Page 16

But where had I buried that blasted pearl?

Sirena sat in the sand, slurping her seaweed. Every once in a while, her hand strayed to her throat, then she’d frown and close her fingers into a fist.

I was too anxious to eat. I couldn’t even choke down mine, and the seaweed mocked me from the bottom of the bowl.

“I still can’t believe you traded your lure,” I muttered, picking at my meal.

“You wouldn’t have agreed to meet the warden if I told you my plan. You’re too moral. It’s your greatest flaw.”

I curled my lip. “I have no flaws. I’m good at everything.”

Except remembering where I hid the magic pearl…

Leaving my bowl untouched, I swam toward the shale table and dug into the sand. It had been more than two years since I’d buried it. The visions it cast were too vivid, and the anguish they caused only dragged me deeper into despair or fueled my anger.

“Just admit it, Marin,” Sirena said. Her voice was low, but a thread of amusement cut through. “None of this is about finding some lost relic. It’s about tasting honey again, isn’t it? Ah, simple pleasures. They’ll motivate you every time.”

I snorted. “You sound like someone I used to know. A thief who’d stab you in the back for one of those simple pleasures.”

Sirena dropped her bowl with a muffled thud and leaned forward on her stomach. She peered at me through the bars while idly twirling her fingers through the sand.

“Will you find him when you’re back on land?”

I stopped dead, mid-search, hands still buried in the sand, then whipped my head around to face her. “Absolutely not! I never want to see Gavin Blackwood again.”

“What a shame.” Sirena flopped onto her back with a sigh. “Enemies really do make the greatest lovers.”

“You’re being absurd.”

“Am I? Love and hate can shift with the tide.” She winked. “Want me to keep going?”

“No. Keep your ridiculous sayings to yourself.”

“Fine. I’ll just live vicariously through my next cellmate.”

I clenched my fists in the sand. “You’re getting out of here, too. I’ll only bargain with the queen if she agrees to your release.”

Sirena let out a delighted squeak. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course. I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Keep searching! Have you checked near your bed? Maybe you hid the pearl by your dreary tally of days.”

“It’s not dreary,” I grumbled, flicking my tail. “Timekeeping is an art.”

Sirena scoffed, and I resumed my search around the kelp bedding. A groan of relief escaped my lips when my fingertips brushed a small, smooth object.

Scooping up the pearl, I rolled it in my palm. The tendrils of magic were already seeping into my skin, clouding everything but the vision materializing behind my eyelids .

But how was I supposed to find the right one?

I tried to focus, channeling the direction of the visions as best I could. One after another, they flashed. I fought against the pull, drowning in memory. None of them were right. With a curse, I dropped the pearl.

“You’ll find it,” Sirena murmured, sliding onto her bed as the anemones extinguished their light.

I lay in the dark, still reeling from the vivid scenes.

The first relic I’d ever found, hidden behind a cascading waterfall, flanked by mythical statues.

Pride had swelled in my chest as I held it, soaked to the bone and grinning like a fool.

Then there was the day I’d met Bowen. He’d sized me up with one raised eyebrow and said I’d be perfect for his crew.

Short, but swift. What I lacked in combat skills, I made up for with insight. And sarcasm. Plenty of that.

And then the door to his study had opened, and Gavin strolled in. He’d dropped his pack beside my chair and slumped into the seat next to mine.

“What are the odds, Nichols? Looks like we’re partners this time. Must be fate.”

“Or poor life choices.” I hit him between the eyes with some of my finest sarcasm, earning me one of his, slow, cocky smiles, along with Bowen’s undying approval.

An ache tightened my throat as I rolled onto my side. I thought I could sift through the visions now, and they wouldn’t hurt as much. But seeing my old life, my friends, and especially Gavin, made me realize those wounds that time had scarred over were still raw.

I searched my memory for days, laboring in the mines and returning to the pearl at night. And then finally, just before I gave up and buried it in the sand again for another day, a man’s weathered voice filtered through my mind.

The vision sharpened. I found myself seated in front of a roaring campfire with Gavin and the others. Our supplies had run low, and we’d stopped for the night at a rundown trading post.

An old man who ran one of the supply stalls leaned toward the fire. His voice was a raspy whisper in the night air as he told the tale of an ancient relic he’d once heard of. The golden glow cast flickering shadows across the harsh angles of his face. His tufts of white hair wavered in the breeze.

After traveling for days through a relentless rainstorm, the skies had finally cleared.

