EPILOGUE
Yael
She’s gone…
That was never the plan—the one I'd so carefully crafted from the moment Argo mentioned Loreleia’s name.
The same name the druid had whispered to me right before I killed him.
Her involvement in both scenarios, and Myra’s ignorance of it, had given me all I needed to leverage the fae madam into a deal.
I would get Jemma back, then double-cross Loreleia before she could harm Myra; that had been the plan.
And it would have worked beautifully if it hadn’t been for that eight-legged creature that had stolen them both from me.
But as I looked at the expanse of sea that had swallowed the mermaid, that plan didn’t matter much anymore—for her or my sister.
The darkness writhing through my veins craved vengeance and wrath and the warmth of an enemy’s blood running between my fingers. There was no time for guilt or regret. Neither would avenge Jemma or save Myra.
And that was the new plan.
I bent down and gently scooped my sister’s still-warm body into my arms, kissing her forehead as I whispered a soft “I’m sorry too” against her pale skin. Then I ran through the Playground as visions of ripping Finn’s tentacles from his body drove my every stride.
For all he'd done to them.
For what I feared he would still do to Myra.
As I ran, every shadow I passed seemed to fold in behind me, cloaking me in a black abyss that eclipsed everything in its wake, fueled by my fear, my rage, and the evil I could no longer contain.
It burst through the doors of The Riff Raff alongside me, spilling into the scorched dining area like a plague of death.
Sasha and Laney stared from behind the remnants of the bar, wide-eyed with horror as their gazes drifted from the black of my stare to the dead woman dangling from my arms. Glasses shattered as they fell from Laney’s hands, and Sasha ran for the double doors, screaming for Ravi before I had the chance to call for him myself.
Given the depth of fear in her voice, he appeared in a flash, his brow pinched with concern.
He took in the swirling shadows engulfing the already blackened room, with me in the center of it all with a lifeless redhead in my arms, and rage eclipsed that worry in a heartbeat.
“Into the kitchen, girls,” he said, ushering Sasha and Laney through the doors behind him as though I were a threat.
“No!” I shouted in response. “We need them.”
“I don’t know who she is or what you’ve done, but you need to leave here, Yael Kristoris,” Ravi said, staring at my dead sister and holding his hands out in front of him as he muttered something in an ancient tongue. A blinding light began to grow between them. “And never return.”
“We don’t have time for this!” My resounding rebuttal in a voice far lower and more menacing than my normal one seemed to ricochet around the room as it went black as pitch, save for Ravi’s glowing orb. “He’s got Myra!”
The orb winked out, and Ravi’s arms fell to his sides. “Who does?” he asked, genuine fear tainting his tone. Sasha, Laney, and Curtis stepped out from the kitchen, a mix of disbelief and concern in their stares. “Who has Myra?”
“The one who betrayed her.” Ravi’s warm brown skin paled at my words.
“He killed my sister and took Myra to the Deep,” I said, laying Jemma down gently on the ash-covered floor at my feet.
I stood and squared my shoulders as I summoned my shadows like an army—an army we would soon need. “And we are going to get her back.”
Myra and Yael’s story continues in the second
The Devil’s Playground novel, coming soon!