60. Bay
Bay
Warmth spreads over me as I slowly open my eyes, feeling an unfamiliar yet comforting surface beneath me. Its texture is firm, almost like smooth stone, but alive somehow, with a faint pulsing rhythm that seeps into my skin. I sit up quickly, glancing down—and freeze when I realize where I am.
“Thank God, you scared the hell out of me,” Pedro’s voice breaks the silence as he swims close, but I instinctively block him with my tail before he can approach any further.
“Don’t touch the Coral of Life. It’ll kill you,” I warn him, watching concern cloud his eyes as he quickly backs away, horror-stricken.
“How did you bring me here?” I ask, swimming off the big Coral and into his arms. He catches me effortlessly, as if this is where I belong.
“I followed Myko’s lead. Apparently, because I’m related to you, he could connect to my mark and guide me here,” Alin says, appearing behind Pedro, surprising me.
“Myko showed us what to do, and as soon as we placed you on the Coral of Life, all the souls you’d gathered flowed into it.
Are you feeling better now?” Relief fills her eyes as she looks at me. I nod.
“Looks like I was right. You finally bonded with the Guardian,” says a familiar voice, sending a chill down my spine. Myko growls in my head as her gaze lands on the dragon mark on my chest.
“What’s that ugly octopus doing here?” Pedro asks, disgust coloring his voice. His lack of common sense for ocean survival couldn’t be more obvious. I quickly push him behind me—his comments are going to get us killed one day.
“Charming as ever, I see,” she says, unfazed, as she glides toward us, her tentacles propelling her forward effortlessly on the current.
I swallow, forcing myself to ask, “What are you doing here?”
“My sweet princess,” she grins, holding up the vial of my blood in one of her gray, clawed hands. “I’m finally here to use that precious gift you gave me.” Her long, sharp nails—are they even nails?—It felt like knifes on my skin before.
“I just needed my princess and her blood in the same place to ruin this pathetic source of power for good!” She practically brags, now her voice reminding me of that sea witch in the human movie Alin showed me.
Ursula, was it? I stifle a laugh and glance at Alin, but she doesn’t share the humor—she looks horrified.
Wait, ruin the source of power she said? Could she do that only with my blood!?
“Bay, she’s going to use it to reach the source of our power,” Alin murmurs, keeping her eyes locked on Jocelyn. I already know her plan won’t work—my blood isn’t tied to the royals anymore. I shoot Alin a glance to let her know it’s okay.
That’s my clever huntress, Myko’s voice rumbles warmly in my chest. I chuckle. Now release me so I can snack on her. I’ve been dreaming of killing that sea hag since she stabbed you.
I shake my head. So I wasn’t imagining that growl in the cave!
I’m taking back the ‘clever’ part, he teases, and I snort, focusing away from whatever nonsense Jocelyn is doing in front of us.
I don’t think she really understands how our bond works, I reply. Let’s see what she’s really after. I grin, knowing she still thinks I’m royal. Myko just sighs in response.
“I don’t get it,” I say, raising an eyebrow. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“Where’s your so-called dragon? I don’t see him around. Did you release him, leaving you here to deal with me alone?” she says, dodging my question as she scans her surroundings, searching for Myko.
“What’s in it for you?” I ask, pushing her, feeling no fear for the first time. Myko reminds me he is with me, and her presence doesn’t faze me anymore.
“It was easy to disrupt the Coral of Life without him here,” she smirks, “and here you are, swimming right into my arms.” Her grin stays plastered on her face, vile and smug as she speaks.
“You knew the heart would never work,” I accuse. She came because she knew it was already vulnerable.
“Of course I knew!” she snaps, her voice sharp and echoing through the water. “Only you foolish royals would believe an ancient bond could be broken with some cheap bargain.” Her mocking laugh reverberates around us, chilling.
“Now, come here,” she demands impatiently, and before I can react, one of her tentacles coils tightly around me, locking me in place as she drags me close to the Coral of Life.
“Let me go!” I demand, struggling against her hold.
Pedro surges forward, his electric currents charged and ready, but before he can fire, she flicks her hand in his direction, trapping him inside a massive, gelatinous bubble.
He fights against it, electricity sparking off his hands as he shouts my name, stuck inside.
“What do you want from me? You already have my blood,” I pant, still wrestling against her grip.
A little help here! I mentally nudge Myko, hoping he gets the urgency—now isn’t the time for games.
