Chapter Fifteen

I woke up and everything was dead quiet. Not the nice kind of quiet that helps you relax, but the creepy kind that twists your thoughts, making every breath feel wrong. My heart was racing as everything from last night came flooding back, how he'd touched me, how I'd just given in, how I’d completely lost sight of who I was supposed to be.

I could still feel him everywhere. His hands, his mouth, how his scales had wrapped around me like he owned me. Worse still was remembering how my body had reacted. I touched the scars on my neck, hoping they'd feel dead and cold, like any old scar. But no, they were warm and pulsing under my fingers, as if they were part of me now. A permanent reminder.

“Rynar.” His name just slipped out, barely a whisper. The cave threw it back at me, like it was making fun of me. At least he wasn't here. Relief washed over me, but it was too late to get rid of the shame.

I got up on shaky legs. The Blue Hole was rippling a bit, black as anything, like someone had cut a hole in the cave floor. I had to look away. Whatever was down there, I didn't want to know.

I tried to keep busy, grinding algae with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking. The repetitive motion helped dull my thoughts, but they wouldn’t quiet completely. Pictures from last night kept popping into my head whether I wanted them or not, his voice, his hands, how much I'd wanted him. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth hurt. This wasn't me. It couldn't be.

But it was.

I caught myself smiling at the memory of his touch, then slammed the grinding tool into the rock so hard that the paste splattered everywhere. I stared at the mess, my chest getting tight. I wasn't just screwing myself over, I was betraying my friends. The ones he'd killed. The ones I should have avenged. Instead here I was, letting him turn me into... whatever this was.

“I gotta get out of here,” I whispered, my voice shaky. “I can't stay.”

The scars started pulsing again, like they were laughing at me. I didn't belong in the sun anymore. Hell, I didn't belong anywhere.

But I had to try. If I stayed, I knew exactly what would happen. I'd let him touch me again. Let him claim me again. The worst part? Even now, my body wanted him. That scared the crap out of me.

I stared at the cave walls, searching for any sign of an escape. There had to be another way out. The carvings were ancient, made by humans. This place had once been above ground, before the ocean swallowed it up. There had to be other caves nearby, somewhere I could hide from him.

I waited until the cave got dark, well, its version of dark anyway. I gathered what little I could, some glowing fruits and the knife he'd given me, and shoved them all in a pouch I made from seaweed.

The rock wall stretched way up, all slimy with moss and sharp edges. My heart was pounding as I grabbed the first handhold, sharp and rough under my fingers. Blood seeped from the cuts, and I watched, freaked out, as the stone seemed to drink it in, the red just disappearing into rock that suddenly had holes.

“Keep moving,” I gasped, pushing myself higher. “Don't think. Just move.”

The higher I went, the more the wall seemed to fight back. The stone got slicker under my hands, almost oily, and the moss-covered edges felt unnervingly soft, like skin. My fingers slipped and I grabbed for another hold. It pulsed under my grip, like a heartbeat.

I didn't look down. No way in hell. The algae's glow was barely visible way below, all sickly looking, and I knew if I looked, I'd chicken out. Every move made my muscles scream, and I was soaked in sweat and something colder that definitely wasn't water. I gritted my teeth and kept climbing.

Then, just like that, the rock gave way.

The fall felt like it went on forever. Time got all weird while I dropped, the darkness swallowing me whole. I screamed but the cave just ate up the sound. When I hit the water, it wasn't like crashing, more like it was hugging me. Cold as hell, pulling me down.

I thrashed, kicking and twisting, desperate for air. The water wasn’t right, it moved weird, swirling and pulling like it was alive. Flickers of light caught my eye, shifting in the dark like they were dancing, taunting me. Then, out of nowhere, it appeared.

The Vurrax.

It looked like a long, glowing eel, its translucent body pulsing with veins that lit up in this eerie rhythm. It circled me slowly, like it was sizing me up. My breath stalled when it brushed against my leg. Its skin felt cold and slick, and its spines slid out just enough to scrape me, like a warning.

I stayed frozen, my whole body tense. It coiled tighter, looping around my leg now, not squeezing but close enough to make me feel trapped. Its veins pulsed brighter, casting rippling patterns on the water around us. I told myself to stay calm, not to do anything stupid.

And then I panicked.

My leg shot out, kicking it hard. The Vurrax reacted instantly. Its body tightened around me, and the spines dug into my skin. Pain hit first, sharp and searing, but the venom was worse. It spread fast, burning through my veins, making every nerve scream. It wasn’t just pain, though, it was like it was messing with my mind, tearing me apart from the inside out.

I started thrashing harder, bubbles bursting from my mouth as I screamed into the water. The Vurrax didn’t let go. If anything, it seemed to enjoy watching me struggle. It tightened, dragging me deeper, its glowing veins pulsing faster, like it was feeding off my fear.

