47. Black Thirst
Black Thirst
ROHEN
Once the group dispersed, Caspian snagged Syoran and Alastair to discuss the sigils he’d seen.
As soon as they vanished behind the door of Alastair’s chambers, Parran offered to teleport a handful of us back to Caspian’s ship, which we gladly accepted.
With a large chunk of the day still remaining, the sun climbing to its apex, and the crew working efficiently, I wandered toward the aft.
Perching myself beside the gunwale, I savored the scent of the sea—a smell I’d valued ever since I was a child.
Even in my accusations of Ellira turning a blind eye to my pleas, it was clear in the peacefulness her domain granted me that she’d always been there.
Not once had she abandoned me. In the quiet nights after Malrik had his way with me, the audible wrath of the ocean slid through the barred window of my chambers.
When bruises littered my flesh, every gentle caress of her breeze over my skin had been a reminder that, even though I was lonely, I was never truly alone.
As my mind wandered, I settled my attention on the horizon.
Golden rays pierced the minimal cloud cover, dancing across the water’s surface with a glistening sheen.
Birdsong drifted by, carrying with it a promise of betterment, of a future where natural order returned and magic ruled.
Just like the tales of the lands had stated, mysticism was meant to leak from Wraelira, and I wouldn’t rest until the realm the Damned crafted was restored—
A gasp tore from my throat as an unsuspected hand settled on my shoulder. Instinctively, my fingers closed around the hilt of my dagger, and I pivoted. Raising the sharpened edge to settle against a throat, my gaze lifted to meet seafoam blue irises.
“Well, this is awkward,” Kael teased, the corners of his mouth tugging upward.
Retrieving my blade, I slid it back into my belt. “By the fucking gods, you could’ve announced yourself!”
“I did.” He stepped around me and up to the gunwale, positioning himself to my right. “You were just too transfixed by your mother’s marine to realize it.”
Unable to prevent my eyes from rolling, I turned back to the skyline as I tried to settle my racing heart.
Wind lapped through my loose locks, tousling them beneath the bandana Caspian had offered and helped me tie before we stepped out to meet the others.
Leaning into the solace my mother offered, I allowed silence to fall and rested my head on Kael’s shoulder.
We stood side by side in the blanketed stillness, comfortable without the need to exchange words.
He was the quiet pillar, someone beyond capable of providing counsel without having to utter a single syllable.
Even in the face of hardship and loss, he’d carried the same grace.
But I questioned it, not because it was disingenuous, but because he’d lost a key piece of himself the day Percy passed.
Exhaling, the question came from me as a near-whisper. “How’re you doing, Kael? Truly.”
There was a pause before he said, “As okay as I can be.”
At his admittance, I leaned back to peer up at him. “You know, there is no expectation for you to be okay, right?”
“Yes, but what other choice do I have, Rohen? Honestly.” Striations rippled across his jaw as he peeled his gaze from mine.
“There is no time to indulge in mourning when we are on the precipice of war. The Others are breathing down our necks with the promise of our demise, and our realm is crumbling beneath their corruption. Far too many people and other celestial beings have been butchered without so much as a second thought.”
Grabbing his jaw, I forced his attention back to me. “That is not your fault, and you can’t blame yourself for King Marellan’s foolishness.”
“But it is my fucking fault!” Nostrils flaring, he shook his head.
“I am heir to the throne, and if I am incapable of replenishing these lands and rescuing the lives that occupy them, then I am no better than that pitiful man. That is the weight I carry. Knowing damn well that if I take the time to reminisce, if I allow myself to wallow over Percy and all that was robbed from me, then the kingdom I wish to oversee, to protect, will fall. I’ve already failed once, Rohen, and I can’t… I can’t again.”
“And you won’t fail,” I promised, my tone unwavering.
“You won’t because we are here to offer aid.
You’re not alone, Kael, just as you do not have to bear the weight of the desolation your father’s rule has left behind alone.
I am here. Alastair is here. Leilani, Caspian, Syoran, Ignis, and Parran.
For fuck’s sake, so are Lorelie and Sapphira.
