Chapter 10

ChapterTen

The waves brush softly against the rock and over my boots as we walk around the edges, stopping every so often to search the weeds and large rocks. We go around in circles, looking for food, looking for anything to heal our friends’ injuries so they can make it through the night after the disaster of the test we just had. We didn’t see those monsters coming, and none of us were prepared for it. The only good thing that’s come out of the test is there doesn’t seem to be any monsters left in the cavern, or other contestants either. We have been walking around out here for at least an hour, and we haven’t seen or sensed anyone. They could be hiding, but I think many wouldn’t have survived the last test. Goddess, we hardly did.

I breathe in the smell of salt, thick in the air, and Emerson’s own scent mixed with it. Frosty dawn break, rain smothered grass and peppermint, which to me, smells like home. Even in this place. I look up at Emerson, admiring how beautiful he is for a male, monster form or not. He is heartbreakingly gorgeous, from how he smiles, to his thick, luxurious black hair and deep purple eyes that make me think of the night sky just when the sun sets and makes this vibrant purple color across the city. I’ve sat on the docks so many nights, waiting to see that color and thinking it’s the most beautiful color in the world. For a moment, the world just pauses in nothing but a purple haze. That’s how I feel when I look at him. My world pauses in the best way, and all the air leaves my lungs because of how he looks right back at me. Like I’m his world too.

“If we can’t find anything…” I drift off, coming to a stop, watching the waves brush my boots and sink in, the cold water harsh against my toes. I feel helpless and useless. I can’t help them. I thought if we just found something, it would be at least doing something to help them make it. They came in here to save me, and they’re dying. It is very clear they’re dying. We both know they will be lucky if they make it through till tomorrow. Emerson runs his hand down my back before pulling me into a hug. He holds me tightly, just letting me breathe in his scent, feel him strong and holding me. I need this for a moment, and from how he seems to relax with my touch, I know he feels the same way. He feels the same hopeless way because he wants to help Posy and Nerelyth survive. Nerelyth is part of his court, who he protects, and Posy saved his brother from dying. We are all linked, this weird group of ours, and the thought of two of them dying is unthinkable. It just can’t happen.

“We’ll find something,” Emerson grumbles in my ear, running his hand up and down my back gently again and again to soothe me. I let myself sink into his embrace and forget the world so I can breathe for the first time since the previous test ended. We carried Posy and Nerelyth back to our cavern where we made a fire before, finding it untouched other than the fish scraps we had left behind, which looked like they had been pulverized on the floor. Emerson and I left immediately, trusting Zurine, Lorenzo and Felix to defend our friends while they can’t fight for themselves. Not that Posy could ever fight for herself in this place, and she only got here by accident. I never thought she would save Lorenzo. I really thought she hated him. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look in her eyes as she agreed to save his life, knowing what would happen if she did. The demoneater hurt her so badly… Goddess above, I never want to hear her scream like that again. I can’t lose her.

Nerelyth, she was bitten and ripped into by those creatures, and the poison in her system is slowly killing her. She won’t wake up without being fully healed or some kind of cure. She might have longer than Posy, but both of them don’t have much time. The sad truth is, nothing we find out here is going to save our friends, and yet we both are too stubborn to give in and go back yet. I’ll walk around this place, searching everywhere until my legs give in.

“Lorenzo found the devil’s string to heal your wound. We might find some. Lorenzo said he saw some over here,” Emerson says, trying to give me hope, something to hold on to. “We’ll find it. And then we’ll go back to the others, and we’ll make it until tomorrow. Then we’ll plan what to do next. There’s no point in thinking further than that.”

“There is nothing here,” I admit, my shoulders dropping. “The god must know we need it, and he won’t give us anything now. Lorenzo didn’t find that stuff by chance. It was because he was given it by the god for me, to save me for the tests. I have a feeling no more help is coming.”

Emerson doesn’t agree with me, but his silence is enough of an answer. I turn my head to rest on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. “That last test was brutal. We barely survived it. How are we going to survive the next one?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, we’ll get through it. We did it this time. The god needs a winner at the end of this, and he’s not going to do something that’ll get us all killed,” he suggests. “We have to hold on to hope.”

