Page 7 of Claimed By the Depths

Syoran.

Slapping his arm, I pushed myself away from him. With a swift glance over my shoulder, I whispered harshly, “Touch me again, and I will carve my godsdamned dagger through Parran’s craftsmanship.”

Sneering, he spoke just as hushed as I had, the bite behind each syllable apparent. “I don’t have a godsdamned issue with you desiring to lock eyes with death. By the gods, I’ll call them over here and negotiate your life for my freedom.”

Them.

Sorva’s statement swathed my mind, carrying with it just as much venom as it had when it left her poisoned lips. “Utter another word, and I will ensure that those who walk alongside me obliterate those outside this palace. They are merely toying with them, as one does with their food.”

“What the fuck are you thinking about, Levitte?” Syoran hissed. “Your gaze is distant, and you’re staring at me. Which is fucking creepy, by the way.”

Rolling my eyes, I shoved aside the second half of his remark. “Them. It’s the Others.”

He dipped his chin and went to speak, but a conversation nearly too close forced him to remain quiet.

“Sorva’s ordered our presence,” a male said matter-of-factly, agitation sharpening his timbre.

The hum of a feminine voice rolled through the air, a feigned pout clinging to it. “Aw, but I was having so much fun playing hide and seek with that handsome pirate.”

With a sigh, he spoke again, “Vrax, we are needed for the ceremony.”

Silence until, “Really?” The single question dripping from features I knew her sinister glee had upturned.

“It is time, sister.”

Holding my breath, I waited for a reply, but nothing followed. My chest fell with the exhale that I hadn’t granted the privilege of falling as I glanced at Syoran. “Are they gone?” I mouthed.

He shifted just enough to peer through the leaves cloaking us. Taking a moment to examine our surroundings, he turned back and nodded. “Yes.”

Not wasting a second more, I peeled myself from our makeshift hiding spot. Syoran was quick to follow, brushing his hands over his trousers before he stood to his full height. With the shadowed foliage no longer concealing us, his bloodied shirt fell into my line of sight. Four lines of crimson jutted across the linen, and my expression soured.

“You didn’t tell me you were injured.”

He trained me with an unamused stare. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you cared to know, considering you threatened to do the same when I was simply trying to prevent you from having your head cleaved from your body”—his lips suddenly upturned as he explored my frame—“what the fuck happened to you?”

I offered him a flash of confusion before the realization settled. Attempting to rake my fingers through my hair, I groaned as soon as a sticky knot prevented me from progressing any further. “Your captain decided it was a good idea to toss me onto a table filled with hors d’oeuvres.”

“Mmm.” Lips falling into a tight line, he struggled to keep his laughter at bay. “I’m not sure if jam quite suits you.”

“Oh, fuck you, Syoran.”

He shrugged off my annoyance. “You wish for me to be far more direct? Alright. You look like shit.”

“And you fit right in.”

We stood there for what felt like a decade, though I was certain only seconds passed. The tension that stretched between us served as a reminder of all that had occurred, the weeks we’d known one another carrying both violence and vengeance. But among them, an underlying knowing of the impending doom lurked on the horizon, shining far brighter than the wounds we’d carved, both physical and metaphorical.

Everything was crumbling around us, and the only solid ground we stood on seemed to exist when all of us were together.

Finally electing to speak, I diverted to something far more dire. “Ellira showed me something, and I’m afraid it is not far away from coming true.”

“Which was?”

“A continent on fire with creatures not from our realm raiding the land. Then the silhouette of a woman, the woman whom I ran into when I went to try to secure Caspian.” Attempting to lay the imagery to rest, I swallowed. “Sorva, the Beloved Other, as they call her, stated that she and Caspian had somewhere to be, and her two counterparts confirmed my suspicions.”

“She’s hosting a ritual…” His dark irises flashed with heightened concern. “What kind?”

Jaw feathering, I shook my head, every ounce of me desiring not to believe the blaring truth. “I’d assume something dark, like opening a portal between our realm and another. Perhaps… Perhaps theirs.”