” Stroking the side of his face, I prayed my touch brought even the slimmest inkling of comfort.
“You will rule over Wraelira, and with your presence on the throne, there will be peace. I am wholly confident in that. But I need you to know that these battles, the trenches we are going to have to crawl through to ensure that happens, will never be taken on alone. We are not alone. The gods and their love for our realm carry our sails, and we, all of us, steer the course. We—”
A shout tore through my utterance, belonging to one of the deckhands. “What the fuck is that?!”
Kael and I moved from our positions, rushing starboard to where the men had gathered.
Planks creaked beneath our feet to announce our arrival, and before anyone could offer an explanation of what they saw, I hoisted myself up onto the gunwale.
Shouts roared to life behind me, hands trying but failing to prevent me from doing the very thing I knew Caspian would scold me for.
Knees greeting wood, I peered down at the depths separating us from Alastair’s ship, and the sight that greeted me stole the air from my lungs.
The sea bulged upward first, stretching into a dark, impossible hill before the water split apart.
A vast crown of black flesh emerged, slick as polished stone and veined with pale scars that caught light for only an instant.
Rows of cold, luminous eyes opened one after another across its broad head and along its darkened gums—four sets each.
Fixed in different directions, the creature watched every corner of the horizon at once.
Long, trailing curtains of living tendrils drifted beneath its jaw, swaying with the grace that belonged to the deepest currents rather than the open sea.
Continuing to rise, layered ridges armored its unimaginable size, and its fins swept back, shedding torrents of seawater that fell in thunderous sheets.
The wind died in its presence, the waves flattening as it searched both ships, and as I crested the side of the vessel, its wandering gaze found mine.
“Holy gods…” I breathed, freezing beneath the indignation that illuminated its all-white irises.
Visible in my periphery, movement came from Alastair’s ship before that unmistakable timbre cut through the air—Caspian. “Godsdammit, Rohen, get off the fucking gunwale!”
“What the hell are you thinking?!” Alastair called after him. “Plant your fucking feet on that deck now, Levitte.”
Unable to look away from the enchanting yet haunting monster below, I welcomed the brush of Ellira’s essence against the back of my mind. “There is no need to be frightened, Daughter.”
“Is that… one of yours?”
“All creatures of the sea belong to me, so yes.” Her hum eased my frayed nerves, my unsteady stance solidifying in her presence.
“Thryvossa, the Black Thirst, sister to Yxalune. She is known among sailors for her ability to shapeshift—a wall of slick flesh, a fin the size of a mast, an eye like a sunken lantern that lures before devouring whole. She is wrath and decimation, but she does not swim beneath you with such feelings.”
“Then why is she here?” I asked even though I already knew the answer.
“To show you her devotion. As a guide and protector, a force to be reckoned with. She is yours to command, Rohen, just as Yxalune is. They are both well-acquainted with the fact that you will be the new Mother of the Sea when we mesh with one another.”
“I… When that happens… The summoning?”
“Yes, sweet one.”
“That means I must say goodbye to you,” I whispered, an emotion I couldn’t name swelling in my chest. “I haven’t even—”
“You will meet me before I dissipate,” she promised, her coax warming my chilled veins.
“Tribulations still await you, and I am certainly not leaving you to face them alone. Just as I have always been here, I will remain that way until your arms wrap around me and your soul absorbs my own. I am etched in your heart and mind, and you, my darling daughter, will rule the deep and command the celestial beings born in it. From my army to the Vellari, Yxalune, and Thryvossa, you are eternally protected, as those I have grown to love will ensure your safety.”
“Okay. Okay.” Forcing my tears to subside, I leaned into the trust I’d extended to her. “I believe you.”
“Good, now shed your fear and listen.” Only a brief pause lingered before she continued, “Your Mizani’s strength is dwindling.
The fight he has put up with Sorva is beyond impressive—a representation of the god he is to become if he can survive—but time is slipping from this realm and merging with the Other’s.
Your proximity to him is causing his essence to dissolve, but it is also strengthening the bond you share, which can help extend his slipping life force and create a pool for you two to draw from.