I lift my head back to look up at him as he looks down at me. He leans forward and softly kisses my forehead. “We’ll get out of this and—”

He pauses mid-sentence before swiftly pulling me behind him. I sense someone nearby as I pull my dagger out, gripping it in my hand. A scream rips out of my throat as hands wrap tightly around my waist, and I’m thrown into the water, my dagger slipping out of my hand before I fall deep into the freezing cold water. Large hands grab my ankle and yank me down in the water, deeper and darker, as I kick to get free. I look down at whatever it is as it lets go of my ankle, only to see a siren male with long red hair swimming away from me and circling back. He swims fast through the water, faster than I can even see, but I spot his silver spear as he lunges it right at me with extreme force. I barely manage to dive to the side, grabbing the spear as it passes me and trying to pull it from him. He whacks me hard across the face with the end, sending me swirling back in the water, gasping and letting water into my chest. I snap my mouth shut, my cheek stinging as I blink. It’s darker here and I can’t see the siren. I spin around in the water, my heart racing so fast as I look for his red hair or the silver spear.

As my lungs begin to burn, I spot him coming right for me. I try to swim away, only to hit a rock wall trapping me. Fuck.

When he is inches away from me, and I’m still struggling to think of how to get out of this, Emerson swims right in front of me. He grabs the siren around the throat, yanking the spear out of his hands in seconds and smashing his face against the nearby rock wall. Emerson’s eyes find mine as the siren fights back with everything he has, but he is no match for Emerson. I push off the wall to swim up, knowing I need air quickly, but I gasp as a fast current pulls me down. I look up to see Emerson fighting with the siren, not noticing that I’m sinking in the current. I’m going to drown if I don’t get out of this quickly.

I see blood swirling in the water around Emerson and the siren, both of them locked in a fight, and I hope that’s the siren’s blood.

I hear a voice whispering to me the deeper I fall into the water, a voice I’ve never heard before. It’s male, old, ancient. “Even I once had a love just like yours,” he whispers to me. I hear his voice all around me in the water—like he is the water himself. I struggle to swim upwards, flapping my arms around aimlessly in the water, panicking, as I know I won’t be able to hold my breath for much longer. I’m not a good swimmer. I’m not strong enough to fight against this current, even as a fae. “She was beautiful, enchanting, and I loved her. She looked like you when she was young, but her hair was gold, like the setting sun. We were both mortal before I was turned into a god. When I came back from my turning, she was long dead.”

The story doesn’t distract me from the pain in my lungs from not breathing. I can barely focus on his story, and I wonder if I’m going mad and hearing this. It can’t be real, right? The god of the water cannot be speaking to me? “And she had betrayed me, my one true love. We once whispered how we would only love each other, wait for each other until the end of time itself, but she did not. She had married another male, had children with him and forgot me.”

I feel his anger like it’s my own, his heartbreak like it’s ripping my own chest apart. “They had two sons, and I killed them in spite. I couldn’t stand how much they looked like her, and no part of her deserved to live in this world anymore after what she did to me. All love kills in the end. Coming here was a mistake for your mate. He should have left you here with me and lived on as the king he could have been. They all should have left you here, child of the fae.”

I shake my head in the dark waters, where I can’t see Emerson anymore and I can’t think of anything but the need to open my mouth and breathe. I need air. My arms feel weaker by the second. I can just about see the light from above the water slowly fade into darkness. It’s so dark down here, like swimming in the night itself. I wonder if it’s where the sea god resides in this cavern deep below the waters. “You will lose him in the end because love destroys us all. You should let him go now. Do not let him destroy you like my love destroyed me. You could change this world, child of the fae, but not while you chase your mate.”

Emerson finally comes into view, swimming fast down, using his wings to propel him straight towards me. He grabs my arm before yanking me up to his body and using his strong legs to push us straight out of the current. I close my eyes, focusing on holding my breath for a little longer.

Just a little longer. Suddenly we crash out of the water, and the first breath of air I take is downright painful. Both of us are gasping for air as we fall backwards on the rocks. I’m lying on Emerson, coughing and spluttering for a long time as he pats my back, letting me calm down. I nearly drowned. Again. “Thank you.”

He strokes my cheek in response, and I close my eyes, enjoying his touch. Eventually, we sit up and I climb off Emerson to sit at his side. “How did that happen? I didn’t sense them. Did you?”

“They used the water to sneak up on us, and my powers are waning,” he explains. “I didn’t sense them.”

“Them? There was more than one?” I question in confusion.

He nods at the rocks nearby where I can see a trail of blood leading to the rocks. “A female attacked me. I left her nearly dead.”

We both climb to our feet, Emerson helping me up. “We should check she is dead and not going to sneak up on us like that fucker.”

