Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

My body awakens to the taste of salt water and the thunderous sound of waves. My eyes widen in shock as a wave crashes into me with overwhelming strength, plunging me under the bitter cold salt water that burns my eyes when I force them open. I swim back up to the surface, my muscles aching as I spin around, looking for something. There is a huge, jagged rock sticking out of the sea next to me, and I must have hit my head on it and somehow stayed alive. My purple-dipped, wet locks of hair are wrapped around my neck and face, and I push them away to see better.

Everything is fuzzy as I see a floating tree trunk, and I dive for it. Several waves, not as big as the first one, push into me and make the trunk float further away each time I’m close. I’m exhausted, cold, and angry by the time I can grab the floating piece of trunk. I pull myself onto it, lying down as it floats through the sea, somehow skirting over the waves. I can’t stop shaking as I touch my head, pulling my hand away and seeing red blood coating my fingers. I barely get a chance to look up before another giant wave slams into me and snaps the trunk in half, throwing me back into the water.

Lightning flashes across the sky, and I gasp, taking in water, coughing on it as I break the surface. I reach for my powers on instinct, wanting to help myself, but Aphrodite was right. She took them. The storms, the waves, all of it becomes a mild threat when I feel something brush against my legs. Looking down, I see something bright gold as it flashes past me. My blood runs cold as I try to stay still and silent as the massive creature swims away. At least I’m not alone. “Massive sea creature” wasn’t exactly on my list of helpful friends here though. But it hasn’t tried to eat me, so I’m hoping it’s not on the people-eating monster list.

Lysander would know. Lysander. He is here somewhere, and he can’t be dead…I’d know it. I’d feel it. He is my destined mate after all, and despite how much I hate him, I need him right now.

“LYSANDER!” I scream his name, searching in the dark seas for him, a new desperation to find him washing away all my fears. He doesn’t shout back, no one answers me. Calm. I have to calm down, even if it feels like my soul might leave my body in pure fear. I spin in the sea, letting the waves move me along in the water, but there’s nothing but water in every direction. I’m floating, lost, and failing this test. I’m failing my people. “LYSANDER!” I scream his name over and over, hoping that he’ll hear me, hoping he’ll call back. But between the blistering icy rain, the sea waves, and the storm, I’m not sure I’d even hear him. I shout through our bond, but he is silent. Too silent for Lysander. Even he wouldn’t let me die here and ignore me. I hope.

Essentially, I should be able to find him anywhere with this bond. With every bit of strength I have, I close my eyes and let everything leave my mind except for him. I picture him in front of me, his dark red hair, devastatingly beautiful features, muscular body, his evil smile. I can feel him, like a string vibrating alongside my own soul. In all this madness, knowing that a creature of the sea could eat me at any second, that I’d be screwing over my entire court if I lose, I feel him. He’s near me.

Determination burns in my mind as I open my eyes, suck in a deep breath, and begin to swim. The waves are against me, the very sea parting us, but I don’t give up. The tugging sensation is like a flutter in my chest, pulling me to follow it, promising me he will be on the other end. With everything I have, I keep swimming in that direction even as wave after wave hits me. My heart leaps when I spot something in the distance, floating face down in the water. Lysander. As I near him, I see that he is actually flung over the side of what looks like a mini-island of moss, only big enough to hold him on it. His red hair is like a beacon to me, and my shoulders drop. I found him.

I dive to him, pushing against the sea to let me get to my Lysander. My arms ache when I finally get close enough to grab the rocky island he is on and pull myself up next to him. I shake his shoulder, pulling him onto his back. I can’t name the relief I feel when I see his chest moving up and down. He’s alive. He’s actually alive. There is blood on the rocks, and he must have landed here. My relief is soon tempered by anger. “Lysander, wake the fuck up!”

He wakes up, opening his eyes, and for a moment I almost forgot the spell he was under. But there is no redness in his eyes. It’s gone, and when he sees me, he smiles for just a second. Just as a wave is going to hit us, Lysander grabs me tightly around my waist and makes walls of water spiral around us, protecting us in a spinning cyclone. The wave just crashes against it, spraying us with droplets. Lysander touches my forehead, frowning. His magic washes over the cut, soothing me. “You need to stop injuring yourself, witch.” I huff out a laugh, pulling back from him. His eyes are like glowing green crystals, and they are full of disappointment. “What the fuck are you doing here, Ellelin?”

