“Why, I am both. I have Taranis’s body, humanity, and a shadow of the soul he left behind, but at my heart, I am Manannán.” He rushed forward again, taking my webbed hands in his, and darkness curled around us as I recoiled into the wall. “Don’t you recognize me, amor meus?”
I gazed into his dark eyes, and all the visions I’d seen came flooding back: Manannán, the Minoan sailor, losing his son to become God of the Drowned. Manannán, fighting with Kyano over Siana and being turned into shadows, only for Taranis to find him in a dark cave.
“No, I don’t know you.” I shook my head, hoping he couldn’t feel the tremble in my hands. “I’m not Siana, but if you loved her, you’ll let me go.”
“That, I cannot do,” his breath burned against my temple as he whispered the words, then he released me, drifting toward the grand dining table. But he turned back, dark eyes glittering. “I’ve been known to be rather...possessive.” His tone had become deep and predatory, and a chill spread across my skin.
“I will spend every minute trying to escape this place, and if I get a chance to kill you, I will.” I clenched my fists, standing taller as the hardened thing inside me nodded in approval.
That sinister laugh again. “Oh, please stop. If you keep talking like that, I’ll have to have you right here and now.”
“The prophecy will be found that can stop all this—can stop you.”
“They’re just words, amor meus. Their power is only what you choose to give them. Look around you—my army of the Drowned grows. Soon, we will defeat the Mer, and I will rule the ocean. The Mer are desperate, clutching at forgotten riddles and ancient whispers.” With a flick of his pearlescent tail, he pulled out the gilded chair at the head of the stone table and slid into it, his fins curling around the side. “Sit... eat. You must be famished.” He gestured to the seat beside him, and my stomach rumbled as I took in the decadent spread, but I shook my head.
Manannán clicked his webbed fingers, and the Drowned guard from the doorway advanced, seizing me and lifting me toward the table. I kicked and thrashed against his grip, but he hauled me over and forced me into the chair beside Manannán, who watched the scene unfold, dark eyes gleaming with amusement.
“So much spirit.” The merman leaned back in his golden chair, running a hand through his pale hair. “It made my tail stiff when you broke my storm wheel.”
“You’re disgusting,” I spat.
The Drowned man stepped behind me, pinning my shoulders against the chair’s back. I writhed, shaking against his grip.
“Leave her.” Manannán waved a lazy hand at his henchman, who let go of me and retreated to the doorway. Tendrils of dark water with shadowy faces of sea serpents slithered from him, wrapping around my torso, their pressure strapping me to the chair. I tried to break their bonds, scratching and yanking, but these shadows were different than the ones he had used before. Dangerous. I gasped as they wound around my throat.
“N-no,” I managed as they pulled tighter.
“Are you going to be a good girl and dine with me?”
I didn’t answer. More dark tendrils poured from the merman, seeping from his skin and eye sockets, which had turned pitch black. They strengthened their grip, closing off my airway as if some sea monster had its tentacles around my neck.
“Sto—” Tears leaked from my eyes as I tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come, so I nodded.
“Good.” Manannán’s voice returned to a purr as he released his hold on me, and the shadowy serpents faded into the water. “Now that little spat is dealt with, let’s talk business.” He stretched in his chair again and surveyed me with dark eyes.
“Business?” My voice cracked as I brought my hands to my burning throat.
“You’ve not been able to control your powers, have you?” He plucked a golden dish filled with seaweed rolls from the table and thrust it toward me. “Siana, I must insist you eat.”
Nausea now swirled in my belly alongside my hunger, but I lifted a shaky hand, grabbing a roll from the plate. I didn’t want his shadow snakes to force feed me. “How do you know about my powers?”
“I’ve been watching.” He leaned his elbows on the table, stabbing a golden knife into the stone.
My eyes flicked to the blade and then to my place setting, but I had not been given any sharp utensils.
He tilted his head to one side. “How about we make a deal? I’ll teach you how to harness your magic—”
“I don’t want your help. You’re a monster!”
“Ah, yes, I thought you might say something like that.” Manannán rubbed his chin. “But you possess ancient magic, and only someone of the gods can teach you to control it. I presume from your self-righteous attitude you don’t want to turn any more innocents to dust.” Shadows spilled from him, crawling across the table as the corners of his mouthquirked. “Or perhaps you do, and we are more alike than you care to admit.”
“I’m nothing like you,” I spat, swiping at the wisps of darkness caressing my cheek.
“That remains to be seen.”
“And why would you want to help me?” I crossed my arms over my chest and held his gaze.
“Well, you possess the spirit of my long-lost lover who was slain in the battle of my creation.” The merman plucked a prawn from one of the decadent seafood dishes and began peeling away the shell. “I suppose you could say I seek absolution, amor meus.” He raised his brows before popping the prawn into his mouth.
