Once I’d finished cleaning myself, Noctis led me back to the rest of our crew. We sat in a small ring before the cot I’d previously laid out on, and they all listened as I recited the memories—the Ocean Mother’s ritual and plans to take over the Terraguard Bound with her puppeteering powers.
When I finished, they sat there in silent shock, contemplating the next move.
“We continue toward Aetherkin,” Jun pitched, determination intertwining in his voice.
“There is no recourse now but to claim the trident. Thal’Maruun is ancient and has shaped this design over centuries.That she would speak it aloud is proof enough that she deems it beyond destruction,” Noctis answered, agreeing with Jun.
“You know the story of Thal’Maruun?” I interjected. “For ocean dwellers, the ritual is secret, banned from speaking it to anyone outside of our blood. The Ocean Mother would have our heads publicly.”
Noctis’s lips rose slightly. “The gods wear two names: one offered to their worshippers, and one they keep buried—ancient, unspeakable, and powerful enough to unravel the divine. The Ocean MotherisThal’Maruun.”
“And what is your second name?” Calvin cut in. He laid on a pallet on the floor, his head resting on Jun’s leg.
“Unspeakable,” Noctis deadpanned, but his eyes focused on mine.
“It was terrifying. Knowing your body belongs to you, yet you can't control it.” The memory of me writhing under the grasp of the Ocean Mother frightened me. I was so vulnerable, just because of the blood that pumped through me. The way the goddess could control it.
“The titan is our best chance at surviving,” Zahara agreed. “We are already sailing toward the entrance to Aetherkin.”
A scuff sounded from across the ship.
I craned my neck but couldn’t make out what made the noise.
“I have a surprise for you,” Noctis said with a grin.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“You can’t just leave him there,” I uttered in disbelief as I watched the male thrash against the rope securing him to the foremast. His bound mouth only offered a muffled, quavered sound as the merfolk tried to speak through the gag.
What have we become?
“I can. And I will. He hasn’t exactly proven to be trustworthy,especiallyafter following us back to the ship and hopping on board.” Noctis glared at the merfolk with disinterest. “I wanted to surprise you with something just as heartfelt as the last gift you gave me… you know, the feral, soul snatching Tide Reaper?” Noctis’s words drawled slowly as if tasting the delicacy in each one.
“Heartfelt?” I turned back to him, forcing myself to focus on the issue at hand. “What are we going to do with him?”
“Darling, your magic was forged by the same tide. You may not feel it yet, but the same energy flows through your veins. You saw it take down Raoku. Andhe’sgoing to show you how to unleash yours before we get to Corvenwald and the Aetherkin Bound entrance.”
“I… I have no powers. They were drained from me. I don’t even feel them stirring.” I turned away from the bound merfolk, eyes sliding to the waves hitting the edge of the ship while the absence of my powers gnawed at me. My parents stole them with my blood. Their addiction took away everything that made me.
“Ifeel them. Finding and learning them just helps you survive the kind of world I’d burn for you,” he coaxed.
“Unbind his mouth,” I demanded, and Noctis complied with a twist of his wrist. The fabric fell.
I stepped forward, the mer’s bronzed chest still on display, close-cropped brown hair plastered to his head with sweat.
“Why did you follow us?” I asked.
The mer sucked in breath as if desperately trying to fill his lungs for the first time. His chest heaved before he answered, “Not everyone in the depths is for the tyrant.”
I met Noctis’s harrowing gaze as he slowly shifted his attention to me. Distrust spoke through his features—his squinted stare, the pulsing vein along his forehead, crossed arms that bulged when my eyes flitted across them…
“What’s your name?” I asked, forcing my attention back to the mer.
“Laziel. From Iskavaane.”
I gasped, barely audible, but the god heard it and turned to me like he always did, worry already in his eyes.
“He’s a rebel,” I whispered before Noctis could ask.
