46. Bay
Bay
The world above fades quickly as I swim further, swallowed by the ocean’s depths.
Each flick of my tail propels me forward, fighting against the currents that try to drag me back.
Mariana’s body hangs heavy in my grasp—even in the water, she’s a weight I can’t ignore.
Her skin is cold, her limbs limp, but I hold on.
The water darkens as I push forward, growing cooler, almost like it has a pulse—a steady beat that vibrates through my skin with every muscle I use to keep us moving.
The sun’s light only reaches so far down here.
Soon, the blues and greens all blend into one dark, endless expanse, and it’s just me, the ocean, and the Guardian’s call growing louder in my head. That bastard—
I will stop you here.
The burn in my arm flares back with his growl,the purple glow of my affiliation mark mingling with the soft green natural glow of my body.
I grip Mariana tighter as the sting makes my hold slip, my fingers adjusting constantly to keep her from drifting into a stray current or snagging on the thick seaweed below.
The ocean pulls at her, at both of us, testing my resolve. But I won’t let go.
Every sensation feels sharper now, more alive, as I push toward the Coral of Life.
The cold stings against my skin; the currents rush like whispers past my ears.
I can sense the life around me: the darting movements of distant fish, the faint ripples of hidden predators, and the muted vibrations of creatures far below.
It’s as though the ocean itself is holding its breath, waiting for me to reach my destination.
Another growl vibrates in my head—it’s gotta be the Guardian, telling me to stop complaining. How the hell does he know? I really need to figure out how to control this two-way communication. It’s like my thoughts leak to him without me knowing—he can’t read my actual thought, does he?
“Shut up,” I mutter, knowing it won’t make a difference. The ocean doesn’t care about my feelings. Neither does he. At least I think so.
Ahead, the water starts to glow with an eerie blue and purple light.
I recognize it instantly—the shining stone trail.
It winds down into a trench, leading straight to the Coral of Life.
Each stone pulses with a soft glow, like it’s alive, guiding my way.
I clutch my gills tightly, steadying myself.
This is it. Mariana’s body trails just behind me, and I pull her closer.
“We’re almost there,” I whisper, even though I know she is far gone to her own dreamland.
The water hums around me, a soft thrumming that matches the pulse in my veins. And there, down in the darkness of the trench, mixing with my green glow, I can feel it—the Coral of Life, waiting for me.
Is the Guardian really going to show himself this time? I just need to feed the Coral of Life and get back to my city. I’ll ask Aunt Lora about the Black Blooded—I think that’s our solution. Why is the Guardian helping me all of a sudden?
I’m always stunned by the size of the Coral of Life—so enormous yet so fragile.
Its strong purple glow spreads a calming beauty across the water, but one look at the ocean floor—littered with skeletons, bones, and dead sea plants—quickly reminds me of its true nature, the most terrifying being in all the oceans.
No fish dare swim here; only huntresses and their human prey are allowed—unless the Guardian calls you directly, apparently.
Because I’m not a huntress anymore!
I test my theory about hearing thoughts, but there’s no response from him this time. So it really is me sending him my thoughts somehow. I have to ask him how that works.
No other huntresses are here; it seems they’ve already fed their prey and disappeared. Can’t blame them—one wrong touch of the Coral of Life, and you meet your end.
I swim closer, careful and deliberate, until I’m close enough to present Mariana to the Coral of Life.
The soft purple glow comes alive from its open, cave-like center, casting a haunting light over everything around me.A blue ray shoots out instantly, meeting Mariana’s forehead and lighting her up with the same ethereal glow.
Her soul, now a soft orb of light, lifts from her body, drifting slowly upward to the top of the enormous coral.
Slowly, her body fades into the ocean floor, joining the rest of the dead.
At least no hunter is here to feast on her.
I sigh. It’s hard enough to take a life you never even knew.
I always tried to avoid thinking about their loved ones, preferred to believe they were so deep in the ocean because they had no one.
“Where are you?” I dare to ask aloud, my heart pounding. I need answers only he can give. I’m here to save them all—my family.