He rarely uses my full name, and red clouds my vision as I glare at him. Even when I’m stuck in the middle of the sea, no thanks to him, he is telling me off. I scream in frustration and slam my hand into his shoulder. “What am I doing here? I am fixing your fucked-up mistakes! This”—I wave around me—“is all your fault. And theirs. How dare you make up a crazy ass plan to just leave me on Earth? What did you think would happen? Do you think I’d be able to live knowing you were on Ayiolyn, suffering or dead? Do you think I’d be okay with that? What life did you think I’d ever be able to have?”

“We—”

I slam my hand into his chest this time, stopping him, my hot tears falling down my cheeks. “I made my choice, back in the desert, back in the courts, that I am from this world, and I am not choosing a normal human life. I couldn’t just go and live on Earth, pretending I am not in love with the kings of another world.” I slam my other hand into his chest. “Do you know how worried I was when I woke up without you four? How fucking scared I was for you? I’ve had to process everything that happened to me while coming back here, fighting for you, and fixing your mistakes. I’ve had to make a deal with Aphrodite for the lives of my entire court and all my magic. Just because you guys wouldn’t speak to me, wouldn’t include me, and chose to be the heroes that no one asked for!”

I smack my hands over and over on his chest, unable to see through my tears.

“Ellelin—”

“NO!” I shout. “How dare you do that to me? I needed you after… I needed you.” I pause, actually looking at him. Lysander looks devastated. “I needed you. Even when I hate you sometimes, I needed you.” He pulls me to his chest even as I fight him, until I’m a shaking mess in his arms, clinging to his shirt as he holds me tightly against the storms as we rock in the sea.

When there is nothing but the sound of a storm, he kisses me softly on top of my head. “I’m sorry.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say those words before. I didn’t know he was capable of them. “You don’t hate me anymore, and I never hated you. But I fucked up everything, over and over, and saying sorry is the only way I know how to begin to fix it all. I wanted to do that since the night I found you injured. Something broke in me that night, and I wish I could go back and tell myself to admit it. In my soul, I suspected that you’re my mate, but I had no proof. I didn’t know we were mind speaking like destined mates, but I was curious how it was possible. I felt your fear when you were drowning, and for a moment, I thought of how water could take you from me, and I hated it. I hated water, my power, my court, for daring to take air from your lungs. Even before that, even when I convinced myself that I felt nothing for you, I was obsessed with keeping you safe. I wouldn’t have touched your grandmother, and revenge went on the back burner in my mind.” I lift my head up. “When Arden told me of the deal he made to get us out, the deal with Aphrodite, I agreed with it before even thinking. Emrys came up with the plan to get you back to Earth, like you asked for from the moment we kidnapped you.”

“Things changed.”

He looks up, rain dripping down his face. When he looks down at me, I feel like the world stops. “I wanted you to have a normal life, away from us all, if it was on Earth or not. But fuck, did I want a life with you more. I would fight for a life with you, for a moment with you, just anything you are willing to give me. You’re my enemy, my spirit witch, and I’m in fucking love with you.”

“Lysander—”

“I don’t expect you to say it back, not even for a second, because I fucked up in every inch of our relationship. I can’t speak for the others, but I shouldn’t have lied to you about all of this. We should be in there together, and if you would give me a chance, I will drown this world to fix it for you.”

“Drowning seems pretty easy at the moment,” I manage to say. I can’t say what he wants me to, not right now, not with how angry I still am at him. We have too much to discuss, Arden for starters, and how he thinks my father killed his.

“You’re safe with me, even if we are in a storm in the middle of one of the most fucking dangerous seas in Ayiolyn. I would use my power toward just a few seconds of peace with you any moment, any time, in any world.” My heart races. Lysander never speaks to me like this, and I’m starting to think he is more dangerous when he is being seductive than he is when he is being cruel.

“You’ve changed, my enemy.”

