Chapter 3 #2
The mermaid, her silver tail glinting, swam toward me.
She pulled me into an embrace, as if she knew me, her expression a blend of fierce resolve and gentle concern.
Her eyes, which were the color of the deep, still lake, met mine.
She slipped my arm around her shoulders and, with a powerful sweep of her tail, began pulling us both toward the calm surface above.
My injured leg throbbed, but I held on, my mind reeling with shock and gratitude. The mermaid pulled me through the last of the glittering water and guided me onto the sandy shore, laying me gently on solid ground.
There, I finally took in the beautiful creature who had saved me.
She was nothing like the fairy tales I had read as a child.
Armor fashioned from fishbones covered her chest, each piece strung together in intricate patterns.
Her scales shimmered with iridescent hues that shifted with each breath.
Her hair flowed freely, nearly reaching her tailfin, moving like ink through water, untouched by gravity.
Her eyes met mine, deep, ancient, and incredibly kind. Though her lips never moved, her voice echoed clearly inside my mind.
“You were not meant to drown today.”
She reached to her neck and removed a necklace.
When she opened her slender fingers, a strand of perfect pearls rested in her palm, each one glowing softly from within.
As she placed it around my neck, it felt heavy, not in weight, but in power.
The necklace pulsed once, syncing with my heartbeat, then the glow faded, leaving it looking like an ordinary piece of jewelry.
“Take this. Breaking the necklace and dispersing the pearls will provide you with temporary protection against any form of magic.”
Her gaze shifted to my wound. She studied my thigh and lifted her hand, which began to glow, as if she meant to heal me. I was bleeding badly. My skin was torn open, the wound uneven and raw. I had never felt pain like this in a dream before, and it felt far too real to be heaven. Where was I?
Her hand hovered above the injury, but before the light could touch me, a rustle came from the brush behind us.
“Stay right where you are,” a commanding male voice boomed through the forest.
Before I could thank her or ask any of the thousand questions racing through my mind, the mermaid fled in a flash, terror etched across her face. I was left alone on the shore, blood seeping into the sand beneath me.
“Somebody help me, please!” I cried, my voice breaking as I shouted toward the tree line.
Just then, two figures, unbelievably tall, probably just under seven feet, parted the brush.
My breath caught somewhere between awe and disbelief.
They looked human, except for their height, pointed ears, and sharp, angular features.
Two males. The taller looked no more than thirty, while the shorter appeared younger—maybe early twenties.
Both wore deep brown leather that resembled armor.
Their pointed ears peeked through wind-tossed hair.
They were not human. They were breathtaking and otherworldly in a way that made my heart stutter.
Not just because of how they looked, but because of what their existence meant.
Magic could be real. This world, wherever I was, was far stranger and more wondrous than I had ever imagined.
And that terrified me most of all. Where the fuck am I?
The younger one noticed me first. He had golden tan skin and fiery red hair. His armor was more ornate than the others, accented with gold metal and red rubies set into his chest piece and gauntlets.
“Fuck, she’s injured badly and bleeding out. Get over here, Aurelius—now!” he shouted.
He tossed his sword into the sand and dropped to his knees beside me.
His eyes scanned my injury, then his hands moved quickly to apply pressure.
When he looked up, our eyes met. For a brief moment, I wondered if he found me just as strange as I found him.
My body began to shake, from pain, fear, and the chill creeping in with the evening wind.
The other male, whom I assumed was Aurelius, rushed to my side.
He was taller than the copper haired one, though not by much.
He was slenderer, fairer in complexion, yet still carried a golden shimmer, with eerie amber eyes.
His sleek silver hair fell just below his shoulders, and his face was kind, almost nurturing.
He examined my leg carefully.
“This is very deep, almost to the bone,” he said with urgency. “I can only patch it to buy her time. She will need a high healer immediately.”
He held out his hand and hovered it over my leg. The same glow the mermaid had tried to summon appeared, and
shimmering threads of gilded white magic spilled from his palm. They swirled over the torn flesh, drawing the jagged edges together.
The pain subsided, though only partially.
Gratitude flooded me, bringing tears to my eyes.
With the pain dulled, fear and confusion rushed in to take its place, and my breathing spiraled out of control.
I hunched in the sand, breathing rapidly, my head resting against my arms. I felt like I might pass out from panic, fear, or blood loss. I was not entirely sure.
My vision blurred, but I could still hear the voices around me.
“What do you think she was doing in the sacred forest, Rexius?” Aurelius asked his companion.
“More importantly, what in the sacred forest can cause an injury like that?” Rexius replied.
They scanned their surroundings, sharing a look of unease. “We can figure that out later,” Aurelius said firmly. “We need to take her back to Embris immediately.”
So far today, I had my brain cut into, woken up in what I thought was heaven, nearly been eaten by a monster, and then rescued by a mermaid.
It was too much. Far too much for my mind to process.
And now these two humanoid creatures wanted to take me somewhere called Embris.
Where the fuck was that? Where the hell was I?
The questions slammed into me all at once, sending my heart racing.
Finally, I snapped.
“Excuse me!” I cut in sharply.
Their attention turned to me in unison.
“Can someone please tell me where the fuck I am?” I demanded.
They glanced at each other, looking genuinely confused, as if I should already know the answer.
The copper-haired one spoke first. “You’re in the sacred forest.”
He looked at me like that explained everything. My expression clearly said otherwise.
“In Nevaehun,” Aurelius added.