Chapter 45
Canto
Deux explodes out of the chains and tries to swim. I laugh as I glide in, lethal and deadly, and strike at him. The chains weren’t to hold him, they were to slow him down.
I think he’s the only one who doesn’t realise it.
The currents swirl round and round us, forming a tight wall of water that he has no hope of breaching.
Deux falls back, holding up a stump of a hand. He stares at it, his eyes wide, mouth open, and then he howls. The sound is terrible but fills me with satisfaction.
With a lazy flick of my tail, I enter the swirling stream, circling, watching for the perfect moment.
Ronit slams into him from the other side, shoving a spear deep into the gut of this miserable creature. He collapses to his knees, a cloud of black blood poisoning the ocean.
I move closer, watching, waiting, until he looks up and meets my eyes.
“I told you, I would be the end of you,” I murmur and smile.
He struggles, but he’s too injured. Too far gone.
I glance back and see Mei waiting for me. I want to go home, and my home is her. Wherever she is.
The bond flares with savage approval, stroking me like a cat.
“Are you satisfied, Strega?”
“I am. Take care of it, Canto.”
I move in, cutting and slicing, tearing this Nightmare apart as painfully as I can. It takes an hour for me to dissect him. An hour for him to die.
My shiver stay, refusing to look away as I execute our enemy.
When it’s done, Mei swims to my side and reaches for my hand. I hold her hand as I watch the dead pieces of Deux.
She ignites the water and sends it to his remains.
In the deepest part of the Black Death Oceans, we watch him burn.
I turn to her, pulling her into my arms, and I kiss her. Claiming her for us. Knowing she’s already got all of me.
She wraps herself around me and holds on.
A part of me deep inside wobbles. Aching and horrified by what we’ve had to endure, but with her here, with her lips on mine, I know everything is going to be okay.
We will be okay.