He hesitates, expression shifting between rebellious and terrified. Then, finally, he scurries away. My heart cracks with the realization that that was the last I’ll ever see of him.
The horizon brightens further, the eastern sky no longer black but navy painted with russet and gold. Gentle waves lap onto the shore, curling around my bare feet. With a deep breath, I step into the water.
* * *
Closing my eyes,I bask in the feeling of the sea, of rocks giving way to sand beneath my toes the deeper I go out. I stop when the water comes up to my neck, then I dunk my head under. Pressure builds in my ears, but I try to recall what it was like in my sealskin. The way it felt to have blubber all around me, insulating my bones against the chilliest waters. I think about swimming in my lagoon with Podaxis, doing flips and turns as we explored every corner of our play area. I recall catching fish, sating myself until full, then napping with my brothers beneath the warmth of the sun. When my lungs grow too tight to hold in air, I breach the surface. A peaceful smile settles over my lips, one that remains even as I feel sunlight touch my eyelids. Even as I open them and find Nimue several feet away. I see only her upper body, her pale flesh and silver hair, her cruel lips set in a frown. When I see my sealskin draped over her shoulders—the same way Zara wore it after she stole it from me—my smile slips away.
“Daughter,” she says. “You have failed our bargain. I know this, for I would have felt it if you succeeded, would have sensed the severing of our bargain’s bond. The boy still lives, does he not?”
“He does,” I say, “but I killed Zara.”
Surprise crosses her face. Then fury. “I didn’t ask you to kill Zara.”
“You didn’t have to. I was more than happy to oblige for personal reasons.”
Her jaw shifts side to side. “Very well, daughter. You may have robbed me of one of my greatest assassins, but you have proven your worth. Come. Your place is with the Sisters of the Black Eel. I’ll revoke our bargain and end your curse if you join us.” She extends a hand.
I make no move to accept it. “Zara told me everything. Told me how you misled me to believe fulfilling your bargain would put an end to my deadly magic.”
“It would have,” she says, tone innocent. “I would have revealed the truth of your powers.”
My tone darkens. “You enchanted my lips so that I’d kill whether I wanted to or not.”
“What difference does it make? You already thought your kiss was forever deadly. All I did was ensure your success as best I could.”
I roll my eyes. “You didn’t care if I succeeded. You never meant for me to be free of you.”
“Why should I want you to be free of me? You’re my daughter. I’ve waited your whole life to be a mother to you.”
“When will you understand? What you’re doing—what youdidto me—that’s not being a true mother. If you cared for me at all, you never would have cursed me. Not the first time when you gave me ten days to live. Not the second time when you bastardized my magic. You never would have sent me to kill a man I’d saved. Never would have tricked me into believing the Alpha Council—and my father—sanctioned my actions. You knew I would have been devastated if I completed my mission. You knew I’d fear my father’s disdain for my actions.”
“I meant it as a lesson in trust, Maisie. You’re too soft. Too gullible. You trust too easily. Nothing I did was meant to harm you but to make you stronger. I was going to tell you the truth.”
I sneer at her, hating the fact that she can utter her words aloud. If she can, it means she believes them. “You’re out of your mind, Nimue. I want nothing to do with you.”
Light blares into my eyes, the sky blushing brighter with every second that ticks by. A flash of pain ignites over my shoulder. Then my arms. With every inch the sun rises, my skin grows warmer.
Nimue pales, eyes dipping down to my sodden shirt. “Maisie, this is no time for hurt feelings. You will die if I don’t revoke your curse.”
A sizzling sound rises from my skin, followed by the smell of burning. Steam rises from the water around me. I lift my arm and find a hole burning into my sleeve. The skin beneath it is unmarred but it feels as if it’s on fire. Grimacing at another flash of pain, I return my gaze to Nimue. My voice comes out strained. “Then do it.”
Her eyes go wide, and I’m surprised by the panic twisting her face. “I will, daughter. Just take my hand and accept your place as a Sister.”
I bite back a cry as my sleeves continue to burn. “No.”
She slaps the water in frustration. “That’s the only bargain I’m offering you. You must take it or you’ll die.”
“Then I’ll die free.”
She charges closer, a roar escaping her lips. “You stubborn girl! You’re just like your father.”
“I am.” Beneath the water, I feel my legs begin to sear, my trousers burning at the cuffs, then the knees. My sleeves are almost entirely gone.
“I won’t save you.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“You’ll turn to seafoam. You’ll be nothing.” Her voice trembles more and more with every word.
