Chapter 43
Everyone and everything died. It was a fact of life that couldn’t be ignored or dismissed.
Kalyani had always expected to be an old woman with plenty of wrinkles and gray hair when she finally passed on.
Yet she was being hurled toward her end much earlier than expected—and there was nothing she could do about it.
When her gaze met Varum’s, time slowed for a heartbeat.
All the things she had wanted to do and say but had been too afraid to, filled her with regret.
Yet the cold, reserved elf who usually kept a tight rein on his emotions had disappeared.
Except it wasn’t warmth and affection reflected in his eyes. It was fear.
For her.
And that broke her as nothing else could.
The elves dragging her farther from Varum came to a stop and jerked her to her feet. She shook uncontrollably as blood rushed loudly in her ears. Thousands might be ogling her, but the only one who mattered, the only one she sought, was Varum.
Kalyani struggled to keep her knees from giving out.
Death loomed over her like a black cloud waiting to burst. She could practically feel the cold fingers of the afterlife reaching for her.
It was bad enough that Varum was being forced to watch her die.
She couldn’t dissolve into tears. She would greet the end with her back straight and her head held high.
Maybe it would help lighten the guilt he would insist on carrying.
All the lies she had so blatantly told moments earlier would be revealed the moment they tossed her into the water.
Would the pressure kill her instantly? She hoped the pain didn’t last long.
She wasn’t ready to die. There were so many things she hadn’t done.
Yet she didn’t blame Varum. If she hadn’t been unconscious when he found her, she likely would’ve begged him to take her with him.
One way or another, she would’ve ended up in this exact position.
It was too bad she wouldn’t have the chance to tell Varum that. Another regret was Rohan. Her brother would never know what had become of her. She’d never meant to hurt him in such a way. Hopefully, Farah would be able to help him eventually accept that she wasn’t returning.
The speaker from earlier began listing her offenses again, as if that were necessary. She dared another glance at Varum to find him still watching her. He needed to look away. The longer he stared at her, the more it seemed as if they knew each other.
She hoped he wouldn’t try something stupid like attempting to save her. There was no stopping what was about to happen now. Things were in motion. Her life was over, but there was still a chance for him.
A subtle melody caught her attention. It was faint, nothing but the barest of whispers, but she couldn’t ignore it.
Her mind emptied as she sought to hear more of the tune she hadn’t heard in years.
The notes and harmonies swirled in and around her, gradually taking away her fear.
No one else seemed to hear it, which surprised her.
Could it be that only her ears detected it?
She shot the guards a furtive glance to make sure their attention was elsewhere, then pulled out of their grasp. The two who had been holding her, swung their heads to her as she took a step backward.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Varum lunge in her direction. She couldn’t look at him again, or she would lose her nerve. During that momentary waver, the music became louder. It filled her mind and body, the beats resonating through her until she didn’t know where it ended and she began.
She took another step backward. The pull of the song was too strong to resist.
“What is she doing?” Tanira asked.
Nirav jerked his head to her to find her staring out a window toward the auditorium. She had brought them into a private room with a view of the back of the arena. They couldn’t hear what was going on, but they could see everything.
“Who?” he asked.
“The human.”
“Kalyani?” Nirav rushed to stand beside Tanira, his mouth going lax when he saw Kalyani backing toward the nehras. “She’s going to step through on her own.”
Tanira’s gaze slid to him. “Why would she do that? She should be fighting to live.”
“She’s saving Varum.”
“How does that help him?”
Nirav smiled sadly. “I knew something was developing between them.”
“How is that helping him?” Tanira repeated, louder this time.
“Varum managed to get the soldiers off him. He did it with the intent of reaching her, and Kalyani knew that. She intends to plunge into the water before he can do anything that implicates him. Her actions will stun everyone and keep them from noticing Varum’s reaction.”
Tanira’s head slowly turned back to the window. “How long has she been at Varum’s?”
“A few days.”
“And they developed feelings that quickly?”
Nirav nodded once. “It happens that way sometimes.”
“Eventually, my father will notice his reaction.” Tanira sighed and faced Nirav. “We need to get to Varum before then.”
“We can’t. The plan I have is for when they return him to the holding cells.”
Tanira gathered her long, blue-black hair at the back of her head and wound it into a knot. “We won’t have time for that. Listen and do exactly as I say.”
Kalyani felt the soft compression of the window behind her. The song filling her ears was so loud that she heard nothing else. Not the crowd, not the speaker. Not even the beating of her own heart.
She took one more step backward and felt the viscous material of the nehras cling to her an instant before it spat her out into the water.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. She saw the faces of those on the other side of the nehras staring at her, dumbfounded.
She was going to be fine. The pressure wasn’t going to kill her.
That was all she got before agony tore through her, ripping along her skin as if someone were peeling it from her muscles.
Her body spasmed as her mind screamed for her to swim to the surface, but she couldn’t move. She was being compressed on all sides. The pressure of the water crushed her bones and squashed her lungs. And yet, the pain within was even worse.
