Marina’s heart sped up.
Evander’s blood stained her palms, no matter how much she wiped them clean, trapping her in that horrid moment when he’d invaded her bed and branded his fingerprints on her body.
What would happen next time? When another’s blood touched her skin?
The thought ofmore, of their blood diffusing with her own, shriveled her lungs.
Acacius’s form distorted.
She took a step toward him. “Wait, I…”
Acacius halted in his teleportation, the rays of his divine power levitating like obsidian silk at his waist.
He looked over his shoulder at her, his macabre mask tilting as he waited. “Yes?”
Marina’s jaw set from the discomfort as she worked the question off her tongue. “What if I…” She paused and licked her lips. Letting out an exhale in defeat, she tried again. “What if I cannot handle the carnage?”
Acacius’s gaze darkened into caramel, the shape of his eyes thinning from what Marina could only assume was a sinister smirk behind his mask. “Then you create a monster who can.”
Part One
It Does Not Bother Me To Drown
1
ALL THE LIGHT IS GONE
Marina
The Present
Marina’sfinal moment with her father was this:
The bright cluster of his halo glittered over his dark hair. His hand swept a gentle caress across her cheek, and an endless affection permeated from his gaze as he acknowledged her.
“Marina, I forgive you.”
They were alone, just the two of them, in a grove of elms outside the gates of the Land of the Dead. The others had not arrived yet. Though, several figures in marble cloaks appeared in her periphery. The Errai kept their distance, awaiting the arrival of their ruler.
Marina was ashamed of herself for hiding her face in her palms, weeping, unable to reply to him. In the dusk of their remaining time, she did not wish to look at him in his ethereal, soul-bound form. Anger struck in her chest, penitent for all the times she took him for granted.
Sorrow filled her heart, callous and cruel, unforgiving for what she had done to him.
“Marina,” her father repeated, patient and so, so gentle.
It sickened her.
She shook her head, refusing to lift her swollen, tear-stained face. “I cannot—” She choked on the sobs catching in her throat. “Why do you not yell at me? Profess your disappointment in me? Facing your disdain would be easier than this. I-I murdered you!” She spat out the words in horror.
Father grabbed onto her arms and yanked her into his embrace.
She gasped, stunned by the floral cloud of his warmth.
Volatile emotions welled in her chest, like a ravine threatening to burst.
For the first time since her days as a child, he was hugging her.
She sank into his hold, throwing her arms around him in useless desperation. “I-I am s-sorry,” she cried louder, her teeth chattering. “I am s-so sorry for what I’ve d-done.”
