Thetis’ webbed fingers closed around the rod. His flesh hissed and sizzled. The smell hit me, bringing back the sensation of dread, of hopelessness, that had consumed me on the Massacre.
A large bubble left Thetis’ mouth. I wondered what he was going to do. Surely he wouldn’t do what Adaro said.
Maybe what came next was inevitable. He raised the weapon—and plunged the iron into his own heart. The sizzle was drowned by his scream. The pungent smell intensified. Blood leaked out around the pipe, clouding the water.
My heart leapt against my ribs as though trying to free itself from a mortal body. Adaro watched with indifference.
After a long, terrible moment, the life drained from Thetis’ eyes. Adaro approached the body and pulled the weapon free. He pushed the dead merman aside.
I flinched as the water stirred, and out of the murky blue appeared the serpent. Her eyes were fixed on Thetis’ body.
Everything darkened as her tremendous body curved around us. A silence descended so complete that a puff of air leaving her nostrils could be heard.
Gently, like a mother dog picking up her pup, her teeth closed over Thetis’ tail fin and pulled him closer. She opened her mouth.
I wanted to close my eyes but couldn’t.
With a movement too fast to see, the serpent’s jaws snapped closed over Thetis’ entire body. The pulse of water slammed into me, pushing me hard against the boulder.
Thetis was gone, and Nestor stared, open-mouthed, at the empty space. I was not aware that Adaro’s attention had turned to me until he spoke.
“This was an admirable effort on your part, Meela.”
Panic rose, but I met his gaze, determined not to look afraid.
“Do you know what my armies are doing this very moment?”
Keeping my voice even, I said, “They’re invading the Atlantic.”
Adaro tilted his head. He gave a peculiar smile. “Indeed. My last battle and then the oceans will be under the absolute crown, the way they were always meant to be. Medusa never understood what a true monarch should be.”
“You mean killing everyone who isn’t Utopia-born? Anyone who might not be prepared to die for you? You’re afraid of your own kingdom. It’s pathetic.”
I almost added the things I knew of Medusa—but a voice in my head that sounded like Lysi’s told me to be quiet.
Adaro snarled. The serpent coiled around the three of us, blocking the currents and casting us into isolation.
“As the absolute crown, I cannot have opposition.”
He circled behind me. A faint sting across my neck told me the iron rod was dangerously close.
“Opposition includes, of course, any organised rebel groups. I will happily spare you, Meela, if you tell me where the rebel group is.”
The sting spread across my shoulders, down my back.
I gritted my teeth. I thought of Nilus and Ephyra and all of my nieces. He would have to burn me to death before I turned anyone over to him.
“No.”
The sting intensified, like someone held a lit match against my skin. I bit my lip, forcing myself not to cry out.
“Then I want to thank you for this opportunity. It will enlighten you as to what your people have been putting my army through all these years. And, I suppose, you might understand what you put Lysithea through, what with that terrible, unsightly burn on her flesh.”
I thrashed, pulling the ropes until they groaned and threatened to snap.
“Think,” said Adaro, mock pain in his voice. “Think of all the suffering your rash actions are causing. Lysithea, and that goon, and now all of your people. You can be sure, Meela, that my next stop with the Host of Eriana will be her home. She will destroy every part of your island until there is nothing left but rock.”
My chest hurt so badly I could barely think. I couldn’t tell if the pain was from devastation or lack of air.
