34. Elianna

Chapter thirty-four

Elianna

The moment our steps led us beyond the ruin’s arch, Jace’s panic slammed into me. What had originally started as a slight worry had quickly morphed into pure desperation. My feet couldn’t carry me quick enough as I raced between the winding trees. With each step, my feet sank deeper into the spongy ground of the marshy forest floor.

As we hurried back to our men, the coven’s cackling laughter filled the air once more. Shadows whipped around us as if the witches traveled within them on the wind. Dark wisps lashed out at us on all sides, and power hummed through the woods as Veli shot her power back at her sisters as they worked to attack us. Loud whooshing noises filled my ears, but all I could focus on was getting back to my mate.

Running through the dense forest, I could hear the trees whispering secrets and the leaves rustling above us as if speaking to one another. With every step, I concentrated on avoiding the menacing roots that reached out to ensnare us. Vines slithered across the path, aiming for our ankles, causing me to occasionally stumble and sway. Ancient magic continued to pulse through the air all around us .

“ Silly little throneless queen .” The High Witch’s voice filled my head as if whispering all around me.

My gaze darted side to side as fear clogged my throat. I unsheathed my sword as I dodged a swinging tree branch.

“Look out!” I screamed as I ducked beneath it, my feet never faltering in my run.

The sound of Avery's screech echoed through the air, forcing me to glance back. I sent up a silent prayer to the gods as I saw Zaela tightly clutching Avery's wrist, desperately pulling her along to keep up with us.

As I pivoted my vision forward once more, the glimmer of strange creatures flitted through the trees—brief visions of phantom figures that seemed to be both part of the forest and yet not.

“I know who you work to save, Elianna Valderre. We are not the only beings that lurk within the wood and marsh.” Azenna’s voice was sweet with venomous anticipation.

“You will not touch them!” I screamed. A branch snapped out in front of me, and I swung my blade just in time to sever it in half, clearing our path.

“What?!” Zaela gasped.

“You can’t hear her threats?!” I shouted over my shoulder, nearly out of breath.

“No!” she bellowed.

Mother of the gods. My eyes widened as I realized Azenna had spoken to me in my mind. “Get out of my head, witch!”

“Do not listen to her words, Elianna!” Veli shouted at me as a rush of shadowy smoke erupted from her, crashing into a silhouette that had materialized amidst the trees .

The opening to the marshes appeared before us in the near distance. We were almost there. We were so, so close.

“I can see the opening to the marsh! Hurry!” I screamed as we barreled through the woods that were enchanted to claim our lives.

A wicked laugh cracked through my skull as my breath was suddenly torn from my lungs, feeling as if they had filled with icy water.

“Jace!” I screeched, my voice cracking as panic consumed me.

“What’s happening?!” Zaela shouted desperately from behind me, but I couldn’t focus on the words to say. Every ounce of my efforts worked to carry me to my mate.

My instincts screamed to keep moving as a soft, haunting melody echoed on a breeze, playing tricks on my senses and distorting my vision until it suddenly faded.

Once my steps finally reached the edge of the forest, I leapt out from the tree line. Avery and Zaela were right on my tail, and they forcefully crashed into my back, sending all three of us collapsing onto the muddy soil.

Veli was there then, emerging from the trees appearing otherworldly, her usual glowing violet eyes gone, now fuchsia and gold, as she continued to aim her lashing shadows at the witches’ phantom-like figures that glided in the wind.

The witches’ cackles faded as they whipped into the open air and shot out toward the sea beyond the marsh.

With pain-induced grunts, the three of us moved to untangle our limbs from each other and worked to stand. I pulled them each to their feet and then my gaze moved to the murky water that awaited us at the edge of the tiny riverbank.

“Mother of the gods,” Veli breathed as she took in the same sight that I had. “The pinnace. It’s empty.”

“No!” Avery yelled.

“Jace!” I jumped into the swamp, storming toward our small boat as fast as the water’s resistance would allow.

The sound of Zaela unsheathing her sword ripped through the air.

“Elianna, be careful!” Veli called.

I heaved myself into the empty boat that had remnants of leftover water that had somehow splashed into it.