He grins at me, holding me closer. His hand sinks into my hair, pulling us closer. “I’m done pushing you away. I am done pretending like you aren’t everything to me. We’re gonna fight our way out of this. We’ll win this test and show the gods they have nothing on dragons. Dragons rule.”

He moves us so close I can taste him on my every breath. “I’m no dragon.”

Lysander’s lips tilt but his eyes are filled with determination. “I saw you on the shadow dragon. Every bit of a spirit princess of the fifth court dragons. You are a dragon, my spirit witch.” He leans into me, and my breath halts. “I’m going to kiss you and never let you go. You need to push me away if you’re not ready⁠—”

I kiss him. I kiss my enemy like he isn’t my enemy at all and, instead, he is my entire world. His lips press harshly against mine in return, an echo of a groan vibrating up his throat that I feel in my blood. Lysander brutally kisses me, a desperate rush to take as much of me as he can with just his mouth. Just for a moment, the world blurs, and he makes me feel like I’m alive. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to kiss him after everything, but it feels easy. Natural to kiss my destined mate, someone born for me as much as I was born for him. Our past, our arguments and fights, are a memory for a few seconds as I sink into his hard body, rain still pouring on us, reminding me that we’re still in danger. I can taste him on my lips as I break away from him. He reaches for me again, but I place my hand on his chest. “What did you mean when you talked about the most dangerous sea in Ayiolyn?”

“I haven’t been back here in years. My father used to bring us here as a test for royals when I was a kid,” he answers, so casually that he barely registers the look of horror on my face.

A tic in his jaw twitches as my words wash over him like smoke. “How old were you?” How could his father bring him here, to this horrid place?

“Young,” he sharply answers, and he looks away, letting me go. He isn’t going to talk to me about it, not right now at least. I push the knowledge to the back of my mind.

“What’s wrong with these seas?” I ask.

“It’s full of monsters that are kept away from the islands, and the sea is known to destroy ships and life. Giant sea creatures dwell in the depths that make dragons look like toys for a child. This is the only part of the sea that doesn’t abide by my rule. It’s too wild, too unkept, and no king has ever been able to claim these seas or the monsters within. I believe my great-grandfather tried once, but he was eaten.” My eyes widen. That must have been one crazy bastard. “But to survive the seas means you are a true king. I used to be left out here for weeks, and I know there are little islands around. They appear and disappear on the tides. We need to make our way to one of them…” He keeps talking, making his plan, but I’m stuck on the fact his father left him out here for weeks as a young child. Lysander finally looks at me, and his eyes narrow. “I don’t want your pity.”

I try to hide my emotions, knowing we need to work together. “Right. How are we going to get to an island? Can you shift? I haven’t got my powers, or I would call my shadows.”

He smirks at me. “My dragon is blocked by that bitch goddess, but I’m the fucking king of the Water Court. Ruler of the seas, the oceans, the rivers, and you are mine. I will get us out of here.”

Pure possessiveness flashes in the depths of his eyes. I’m still angry at him. I think I’ll be angry for years to come for what they have done, but I don’t correct his claim. I’m his, we both know it. He is mine too. We might die together at any moment, and I’d rather not die completely hating him. Plus, it wasn’t just him that made that choice. I’m furious at all of them. “Stay on the turtle.” Lysander touches the island. “Thank you for saving me, friend.”

“It’s a turtle?!” I shout as he makes a gap in the water shield around us. Lysander doesn’t answer me as he suddenly jumps off the turtle, diving into the sea, leaving me behind. The turtle moves up, revealing more of the shell, and its purple head pops above the water. It looks right at me, and a sound like a whale cry sings from its throat. It’s a beautiful noise. I touch its back. “Thank you for helping us.”

The song continues, even as the turtle looks away from me. Waiting and waiting, I watch the sea through the gap, the violent waves and flashes of pure lightning that highlight nothing but the dark rain clouds. It’s been too long. I stand up, ready to dive into the sea for him if he doesn’t appear soon. I step back as something crashes out of the ocean, flashes of gold flooding my vision. A giant creature lands on the water outside the gap, and it looks like a water snake had a baby with an eel made of gold. Small whiskers that buzz with electricity fill the water at its sides, and sitting on its back between its humps is Lysander. He wipes his hair from his face, his other hand holding into a leash made of seaweed. He offers me his hand. “Come on, witch.”

