“What’s wrong,Dove?”
I can already taste caramelised sugar on my tongue. I’ve found she only tastes charged like that when she’s using Fury’s power or her emotions are heightened.
Pulling at my restraints, I try for some give—anything.If only Iwere a God.
“We are locked in a cage above a pool of water in a large, rocky cavern,”her words rush out all at once.There’s something she’s not telling me.I let that go for a moment as I internally kick myself for letting her get into this predicament.How does an innocuous puddle lead to the mer kingdom?
“Can you use Fury’s power to get free?”
“I’ve been trying. I don’t know how it will help us this time.”She almost sounds defeated.
“What about Fury?”I growl down the bond, trying to rouse the God.
Before she can answer, a hand grasps my chin. Claws push in,making me grit my teeth. Multicoloured eyes find mine. There’s a mesmerising quality to them, but I hear Dove’s voice in the back of my head.
I shut my eyes to the mer, blocking her out.
twenty-five
Dove
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The sound seems to be getting closer and closer, vibrating the water underneath us, ripples forming every beat of the travelling sound.
“Rivern?”I question the bond holding us together. This time, I get nothing.He’s alive. Probably better off than me and Moyrie, by thesounds of it.
“Can you blow the bottom off the cage?” Moyrie asks, also concerned about the increasing thumping coming from below us.
It’s dark up here in our cage of doom. I’ve been trying to find the reserves of the God magic within. It doesn’t come easily this time. I still don’t know what spurred it on the last three times I used it. The feeling is there, lingering on my bond strings connecting me to Fury. Grasping it and holding on is another matter entirely.
Each rhythm the power has worked through me, I’ve felt a bone-deep exhaustion afterwards. Not that it stopped me from pushing forward. Running on barely any food or sleep was a daily occurrence for me in past rotations, especially as our rations became smaller and smaller in Haven.
The darkness is cloying up high like this. There’s a dripping coming from the water that slides down the sides of our prison, grating on our souls. I want the rage to come, except I find flashes of luminous green eyes, a darker shade than my own, glaring back at me.
It’s not real.
It’s not real.
I repeat the mantra—my lifeline in this turmoil.
When I was younger, I found my sister’s voice and latched onto it, pushing away all the images that kept me scared. With her voice gone, her face keeps finding mine, and pictures I never want to see glide past Argus’s sleeping form.
It’s my fault. I left. Now this is happening. I should’ve stayed. I got swept away by the idea of freedom and love.
I’m on the cusp of losing it all again.
“Dove, Dove!” Small but firm hands grip my shoulders, shaking me.
“What?” I frown at Moyrie.
“You were muttering and pacing. It didn’t seem productive.” She quirks her nonexistent eyebrow. I rub my eyes.
“Sorry, I thought I saw something.” Remembering her last question about blowing off the bottom of the cage, I tell her I can try.