My eyes turned to the shore where Veli stood, staring at me with nothing but regret written on her features. With each passing second, my lungs burned more ferociously.

“Where are they?” I croaked out through my teeth, my vision turning red from fury and fear.

“They left the boat,” Veli whispered. She turned back to gaze into the woods from which we came, as if an answer would lie between the trees.

“They knew not to do that!” Avery shouted.

A snarl danced across Veli’s lips. “Just as you knew not to touch my book!”

I tuned out their arguing as my lungs threatened to collapse. Jace’s sword was left in the middle of the boat, lodged beneath the center’s wooden seat, and I knew with every fiber of my being that he would never willingly leave his weapon behind in uncharted lands. There also wasn’t a single sign of Gage .

“Gage!” Zaela shouted into cupped hands as she walked a few steps into the thick, hazy water. “Jace! Where are you?!” Her words echoed and were lost in seconds.

My eyes traced along a line of water droplets that led over the pinnace’s edge.

In the distance, the water’s surface was disturbed by the sudden appearance of bubbles, which burst immediately upon contact with the dense, humid air.

“Veli,” I called in a hushed voice. “Veli, what lurks in these waters?” My eyes shot back to shore to see that the witch’s eyes had widened so intensely that it put a pulsating fear in the pit of my stomach.

I stood in the center of the boat, and without a second thought, I sucked in a deep breath and dove overboard.

“Elianna, no!” Veli’s plea faded the moment my ears were beneath the surface.

I opened my eyes beneath the murky swamp to realize that the day’s setting sun struggled to penetrate the dark depths that lingered beneath it. I frantically swam through the greenish-brown hued water that was filled with fallen leaves and branches, gripping the decaying bark to heave myself deeper into the camouflaged pits.

The swamp floor was adorned with haunting shadows from submerged trees and their gnarled roots coated in slimy algae and moss. Long blades of aquatic grass swayed with the subtle movements of the water, appearing as if they would try to wrap around my ankles.

I kicked my feet and pushed through the murkiness that surrounded me. My eyes glimpsed a sudden movement from the corner of my blurry vision, and I let out a gasp as my attention snagged on Gage.

The thick strands of grass that felt as if they would try to trap me down in their depths were doing just that to my friend, wrapping around his legs and securing him to the swamp’s floor. I paddled with all my might as my lungs burned. Once I reached him, I realized he was unconscious, and I immediately unsheathed my dagger and sliced through his nature-made shackles.

Wrapping my arms beneath his, I kicked off the muddy swamp floor and swam as fast as I could to the surface with his extra weight.

My head broke the water, and I let out a desperate gasp for air as my heart pounded in my chest.

“Zaela!” I screamed through coughs as the water filled my mouth and throat. “Zaela, help!”

Splashing sounded, and I turned in its direction to see her racing to me in a sprinting swim.

“Get him on the boat!” I demanded as she reached me, shoving his body in her direction.

“Jace?!” she whispered, horror written all over her face.

I pursed my lips and took another deep breath as soon as she had Gage in her grasp and dove back beneath the surface, praying to every god that I wasn’t too late to save him.

Kicking and heaving myself through the hazy water, I frantically searched every space I could as I felt our bond withering away, the tether’s beating a faint, fading pulse .

A deep trench appeared, and as I peered over its edge, my eyes landed on Jace in the clutches of not one but three vicious sirens.

One held his unconscious body close to hers, while another placed her lips on his, pushing bubbles of air into his mouth—his lungs. I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief, tinged with fury, as they worked to keep him alive, if only to prolong his torment.

The third circled around from behind them, her tail moving the water in a rapid current. She opened her mouth, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and sunk them into the flesh of my mate’s shoulder.

Pain seared through the crook of my neck the moment her rows of fangs pierced his skin. Rage took over me, and without a second thought, I kicked off the rock and swam as fast as I could to them.

Their attention was caught by the sudden movement, and a strange hissing sound escaped their mouths, echoing through the water.

The sirens matched my movements, and two of them raced toward me while the other continued to hold Jace beneath the surface.