“It is something Elaros and I leveraged at the peak of our godhood, making it impossible for any other to oppose us. The instant your soul tie strengthens with him, you two will get a taste of what your abilities will look like. It won’t be a complete display, as that will only come when each of the five Divari merges with their parent, but it will aid you in this war and the darkness ahead.
” The gentle strokes her presence provided began to fade as she offered her parting words, “Just remain mindful of Sorva’s hold.
She still controls Caspian, and will until that bind is destroyed.
He is fighting to keep her at bay, but in return, she is only gifting him more poison.
She could take control of him at any point, but the bond… ”
I waited, attention wholly settled on hearing her to completion, but nothing else followed. “Ellira?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“The bond,” she croaked weakly. “Establish it to preserve him.”
Her absence was sudden, and with it, a tear slipped down my cheek.
It was clear she was limited in how long she could stay, silenced by Sorva’s reign and the darkness of the Other Realm.
Each of them was fighting to maintain contact with their Child, but the longer we allowed the Dark Mother to control, the weaker they would become and the more difficult the summoning would prove to be.
“Rohen!” Caspian’s yell carried over the distance between the two vessels. “Get the hell down, or so help me, I will come over there and rip you off that fucking ledge again!”
With a smile and testing the lengths to which Thryvossa would go for me, I lifted my foot.
Allowing gravity to take hold, I plummeted from the Bloodmarked toward the massive creature below.
Shouts chased me over the gunwale, each carrying a different variance of panic—fear of what the celestial entity of the deep would do, and horror of my elected decision.
The chorus of voices dissipated, but before I greeted slimy flesh or frigid sea, one of Thryvossa's tendrils curled around my middle.
Halting my fall, she swung me sideways before dangling me in front of her.
Each of her eight visible eyes narrowed, a huff of disbelief blowing a spray of water in my face.
“What?” I questioned.
Intelligent enough to gesture toward Alastair’s ship, she let out a low hum that vibrated throughout her body. Maw parting, her second set of eyes illuminated the darkness of her mouth. Teeth as jagged as Hollowmere’s mountains glinted beneath their vibrancy, their hue similar to that of an abyss.
“Is that disapproval?”
She nodded.
“Of my actions or the man on that vessel?”
One shake followed by another bob of her head.
“Oh, by the gods.” Resting in her grasp, I folded my arms over my chest. “You like Caspian Vayne?”
Another nod.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t resist the smile blooming on my lips. “I suppose that’s fair. I enjoy him too.”
She slapped the bottom side of her chin against the sea, waves pulsing from the force of the motion.
A shrill sound followed, a noise that mirrored excitement, before she hoisted me in the air.
Tendrils slithering up the side of Alastair’s ship, she rounded the gunwale with me in her hold and wasted no time dropping me in front of the man whom I had so willingly disobeyed.
“Rude!” I called after her as she slipped back into the marine below. “That wasn’t very—”
Fingers wrapped around my jaw, forcing my attention to meet those glowing crimson irises. Dark curls disheveled and teeth clenched, Caspian craned his head to the side. “Little siren,” he growled, his tongue trailing along his bottom lip, “you’re lucky I’m in a good mood today.”
Pressing my hand to his chest, I savored the feel of his beating heart. “And if you weren’t?”
He leaned forward, teeth grazing my ear. “I am usually not one to reward such behaviors, but you make that rather difficult, Rohen Levitte.”
“Then I suppose—”
“No,” Alastair interrupted. “Not on my ship or anywhere near me.”
“Oh, come on, Seridean,” Caspian crooned as he raised a brow in his best friend’s direction.
A smile formed, and the captain of the Scarlet Tempest chuckled before glancing at me. “Considering you’re still alive, I presume we can trust the creature that lurks below.”
“Not just a creature. Her name is Thryvossa, and she is to be respected as are any of the other entities roaming the sea floors.” Looking between both of them, I continued, “She came to guide us to Serevalen and offer protection as needed, so see to it your men don’t do anything stupid, or I promise the wrath I unleash will be all they recall before death greets them. ”