“Naria.” The low, warning way he growled my name made my belly flutter, but I pushed aside the feeling to focus on the timing of the swinging tentacles.
“I’ll tell you when to do it,” I said, studying her movements. One swing. Two swings.
“Are you certain?”
Half a swing— “Now!” I dove towards the bubble wall. Somehow, the golden light darkened just as the bubbles fizzled out, sending me crashing into a nearby clump of seaweed.
“Naria!” Two familiar voices cried from somewhere else in the cave. The giant beast roared, turning her tentacles towards me.
“Don’t hurt the baby!” I yelled to the others. Scrambling through the grass, I yelped as a tentacle sliced just inches from my ear. Another slammed down in front of me, circling me, then trapping me in its rapidly shrinking grip.
I gasped. Its grip tightened. And moments before I was almost killed for the second time in one night, the giant tentacle crushing my spine froze. Shuddering slightly, the beast made an odd sort of purring noise, then released me from her deadly arm to retreat to the centre of the cave.
Collapsing to the sand, I coughed and sputtered until, finally, I lifted my head. Both beasts, mother and child, were circling each other. The mother’s eyes became wide, then softened as the smaller beast nuzzled his forehead against hers.
“Ithas a baby?” Adriana’s jaw hung open. The bright pearl around her neck cast the two creatures in a soft whitelight.
Arenn drew closer to her side, panting. “Shall I kill them both?”
“Absolutely not,” I yelled. Pushing up from the sand, I swam towards my friends. “They’re not harmful at all. She was just…” My eyes turned watery as I watched their reunion.
“Protecting her baby,” Adriana finished for me, swiping away a tear. We all stayed silent as the child nuzzled against its mother, while the larger beast let out a grateful purr.
I couldn’t hide the smile that pulled at my cheeks. Ancients, it felt good to help someone – even if that someone was a lot less human than my usual patients.
I tried not to think about how I probably didn’t have many patients left to heal. Especially considering I’d be returning to Drothmore soon, and then Corlixir…
“What happened down there?” Arenn jerked his chin towards the swaying reeds where I’d saved the child. When I followed his gaze, my brows drew together. Lukas was gone, the water bare of any golden light, as if he’d never been there at all.
Did I imagine the whole thing? Surely not…
Before I could even begin to explain, a smile lit up Adriana’s face. “It was my dear cousin, wasn’t it?” She swished her tail gleefully. “All we could see were bubbles, but when they glowed gold I just knew it’d be him! Unless, of course, you somehow managed to charmtwomerfolk blessed with the Gift?”
“Lukas was here?” Arenn’s voice turned gravelly.
Ignoring him, I dove towards Adriana. “Tell me about this ‘Gift’,” I demanded. “Please.” If Lukas liked his secretsso much, he could keep them. But I wasn’t leaving this cave without prying some sort of information out of Adriana.
The mermaid’s emerald eyes glittered. “What do you want to know?”
“How does it work?” I started. “What does it do? I’ve tried asking Lukas about it but he won’t tell me anything. It’s like he’s—”
“Scared of it?” Adriana folded her arms. “Perfectly normal for those born with the Divine Gift.” She shrugged. “It’s powerful. And sometimes uncontrollable. Those with the Gift have been known to strike people down without even meaning to if their emotions are running high enough.”
Visions of thunderclouds and sudden bursts of lightning rolled through my mind. “Just like that time when those goblins grabbed me in the forest,” I wondered out loud.
“What happened in the forest?” Arenn demanded, swimming between us.
“Forget I said anything.” I brushed him off, focusing only on Adriana. “What else can the Gift do? Heal people?”
“Yes.” But she winced as she spoke. “Though the healing comes with a cost.”
“A life for a life, human,” Arenn said, forcing my mind back to the weakened servant in the library. “Perhaps your charming king is not so charming after all.”
“He couldn’t have known.” I scowled. “Lukas is a good man.”
“And a powerful one too,” Adriana carried on, ignoring the faery prince. “Those with the Gift can summon and wield a water dragon!”
“Lukas has a dragon?” My eyes widened.