Their sleek tails propelled them effortlessly, creating whirlpools that distorted the surroundings. Suddenly, the haunting notes of the sirens’ songs echoed, resonating from the darkest depths of the abyss.

As we rapidly closed in on each other, they soon realized that their hymns had no effect on me, as all of my focus was on saving Jace and bringing him back to the air above. This quickly heightened their annoyance at my presence for interrupting their feast—on my mate .

The first strike from the sharp fins of a tail came at me swiftly. The other siren, her form a distorted blur, lunged at me with bared teeth, emitting a piercing screech. I twisted away, narrowly missing the blow as the water’s resistance clung to my movements.

I unsheathed my dagger as quickly as my slowed movements would allow, aggressively swinging in every direction.

Our fight unfolded in a dance of desperation and rage. The sirens moved with a menacing taunt as they circled me with an almost supernatural coordination. I evaded their attacks with a combination of swift kicks and forceful swings of my dagger.

My limited air supply became a constant reminder of the time I was running out of as they relentlessly attacked.

My dagger found purchase deep into one of their stomachs, and in turn, a flowing river of black blood escaped the wound, causing me to do a double take. An ear-shattering scream left the siren as she darted away, and the force of her tail sent me soaring back with the current she made while fleeing.

While the second siren was distracted, I used the opportunity to kick her in her face as forcefully as the water’s resistance allowed, crushing her nose beneath my boot, and in turn, she followed the other and fled.

Fading in and out of consciousness, I urgently kicked off the muck ground and propelled myself to the surface. After taking a heaving breath of air, I instantly dove back down .

With a swift motion, the remaining siren whipped her tail through the water, generating large bubbles that she eagerly inhaled—she then once again pressed her foul lips to Jace’s and pushed the air into his lungs.

The wicked creature returned her attention to me and released his body, allowing him to sink down to the marsh’s floor. I had maybe a minute, if I was lucky, to get him to the surface before he ran out of air, and I lost him forever.

I swam at her in urgency, and her pace toward me matched until we collided in an unfaltering, violent clash. My dagger’s blade met its mark over and over, yet so did her fin. Her tail lashed out at me, catching the outside of my ribs, and my body let out a scream from the pain that tore through me, causing me to lose some of my already precious air. Our dance continued in a haze of crimson and black blood that floated around us.

As I made another move to strike, she caught my throat with her webbed hands and coiled her long tail around my legs like a serpent. My eyes bulged as panic consumed me—her piercing, white stare shone brightly through the darkness. I peeled my eyes away from hers and looked at my mate one final time, my heart cracking in my chest. This couldn’t be how it would end. I refused.

I turned my attention back to the sea-witch who held me in her grasp, and my eyes wandered down to the center of her throat—where a conch shell was embedded and beginning to glow as she opened her mouth to put me in her trance. With a battle cry, I lost what remained of my air and heaved my dagger as hard as I could at her. The blade plunged into her throat, carving the shell out of her skin. My hand reached out and ripped the conch from her before she had time to grab it and place it back herself.

The siren screeched so loud that, even beneath the water, I thought I would go deaf, but she released me on impact. The creature shriveled before me, no longer appearing as an alluring monster but now morphing into a decrepit, skeletal form of a husk right before her body floated to the surface.

My eyes followed her for a moment as I pocketed her shell right before I fell out of my daze and dove for Jace’s body. My eyes widened in horror at the sight of his beautiful, frozen face. I wrapped my arms beneath his own and pushed off the bottom of the marsh and swam us up to the surface as fast as possible.

The moment my head was above water, I gasped out, desperate for air—but Jace didn’t.

“Jace!” I whimpered as I tried to circle around. We had drifted so far from the pinnace. “Jace, baby, I need you to wake up.”

My feet kicked violently beneath us as I worked to tread the water for both of us, but the gash in my side from the siren's fin was making me weak.

“VELI!” I screeched. Tears burned my eyes, realizing I couldn’t feel Jace’s chest moving while I held him. I reached down in the bond, slamming my thoughts onto the bridge that connected us, and felt him fading. “Veli, I need help!” I screamed once more.

