Chapter 36 Chosen #2
Dusk unfurled itself across the horizon like a bruised ribbon—violet at the edges, gold sinking low, and a soft wash of pink that made the sea look almost gentle. Almost. The truth was, nothing about this place was gentle, not tonight and not for me.
We approached the Pillars of Hercules with the tide tugging us forward, the Sea Wraith creaking as though she, too, felt the shift in the world.
To the north, the great rock rose—solid, immovable, the very spine of a legend.
To the south, its twin waited in shadow, a darker shape against the dying light.
Together, they framed the narrowing sea like the jaws of a beast deciding whether to swallow us whole.
“They are incredible,” Dilly whispered.
“They are what’s left,” Morwenna said.
She wore the still billowing gown from five days ago. She was hauntingly beautiful with her pale skin and her too-blue eyes. It was as if she were a ghost of who she should be. I hadn’t seen it at first, but now it was impossible to miss. She existed between two worlds and belonged to none.
“Hold her steady!” Bash called behind me, though his voice sounded far away. My attention was fixed on the water as we slipped between the two monoliths. The current shifted, swirling with a strange, humming undertow, as if the deep itself were exhaling.
A shiver climbed my spine.
Beyond the Pillars, the sea changed. The Atlantic spread out before us in a vast, dark sheet, pulsing with secrets I wasn’t sure I was ready to learn. The last slant of sun set its skin ablaze in molten copper before sinking, leaving only a dim halo along the horizon.
As night gathered, the creatures of the deep stirred—felt, not seen. A low hum vibrated through the hull, brushing against my bones like a memory I hadn’t lived yet.
I stepped closer to the railing, letting the wind tangle my hair.
“Shall we see if the sea once again chooses to call you daughter?” Morwenna asked.
I still didn’t know what it meant that a Norse goddess had laid some claim on me at birth.
Dilly couldn’t find much on it in her stacks of books, and Morwenna was allergic to speaking.
So instead I just accepted what it was, and if that was the reason creatures like the cat sitting at my feet were drawn to me–well, I could think of worse things.
“Your guardian disapproves of your actions,” Morwenna said.
I turned to tell her that Bash was not any such thing, but her blue eyes were fixed on Blackbeard, who was strangely stoic. No growls or glares erupted from him.
“Actually, I think he’s in a good mood,” I said, reaching down to scratch under his chin.
He allowed it even in front of all these people, which meant he was in a remarkably good mood.
Morwenna shook her head, a lingering sigh of exasperation escaping from her.
“If you embraced the heritage gifted to you, then you would be able to read your family’s moods. I suppose you think the Dreki that follows you is pleased as well?” she asked.
“Dreki?” I asked.
Dilly coughed, butting her arm against mine. She was always careful not to speak much in front of Morwenna for fear of losing whatever chance at knowledge she had.
“It means dragon or serpent,” she said.
“Oh!” I smiled. “You mean Koinu. No, he does seem rather solemn today. Typically, he likes to splash in the waves and sing. Today, his song is mournful.” I frowned.
As if in answer, Koinu bellowed out a low sound that reminded me of grief.
“At least you are aware of this much.” Morwenna scoffed. “Your Fylgja fear the beast that lies in these waters.”
“Fylgja?” Dilly asked.
“The leviathan?” I asked at the same time.
Morwenna glared at Dilly with the force of the North Sea, and poor Dilly.
whispered an apology and stepped a little further to the side as if that would erase her crimes as far as Morwenna was concerned.
“Fylgja, they are the guardians drawn to the daughter of the sea. One is common. Two is rare. The cat–as you call him–is of Rán’s domain.
Likely sent to watch over the one chosen by her.
He is neither a cat nor of this realm. He is a guardian, and when his purpose is fulfilled, he will return to Rán and await his next purpose.
The Dreki, however, is of the deep outside Rán’s domain.
It chose you as surely as Rán did. I could not say why. ”
It was the most she’d spoken the entire trip, and a certain pride filled me at her saying Koinu chose me. Blackbeard, as much as I loved him, it made sense that he didn’t come to me for love. Koinu, though–his heart was pure, and I was honored to be chosen even if it didn’t make any sense at all.
“As for what they fear–yes, it is the leviathan. Its purpose is to guard what you seek. It will not release it unless it has reason to.” Morwenna said.
A shiver ran across my skin. “What reason would it have to surrender the abyssal conch?”
Morwenna met my gaze with frozen fjords and ancient knowledge passing behind her eyes.
“I suppose we will find out,” she said, stepping towards where the ladder was being lowered. “Or we will not.”
And without a godsdamn care in the world, she lowered her gown off her shoulders and let it fall to the deck, not a scrap of clothing covering her. She turned her head to me.
“Well, daughter of the sea, it is time to find out if you are worthy.”
With that, she lowered herself over the ladder and disappeared beneath the twilight moon.
“She’s incredible,” Dilly whispered, already writing down everything she hadn’t been allowed to moments ago.
“Rose,” Bash said, coming up behind me.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to go into the sea naked,” I said, turning to face him.
His lips were pressed into a thin line, a muscle feathering in his jaw. “That is low on the list of my concerns at the moment.”
“Really?” Oscar said, coming up beside us. “It was pretty high on mine.”
I shot him a sardonic smile, and even though he tried to play it off, I could see the worry written into the lines under his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed like all the times before when it had been us against the world.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Twins are meant to stay together, remember?”
He squeezed me back before stepping away. “Don’t do anything more stupid than usual.”
I winked at him, unable to form words because the truth was that I was scared. I didn’t know what the fuck I was getting into, but I did know that we were out of choices now.
So I turned to my husband, and I kissed him, not caring that all eyes were on us.
His lips danced with mine in a hard fight of each trying to claim the other before fate or the sea did.
When we finally broke the kiss, we were both breathless.
There was nothing left to say, so I backed away slowly, holding his sea fire gaze until I couldn’t hide from what came next any longer.
So it was that I followed Morwenna into the sea where a monster older than the stories and writings of men lurked below.