A loud growl vibrates all around me, and I’m not sure anymore if it’s in my head or real, as I’m completely alone here.
But I don’t wonder for long. The purple glow grows stronger, almost blinding, as a long, impossibly long, white dragon swims out of the cave-like hole, spiraling around the Coral of Life.
My gills tighten as my heart pounds harder, like it’s trying to escape from my chest. His head turns toward me, and the transparent fins along his length ripple.
His arms and legs rest close to his body, and I swallow hard when I notice his sharp, enormous claws.
Just one claw is bigger than my entire body.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for you, my dear huntress,” his voice growls, echoing through the water, shaking everything around me. It’s almost deafening. Now I know for sure his voice isn’t just in my head.
A retort forms in my throat, but fear swallows it. I can’t risk angering him—not when I could be snapped in half by one flick of his claw. I clench my fists to ground myself and ask the first thing that comes to mind, “Why me? Why choose me?”
“Only black blooded with a pure heart, could contain me,” his roar now echoes in my ears, but this time not as painful. It feels almost soothing. Did he just say ‘contain’?
“And in ‘contain you,’ you mea—” I start asking but he cuts me right away.
“To become one with you,” he says slowly, “you are my other half, Bay. The perfect balance between light and dark. There is not force in this entire universe that could break us. We are one—if I am dead, you are too. If I am powerless—you are, too.”
I can’t keep my balance; my heart pounds so fast it feels like it might burst. “We are one,” I repeat, as if saying it aloud will make it any less insane. “Nothing can break this bond.”
“Exactly my little huntress, you are catching fast,” his low growl is teasing me,and my gills open wide, trying to maintain as calm as possible. There’s no escape from him, but I can still save my family .
“I’ll ask again; in contain you mean that we need to bond?” I ask,swallowing hard, “as in I’m going to become your sex partner?”
The second the words leave my mouth, horror rushes through every cell in my body, and I tense, waiting for his response as if it’s the only thing keeping me alive.
His massive head swims above me; it’s so huge that when I look up, all I can see are the tips of his sharp teeth, threatening to wipe out my existence.
“I don’t know what your foolish kind teaches you, but I have no such desire or intention,” he reassures me, and my gills close in relief.
“Then what do you want from me?” I dare to push him.
“I’ll say it again—we are one. Once our bonding is complete, we will be one. One mind, one heart, one whole. You will contain me within you.”
“No way. Not going to happen, not now. NOT EVER!” I shout, my voice breaking as panic grips me. The dragon’s eye gleams, amused, and I feel small—a pawn caught in a game I never agreed to play. But I can’t give in. Not like this. Not when everything and everyone I care about is on the line.
“You can deny it all you want, but it is inevitable,” he growls, and I know I’ve tested his patience. I bite my lip hard. What the hell can I do?
My heart aches at the reality in front of me. The dragon’s head swims slowly closer, and his giant purple eye stares directly into mine. “It’s time.”
‘It’s time’? It’s time for what? My heart pounds so fast I’m about to faint as bright purple and blue lights shoots everywhere, making it hard to see anything beyond his eye.
“Close your eyes, my huntress,” he whispers, but it’s so loud it feels like he’s shouting.
I fight to keep my eyes open, but it’s like he has full control.
Darkness swallows my vision. My senses sharpen, and my body grows warmer as soft currents of water caress my skin.
I feel safe. I feel home. He’s taken all my pain away, and I’m so light, so free, that a genuine smile spreads across my face.
“Do you feel it?” I can hear his soft voice, for the first time not as an echoed roar, but as a manly soft almost human-like voice.
“Yes,” I answer as if I am under a spell, “It feels like I’m home.”
“You are home. Together, we are home,” his soft voice making it even harder to refuse any of it. “Now, I need you to take a deep breath.”
I do as he says, addicted to the lightness, and in an instant, a sharp pain tears through my chest with my scream. It feels like a giant hook digs into my skin and sets me on fire from the inside out.
