broke through the water. “Throw Undine’s Blade as far from you as you can!”

No! I can save Father! Thessa’s fingers tightened around the mermaid hair. With a desperate surge of strength, she twisted in the witch’s grasp and lunged forward, the blade’s gleaming edge aimed at Circe’s heart. But the witch anticipated her move, swaying back like seaweed in a current. The blade sliced only air.

“Hear my voice!” the witch sang out, her voice a poisoned lullaby. The shell necklace pulsated to match the rhythm of the haunting music. “Obey my will! Surrender your soul to the darkness!”

Thessa felt her limbs growing heavy, her will dissolving as the spell wormed its way into her mind, obscuring her thoughts with a thick, clinging fog.

“Stop!” Scylla lunged toward her sister. A tentacle wrapped around Circe’s throat, abruptly cutting off the hypnotic song with a strangled gurgle. More appendages collided in mid-air, twisting around each other in a grotesque frenzy. “You will not steal her powers from me!”

Thessa twisted violently against Circe’s grip, her heels digging into the sand to gain leverage. Circe’s grasp tightened in response, squeezing Thessa until spots danced before her eyes.

“Let her go!” Raggon charged through the ankle-deep foam, each step sending up explosive plumes of spray as he raced toward her.

Screeching with rage, Scylla snatched him back with a massive tentacle ringing with her garish jewelry. And with a hateful cackle, she dunked Raggon beneath the surface of the water. She’d drown him like a rat! “Now look what I shall do, Circe! I have your pet… you will not win your little game, sister!” His struggles were weakening, bubbles breaking around him.

With a desperate cry, Thessa angled her wrist and drove Undine’s Blade into the fleshy underside of Circe’s tentacle where it gripped her waist. The blade sank into the appendage with a sickening squelch. The answering scream pierced her ears. Another crimson tentacle grabbed her, coiling around her, round and round.

Thessa’s heart hammered against her ribs, feeling these living bonds crush slowly inward, each labored breath sending shock waves of pain through her chest. She fought through her dizziness. “Tobias!” she whispered, not knowing where he was, just that he was the only one who could save them. “Tobias, please!” Everything was going black. “Find a way to save Raggon!”

A roar shook the very air. She sagged in agonized relief. That meant the muzzle was off! Raggon stood a chance. Tobias’s flight raised a wind that tossed her red hair as he dove past her. She watched in horrid fascination as his chest expanded to twice its size, throat glowing from within like a blacksmith’s forge before he unleashed a stream of blue fire at Scylla, searing through several of her tentacles at once.

The Sea Witch recoiled with a howl. Raggon broke the surface, coughing and sputtering.

Circe’s triumphant cackle rose above the chaos. Her sister didn’t stand a chance against her now. Her tentacles severed and burning, Scylla shrieked out her final resistance, fighting back like a harpooned whale, thrashing through the waves. The grip on Thessa slackened as Circe concentrated on her sister.

Scylla wouldn’t last long. And with her gone? Thessa would be released from their bargain— and father would still die! She had only moments before the sun disappeared completely. Already darkness stretched across the water, the final sliver of sun clinging desperately to the horizon.

Thessa’s gaze locked on the shell necklace at Circe’s throat. Just beneath it would be the witch’s heart—the true enemy of both her people and Raggon’s. Gathering the last bit of her strength, she threw her knees against Circe’s slack grip and wrenched herself free.

Father! Raggon! I do this for you!

She lunged forward, moving closer to danger, Undine’s Blade raised. The witch spun, sensing her movement. Her red eyes blazed as she sang out: “Are you still there? Poor dear…” Thessa’s stolen voice wrapped around her in the chains of its melody. “Did you think my sister’s death has liberated you? Worthless maid!” Circe’s face was inches from Thessa’s, her breath hot and fetid with malice. “Pierce thy vessel of mortal flesh, let crimson bloom where life once dwelled.” Her voice rose in its horrid pitch, each note a hook that embedded itself deeper into her will. “Turn that blade on yourself, sea daughter.”

Thessa’s arm began to move on its own, the blade turning slowly toward her own chest. She fought against the compulsion with all the strength left in her, screaming through clenched teeth. If she could resist until the sun set completely, she might at least have the power of the sylph. She could defeat this witch…

“Thessa! Fight her voice!” Raggon’s desperate shout cut through the siren’s spell. He was out there, so near, but not close enough. Her arm was a slave to Circe’s powers.

“I’m sorry!” she cried. The witch’s smug grin drifted over her.

And then he was there, materializing like seafoam given sudden form, his body solidifying from mist to man in the space between heartbeats, a shield between her and the blade. His back crashed against her with terrible finality, his weight driving her backward.

Instead of the agony from the blade’s sharp tip, she felt something else entirely sickening tear through her and shatter her heart as the blade found its mark between his ribs. Thessa’s grief-stricken scream mingled with Circe’s shriek of fury.

The metal sang at the taste of his royal blood.

Raggon gasped for breath, a strange halting sound that was half agony, half relief. His shaking hand lifted toward Circe’s shocked face. “You took everything…” he rasped. His pinky caught at the shell necklace, and with a fading growl, he tore it from her neck.

The shell shattered against the sand amidst Thessa’s scream, forcing a rush of power surging up her throat, transforming her ragged voice mid-cry into something richer, fuller—her true voice flooding through her like water returning to a dried-up seabed. Thessa caught him as he collapsed into her arms. “Raggon!”

His eyes closed. “You can’t have her, Circe,” he breathed.

The sun slipped below the horizon, darkness washing over the sea like spilled ink, seconds after the glittering mermaid hair had faded. The hilt had disappeared too. After finding the heart of the enemy and completing its dreadful fate, the blade had returned to her father’s trident.

Father’s health would see a miraculous recovery, the merfolk and all those who walked on land were saved, and she’d lost everything.

A hot tear slipped down her cheek. Her restored voice carried her grief and rage.