“Please,” I mouthed as Jack approached the table.
She stood, giving me a long look, and then said her goodbyes. Before she left, she met my gaze and gave me a slight nod.
When it was just the two of us, Jack sank into a chair and took a long swig of his drink, then wiped the back of his mouth. His brow was deeply furrowed.
“You told Coral about the fortune-telling test,” I said.
He nodded. “She’s on the phone with Ember now.”
I leaned in. “Listen, you got me into this mess, and you owe me. Tell me what you know about my mother.”
“I really don’t know that much, just rumors.”
“But you can find out more. Look into it, okay? I’m not asking you to risk yourself or try to get me out of here. Just find out what happened to my mom, and I’ll forgive you for taking me.”
“Who said I needed your forgiveness?” he asked with a wry raise of his eyebrow.
But I could see past his stiff exterior. “You’re human,” I said. “And as much as you try to hide it, you have a soul in there. You aren’t as bad as you try to make yourself out to be. Please, Jack.”
He grumbled to himself for a while but then said, “No promises. I’ll ask around.”
A moment later, Coral sauntered up to our table. She slid her phone into her pocket and said, “Playtime is over, little human. I hope you enjoyed the Deep because it’s back to your room for you.”
As I stood up, the sharks swirling ominously around us in the nearby tank, I said, “What did Black Ember say? What’s he going to try to make Severn do?”
She smirked as she poked me in the side, herding me toward the exit. “We don’t tell the krill our plan before we feed them to the sharks.”
I pulled back away from her hand. A hot flush of anger ran through me. I’d been through hell and back in the twenty-four hours and was tired of being taunted, toyed with, tested, treated like a pawn.
“No,” I seethed, standing my ground.
Coral cocked her head in amazement that I’d defy her. She reached for me again, and I grabbed a fork from the charcuterie plate, slashing it at her. She jumped back easily, giving a little laugh.
“Well, the bait has teeth after all.”
I looked around the club frantically, suddenly desperate to get away from these terrible people. They would use me to hurt Severn, and I couldn’t allow that.The swimming pool.An emergency ladder led from the top of the transparent wall down to the bar. There was a chance I could reach the ladder, climb, jump in the pool and swim to freedom…
I bolted, but Coral grabbed my wrist with lightning speed.
I froze, but only for a second. As though some other part of me had taken over, I began to recite the itching spell Zara had taught me.
Coral instantly let me go, scratching at her hands frantically.Thank you, Zara, I thought in a flash.
I ran through the dancing crowd, hoping the gyrating bodies would provide some cover. I had no idea how long the itching spell would work or what kind of security the hotel had. I made it to the far end of the bar and started climbing the ladder. Fortunately, my dress already looked enough like a mermaid costume that few people gave me glances.
I was halfway up the ladder when I felt a hand clamp down on my ankle. Immediately, my skin began to burn. Crying out, I nearly lost my hold on the ladder. Another hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me down and tossing me to the floor like a rag doll.
Wincing from the pain, I looked up to see one of the red demons towering over me. Coral was just behind him. Dazed, I looked down to see that my skin was blistered in the places where he’d grabbed me.
Coral crouched low, shaking her head with a scowl. “You burned her. You weren’t supposed to burn her.”
The hulking demon grunted, “You told me to stop her.”
Coral stood back up, her brows pinched. “Ember isn’t going to like this. If she’s hurt, Severn will be furious. Great, now I have to fix it.”
I was still clutching my skin where it stung from the burn, feeling dazed by the intense pain. Coral knelt, pressed a kiss to her fingers, and then touched it to my temple. “Sleep, little human.”
And then the pain was gone because everything was gone, and I immediately lost consciousness.
