Just as I went to step inside, the back of my neck tingled and I looked around quickly, trying to determine if I was being paranoid or if someone was watching me. My vision was almost as clear at night as in the day, and scouring the shadowy landscape I could see nothing. For some reason, I decided to look up, and there was movement, but it disappeared into the distance too fast for me to track it.
A bird, maybe.I hadn’t really seen much wildlife in the Academy grounds before, but some birds managed to get past the barrier. Shaking my head, I headed into the long, dark tunnel that led to the main rooms of the water building. I relaxed the moment the water was visible around me, and as I got closer to a large body of water, my eyes filled with tears. But for a change, they weren’t tears of despair. It was … reverence.
I couldn’t easily explain the emotions that water created inside of me. Like I’d been lost in the desert for days and then I’d found my oasis. Everything inside of me lit up with joy and excitement and need. I needed to be swimming. Even with all the sadness consuming me, there was comfort in my water.
The doorway with the barrier didn’t slow me. I blinked as I basically stepped right through it without any resistance. Was the magic down? I couldn’t imagine it would be, since they were protecting most of the students from everything hidden back here, including mermaids—aka total evil bitches—selkies, sharks, an omlong octopus thing that protected the moat around the school, and a ton of other demi-fey that no one wanted to mess with.
I still hadn’t explored most of this building, and that was mainly because I never made it past the ocean room. It was my sanctuary.
When I stepped through the doorway into the perpetually sunny room, I sighed.Yes. This is what I need.I kicked my shoes off and slipped out of my jeans and shirt, leaving me clad in just a matching set of black underwear. I actually smiled as the cool water washed across my feet and up my calves. In a few moments, it wouldn’t feel cold at all to me, my body adjusting to any water temp … even if it was freezing. I’d been pretty deep in the ocean and at no time was it cold or uncomfortable. The moment my head went under, the clanging in my head eased. That incessant ringing in my brain that had been going on since before Asher’s death, a toll of despair and sorrow, but now it was silent.
Within a few minutes I was way out in the water. I had the insane idea of swimming as far as I could, just to see if there was an end. I could see no end, and if I didn’t know we were in a magical room, I’d expect this was the real ocean, somewhere like the Caribbean, with white sand, turquoise waters, and cute-as-fuck beach huts that I wouldn’t be looking at because they held too many memories.
So I swam. And swam.
I was joined by Blush and all the other dolphins, and while I didn’t stop to “chat” with them like I normally would, I felt a little lighter again. By the time I felt the first strain of exhaustion, I was so far out that I could no longer see the sandy beach. It was calm out this far, the breaking surf a little closer to shore, the sun hot and soothing across my skin. I floated, well aware of the multitude of creatures around me. For some reason, I had an entourage of animals following me, including a few sharks. They were no doubt some of the creatures from the ocean I’d accidentally magicked above the school.
I didn’t fear any of them. There was a connection between us … woman of the sea and animals of the sea. We were one, and together we communed with … well, not the gods, those bastards were so not on my friend list these days. So I’d just say nature. We communed with nature.
Eventually, I started back for shore. There were so many creatures around me—many I had no name for or knowledge of—and whatever aching void of emptiness Asher had left inside of me was gone. For a moment, I had a sense that I could do this. I could be strong enough to survive without him. I’d never wanted to be the woman defined by a man, and while I still wholeheartedly believed in love, maybe having a love as strong as ours was too dangerous. I could not lose myself. Not right when I was coming to learn who Maddison James truly was. I’d spent ten thousand years in stasis, then twenty-plus years thinking myself human. This was finally my time to be real.
My speed picked up as I felt a renewed determination to learn magic, fight the gods, and live happily-the-fuck-ever-after, even if I did that alone. I had my best girlfriends, and sometimes they were more my soulmates than any dude could hope to be.
Just as my pep-talk bolstered my confidence, a slither of magic washed across my skin and I slowed my pace, hovering in the water, breathing shallowly so as not to disturb the current.
Something new is in here. Something to fear.
The animals pressed in closer to me, like they were my guard, and I ran my hands across the fin of the huge shark on my right. The fact that he was not scary in the least spoke a lot about how much I’d changed recently. Now, I respected him for the apex predator he was and appreciated the bond I somehow shared with him.
The power increased, and fearing that I was going to endanger all of them—they were no match for a god—I spoke quickly. “Go,” I said. “Swim as fast as you can and don’t look back.”
None of the creatures moved, even as I felt the tendrils of fear coming from them. “Go,” I said again, and this time I nudged them with some of my power. “I will be okay. But you’re all in danger.”
A little more power had them scattering away from me. I waited silently for whatever it was to reach me. In the next instant, the room plunged into darkness and my heart skipped a few beats as I waited for my eyes to adjust. It was difficult; there wasn’t even a speck of light now, and I was worried that whatever was coming for me was going to be too strong to fight.
The magic that gave this room eternal sunshine was powerful, so whoever had doused it was beyond my energy. The water whipped around me, knocking me about. Currents started tugging at me, and luckily I had the strength to resist—a normal supe would have been sucked into the depths with no way to save themselves.
Deciding I was done with this, I kicked off hard, heading for land. If I could get out of the water, I might be able to survive this. Otherwise … who knew.
Lightning lit the sky above, and I flinched as it cracked to the surface of the water, lighting up the darkness for a split second. In that second I saw the shape of a massive man about twenty yards from me, just floating above the water.
I didn’t recognize him, and the flash of light was so fast that all I saw were piercing eyes, white-blond hair, and a face that could have been carved from stone. Dark. Ominous. Scary as heck. He was also huge, maybe the largest supe, god, or person I’d ever seen. And that was really saying something when I had the Atlanteans to compare to.
It was next to impossible to tell if he meant me harm or not. I didn’t know whether to keep heading toward the land or just wait and see what he wanted. I wasn’t exactly without skills myself, but I had the deepest sense that this was a god and there was nothing I could do to stop him if he wanted to hurt me.
The next flash of lightning lit up the sky and I screamed loudly, the sound lost in the storm. He was right in front of me, a mere few inches separating us, and this time I could see the dark blue of his eyes, golden brown of his skin, and the chilling intensity in that gaze. He didn’t touch me, but I felt his energy crackling against my skin. It was almost painful, like ice pelting me, even though I was not at all cold.
“What do you want?” I screamed. He hadn’t automatically tried to kill me, and considering how powerful he appeared to be, he clearly could have. So there must be something else.
I couldn’t see him, but the uncomfortable sensation of ice hitting my skin increased and I knew he was closer. If I breathed too deeply, my boobs would probably touch his chest.
Jesus. Had this dude never heard of personal space?
At this point, I’d had enough, and as my fear evaporated in anger, so did my common sense.
Using both hands, I slammed them against his chest and shot every ounce of power through me as I pushed him back. The ice disappeared as he shot across the water, and I could have sworn I heard a deep, dark chuckle.
Then the lights came back on.