“Hold on to the pain—it’s almost over,” his voice becomes rougher, like he’s suffering too. I claw at my neck as the burn spreads up my throat, praying it won’t be my last day. And then, suddenly, it stops.
“You can open your eyes now,” he says, and when my vision clears, the dragon is gone. My gills flutter with heavy breaths as the pain disappears. I can go home and figure a way out.
“Alin and Aunt Lora will know what to do,” I whisper to myself.
They wouldn’t know what to do because your kind knows nothing about us .
The guardian voice startles me. How the fuck can I hear him while I’m in full control? My mark isn’t reacting… what’s happening?!
Apparently, you are not as sharp as I thought, I hear him sigh inside my mind, but this time it’s different. This time it’s as if he is a part of me, not just invading it.
“Get the fuck out of my head!” I threaten aloud to the empty water, glancing around looking for him. The Coral of Life is the only thing I can see.
“I’m inside you. We are one. Look at your chest,” he says, and my breath catches as my eyes drop to my skin.
A long, white dragon mark curls around my chest, winding up like a living tattoo.
I can’t breathe; the mark glows purple, pulsing with heat—too much heat.
My skin burns, and every heartbeat feels like fire, rushing through me.
I claw at the mark as if I could rip it off, but the pain just flares hotter, and I know— there’s no way to tear him out.
You are so dramatic. I can practically feel him rolling his gigantic eyes on me. You’ll get used to it, it’s my power flowing through your body; the bond is not finished yet.
Wait. Can you hear all of my thoughts even now!?
I’m inside your body, and you wonder if I could hear your thoughts? You’re not the brightest one, are you? he chuckles.
I can fucking hear his chuckle! God, what have I gotten myself into? I swallow hard .
’What gotten inside of you’ would be more accurate to ask, but you already know…
He dares to joke with me when I am about to burst in flames out of rage and frustration. You’re. A. Fucking. Pervert. Dragon.
Thank you. Now could we please move on with your shock phase and touch the Coral of Life already? his voice is annoyed now,and I’m about to curse his life out of me.
Touch the Coral of Life? Do you want me dead that bad? I ask in disbelief. No one dares to touch the Coral of Life; its power can turn me into ashes in a second.
Touch it! He growls, You have my powers running in your body. You won’t die.
My body moves on its own, drawn toward the Coral as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
But every instinct screams to stop, to turn back.
My hand trembles as I reach out, fighting against the urge to pull away.
When my fingers finally brush its surface, it’s soft and warm—so warm it feels like it’s melting into my skin. Something feels wrong
Something is wrong. The Coral of Life is getting softer when it needs to feed on souls. As our bond is getting stronger, the Coral of Life is getting needier and weaker when not fed. He explains calmly, as if actually starting to teach me about his life.
“So you’re telling me know, that as soon as our bond is complete and you are separated from the Coral of life, all of the royal lineages are going to die?” I say aloud, choke on my voice in panic.
You have a lot to learn, princess. He sighs. Our bond isn’t going to separate me from the connection to the Coral of Life, it’s only making me mobile as I became a part of you.
So, they’re all safe? I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper. I don’t want to believe him, but I cling to his words, needing to hear that my family—the people I’m doing all of this for—will be okay. Needing to believe that I haven’t doomed them all .
Yes, your dear family is safe. And you—are the first black blooded princess in all over the oceans. We are a force to not be mess with.
I catch my breath. I heard that you want to get your revenge, are you going to use me for it?
His laugh is echoing through every corner of my mind. I don’t seek revenge, I had hundreds of years to calm down.
So what do you seek? I dare to ask, not sure if I really want to know.
That’s for the future to reveal.
You’re starting to sound like my cousin. I roll my eyes .
Fuck you. He tosses at me, and now his alter ego starts to sound like Pedro.
Pedro. He would flip out when I’ll tell him.
You have bad taste in males. How could you choose a human is beyond me , he says as if disappointed.
Fuck you! I snap back, and he isn’t a human anymore, as you know…
Oh yeah, that whole turning-into-a-merman magic—that must’ve been a surprise. Your kind isn’t that bright when doing spells…