Page 319 of The Spider Queen

The only man I wanted to see naked was Luc—

A knife of guilt sliced me in my heart when I thought of the Prince of Darkness bound in Prometheus’s chains, and then I thrust him from my mind.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the strap of the bag holding the snow globe.

Farther down the beach, I saw two-legged creatures running and playing in the water. Golden skinned, beautiful and naked, but their laughter was tinged with something I couldn’t quite identify. Yearning? Grief?

“Other merrow?” I guessed. “Who somehow can transform like you and have two legs?”

When I glanced back at him, he was standing. He’d found something to wrap around his waist.

“Stella,” he said. “You are in Atlantis.”

I blinked. “Atlantis? Then that would mean…I’m in the merrow after-life. But I thought no other magical creatures could come here! That’s what my parents told me, anyway.”

He cocked his head to one side and then looked away from me to glance at his people who frolicked and laughed.

I swallowed when I realized why he looked familiar. This merrow was the reason I had my gift, why I was an empath. “I know who you are. There’s an enchanted mural on the wall in the throne room of my parents’ castle. I know what my mother did to you. Had to do to you.”

His eyes were steady, somber. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Stella.”

“I—it’s nice to meet you too, Hunter.” I took a moment to study him. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“Yes. You came for the pearl.”

My heart began to thump. “Do you have it?”

He shook his head. “No. But I know where it is.” He began to walk toward the ocean, and when he was waist deep, a look of calm came over his face. He may have been born human, but now he needed the sea. It must’ve called to him—like easing emotions called to me.

He dove beneath the water and didn’t come up again. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and then let it out with a laugh when I remembered I could breathe underwater. I submerged and followed him down and away from the sunshine.

We swam past the golden castle of Atlantis, which had massive turrets and ornate windows. As I continued to follow Hunter, the water grew colder and darker, but I had no fear. Finally, we came to the sea floor. Shafts of weak sunlight grazed the dark blue sand.

He gestured in front of him. I frowned in confusion but dutifully swam forward.

A stone altar covered in algae appeared through the muddy water as I drew closer. A glistening red egg the size of a beach ball graced the surface. I looked back at Hunter, but he gave me no indication of what I was supposed to do.

I approached the egg cautiously. I placed my hands on the sides of it and waited.

Nothing happened.

Examining it from all angles, I found an opening at the top, large enough for me to get my thumb and forefinger inside it. It was fibrous to the touch, and after fiddling with it for a moment I accidentally peeled a portion of it down like I would a banana. I stripped the fibers off one by one, and when they hit the stone altar, they shriveled and dissipated, becoming one with the sea.

All that was left in place of the egg was an iridescent pearl the size of a baby’s fist resting on a golden pillar. I plucked it from its resting spot and held it in my hand. The opaque swirls within the pearl began to move like wisps of smoke in a breeze.

You know where to place it.

It was Hunter’s voice inside my head, I realized.

With one hand, I held the golden pearl and with the other, I struggled to open the pouch of the bag. I reached inside to grab the snow globe I had carried with me. There was a small indentation in the base of the dome, and I pressed the pearl to it. The orb absorbed the pearl immediately, and the crystal sphere flashed a brilliant pink and then went clear once again.

I looked at Hunter. He smiled and with a nod at me, he gestured to the dome.

With a deep, steady breath, I turned the globe upside down.

I was sucked into the globe, and I could see Hunter’s hazy, diminished form through the crystal from the inside looking out, and then he disappeared as I was transported to my next destination.

Chapter 21