I raise an eyebrow and he laughs as a wave of water swiftly lifts me up in the air and throws me at him. Lysander catches me too easily and slides me in front of him. “You’re insane!”

“And you are beautiful.”

I’m stunned for a second at his compliment, but my eyes widen as the whiskers of the creature lift, spreading out and revealing webbing between them. All of that looks like wings. Lysander wraps his arm tight around my body as the golden creature dives in the water, pulling us both down with it, and I clutch Lysander’s arm tightly. It crashes out of the sea again, right up into the air, and starts flying straight up into the sky. It dives through the storm cloud, right into pure, warm sunlight. I look back at Lysander, the burnt orange and sunflower yellow rays of the sun making his hair look like the beginning of a fire. “The sea is not your enemy, Elle. You were born to be the queen of it.”

“I would disagree about it being my enemy,” I grumble, making him laugh. I grin as the creature shoots through the sky, any warmth from the sun departing in the icy wind. A piercing noise, like a musical trill echoes out of its throat as it flies high. I miss the sweet turtle singing. We fly around for a bit, and I shiver, leaning back into the warmth of Lysander. I’m not sure we have a destination in mind, but suddenly the creature dives through the clouds, my stomach swirling from the drop. Lightning flashes near us, and I can barely hold on as the creature moves faster. As we break out of the storm clouds, I see a small island with nothing but sand and two windswept trees. Lysander lands the creature on the beach, and it waits for him in the water after we have climbed off.

I sit on the sand, pulling my knees up, my wet clothes sticking to me. Lysander chooses to stand, watching the seas. “There’s got to be a test here. Can’t just be survival.”

“Agreed,” I answer, but I’m clueless what to suggest the answer is. Eventually Lysander sits with me, and I build a sand castle. He kicks it with his foot. “You’re mean.”

“Never claimed not to be,” he answers, but he is smiling. It’s weird to see him smile so much. For a while, we sit on the beach together and just watch the giant ocean storms, the waves bigger than houses, swallowing up everything in their way. I want to ask about his father, but I know now’s not the time. I feel like him admitting any of that to me is enough. It’s a step in the right direction.

When dawn starts to break around the horizon, light crashes through the storms of clouds like beacons. But it’s not the light that makes my blood run cold. An overly sweet female voice fills my mind. “Save the seven betrayers. If any are lost, so will you be.”

I rush to my feet, right before I see a whirlpool in the sea and hear a monster roar that makes me clamp my hands over my ears. I spot flashing red lights in several places around the seas. Lysander isn’t looking at me, but he is pale. Where the red flashes were, small boats are floating, being sucked into the pull of a whirlpool. “It isn’t a whirlpool, but it’s the Charybdis.”

“What is a Charybdis?” I quietly ask.

Lysander finally looks at me, and I don’t like the fear in his eyes. “It’s like a worm with a lot of teeth that lives in water, and it eats everything. It can’t be reasoned with, and it’s told as horror stories in my court. I wasn’t aware it was even real. I won’t take you out there.”

“No.” I touch his arm. “We go together. I know it’s risky, but what she said? Seven betrayers? That’s people out there on those boats, and we need to get to them. Don’t leave me behind again.”

He tenses, but his shoulders drop. “Fine, but will you do everything I tell you?”

I smile. “Just this once.”

Lysander kisses me quickly. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

I climb up onto the golden creature after Lysander, and he takes off straight into the skies. The first boat is nearest, with a dark-haired woman trying to wiggle out of rope tied around her arms. Lysander growls. “She’s from my court, a good friend of my mother’s. These are all high nobles of my court. What’s left of them.”

Aphrodite called them betrayers. They betrayed her and Ares’s rule, not Lysander. This is what is left of the high nobles of the Water Court. Lysander swoops the creature low enough before I jump off. I pull at the rope binding her until it’s off her, and she meets my eyes. “Thank you to you both, the true rulers of water.”