“Over here!” Avery’s voice called from the edge of the riverbank where she stood. “Veli, they’re here! ”

I followed her gaze to where Veli was by the boat. She pointed a single taloned finger in our direction, and then closed her fist, pulling it into her chest.

In an instant, our bodies were forcefully dragged through the water, creating a current that surged outward on either side of us, propelled by Veli's magic.

“He mustn’t touch the soil!” Veli reminded me as I moved to drag him onto the bend.

“Fuck!” I screeched in panic.

“Brother!” Gage called from aboard the boat where he was recovering. A small bit of relief slammed into me to see that he was alright.

Veli’s magic thrust us to the edge of the boat, where Zaela and Gage waited, and the two of them helped me heave my mate into the safety of it.

Once he was aboard, Zaela lent me her hand and helped me into it. I dropped to my knees at Jace’s side and frantically looked his body over.

“He’s not breathing, Gage. He’s not breathing! ” I bellowed, as tears streamed down my face.

Gage jumped on the opposite side, rocking our small boat at the force of his weight. He looked at me then. The playful appearance his face normally wore was entirely gone. “I’m going to do chest compressions, and I need you to pump air into his lungs. Can you do that, Lia?”

“Yes,” I whispered, without removing my stare from Jace’s body.

Gage interlocked his fingers and began pushing down onto the center of Jace’s chest repeatedly. Zaela watched us, her eyes wide .

“Air, now!” he ordered, and I heaved a deep breath of air between Jace’s cold, pale lips.

We repeated this several times, and my breathing came in rapid breaths as I tried to hold my grip on reality.

A sob broke from me, and a scream of agony was working its way up my throat when suddenly a gasp erupted from Jace, followed by him coughing up a horrifying amount of swamp water.

“Oh, gods!” I shouted, right as Zae pushed him onto his side to aid his choking.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Zaela said to him, her composure significantly stronger than my own.

Jace worked to catch his breath, and Gage’s body sagged with relief as we watched him. My mate's eyes found mine, and the corner of his lips curved. He reached his hand up to cup my cheek, and he swiped my tears away with his thumb.

My eyes darted back and forth between his, but I couldn’t find words to speak.

“I’m okay, my Lia. I’m okay,” he mimicked the reassurance from his cousin through a few coughs.

A sound left me that was half a sob, half a shuddering breath as I leapt onto him, throwing my arms around his shoulders and gripping him tighter than I ever thought possible.

“I thought I lost you,” I whispered into the nook of his neck as I nuzzled my face into it, the chilled drips of water seeping into my skin.

He let out a strained chuckle. “Never. ”

I leaned back and looked him over meticulously as his coloring slowly crept back into his lips and cheeks.

His eyes locked on me then, a lethal look to them. He pressed his hand to my side, and when he gently lifted his touch, my blood stained his fingers. “They hurt you,” he growled.

I laced my fingers with his. “I’ll be okay. You should see what I did to them.” A knowing grin formed on his lips as I gave him a wink. “What the hell happened while we were gone?”

He leaned up, and Zaela moved to sit on one of the seating boards behind her to get out of his way.

“We were waiting for you, and I was getting…antsy,” he started.

“He was ready to risk it all and come after you for taking so long. I was trying to keep his ass in the boat,” Gage cut him off.

My eyes shot to Jace, and I looked at him through furrowed brows. “Why would you do that? You knew to stay in the boat!”

“I couldn’t feel you.” Anger tinged with nerves radiated from him. He swallowed. “I didn’t know if you were okay, and enchanted lands or not, I was going to find out for myself.”

My eyes widened slightly. “The rift. It blocked out the bond.”

“The what?” he asked.

I was about to answer when Veli’s voice called to us. “ Elianna!”

My gaze found her and Avery still on the riverbank. Veli's talon pointed a few feet away from our boat, where two sets of hate-filled, stark-white eyes stared at us.

I instantly stood, a growl erupting from me as I stalked to the edge of the boat—their tails waded through the murky swamp, aiming for me.

One of them had the audacity to place her webbed fingers onto its ledge and try to pull herself up. My teeth were clenched so tightly that I thought they would shatter as I tried to calm my fury.

“You took something from us. Someone from us,” she hissed.

