“Oh. I still would have eaten you,” she called out from behind me.
“But instead,” I barreled on, ignoring her. “We rattled the door to her sanctuary and attacked her when she tried to come out. That’s not a polite way to introduce yourself, is it?”
“Yes,” the sea witch called. “It wasveryrude.”
I paddled with my arms, facing her again. “Please accept my apologies… uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
Her lip wobbled again. “Nobody has asked me my name in centuries. Everyone just calls me the sea witch.”
“Well… what’s your name?”
“It’s Jengrakenzlore.”
“Nice to meet you, uh, Jen. I’m Susan Moore.” I held out my hand.
She looked at it and licked her lips. Her sharp teeth flashed.
I snatched it back.
“Sorry,” she said cheerfully. “Force of habit.”
“Listen, Jen.” I sidled a little closer. “I was wondering if you could help us with something. I’ve heard that you guard your realm’s spark stone.”
Her eyes suddenly narrowed. “What’s it to you?”
“Well, first of all, it shows you how much the other merpeople respect your power. If you’re the strongest, most magically capable creature in this whole world, and they’ve given you the stone to guard, it means that they value you enormously.”
She puffed out her chest. “You’re not wrong there, love. Well,” she wobbled her head from side to side. “Technically, they didn’t give it to me. I took it, and nobody could stop me. I’ve been using it as a centerpiece on my dining room table for the last few hundred years.”
“But you obviously know how important it is, so you guard it with your life.”
She shrugged. “Not with my life. Just with my teeth. And to be fair, I don’t really have to try too hard to secure it.”
I edged closer. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but the spark stone is in danger right now.”
“How?”
“There’s a—” Hmm. I probably shouldn't mention that the thief was Donovan’s brother. “There’s a fae man running around the Middle World who intends to steal it and devour it.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hang on. This rings a bell.” The sea witch pouted her thin beaky lips and tapped a black-clawed finger against them. “Honestly, it’s hard to keep track of all the prophecies that soothsayers and oracles spout, but I’ve heard this one a few times. Hmm.” She peered at me. “I suppose he is trying to absorb its power?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Right.” She huffed out a long breath of bubbles, a long sigh. “Thishasbeen foretold. The great Devourer, coming to destroy the magic of all the worlds.” She looked at me, frowning. “You’re the Chosen, I suppose. The One of Every Blood.”
“Apparently, I am. I’m supposed to close the stones.”
Her eyes roamed around my body for a second, her thin eyebrow raised. “You’re not what I expected. I thought the Chosen would be some hot chick in black leather. Like her.” She jabbed a thumb at Cress, still in her Black Widow pose—tense, taunt, and ready to fight.
“I’m sure Cress would make an excellent Chosen One.”
“No, she wouldn’t.” The sea witch sniffed. “I would have eaten her and spat out her bones. And there’s barely any flesh on her, anyway, so it would have beendeeplyunsatisfying.”
“Well, I guess it’s lucky you’ve got me,” I said, smiling at her warmly, trying to maintain eye contact while her boobs drifted all the way to the right, then back again. “I don’t think I’d be much help in a fight, but in conflict situations I believe in diplomacy, first and foremost. Jen, we are both smart women. I know we can reach a mutually beneficial outcome with a little discussion. But in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that if I close the stone, your people will cease to evolve.”