‘Let’s see what she wants,’ you said, he taunts, mimicking my earlier words in a mocking tone.
Ha ha. Very funny. Now plea—
Before I can finish, Jocelyn shoves me hard against the Coral of Life, and the massive structure actually rocks from the force.
I gasp in pain, shocked to see something so ancient and immovable respond.
She pins me down, making sure my skin is pressed against the Coral as she pours the contents of my blood vial over it.
My heart races, and the growl deep within Myko thrums through me, sending shivers through my body as a blinding purple light flares from my chest. I glance back at Alin, horror washing over me as her scream pierces the water.
One of Jocelyn’s tentacles is wrapped tightly around her neck, crushing down mercilessly as Alin claws at it, fighting desperately for her life.
“Let her go,” I beg, my voice breaking. “PLEASE!” I scream, watching Alin’s face pale as she struggles.
Myko, she’s going to kill her!
Jocelyn sneers, oblivious to my cries until she digs her sharp nails into my cheek. The sensation stings, and I see it too—the black blood mixing with the water, staining it with death.
“When did it happen?” Jocelyn hisses, her voice dripping with disbelief. But before I can answer, the familiar purple light flares again, blinding us all as Myko bursts from my chest with a thunderous roar.
“You dared to hurt my chosen one,” Myko’s voice shakes the very water around us, his rage churning like a storm beneath the surface. “I do not kill Black Blooded, but I’ll make an exception for you.” His fury thrums through me, vibrating deep within my chest—our anger, our rage, pulsing as one.
Jocelyn’s eyes widen in horror, but she spins to flee, desperation driving her.
She lunges to escape, but before she can disappear, she hurls Alin’s limp body toward the Coral.
I lunge forward, screaming, reaching for her, but I miss her hand by mere inches as her body crashes down hard onto the Coral.
A searing pain explodes in my chest, radiating up to my throat. I can barely breathe as the Coral’s purple light begins to shatter, fracturing like something irreparably broken, fragments scattering across the water. Alin’s lifeless form drifts slowly toward the ocean floor, surrounded by bones.
“No… no…” I whisper, my voice shaking, desperate.
My heart pounds in my chest, the weight of grief crushing me.
I bolt toward her, ignoring Myko and Jocelyn behind me, calling her name, but she doesn’t respond.
Her mouth glows faintly with the intense blue light of the Coral of Life— no .
This can’t be! Please, someone—any god out there—hear me!
I tear her mouth open, dreading what I’ll find.
And there it is—confirmed. The pod’s mark shines in her mouth, the same as Luca’s mother.
She’s not coming back. It feels as though my own soul has been ripped from me, leaving me breathless.
My body trembles violently as I clutch her lifeless form, a silent scream breaking from my lips, merging with Myko’s thunderous roar behind me.
I glance at Myko through blurred vision as my breath hitches, feeling the overwhelming weight of grief settle in—like the ocean itself is crushing me.
And that’s when I notice—the Coral of Life has fallen.
It’s sinking toward the ocean floor, its light flickering weakly, like something shattered beyond repair.
Before I can fully process it, Myko moves swiftly, seizing Jocelyn in his claws.
A black mist begins to form in his mouth, directed straight at her.
The moment the mist touches her skin, she lets out a tortured, agonizing scream—a sound so loud and haunting it reverberates through the water.
The mist devours her flesh slowly, tearing her apart.
I’ve never felt so utterly consumed by satisfaction, by vengeance.
“Kill her. Make her feel every second of it,” I demand, my voice filled with venom.
Myko’s eyes glow an even deeper purple as her screams fade to silence, her body slowly disintegrating to nothingness.
As she vanishes, Pedro’s bubble dissolves, and he swims straight to me, pulling me tightly into his arms as if I might disappear too and the heaviness in my chest making me dizzy. Elyr. Miguel. Alin… All gone.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!” he says, burying his face in my neck, his voice breaking.
“It can’t be real. I can’t accept it.” I whisper against his skin, feeling the empty ache inside me widen. “We’ll go back to land. We can’t take Alin’s body from Luca too; it only means we’ll have to find an answer to this faster.” I say dryly more to myself, I can’t break now.
She’s not dead! I scream in my mind.
I hear you, my huntress. She’s not dead. Myko’s form now swirls behind us, his voice steadying me, anchoring me from despair. He makes me feel as though I haven’t completely lost my mind. I can’t lose it—not now. I’m going to fix this.
“Myko, I need you to do me a favor.”