Page 41 of Claimed By the Depths

“Perhaps,” I teased, quickly sitting up as she took a step toward me. “No, stop. Let me come to you.”

With a shove, I pushed myself off the cushions to stand. It only took a handful of strides before I was in front of her, hands settling on her hips. Massaging them gently, she groaned in relief, her forehead settling on my chest.

“Gods, that feels so good.”

“I can imagine, considering you’re only three weeks out from being full term.” Moving my touch, I pressed my palm to her round belly. “You don’t have to cook, little siren; I’m happy to.”

“But I want to,” she grumbled. “Movement helps with labor, or so the midwife said.”

My lips brushed against the crown of her head. “Then I suppose I cannot stop you.”

“No, you can’t, but what you can do is keep rubbing my hips like that.”

“I will happily follow you around this kitchen to do so.”

She lifted her chin, peering up at me with her vibrant emerald stare—the stare I had fallen in love with. She went to reply, but as I blinked, she vanished from in front of me.

Panic swelled as I whipped around; what was once a comforting space transformed into a nightmare.

I stood on a narrow path, its length twisted through a canyon of jagged black spires. On either side of me, rivers of molten fire spilled down the cliffs like glowing waterfalls, casting a blood-red light across the rocks. Heat rose from the abyss below, carrying sparks that drifted through the air like embers from an endless forge.

Beneath my feet, the ground seemed to vibrate with something ancient and worn, while ahead, the trail climbed higher. Winding toward a towering citadel perched atop a mountain of broken stone, it deteriorated even more with each echoed footstep. The fortress seemed impossibly distant, yet its pale walls and sharp spires dominated the horizon. Drawn in by its unnatural lure, something else screamed inside me to run, that someone needed me…

A hand closed around my throat, hoisting me from the stone. Ashen skin manifested, relics carved up every inch of the arm that slowly formed before a body joined. Burning coal irises met mine, horns twisted against her hairless head. With a smile, Sorva squeezed tighter, thieving every ounce of oxygen from my lungs.

“Hello, Caspian, darling.”

Instinctively, I kicked my legs, nails trying to pry her hold from me. Pressure assaulted my mind, a numbness flooding my extremities as her talons sank into my flesh.

“There is no running. Not anymore,” she mewled. “You believe yourself free? That you have a chance of that future with Rohen?”

“L-Let… me…”

Constricting even further, my spine cracked beneath her wrath. “Let me remind you who you belong to. The bind I hold over your soul ensures you remain my obedient little mutt, so… Let’s test it, yes?”

Air flooded my essence, a slew of coughs following as I collided with the path. No, not the path… The kitchen floor.

Rohen dropped to a knee to cup my face. “Cas. Hey, Cas. Look at me. What happened?”

Disoriented, I sucked in a breath as I took in my surroundings. Gone was the lava, the lush foliage replacing the horrors of wherever I had ended up. Blinking once, I met her concerned stare. “Yeah, I… I don’t know what⁠—”

My utterance faded as my eyes lifted, spotting the billowing cloak and towering figure standing behind Rohen. Mouth opening, Sorva’s sharpened canines gleamed with bloodlust. “Kill her.”

Unable to stop myself, I was on my feet, snatching the blade from the counter that Rohen had selected. Without pause, I pivoted and drove the steel into her stomach, twisting it as soon as it reached the hilt.

“C-Cas…” Rohen whimpered, blood trickling from her lips as she gasped for a nonexistent inhale. “Caspian… W-Why⁠—”

A hitched breath tore itself from my raw throat as I sat up. Palms flat against my cot, my chest rose and fell with my panic. Skin slick with sweat and legs bound by sheets, I ran a trembling hand down my face.

“It was just a dream…” I whispered, unsure whether I was trying to convince myself I was awake or to test whether I was still trapped in my subconscious. “Just a dream…”

Dropping my head into my hands, I closed my eyes to try to ignore the tremors that continued to rock my frame. With a sigh, I removed my touch and allowed my arms to fall into my lap as I stretched my neck. Lids fluttering open, my blood iced over at what greeted me.

A thick layer of crimson stained my palms, continuing onto the white fabric wound around my frame. Sucking in a breath, the revulsion only persisted, the spilled life force that trickled from my bare chest in the shape of handprints. I tried to swipe it away, but it only spread the coagulated liquid, and hysteria ensued.

Tearing myself from where I rested, I hit the ground in a heap. The stained linens followed me as if in mockery, clinging to my body with adamance. Fingers curling around them, I tried to loosen their hold, but they refused, only seeming to tighten with my building perturbation. My throat constricted, and the very act of drawing in a breath vanished entirely.

Lungs burning at the absence, I slid across the floor until my back hit the wall with a resounding thud. Gathering fistfuls of my hair, I shook my head and tugged, trying to draw myself from my own damnation. When the dull ache wasn’t enough, I pulled even harder, pleading to whatever god would listen to make it stop.