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The sound was familiar though it took a second to place it. The same thunderous roar of the Whispering Pass.
The memory of being closed in stole my breath as I searched frantically for a way to escape back to Tor and Rainn without triggering Cormac to attack.
“What magic is this?” Cormac snarled, barely audible over the lakebed shifting beneath our feet.
I had no answer to his question until a battle cry rippled out from the other side of the abyss, and the darkness seemed to breathe as it grew in size. The taunting howls and whooping grew louder until the abyss seemed to exhale, releasing a cloud of shimmering gold.
Sirens.
Each one of the winged Fae wore a collar enchanted with magic that no doubt allowed them to breathe underwater. Their golden wings propelled them through the water, each one carrying bows, arrows, spears, and other weapons.
Instinctively, I ducked, pulling my arms over my head to protect myself, scrambling back towards the darkness, hoping to find protection in the shadowy abyss.
Tor and Rainn screamed my name, a bone-chilling plea—fearing for my life.
They were in as much danger as I was as they raced toward me, determined to pull me to safety.
Confused, I felt the sting of a blade in my back as I looked up at the raining arrows. The Sirens swept past the swathes of Mer soldiers, taking them out in droves.
Pain.
Turning, I reached for my back to find Cormac’s trident had pierced me.
His eyes flashed as they met mine.
“You were a distraction,” Cormac concluded, pulling the trident closer to his body, knocking an arrow away as it aimed for his head. “You think you can fool me as easily as you fooled them, Maeve Cruinn.”
“I didn’t—” I closed my eyes, inhaling sharply. Speaking was painful. Cormac had pierced something vital in me. My blood leaked into the water, leaving a haze of red around me.
Rainn and Tor reached me a moment later. Rainn wrapped his arms around me and pulled me away from Cormac, but Tor kept moving, drawing his sword from the scabbard and swinging for the Mer-king’s head.
Their weapons met in a crash of metal in the chaos.
“You’ll pay for that, Mer-scum!” Tor screamed, not waiting a moment before he wrenched his sword free and dove after Cormac repeatedly.
Behind us, the abyss continued growing, stretching up to steal the light from the surface and hiding the Sirens from view.
I groaned, feeling my wound tug as Rainn pulled me away from the two males as they continued to brawl, attacking each other with hard and fast slashes and jabs, determined to do real damage. I placed my hand on my back, feeling the wound pulse with every heartbeat, my head swam, and I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t sure if Rainn knew how seriously Cormac had cut me, but I didn’t have time to stop and inform him as we raced away from the growing shadows.
The Mer soldiers swam for the surface, a rain of tridents aimed for the golden-winged Fae, as the Sirens retreated to the abyss. One by one, Mer burst into foam and bubbles as the arrows took their lives, leaving gaps in the crowd. Unable to find enemies for close contact fighting, the Mer scattered, struggling to hold their positions as they searched for an enemy in the darkness.
Cormac and Tormalugh fought, focused on each other, but nothing else.
My eyes caught on the darkness above them as it twisted and opened like a gaping maw.
“TOR!” I screamed, gasping through the pain in my middle. “RUN!”
Tor looked up as Cormac’s trident sliced for his throat, and the Kelpie could only move out of the way, staggering back, kicking up silt and dirt as he ducked from the Mer-king’s killing blow.
Both males looked at the abyss as it continued to grow, its hunger enough to make my throat burn and my blood itch in my body. It felt like the High Throne, and I froze, even as Rainn hooked his arm over my middle and continued to pull me away.
It rose like a tentacle of smoke and shadow; the abyss touched one of the Mer soldiers, turning them to foam instantly.
Cormac and Tor pulled back immediately, recognizing the danger. Screams filled the water as the sheer mass of Fae clambered away from the abyss, hungry and powered by my uncle's magic.
Several more Sídhe burst into foam as the abyss crawled forward, forcing the Mer back into the coral field.
Tor’s face was pale as he raced towards me; Cormac barked commands to his soldiers.
