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I squeezed my eyes shut. “I will not die here,” I whispered, chin tucked tight against my chest. I chanted the words. Again. And again, as the stone fell. My voice caught on each word. “I will not die here.”

Then, silence.

Only the frantic beat of my heart remained.

I unfurled my tail, shoving rocks off my fin with a painful hiss. My scales were damaged and bleeding, a dull throb radiating from my hip. But I was still alive. Others wouldn’t be so lucky.

With shaking hands, I found my chisel and searched for the crystal that had broken free, digging it out from the silt. The day wasn’t done. No one was released to their cell until they’d met their quota.

Mine or die.

Those were the options.

And I was sick of them.

***

Sirena was pacing her cell when I returned, her tail disturbing the sand into gritty clouds. She whirled when she saw me, gripping the coral bars as the guard relocked my cell and moved on.

“I heard there was a collapse in your section. I’ve been out of my mind! Are you okay?”

I fluttered my fingers weakly through the water, wincing from the pain in the joints. “Still got all ten, and a mostly intact fin. It’s my ego that’s bruised. I only excavated forty crystals. You know I’m aiming to rank at the top of the prison.”

Sirena flattened her lips. “Marin, that’s not funny. The collapses are getting worse. They lost eight prisoners today and a guard.”

The one who’d taunted me outside the tunnel? Most likely. I should feel bad, but he’d left me to die. I pressed my palm against my chest, trying to settle the sting. “I’m sorry. Grim humor is all I have left.”

“I know.” She hesitated, her eyes downcast as she smoothed her palms over her shimmering scales. “But it’s time we fix that. I’ve been hearing rumors.”

“Rumors? In Saltgrave? Tell me if you hear anything about a food upgrade.”

Sirena scowled. “Marin, listen to me. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you. Truthfully… I’m afraid to. I don’t want to be in here alone. But you deserve to know. It could change everything.”

I raised my eyebrows, fighting the urge to laugh in the face of her obvious concern. Nothing ever changed here. But unlike me, Sirena had been assigned to a more populated section of the mine, where prisoners sometimes caught scraps of rumors from the outside and the stories that circulated within.

Sirena checked the passage again before speaking. Her voice lowered with urgency. “They say Tivara’s magic is getting stronger. It’s only a matter of time before the kingdom falls. The queen is desperate.”

I hung my head. “This is my fault.”

“You were tricked. The blame lies with the witch. But there is something you can do. You might be the only one who can save us.”

My gaze lifted to hers. “What do you mean?”

“I heard there’s a way to turn Tivara’s power against her by using some kind of relic. But it’s unreachable for our kind.”

“What kind of relic?” I asked, already hating the glint in her eyes.

“I don’t know. Just that the queen can’t find it, and she’s running out of time.” Sirena’s gaze sharpened, pinning me with a shrewd stare. “The warden in the mines knows more.”

I scoffed. “Nothing in Saltgrave is free. You know that. Information, even rumors, comes with a cost. And the warden? She deals in absolutes.”

I shook my head and swam away from the bars, seeking a reprieve in the shadows.

“Marin—”

“No. What you’re suggesting is too much of a risk.

Remember the inmate in the south wing? And the two in the east?

Anyone who makes a deal with the warden is left worse off.

And even if that wasn’t the case, I have nothing left to bargain with.

Not unless the warden wants a cursed pearl that only works on me. ”

I slumped against the wall, remembering the time I’d tried to pass it to Sirena.

It had pulsed in my hand; the visions fighting their claim over me until it touched her skin and went cold.

The only magical item I had worth anything was tied to my blood.

Ironic? Yes. Useless? Even more so. I buried it in the sand and never looked back.

“We can think of something else! This could be your key out of this place. Know your worth, Marin. You’re a treasure hunter.

You were made for this. With more information, you could offer to find the relic for the queen and trade it for your freedom.

Don’t you want your life back? Don’t you want revenge? ”

Revenge. The word was like a siren song, luring me toward her trap. Sirena knew me too well.

“I could sway you with my song…” The glow at her neck pulsed faintly, then dimmed. “But I won’t. This has to be your choice. Promise me you’ll think about it. You deserve a second chance. A life beyond these bars.” Her voice wavered. “Both of us do.”

It still felt impossible, but I nodded anyway. Sirena really believed I could do it. Save a kingdom. Save myself.

I wasn’t so sure.

But maybe she was right about one thing. I had been trained for this. There’d be poetic justice if the skills I’d honed under the witch’s tutelage became the source of her undoing.

A spark flickered inside me, determination, emboldened by the thought of retribution.

I had to try. And that meant bargaining with the warden. No matter the cost.