My skin returns to its blue-tinged hue, my hair long and wavy, my eyes a vibrant pink and a tail.
He hesitates, pausing as he stares at me, and then he pulls back. Seeing me in my true form has shaken him.
That hurts, even if I want him to leave me.
“Go!” I scream. And then I’m being pulled away, through the portal, into the crashing waves of the Elmerian Ocean.
A Father’s Failure
Siralaine
The pain is unbearable. I’m not sure how long I’ll survive, after all, the wave weavers made it clear that my father didn’t mind if I was brought back dead or alive.
I’m dragged deep beneath the surface. Only a handful of our attackers enter the water, mainly those who shifted into sea sirens, and a handful of fae who could breathe under the surface.
It’s obvious this was all premeditated. How long had they been watching us?
My heart clenches, remembering the way Kai hesitated, the way he willingly backed away when he saw me in my true form, as if in that moment what I am had really sunk in.
My tears blend into the water, and I smile sadly, remembering a myth about sea sirens.
That we don’t cry…
But of course we do. It’s just you can’t see those tears or the pain. Those are lost with the waves of the water.
I realise they have chained my fin only when the weight cuts into my scales. They’ve bound my wrists with chains, too,stopping me from being able to swim. I’m simply being dragged along.
How did it even come to this? How did I end up back where I swam so desperately from?
We travel for a while, and soon it all begins to look familiar. We’re nearing the underwater capital city of Elmeria, the place where my father’s castle resides.
I try to use my power, but I just can’t. Something is wrong! Why am I so weak?
My brows furrow. I’ve been struggling with my powers more than usual. I put it down to being on land for too long, but here in the ocean, I should be at my best, yet I’m not.
I’m taken to the castle via an isolated route, so we don’t run into anyone. I’m dragged down a secret entrance to the dungeons.
Will they kill me here? Maybe. After all, the wave weavers wanted to finish me, andtheyguard the dungeon prisoners.
I’m thrown into a cell. The chains are undone, but something is injected into my upper back that sends excruciating pain through me. I try to fight it, but they throw me to the floor before leaving, putting a padlock on the cell door.
I turn and swim free from the chains they left weighing me, slamming on the cell door, but no one pays attention. Their job is done.
“Notify the King that the traitor has been found,” one of the sea sirens leers with a cruel smile as he grabs my jaw from between the bars. “Once he’s done with you, I assure you we won’t be,” he whispers.
I glare at him in rage, but at the same time, fear creeps into my heart, remembering the fate my mother met at my father’shands.
They leave, and I’m left alone in the dreary darkness. I stare at my hands as I sit on the ground, my heart heavy as Kai’s final expression replays in my mind. My heart squeezes, and I curl up.
How did I think we could ever be anything?
I’m not sure how longit’s been when I finally hear someone approaching. I swim to the bars and see it’s my father, King Morcant. Even in the darkness, his pale blue scales shimmer, and his gold crown and armbands, which are encrusted with jewels, glitter. His shoulder-length, light brown hair is just how I remember it, and his pale blue eyes are trained on me.
His gaze burns into me, his face is emotionless, and after a moment, he motions the two wave weavers who flank him to open the cell door.
I stare at the wave weavers. They don’t even look in my direction, and I move away from the cell door as he lurks on the other side, looking me over.
“Leave us,” he commands as he enters.
