Chapter 39 Malec
Malec
Ican’t see my aunt, Alessio, or Onyx in the hellish red darkness. They’ve already gone too deep inside, and strangely, I don’t hear a single echo of complaints about the heat.
It’s not only looking like one—it also feels like merhell itself. Hot, boiling, but no bubbles rise around me.
My skin burns. I fight forward, each stroke a battle, each pull through my gills feels like I’m being boiled alive.
I clench my teeth hard as another scorching current slams against me, but Myko’s long tail coils tighter around me, shielding me from it.
I never noticed how cold his scales truly are—or maybe it isn’t that his body is cold, but this place is just that impossibly hot.
“Thanks,” I mutter aloud as relief rushes through me, my gills opening and closing in uneven, shivering rhythms.
“Why can’t I freeze the water here?” I ask as I try to tap into my mom’s powers.
“Morvakar was hatched from the core’s dormant lava, deep in the ocean’s heart—the center of the earth itself. Even an entire army of royals couldn’t freeze it,” Myko explains.
I rest inside his hold, letting him glide us deeper into the massive cave-like chamber. I don’t even try to swim anymore, I’m too busy soaking up every drop of his protective cold scales.
How are the others not burning inside?
“I told you before. He is chaos incarnate. A living volcano ready to erupt. He could wipe out entire colonies with a single snarl of heat. Without an anchor, he’ll scorch everything, not just merfolk,” Myko continues, his tail tensing around me as if he’s holding himself back from tearing the walls apart.
Don’t mess with it. Noted.
I don’t like it—I hate it—but I don’t dare question it. If Myko is worried, then I should be terrified.
Myko stops abruptly. I snap my head forward, bracing for an attack, but there’s only another stone door ahead, sealed tight.
“What’s going on?”
“They went inside already… Now it’s all on Onyx,” Myko snarls, his voice rumbling in my mind like an echo from a deep chasm.
I start to pull away, but another searing wave slams against my forearm, and I coil back instinctively. Only then do I notice it—the Nortyn mark glowing at the bottom of this door too, bright and sharp.
“Bay and Alessio are in there in this heat! Break it!”
“They’re protected by my shield,” Myko replies coldly. “They’ll be fine. Onyx, though—”
The water around us shifts violently. A roar—“Nyx!”—thunders through the corridor, so loud it feels like the stone cracks might splinter even deeper.
Myko coils next to the door, dragging my body with him, his growl echoing off every wall as King Volar barrels into view, stopping just short.
He isn’t even flinching from the heat.
“I don’t know what you did to me earlier, but your games end here! Get my daughter out of there!” His voice rips through the water like a spear.
Myko lowers his massive head, teeth bared, purple glow flaring in his eyes. Volar recoils instantly, terror flooding his gaze.
“So now she’s your daughter? Where was this fatherly concern when you sent her to the hunters’ pod?” I hiss, struggling against Myko’s protective hold.
“If it helps, she’s not your blood anymore. Once she walks out, she’s Black Blooded—like me. Like my aunt. Like the beast.”
His gills flutter, choking on the words. His eyes widen.
“You don’t understand—”
“No,” I cut him off, the heat bubbling under my skin, turning my words into molten iron. “You don’t understand. She was chosen. You have no say anymore.”
“Please. Just listen—” he swims forward, but Myko’s snarl forces him back again.
“Please, Depthborne. Onyx is different. You saw it. She doesn’t resemble her perfectly matched brothers.”
I arch a brow. “I don’t care about your family’s twisted purity games. Onyx was chosen—whether you accept it or not.”
His gills vibrate, but this isn’t anger this time. It’s… fear.
I inhale deeply, focusing on his soul—brown, trembling like wet sand before a wave.
“Curse. Banishment. Shame,” its whispers swirl, gnawing at the edges of my mind.
What does it mean?
“She’s a Runjer’ar!” he finally explodes, the confession ripping through him like a blade.
Myko’s aggressive roar rattles through the chamber, the water churning violently around us, and the king squirms in terror.
Runjer’ar?
“She’s a Rune Whisperer! We haven’t seen one in centuries—and that’s dangerous. Very dangerous,” Myko finally growls out, each word vibrating in my bones.
“Myko, calm down! It’s hot enough in here already!” My marks glowing hotter.
“Tell him to open the door,” he orders, ignoring my plea.
“King Volar. Open the door,” I command, my voice cold as deep ocean trenches, not even flinching when following Myko’s words.
He doesn’t wait to even test my approval. Without hesitation, he swims quickly to the stone door and presses his palm to the mark—but nothing happens.
He curses, voice slicing the water, then drags his hand across a jagged rock, letting his blood drift in the glowing water. He presses it to the mark again.
My marks suddenly blaze brighter than before, glowing so fiercely I think they might split me open. But this time, somehow, I feel steady. Like, I can manage it myself without even fighting it.
“I’m okay now, I think. You can release me.”
Myko loosens his grip, and I slip out of his coils. The water no longer burns against my skin. The marks… are they protecting me?
King Volar curses again, his gills fluttering like torn sails.
“It’s not working,” he hisses. “She already locked us out.”
Locked us out?
The stone suddenly flares white, so bright we flinch back. The grinding groan of stone splits the silence, and I brace, ready for anything.
But then—finally, Bay emerges, cradling Onyx’s limp body, Alessio right behind her.
I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Relief rushes through me like a crashing tide.
Myko snorts beside me, relief cutting through his earlier snap, too. “At this rate, you’ll grow white scales before we hit the next city.”
I mutter back a few curses and roll my eyes, surging forward to meet Bay. “Well, maybe then I’ll finally match you.”
I take Onyx’s limp body from her arms, but my eyes catch on four bright red talon marks slashed down her right arm. My gaze locks on my aunt’s now, burning with questions.
“What the hell happened in there?”