“Climb on,” I gently instruct her, noticing how she looks weak, too weak to even stand. Lysander pulls her behind him before helping me back on. One down, six to go. Thankfully, the boats are spread out and pretty far from the Charybdis. The whirlpool it is creating is pulling them in, bit by bit, and we don’t have long.

The woman is silent as we go from boat to boat, untying and helping them onto the back of the creature. A young teenage boy and two elderly women are the next we rescue. Lysander flies them back to the island, leaving them there to wait before we take off for the other three. My heart races when I realise they’re far closer to the Charybdis. A child’s cry reaches my ears over the storm. “That’s a child!”

“What? Where?” Lysander demands, his voice furious. My hand shakes as I point to the boat nearest the monster, slowly being pulled into the current. Lysander turns the creature towards the boat I pointed to, but I see the others. “What about those two over there on the other side? We can’t get them both.”

Lysander stops the creature near the child’s boat. A little girl, no more than three, is crying in a corner, her blonde hair hiding her face. “I’m going to stay with the child,” I tell him. “You get the other two on that side. We can’t lose any of them, and I’m not leaving that little girl.”

“Fucking hell, no.” Lysander grits his teeth, looking down at me. “I can’t leave you here.”

I cup his cheek, speaking into his mind. “I trust you, my enemy. Come back for me.” Before he can stop me, I push out of his arms and fling myself off the creature. The wind whips past my face before I hit the water, right next to the boat. I gasp, feeling the current pulling me under as I grab the ropes around the edge of the boat. Lysander’s emerald eyes find mine before he speeds off towards the other two. I pull myself into the boat, tripping over a wooden step and landing right in front of the child. She shakes from head to toe in the corner of the boat, and I know this will haunt her for years to come. I’m not so good with children, and I have no idea what to do, but I crawl over to her. Sitting up, I open my arms. “I promise you’re safe with me. I’m going to get you out of here.”

She lifts her head, her eyes so wide and a bright shade of blue. She throws herself at me, clinging to my neck, and I blow out a breath. The boat rocks and shakes and I pull myself to the edge, looking down at the monster and wishing I didn’t. Teeth, millions of yellow, decaying teeth, in a whirlpool of sea water is all I can see for miles. I search the skies for Lysander, finding him by the other boats. Lysander is grabbing the other two as the water starts to speed up around our boat, and we begin to spin. I scream, pulling the girl to me and climbing to the middle of the boat so I don’t get thrown out. The girl screams with me, her cries terrible to hear, and I can’t do anything.

“I’m here and I’m not letting you get hurt.” Lysander’s voice roughly fills my mind with a vow from the king of the Water Court to his mate. I look up as Lysander leaves the creature in the air, and he dives straight into the water around the horrifying creature.

“Lysander! What are you—” I pause as water shoots into the air, shaped like a throne, with Lysander sitting right on it. The boat goes still, and I look down to see a cushion of water floating us up into the air. The waters go still around the monster, and it feels like the storms themselves pause for their king.

Lysander stops the sea, stops the waves and the Charybdis. The Charybdis roars, shaking the water with ripples before diving under and leaving the sea still like a lake. Suddenly, Lysander drops down, the golden creature catching him and flying him to us. The boat drops too and crashes into the water. The girl cries, but she is silent as I stand, watching the creature land. Two men help Lysander into the boat, and I put the girl down, handing her to the nobles she must know, and cup his face. He is pale, like he used too much magic, but he is okay. I drop my forehead onto his. “How did you do that?”

“No one has tried to stop him before. To tame these seas. I just did,” he answers. I grin just before a portal opens right below the boat, and we crash through it, the boat landing right in front of the empty thrones. Ares and Aphrodite stand in the middle of the empty throne room, with Arden, Emrys and Grayson behind them. I look at them first, wishing they could see me.

Aphrodite looks pleased, and Ares looks murderous. “We will meet you at the Fire Court in three days. Well done, princess. Don’t worry, your other loves will be kept close to me.”

They leave through a portal, and I reach out for them like there is anything I can do to stop her from taking the rest of my heart with her. Hope clears her throat from the back of the throne room. “We have a problem.”