Page 29 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea (Avalore Chronicles #1)

Chapter seventeen

T he wind sought her out before Sorcha stepped from the shelter of the cave, snatching her song away even as the words left her mouth.

The rough rocks of the shore bit through her boots, and the hem of her skirt was soaked from the flooded tunnel.

The Watcher and Sìne slithered down the beach to the ocean, their whoops of freedom mingling with the thunder and pounding waves.

Sorcha pushed her dripping hair out of her face and laughed with them. They’d done it!

After all the heartache of knowing her people had been held captive, hope shone through. The storms didn’t matter. Her curse didn’t matter. She had spent her last night doing something worthwhile.

Arick was helping her father, and then the last of the mer would be free.

The storms could stop.

Her people would be safe.

“What is going on here?”

Sorcha turned to see her aunt bobbing at the edge of the large rocks.

“We’ve freed the mer from the humans!” Sorcha cried triumphantly.

“Everyone?” Maeve asked, her voice strange.

“Yes, even Ewan,” Sorcha said excitedly. She couldn’t help the joy and pride that seeped into her voice. “We rescued them all. It’s over.”

But Maeve didn’t smile. Her expression shifted, something unreadable flickering behind her eyes. Not guilt. Not relief.

Something like...worry.

A whirlpool churned in Sorcha’s gut, and something clicked in her mind. All the times her aunt had been on the surface during storms. Her constant warnings about humans. Her understanding of human magic.

Fury filled Sorcha. How dare Maeve protest them freeing the merfolk?

Her heart broke a little bit. She hadn’t wanted to believe it was her aunt. Maeve, who had spent her life protecting and helping others. Who had taught Sorcha how to be a Healer and use her magic for good. Who had been the first to find her on the beach, broken and human.

But it explained so much. “Why?“ she cried. “Why would you do this?”

Maeve’s eyes widened. “Sorcha, I…”

“No!” She couldn’t bear to listen to excuses. “They’re all free now. You can stop the storms.”

Maeve’s mouth opened as if to speak, but before she could answer, lightning ripped apart the sky, and a cry rang out behind them.

“Sorcha!” Arick’s voice, hoarse with panic.

She spun.

Arick stood just outside the tunnel entrance, her father slung over his shoulders like before. She leapt toward them, feet sliding on the wet rocks, pain shooting through her soles.

The ground trembled beneath her feet. A crack sounded like the splitting of the sky.

Boulders tumbled down from the cliffs above, crashing into the beach in a cascade of stone.

Sorcha’s knees hit the ground, salt and rainwater blinding her. Her back and shoulders were pelted with stones. She rolled into the tunnel opening as more rocks fell amid the cries of human and merfolk alike.

The rumbling ceased, and for a moment, even the storm stilled. Dust choked the air. The crash of waves felt distant now, muffled by stone. Her ears rang with silence. She tried to move — but the tunnel pressed close, narrow and dark.

A shriek pierced the stillness — one not of fear but of anguish.

A rick held tight to the powerful arms wrapped around his neck. Sorcha’s father was much larger than the other mer he had helped, and the few minutes submerged in the water had helped restore his strength. But the retreating waves meant he still needed Arick’s help to get past the rocks.

Arick stepped from one rock to the next, ensuring his footing was sound before continuing.

Rain poured all around him, pooling on every surface until he no longer knew whether he was walking in freshwater or salt.

He shook the water from his eyes, glimpsing Sorcha speaking to a mermaid he didn’t recognize from the cavern.

As soon as he knew her father was safe in the sea, he would encourage Sorcha to retreat to the tunnel.

They could speak to the merfolk in the morning, when the storm had passed.

Lightning cracked overhead, shooting through the lighthouse and sending shards of light in all directions.

And Arick became aware of three things all at once.

Firstly, the cliff face above him was collapsing.

Secondly, he was about to lose his footing on the rocks.

Thirdly, he loved Sorcha with his whole being and would do anything for her.

And that truth hit him harder than the rocks cascading around him did.

The next moment, he was in the water. His hand slipped from Sorcha’s father, and his feet scrambled for purchase on the slick creekbed.

He grabbed for anything he could hold onto, his fingers scraping against stone. But the waves kept crashing over his head, making it impossible for him to break free. With his lungs screaming for air, he let go.

The undertow jerked him below the surf. His shoulder slammed against a rock, then he was twisted around and flung farther from shore. He stole a breath in the instant between waves. The sea was as angry as it had been on the night of Thomas’s birthday party.

Furious. Unrelenting. Vengeful.

And Arick was in its thrall.

He knew better than to fight against the current, but the darkness made it impossible to know which way was up, where he was being taken. He could only hope it wasn’t out to sea. A face appeared, a flicker of a magenta fin. Both were gone before he could follow.

His chest ached, and his stomach roiled from the spinning. Was this his end? Had he been saved by one mermaid just so he could die rescuing her friends?

No.

He had to get back to Sorcha. He wouldn’t leave her to turn to sea-foam without him.

He kicked as hard as he could at right angles to the pull of the water. After several agonizing moments, the water loosened its hold on him, and he broke the surface.

Blessed air filled his lungs, even as rain did its best to fill the space. A wave washed over him, and he was carried along before managing to surface again. This time, he was able to see the lighthouse.

He had been pushed away from the shore, but instead of being carried out to the Maighdeann Sea, he was nearing the harbor entrance.

The storm wasn’t finished with him yet, and the next wave pushed him back under. A mer appeared out of the blackness — a face Arick recognized from the cavern.

He swam toward Arick, who reached out a desperate hand. The mer froze, unsure. His mouth parted as if to speak, then he clamped his hands over his ears and twisted away into the depths.

Another wave slammed into him, flipping him sideways and plunging him back into darkness. His ribs cracked against a submerged stone. His vision swam.

He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. Couldn’t think.

His legs kicked weakly, but the current spun him in circles, dragging him deeper with every heartbeat.

A mer with black hair and dark tail swam alongside him for several heartbeats, her expression undecided. Blackness edged his vision as he fought to reach the surface. His sluggish fingers shaped the words “Help me,” but it was too late. She was gone.

Bubbles burst from his mouth, and he clamped his lips shut again. Another swirling wave tossed him to the side, and he slammed into an unforgiving wall. He was pinned, water pouring past him, driving him against the stone.

Something shifted against his ribs, a shape firm and slick. He twisted, disoriented. And the creature nudged him again. A sleek gray body, longer than his.

The dolphin nudged him around the side of the pillar of rock, enabling him to kick free of the current. His shoulder throbbed, his limbs screamed, but he rose toward the surface.

Air met him like a blow. He sucked it in between coughs, blinking against the stinging rain.

Then he saw it.

The rowboat.

It floated just beyond the harbor’s mouth, bobbing in the swell.

The dolphin held it steady, its powerful body pressed against the hull.

And floating just beyond it was the mermaid with the purple fin and black hair.