Something was expanding outward. The moment her bones were flattened, they reformed.
The push and pull felt as if she were being torn in half.
There was nothing but endless pain and anguish.
She had no voice to scream, no tears to cry.
She was suspended, her body neither whole nor broken but something in between.
No longer could she control her limbs. All she could do was endure the torment that ripped skin from muscle and cartilage from bone, and then back again, over and over.
Varum watched helplessly as Kalyani writhed in the water just out of reach on the other side of the nehras. The pain contorting her face stole his breath. He tried to wrench free of the soldiers, but they resorted to magic to keep him contained.
He bellowed her name, but no one heard him as everyone shouted and pointed once she had stepped through the window. No one—least of all him—had expected her to take her own life. He was witnessing it, but his mind still couldn’t grasp the nightmare unfolding before him.
“What is that?” a guard murmured.
Varum leaned to the side as he attempted to see what the soldier was talking about.
The guards that had surrounded Kalyani were lined up in front of the nehras, watching, making it difficult for anyone else to see.
Then Kalyani began to slowly float upward.
Varum blinked in disbelief when he saw currents shooting from all directions to surround her.
They swarmed in, moving in alternating courses as if holding Kalyani in place.
Her hair swirled around her, hiding her face like a veil. The currents quickened their pace as bubbles rose from the churning water, blanketing her until she was completely covered. He shook his head, refusing to believe that she was gone that easily.
Emotion filled his chest as tears overflowed his eyes and ran down his cheeks.
His beautiful, stubborn Kalyani was no more.
He had failed to protect her, failed to keep his promises.
He had thought to gain answers from her, but he had only brought her to her doom.
Just as he was about to look away, a flash of yellow caught his eye. Then another. And another.
Then, as suddenly as the currents had formed around her, they slowed. The bubbles soon dissipated, revealing Kalyani curled into a ball. One by one, the currents moved away, and as they did, they grabbed her wrists and ankles to stretch out her body.
All the air left Varum’s lungs as shockwaves rippled through the auditorium at the sight before them.
Kalyani opened her eyes and looked at the deep blue water above her.
She had no idea how long she had been adrift in the pain.
It was gone now, but so was the melody. She moved the fingers of her right hand and turned her head to look at it.
Her arms were floating out to the sides as strands of her hair drifted around her face.
She became aware of lights around her and focused her gaze past her fingers to them. They looked like the lights of Tarangarh. Was her spirit trapped there? To forever see Varum’s world but never be a part of it?
Kalyani looked at her hand again and, for the first time, noticed something yellowish on the back of it.
She bent her arm, pulling her hand closer for a better look.
Shock reverberated through her as she realized the color she had seen was small scales.
They ranged from bright yellow to bronze, with hints of orange and even red.
A quick look at her other hand showed the same scale pattern.
A closer inspection of her arms had her noticing that the elven clothes Varum had given her were gone.
Her arms were bare, save for more of the scales near her shoulders.
She touched her chest and found more scales skating along her collarbones.
Her breasts were held by a fitted band of shimmering scales, the same mix of yellow, orange, and red. Then she looked lower.
She no longer had legs, but rather a tail with long, flowing, yellow fins. Kalyani touched the scales of her tail in disbelief. The body she knew was gone, and in its place was someone different. Nay. Something different.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes and looked through the nehras, meeting Varum’s gaze. Shock slackened his face as it did all those watching her. She had thought she would die by stepping out of the arena, but it seemed fate had other ideas.
She was exquisite. Varum had thought her beautiful as a human, but seeing Kalyani in her true form left him speechless. He couldn’t stop looking at her beautiful scales or the yellow highlights that now streaked her curls. She even had a smattering of scales at her temples that faded into her hair.
As astonished as every Sea Elf in attendance was, none seemed more shaken than Kalyani at her transformation. The moment their eyes met, he knew he had to get to her. Varum tried to take a step but was quickly held in place.
“I want her captured!” Arvind shouted.
Panic seized Varum. He caught Kalyani’s gaze again and mouthed, Run!
She hesitated before flicking her tail and darting away faster than he had seen any Sea Elf move.
The arena erupted in pandemonium as soldiers dove through the nehras, and residents hurried back to their homes.
Varum fought to stay in his place until she faded from sight.
Only then did he allow the guards to drag him back to the doors they had entered through.
They tossed him into the first open cell they reached before rushing off. He leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down onto his haunches. He sighed, a smile curving his lips. Kalyani was alive, and if she could stay out of the soldiers’ clutches, she might stay that way.
His head turned toward the entrance at the sound of the lock grinding as the bolt was slid back. Then, the heavy door opened to reveal Tanira.
She waved him over. “Come on.”
“Why would I go with you?”
“We don’t have time. Nirav went to help Kalyani. I’m here to get you out. Now, are you coming or not?”
Varum jumped to his feet and crossed the room in two strides. She put her finger to her lips and motioned for him to follow her.