Our gear was waterlogged, our boots caked with mud, and I longed for a bed that wasn’t hard-packed earth.

The fire’s delicious heat seeped into my aching muscles, chasing away the chill buried deep in my bones.

The man’s leathery tone made my eyelids heavy.

I fought to keep them open, but it was a fight I couldn’t win.

My head tipped softly against Gavin’s shoulder, and his arm slid around my waist, securing me to his side. His quiet murmur brushed my ear, keeping me from drifting off completely.

“You don’t want to hear the rest of the man’s story?”

“Just give me the highlights,” I mumbled.

A strand of hair tickled my face, and I wrinkled my nose in protest. Gavin chuckled, brushing the strands away before tucking them behind my ear. His rough fingertips trailed down my neck, and I shivered as he spoke.

“The mystical shard was stolen from the sea and taken above,” he began, his voice low. “But it wasn’t far enough. It climbed high into the sky to the realm of Aetheryal, where it was hidden in a treacherous castle filled with traps, beyond a twisting labyrinth of stone and thorns. ”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I murmured sleepily. “Easy for us.”

“Hmm… maybe,” he mused. “But the man says the shard is guarded by an ugly, savage giant who tears puny humans limb from limb.”

“That’s not ideal.”

Gavin laughed softly, the warmth of his tone curling through my chest. His arm tightened around me. “No. I happen to like all of my limbs.”

“And how does one get to Aetheryal?” I asked.

“Hold on, I’ll find out.” He paused, lifting his head slightly. The murmur of voices flowed over the campfire. “He says you have to dance in the rain under the light of a full moon, then kiss the most handsome man you know. Don’t worry, I won’t go far.”

My lips trembled with a lazy smile. “You’re lying. How can it be raining if you can see the light of a full moon?”

I felt the rumble of amusement in his chest. “That’s the part you’re questioning?”

“Tell me the truth.”

He was quiet for a beat, then said, “Magic seeds, of course. They’ll grow the vine to climb into the sky.”

I yawned, my lashes fluttering shut. “That makes more sense.”

The vision blurred at the edges, fading with the warmth of the fire, and the solid weight of Gavin’s arm holding me close. I jolted back to reality with a gasp, the pearl slipping from my fingers into the sand.

Coldness rushed in. My cell had gone dark except for the last few twinkling anemones. I trembled, shaking away the lingering desire to crawl back into that memory where I felt warm and safe.

An illusion.

Even if Gavin had cared for me a little, and I was willing to concede it hadn’t all been a lie, he hadn’t cared enough. And when faced with a choice, he’d chosen the witch’s offer.

“I know where to find the shard,” I said, clearing the tightness from my throat. Using my tail, I propelled myself toward the bars.

“You do?” Sirena asked.

“Yes!” I let out a surprised laugh that sounded strange to my ears. “I need to see the queen.”

Sirena whooped and grabbed her bowl, raking it across the coral bars with a slow drag. “Guards! Marin demands an audience with the queen. She has information that can save the realm!”

I joined her shouts, dumping my seaweed into the sand, and slammed the bowl as hard as I could against the coral.

No one came. Our voices grew hoarse, and I slumped against the bars.

“Tomorrow,” Sirena croaked. “We’ll try again tomorrow. Every day until this prison rings with our demands. I might not have my lure, but they’ll grow tired of hearing my screams.”

“And likely prod us with shockwave sticks,” I said with a weak groan.

“We’re getting out of here, Marin. You’ll see. And when this is all over, and you’re back on land for good, I’ll swim onto shore and you’ll meet me there with a pot of honey.”

I dropped my head into my hand, shoulders shaking with the effort it took not to laugh.

“It’s a promise, Sirena. And I won’t just bring you, honey. There’s warm strawberry jam and creamy custard.” I closed my eyes. “You’ll try chocolate.”

“Oh, tell me more about chocolate,” Sirena said with a note of longing.

And so I did, until the anemones winked out, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

***

The cell door ground open with a dull clang, and a guard chained my hands behind my back. I looked up in surprise. They always shackled us from the front before leading us into the mines.

My gaze collided with Sirena’s. Silent communication passed between us. She pressed her fingers against her lips, then turned her palm outward in a quiet goodbye. A second guard dragged her away, leaving me alone in the dim passage.

The guard’s voice rasped in my ear. “You will have five minutes with the queen.”

Five minutes?

Great! My future would be decided in the same amount of time it took to soft-boil an egg.

I flattened my lips, my confidence bleeding out fast.