Not even Sonaris.
It was like he’d just vanished completely.
“Where did he go?” I asked, looking between a pair of sharks.
Both shifted in the direction of the surface and I shot up. Again, a smart person would have just opened a step-through and gotten out of there, but I was beyond controlling myself at this point. The fire in my vision grew larger. That bastard had tied me up. Bound me with power. He’d wanted to hurt my fishy friends.
I burst out of the water, droplets scattering all around, and for the first time gravity didn’t yank me back down. My power surrounded me, and … I was drifting in the air. No, it was more like manipulating water particles in the air to keep me afloat. I could use those same water particles to shoot me around, and it legit felt like I was flying.
Probably the coolest thing ever, and in different circumstances I would have been whooping and hollering at how awesome it was. But that was the last thing I felt like doing at this moment.
Sonaris was going down.
I’d seen only a small fraction of the island before, but from my current elevation, twenty feet above the ground, I had a very good view of the surrounding area. It was an island with gorgeous white sand and lots of palm trees. Patches of forest appeared further back, and I could make out a waterfall near the center.
Sonaris’s private sanctuary wasn’t large by any definition, but it was stunning. Too stunning to be claimed by someone like him.
The water followed my mental command, sending me zooming over the trees toward the center of this island. Once I got near that waterfall, a small treehouse came into sight. Cleverly camouflaged into the surrounding landscape, I might have missed it if I wasn’t looking so hard.
“Sonaris!” My shout had power behind it and the foundation of the house shook. I tried to dial it back because I didn’t want to destroy something so perfect. It didn’t deserve my wrath, but maybe it was hiding the being who did.
“I’ll give you to the count of three,” I said, not even bothering to yell this time.
He would hear me.
Sure enough, in the next two seconds he appeared, and he was smiling again.
Fuck. I really wanted him to stop doing that.
“I knew it wouldn’t be long before you began unlocking your true potential.”
Deep inside, I felt what he was saying. The shark started it, sharing its power with me. That boost, and my fear of killing the creature, had unraveled the bonds I’d been mentally keeping on my power. All along it was me stopping the full release of my energy. Maybe because I’d always feared what might happen. Feared I wouldn’t be able to control it.
But no more.
Sonaris had done exactly what he set out to do—forced my hand—but now he had to deal with me at full power.
“Are you going to let me go? Leave me alone?” I asked as he rose in the air, hovering across from me.
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. You’re too powerful. One day you’ll usurp me as the god of the oceans. I won’t relinquish my role.”
He almost looked apologetic about this.
I could read between the lines with the best of them. “So … it’s join you or die?”
“It is,” he replied.
At least he was honest.
I should have been afraid, but all I had was understanding and acceptance of what was going down here. It was the inevitable conclusion.
“I will never join you,” I told him. “My heart … my soul, my power … they’re mine. And even if they weren't, there’s no way I’d give someone like you more power. Someone who just wants it for their own gain.” Storm clouds swirled over Sonaris’s head, super obvious in the blue skies above. “If I ever choose to share my power, it would be with my family. With Asher, and the other Atlanteans. Not with you.”
Thunder rumbled, and the ocean, visible far off in the distance, was no longer crystal-clear waters of blue and green. Now darkness lurked below, a tumultuous swirl of water, and a clear reminder of the power of nature. Especially nature controlled by this fucking megalomaniac.
“Last chance,” I said, already knowing he wouldn’t take it. “Just walk away. Be satisfied with the huge amount of energy you control now. Take my word that if you don’t abuse your power or position, I will never come for your godhood. I promise.”
He moved faster than a streak of lightning, and I knew this because literal lightning followed his movement a step behind. Our bodies slammed together and I gasped, expecting pain and blood. But my skin was all of a sudden as strong as diamonds. Then again, so was Sonaris’s.
