AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kairon yells something again, and while I can't hear him, it seems Valta can. The ring of water around my neck squeezes, and I try to no avail to rip it off. The swirling water just reforms through my fingers again and again and I pull uselessly at it.
Valta shrieks. "It's been weeks, Kairon! Where is she? Where are they?"
Again, a muffled shout reaches me, seeming even further away.
"What—what is this? What are you doing?" the Syren Queen says suddenly, a frantic shrillness in her voice as her eyes dart around us.
Following her wandering gaze, I see dark shadows approaching us in every direction. Slowly, they close in around us, and slowly, the watery noose around my neck tightens.
Her wild eyes meet mine. "Stop it now, or I'll drown you right now and make him watch."
"It's not me," I choke out, just as scared as her of whatever is gathering around us. They're only a few feet away from us now, and I almost think I can make out the shape of someone swimming.
She looks back to Kairon, his guard positioned around him and ready to attack. He stands with his arms folded, each of his men holding weaponry that even I know is useless from this distance. What are they planning to do? Cut through the water? Swim out here carrying massive swords and axes?
The shadows.
Just as the realization hits me, a dismembered hand breaches the surface, the dark flesh sloughing off it as it does. My body begs to gag, the horrid vision in front of me demanding it, but the water around my neck won't allow it. It's so tightly wrapped, and the world blurs around me, dizziness settling in.
The Syren Queen screams as dozens of corpses ascend from the depths. Some are only bones, the flesh long since shed. Others still have the remnants of who they once were, skin bloating and discolored. Up they swim through the swirling throne, traversing it as quickly as Valta can push them away with waves while remaining afloat.
"Stop!" she screams. "I'll kill her!"
The corpses swim harder, faster, hands and skulls fighting to reach us. Terror and disgust war with my body's fight to stay conscious, the pressure on my neck becoming unbearable.
Just as my head starts to lull, too exhausted to keep it upright any longer, Valta shrieks. With the last of my strength, I see a bony hand clinging to her tail, ripping through the translucent green fin. Her hold on my throat lessens as her concentration falters. She tries fruitlessly to tear the hand away, only for it to be replaced by another, this one attached to half of a body.
The corpse crawls up her tail, then her torso, the sharp fingerbones digging into her flesh. She cries out in agony, finally releasing the pressure around my neck altogether.
With a final defeated, pained shriek, she uses the water to send herself far away from us, splashing nearly 10 feet away and disappearing into the ocean.
As soon as she's out of sight, the watery seat beneath me gives out before I've even taken my first full breath. I try to inhale just once before submerging into the dark, corpse-filled depths, but I don't have enough time, inhaling the salty water as I flail and try to stay above the surface.
Slimy, waxy hands and teeth grab at me, and I try to swat them away, coughing and fighting to stay afloat while I do. Again and again, assorted dismembered bodies wrap themselves around me, trying to pull me under.
"Elva!" someone shouts my name, but I'm far past hearing it, needing to fight against the corpses trying to drown me. "Stop fighting, Elva, please!"
It's the last thing I hear before the water swallows me completely. Even as I try to fight against it, further and further down I go. The light from above gets darker the deeper I go, still pushing against the water and the bodies.
But my strength wanes, the effort of holding my breath taking all of my concentration. I have no energy left to fight against my dismembered killers. I wonder for a moment if Kairon will take the time to mourn me or if he'll be too busy trying to fight the wars it will mean for his country.
All I think at that moment is how sorry I am that I'll be the cause of it. I wish I could tell him that I'm sorry. My eyes drift closed, and my lungs ache to breathe in. I know it's inevitable, at this point, that my body will breathe in the water. Survival instincts won't allow me to hold my breath indefinitely.
It wouldn't be so bad to die here, I think, as my lungs force me to inhale. If nothing else, I won't ever be alone. There are so many that the sea has taken prisoner. I'll be in good company for my eternity.
Suddenly, my head breaches the surface, strong arms pulling my head and shoulders from the water. The moment I feel the breeze on my skin, I cough up the water in my lungs, the pain of them expelling all the salty liquid immeasurable.
The arms drag me, half submerged, until we reach the shore. I don't have the strength to open my eyes yet, every ounce of my energy being used to heave in huge breaths to stop my head from spinning and my chest from aching.
Someone rolls me over and lies me on the sand, the light from the rising sun burning through my eyelids.
"Elva?" the voice speaks again, and I realize it's Kairon. But his voice sounds so different. The calm, almost flat way he usually speaks is gone, replaced with what can only be described as wavering, a wobbly sound like there's something stuck in his throat.
I try to speak, tell him I'm fine, but instead, I cough again, throwing my arm over my eyes to protect them from the bright light.
He releases a sigh of relief. "It's alright. Don't speak. You might have damaged your vocal cords. You need a healer. One is coming now."
"What the fuck just happened?" I croak.
