Page 91 of Stolen Magic of the Deep

I push my magic deeper than ever before, summoning every ounce of strength. Twisting violently, I unleash a concentrated, jet-like current directly into the creature’s eye, temporarily blinding it. The Mordyth thrashes wildly, and I streak away from its snapping jaws, adrenaline surging with every heartbeat.

I have only a few seconds to inspect my tail. Several scales are missing, and blood leaks steadily from the wounds, clouding the water around me. A wave of dizziness hits; I didn’t realize how sensitive my tail truly was to direct attacks. When Defymin stabbed me during Current One’s challenge, it barely grazed the surface, and I recovered quickly.

This . . . This is entirely different. Stars prick at the edges of my vision as I fight to steady myself.

Keil reaches me in a rush, looping one of my arms over his shoulder and lowering us toward the ground. “I’ve got you. What should we do?”

Drawing on every ounce of focus I have left, I reach inward, feeling the emotions rippling through the arena. Determination radiates from Defymin. Worry pulses from Keil. Fear clings to Aniah. And from the Mordyth—pure, unrelenting rage. I don’t know if I can lead them through this, but I have to try. I didn’t become the top finling just because of skill, it’s because of my magic. And right now, that’s all I have left.

“We need to keep attacking from underneath,” I say, forcing steadiness into my voice. “I’m the only one fast enough for it to chase without catching. You and Aniah strike from below. Keep the attacks as close together as possible. Have Defymin take the killing blow. Tell him his spear has to go straight up, right through the middle section of its body. Let’s hope this works.”

Without another word, I inhale deeply, pushing the excruciating pain at the end of my tail aside. Then I surge forward, drawing the Mordyth’s attention back to me.

Using my hands, I shove a heavy current toward the creature and deliberately place my tail in its path, letting streaks of my blood ride the flow. The scent reaches the creature, and its instincts flare. Food. Hunger devours every other emotion, radiating from it in wild, consuming waves. The water around me feels hotter, thick with aggression and craving.

The Mordyth tears through the space, tail lashing as it propels itself toward me. I push off the arena floor with the base of my tail—pain detonating through me, climbing all the way to my abdomen—as I swim faster than I ever have since gaining this shapeshifting form.

My comrades dart in and out beneath the creature, slicing into its underside with desperate precision. Each strike adds another crimson cloud to the water, the arena growing hazy and dark.

The crowd fades into a muffled storm of hollering cheers above, their excitement blending with the Mordyth’s thunderous roars. The sound vibrates through my bones, and for a heartbeat, I think we’ve won. I slow my pace and glance back. No sign of the beast.

Then out of nowhere, before I can react, the Mordyth bursts from the shadows ahead, jaws unhinged. Its blade-like teeth snap shut around me, locking my body in place between them. My head and arms dangle outside its mouth as the crushing pressure tightens around my torso. If not for the armor of my scales, the beast’s jagged teeth would have torn straight through me.

My thoughts fragment. My magic flickers, fading like light beneath deep water. The world around me dims, colors draining into black.

A voice pierces the haze, someone calling to me. I fall inward now. My consciousness slips beneath the surface. I reach the familiar elevator doors inside my mind and wrench them open.

Orion bursts through. His eyes are wide, his mouth moving, but I can’t hear him. He reaches for me, yet with every heartbeat, he drifts farther away—slipping beyond reach. Or is that me drifting from him?

I can’t tell anymore. The pain is everywhere. And I can’t hold on any longer.

My vision blurs, but I can feel it. I’m falling—endlessly. My body drifts like a petal torn from its bloom, sinking into the dark, letting the tide decide where it will carry me.

And just before my mind slips completely into blackness, a single word breaks through the void, a voice screaming, pounding against the walls of my thoughts.

“SARAH!”

My mind wakes before my eyes do. The world stirs around me in fragments—voices, distant and warped, filtering through the haze. I can’t make out the words, only the rhythm of them. Two voices. One male. One female.

I must still be dreaming. Nothing feels real. My thoughts drift in pieces, scattered and slow to return. Only parts of me seem awake; my awareness flickers in and out, like light refracted through unsteady water.

I can tell I’m submerged, everything but my head, which feels cradled by some soft, pillowy support. The gentle pull of the water drifts around me, tugging at my legs, which twitch involuntarily with each passing ripple. My arms mimic the same motions, suspended and weightless, floating just beneath the water.

Memories return in fragments, hazy and incomplete. Orion. The duels. Defymin and the other finlings. The Mordyth . . .

I snap my eyes open. My heartbeat spikes, erratic and wild, and my breathing feels tight, as the final, haunting pieces of what happened before I almost died crash back into me.

I look around. I’m in a cave. Above me stretches a ceiling of bright, neon blue. Not just a color, but a sound—a constant, low hum. Bioluminescence blankets the roof, a sight any marine biologist would kill to witness. The cave itself is dry, except for the shallow pool in which I now lie.

Across the pool, on the far edge, is the same mermaid I met during my dagger ceremony. Her name teeters on the edge of my memory, slipping away like water through fingers; my mind feels like sludge. She speaks to someone, but I can’t make out the words, only the cadence and tone.

Orion.

I continue to survey my surroundings. There's no visible entrance or exit. The walls are ordinary cave stone, like any you would find on the surface. Around the pool, the sand is dazzling white, flecked with tiny specks of blue dust, which might simply be the reflection of the glowing ceiling above.

As my mind catches up with being alert, sensations capture my full attention. I feel water coursing over my skin. My legs are separate. I'm in human form.

The mermaid turns her head, her beauty breathtaking. Her skin resembles Leo’s rich chocolate tone, and her hair is white as snow, cascading down her back like silk. Her cool, sapphire eyes mirror the bioluminescence above—and land directly on me, taking in my naked body.