We walk over to the female laid on the rocks. She has blue leather clothes that match the male who just attacked me, and there’s a gaping hole in her stomach where Emerson, no doubt, has ripped a part of her out. Blood spills across the ground into the water, and she’s coughing on her blood as she turns her head to look at us. Her blue eyes are wide with fear. She’s terrified. I know she went after my mate, and for that, I want to make sure she dies. I never want to let anyone touch him, but she’s dying and no threat to either of us now. It would be a kindness to sit at her side. She’s someone’s daughter, possibly someone’s sister. She could be someone’s mother, for all I know. I always remember that when I see someone suffering. Being kind is the duty we are born to uphold. I kneel down at her side and pick up her hand. I’m surprised when Emerson does the same from her other side. She looks at him with fear. “Our battle is over. You have lost and we needn’t be enemies anymore. I’m here to wait for your death.” I smile at Emerson, surprised. He meets my gaze. “I’ve battled many, seen death come swiftly, and I never wish to see anyone face it alone.”

I nod, looking back down at the female, seeing her lose that haze of fear of Emerson. She looks between us before focusing on me and tightening her hand in mine. “My name is Calliophe. Your friend is dead. If he’s your friend or husband or mate, he is gone.”

She shakes her head. Then maybe they weren’t together, but she was at his side for whatever reason, and she survived two tests, meaning she is a good fighter and smart too. Not smart enough to not enter this test, mind you. “I will stay with you as you die. No one should die alone.” I really believe that, in this cruel world, dying alone is a punishment we don’t deserve.

Emerson’s eyes meet mine before he looks down at her. “When our people die in battle or choose to walk death’s path at the end of their immortal life, there are several words we say to them. It’s a prayer, said by the goddess many years past. I do not know what words sirens say to their dead to help them pass, but I can share mine with you if you wish.”

She nods once, tears falling down her cheeks. “By flight and night, we bow to death’s string. May the goddess take your hand as you pass through her gates and find the end of your string of life. Close your eyes and follow the light. May luck, memory and light be with you.”

I repeat his words, feeling the power of the words as her eyes stay on mine. “Th—ank y-y—ou.”

I watch as the life bleeds out of her light blue eyes until her body goes still and she stops breathing altogether. I shut her eyelids before putting her hands together on her chest.

“We should put her body in the water,” I suggest to Emerson. Something feels wrong about just leaving it here on the rocks. Emerson nods in agreement. We both drag the body to the water, and it’s immediately pulled down by invisible hands. I’m glad we don’t have to see her floating there. I go back to Emerson’s side, intending to tell him about hearing the god tell me a fucked-up story, when Emerson grabs me, kissing me deeply. His tongue finds its way into my mouth as he picks me up, and fuck, I want this too. We nearly died and I could have lost him.

With his wings, he lifts us into the air and flies us straight into a small tunnel area hidden in darkness. His kisses are desperate, brutal, and demanding, and I let him take everything from me with them. His hands rub across my hard nipples through the leather, sending sparks of pleasure down my body. He pushes down my trousers, and I step out of them for him, leaning back to tug my shirt off until I’m bare for him. I’ve never been this confident with anyone, but the way he looks at me makes me fear nothing.

I kneel in front of Emerson, pulling his cock out of his trousers, stroking his hard, long length. He groans, leaning back against the wall as the tip of his cock goes wet. I lean closer, licking up his cock to the end and taking him in my mouth. The satisfied, male noise that leaves his throat makes me feel powerful, and by the light, I want to hear that noise again. Emerson doesn’t give me a chance, lifting me off the ground and kissing me. His voice is ragged against my lips. “I nearly fucking lost you.”

“I’m okay, Emerson,” I breathe against his lips. He picks me up and thrusts deeply into me in one go. I gasp from the fullness, from how he feels inside me and how wet I am without him hardly touching me. I don’t stop him, because I need this too. I nearly lost him. He fucks me hard and fast, each stroke of his cock sending me closer to the edge. His mouth never leaves mine, his hands tighten on my ass, tilting my hips slightly to go deeper, and this new angle makes me gasp in pleasure.

I clutch his shoulders as I begin to tighten around him, pleasure spreading up my spine, and with another kiss, Emerson steals my cries of pure bliss as I come. He groans, following me over the edge with three more deep thrusts. We both breathlessly stare at each other, silent but content. Sex with Emerson is the best I’ve ever had, and it’s addictive. He is addictive to me. I wanted him before I turned fae, but this is more than I ever felt before. It must be because I’m fae and some part of me knows he is my mate. He stays inside me, like he never wants to leave, and goddess, I don’t want him to. He cups my cheek, brushing his finger across my swollen bottom lip. “How did I survive without you?” he asks.

“By being a moody bastard, if I remember right.”

He squeezes my ass tighter, almost painfully, as I chuckle. He pulls out of me and sets me down on the ground, picking up my trousers for me. I pull them on, looking over the cavern. “We should go back to the others. It’s still dangerous out here.”

Emerson picks me up, spreading out his massive wings and jumping out into the cavern. I hold him that little bit tighter as we go back empty-handed, and pray to any god that is listening that my friends survive the night.