Without a second thought, I reached down and grabbed the creature by her soaked, seaweed-crusted hair, heaved her up by it, and then sent my opposite fist into her face. Her cheekbone cracked beneath my knuckles and she let out a shriek of pain as her body splashed back down into the water.

Her counterpart hissed at me but swished her tail to move out of my reach.

The mouthy siren resurfaced and hissed at me.

“ I took someone from you?! ” I bellowed, my voice echoing through the marsh. “You held our men beneath the surface, ready to feast on them! I simply rescued them from the fate you nearly gave them, you wicked monsters!”

“You took our sister’s conch!” she barked at me, showing her sharpened teeth, and I flashed my canines right back. “She will cease to exist without it, a husk for eternity that you watched her fade into when you carved it from her scales! ”

“Why would I care that a heartless, murderous creature turns into a husk?!” I snapped at her. “You harmed my mate .” My gaze whipped back to where Jace, Gage, and Zaela observed us, and then returned to them. I gripped the hilt of my dagger. “You should both receive the same punishment.”

“And who are you to deem what a punishable offense is, fae bitch? ” one taunted.

My back straightened as my stare remained on them. “I am Elianna Valderre, Heir of the Realm.” I leaned down closer to them as their brows furrowed with doubt. “And once I take my place upon my throne, I will remember every creature who showed me loyalty, or otherwise.”

They eyed each other warily and then met my stare once more. “What do you want from us?”

A thought crossed my mind then. In order to win this war and defeat the false queen, we needed as many allies as possible, no matter how unlikely they seemed.

“What is it that you seek?” I turned their question back on them.

“Lia?” Zaela questioned, but I held up a finger behind me to halt her. Concern radiated from Jace, but I worked to block it out.

The twin creatures looked at each other again. “We want our sister’s conch returned to us so we may restore her.”

“And what do I get in return for resurrecting a murderer?” I shot back, tone steady.

A hiss left the one who barely spoke .

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the shell, rotating it between my fingers leisurely as their eyes steadily followed its movements.

“What are you asking of us?” they asked in unison.

“Your allegiance.”

“We do not pledge to, nor concern ourselves, with land walkers.”

My lips parted as my eyes darted back and forth between the two sirens before me. A menacing smile formed.

I halted my taunting twirling of the shell and held it between my forefinger and thumb, giving it a small squeeze—a tiny crack splintered through the conch.

“Stop!” one shouted as her webbed fingers reached out toward me. “You claim to be heir to the realm, yet you would doom one of its habitants?”

I flashed her my canines. “I will doom anyone that refuses to take a knee to my claim when offered mercy. If you are not with me, then you are against me.”

Pride erupted down the bond.

“Mercy,” she mocked.

I pocketed the shell once more. “You attacked our men unprovoked, with no other intention aside from feasting on their flesh and bones. Legends state you are beasts that swam up from the depths of hell. Your reputation precedes you just from this brief encounter. I see no reason to allow any of you to live unless you choose to fight for me in the war that rages on Velyra’s soil.”

“May be a bit difficult…lacking legs and all.” She snickered.

“Not all battles are raged on the land. If we call for you, you will fight. And when the time comes, I will return the conch to you. It is a fair barter.”

“A bloody battle in exchange for our sister’s life?” the other asked.

“Indeed.”

“And what of the fallen?”

I huffed out a breath through my nostrils. “If they are not my men, then you may do with them as you please.”

They exchanged feral looks.

“Do we have an agreement?” I demanded. “And if you disobey orders received, I will crush your sister’s fragile shell and grind it into dust. Am I understood?”

“And how will we be receiving said orders ? ”

My back straightened, and I glanced to shore, where Veli and Avery watched us intently.

“My witch will present herself to you when the time comes. You will swim to wherever directed.” The remaining bit of patience I had was wearing thin. “Are we in agreement? Vow yourself to my claim to the throne and you shall earn your sister’s life back.”

The two of them slowly sank back down into the water until only everything above their chins was visible. My jaw ticked as I looked deep into the vengeful, icy eyes that gazed up at me.

“Agreed,” they hissed in unison, right before their tails lashed out and sent them soaring beneath the surface and back toward the sea.