I hadn’t meant to say it. It tore out of me—jagged and unrepentant. No nobility. No heroism.
Only the truth: I needed her.
Needmade my skin crawl. I’d spent decades carving that weakness out of myself, hollowing into something precise and useful. Need had a cost. It made you reckless. It gives others the power to ruin you.
Still, something in her expression softened. The tension in her shoulders eased—only slightly. The storm in her eyes dulled to a fragile, reluctant hope.
The Black Marrow, The Forgotten Trench
The passage ahead narrowed, barely wide enough for the Black Marrow to slip through. The ship groaned in protest as we entered the trench, hull scraping unseen ridges. Towering cliffs jutted from the sea, enclosing us—jagged spines slicing through mist and blocking out the stars.
The air shifted—heavier, thicker.
A stench rolled in: rot, sulfur, old blood left to steep in stagnant tide pools. It crawled into your throat and stayed there. Stomach-turning.
Tongue-drying. Sour in the lungs.
The crew, already frayed from the siren attack, tightened further—nerves stretched thin. A hush fell. Some muttered superstitions, warding off unseen forces. Others clutched weapons hard enough to whiten their knuckles, eyes scanning the mist. Every sound echoed strangely in the trench.
They didn’t accuse Nerina. They simply watched her more closely than before.
Beyond, a cove waited—cloaked in shadow. A crescent of black sand fringed the waterline, twisted coral jutting from shore in pale, bone-like spikes. Tidal pools shimmered with phosphorescent light, revealing bioluminescent creatures… and relics long lost to the tide. The cliffs rose in jagged spirals, forming a natural amphitheater that hummed with residual magic.
Memories surfaced—cold and relentless.
Damp earth. Brine. The same air as that night. The night my fate had been rewritten by something older than me. The pressure of unseen eyes in the dark. The past clawed at the edge of my mind.
Nerina hesitated, then studied me.
“You’ve been here before.” Her voice was quieter now—cautious, curious. “What were you looking for then?”
I exhaled and forced the memories down. “It doesn’t matter now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “It does if we’re going into that trench together.”
I let out a short laugh. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who barely answers any herself.”
“And you don’t?” she shot back.
I smirked. “Difference is, people usually do as I say. No questions asked.”
The words landed measured and deliberate.
Her eyes never left mine. I watched her for a beat. That curiosity was infuriating. And… compelling.
“Not sure if that’s admirable or just annoying,” I muttered.
She tilted her head, considering me. Then shrugged. “You brought me on this ship. That makes my business yours, doesn’t it?”
I smirked. “And yet, you’re still being cagey.”
I debated answering. She’d given me pieces of herself, guarded as they were. Maybe it was only fair that I offered one in return.
“I was looking for something I thought I wanted.”
Nerina shifted beside me, watching closely. “And did you find it?”
I had come here in search of immortality.
