Chapter 52
It was as if Asta’s life was happening in slow-motion. She watched as her sister cut down the siren lines like a large ship through ocean waves. It was then that Asta accepted that her sister must truly be her enemy.
Svanhild made it through first, sword poised to slice Asta in half diagonally from shoulder to hip and Asta blocked too late. She was able to parry, but her arms quivered on impact. In her peripherals, she saw the blue-hued finfolk queen approaching Kaid.
Asta strategically retreated in order to position herself next to him. He may be a siren prince, but he was not trained in combat, nor did he hold the one weapon that truly called to him.
“Oh princeling, your new family has come to bring you home!” Queen Yrsa jeered. Her disgusting, pointed teeth made Asta’s stomach turn sour.
Asta held off Svanhild, the finfolk female’s hits becoming incredibly hard to block when only half her attention was on them.
Maren swam between her lady-in-waiting and her mother, approaching Kaid.
He slashed his blade at her in defense and she jumped back and gasped, the metal grazing her stomach and leaving a shallow red mark.
“Husband!” Maren shouted, observing her stomach. “Save our disputes for behind closed doors.”
Kaid’s face turned to disgust. “The only closed door that we will be observing together is when I put you behind bars for the rest of your miserable life while you rot away in a cell.”
Asta knew that there was no way they could ever end this war with any of this trio alive, but she did not have the heart to tell Kaid this. She also knew that it was something she was not ready to admit aloud just yet.
Svanhild summoned her full attention as she let out a feral shriek, bringing both her long and short swords up to strike.
Asta flicked her tail, allowing her to swim out of the danger of the short sword, and twisted her blade down to block the long sword coming for her chest. The sound of metal-on-metal was deafening, causing her ears to ring.
Even though her arms shook, Asta twisted her blade around Svanhild’s and ripped the grip from her hands.
The sword went gliding through the water toward the reef in the distance.
Asta heaved from the exertion. The finfolk female’s power was unmatched compared to anyone she had ever scrimmaged. Just as she started to let her small victory sink in, Queen Yrsa was before her.
The finfolk queen held out her hand, blue streaks of lightning flashing between her fingers.
The eels hissed and snapped in her direction.
Then, the currents moved through the water and connected with Asta.
The shock flattened her to the seafloor, convulsing as every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire.
“Asta!” Kaid shouted as he swung his blade toward the queen. She easily summoned a small yet forceful sea current to push him back.
Queen Yrsa let go of her hold on Asta, but she was too weak to move. Her blonde hair settled on the sand around her, tickling her face, but she had nothing left in her to push the strands away.
Kaid attempted to help her multiple times, each time getting pushed away as if he were nothing to fight off.
Queen Yrsa stretched out her arm once more and Asta’s body convulsed with the shock, then locked frozen.
All Asta could do was observe her surroundings.
Kaid’s face was twisted with rage and desperation as he exhausted himself by trying to defend her.
Svanhild circled, occasionally exchanging glances with Maren who stood next to her mother and watched with a blank stare.
The finfolk queen let go again, releasing Asta from the numbing sensation.
Her limbs barely began regaining feeling when the queen approached her, lifting her head by gripping her chin, forcing Asta to look at her.
The queen’s eels slithered around Asta’s body, their slippery skin causing gooseflesh to rise on her arms.
“Weak, just like your mother.” Yrsa let go of Asta’s chin. “But since you’ve been such a nuisance, I thought I would remind you how insignificant you are in this fight.”
Maren continued staring blankly, but something about her posture made her seem frozen in time.
Asta dug her palms into the sand beneath her and pushed her torso up.
If the finfolk queen wanted to deem her insignificant, she would use any strength she could muster to prove to her how wrong she was.
Yrsa could strike her with lightning. She could let her daughter do her dirty work and end her with a blade.
She could feed her to her warriors. But Asta would not endure any of those things without putting up a fight.
Although Asta’s arms shook, although her elbows buckled, although her shoulders strained, she lifted herself off the ground and locked eyes with the finfolk queen.
Queen Yrsa flashed a devious grin. “Oh, I will not further torture you. I did, however, send some of my favorite warriors to the surface.”
To the surface. Where Asta’s friends and family were.
Asta pushed off the sand and careened her body toward the finfolk queen, hands outstretched. Before she could wrap her grip around the queen’s throat, a flash of red barreled through the finfolk female.
She observed as Liva—in her terrifying red sea dragon form—dragged the finfolk queen across the seafloor effortlessly. Shock waves flickered between them, but the dragonhide was too thick for the currents to break through without significant force.
Maren and Svanhild took off after the sea dragon, likely to free the queen from being pummeled into the ground.
Kaid gripped Asta by her elbows and she was thankful for the support. He stared off into the distance and Asta followed his gaze, landing on his parents on the veranda.
Asta brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. “Go to them. I’ll be fine.”
“No,” he shook his head. “I can’t let you face that alone.”
“And I will never forgive myself and if you come with me and something happens to your parents while you’re gone. You just got them back, Kaid. Make sure you don’t lose them.”
Kaid rested his forehead against Asta’s. “I love you. Release my pretty little wraith on them.”
Despite the current situation, a laugh bubbled up from Asta’s chest. “I love you too.”
Kaid’s lips were on hers in an instant, and just as quickly removed. He squeezed her hand, then swam for his parents.