Just when I thought it was over, it stopped. The pressure eased, and it slid away, unraveling in one smooth motion. I barely had time to process what was happening before it hovered in front of me for a moment, its glowing eyes locking onto mine.

And then it was gone. It disappeared into the dark like it had never been there, its faint glow fading until there was nothing left but the still water around me. My chest heaved, every muscle screaming, and the pain from the venom throbbed like fire in my blood.

I hung there, gasping, shaken, knowing I’d just barely made it out alive.

For a second, I thought I was okay.

Then I heard it.

“Pearl.”

Jaime's voice. Clear as day, warm and familiar. My heart jumped, hope surging through the pain and fear.

“Jaime?” I whispered, bubbles carrying his name into nothing. I turned toward the sound, shaking all over. “Is that really you?”

The water shifted, and out came the Sirenshade.

It had stolen Jaime's voice, but everything else was wrong. Its skeleton body was covered in rotting seaweed, algae stuck all over its bones. Empty eye sockets stared at me, scarier than any real eyes. It reached for me with these crazy long, skinny arms.

“Come here,” it said, sounding exactly like him. “You're safe now. I got you.”

My eyes filled up with tears. “You're not real,” I choked out, the words escaping despite my own disbelief.

The Sirenshade smiled, its skeleton grin splitting its face in two. “Don't be scared,” it whispered, the words wrapping around me like chains. “I'll take care of you.”

Its fingers touched my arm, cold, invasive, and I flinched violently. I grabbed the dagger from my side and struck out. The dagger cut through its arm, and the Sirenshade let out this skull-splitting shriek.

Its empty sockets blazed with rage. “You dare?” it hissed, its voice getting ugly, losing all that warmth. “You fight?”

It lunged, clawing at my throat. My vision went wonky as it squeezed. Then came the voices, whispers and screams flooding my mind like a torrent.

“You let us die,” it hissed, Jaime's voice turning sharp and mean. “You abandoned us.”

Kim's voice joined in. “You left me, Pearl. You let him kill me.”

Jonathan's laugh echoed, cruel as hell. “You think you're innocent? You think you're a victim?”

“No!” I screamed, fighting against its grip. “I didn't, “

The voices got louder, piling on top of each other until it was just noise, drowning me in guilt and shame. Images flashed in my head, Kim's body all bloody and broken. Jonathan's dead eyes. My reflection, looking like some kind of monster.

“Stop!” I begged, my voice wrecked. “Please, stop!”

The Sirenshade got right in my face. “You can't get away,” it whispered, all mocking and dark. “You belong to him. You belong to us.”

I tried swimming away, reaching for that faint glow of the Blue Hole up there. But its skeleton claws grabbed my leg dragging me back into the dark.

The pain of its claws stabbing into my skin made me cry out, but the water swallowed the sound. Blood swirled around us in little ribbons, and with it went my strength. My arms and legs got heavier by the second, exhaustion creeping in. My vision went blurry, and the glow from the cave walls turned into this hazy mess.

For a split second, I thought this was it. My chest got tight like I knew what was coming, and I wondered if giving up would be easier than fighting.

Then the water shifted. This violent current came out of nowhere, ripping the Sirenshade's claws out of my leg and throwing it back. I tumbled through the water, totally lost, until a familiar shape came out of the chaos.

Rynar.

His silver body cut through the water like a knife, moving fast and sure. The currents seemed to do whatever he wanted, swirling around him as he went after the Sirenshade. The skeleton thing hissed, its creepy voice turning into something that didn't sound human at all as it lunged at him.

Rynar caught it mid-attack, his clawed hands grabbing its skinny arms like it was nothing. The water pulsed with this crazy energy as he pulled the thing close, his black eyes burning with pure rage.

“You dared touch her,” he snarled and I could hear his voice in my thoughts. “You dared go against me.”

The Sirenshade let out this high-pitched scream, its seaweed-covered body twisting as it tried to break free. But Rynar wasn't letting go. His grip tightened and with one brutal move, he ripped the thing in half. Its body turned into this sick, glowing mist that the water just... ate up.

Then suddenly, the water went dead still, this unnatural calm that made my skin crawl. Rynar turned to me, his black eyes burning with something too raw to name. His tail wrapped around my body, not to trap me, but to protect me. His stare pinned me in place, making my chest hurt.

“You went against me,” the words thundered in my head like shards of ice slicing through the air. It wasn't just anger, it was something deeper, older, something that pressed down on me like the whole damn ocean. His claws flexed, and you could feel the tension rippling through the water between us.

Before I could say anything, he dragged me back to the cave. Every move he made was deliberate, each flip of his tail sending shockwaves through the water.

Once inside the cave, he let me go. His tail turned into legs without missing a beat. He started pacing, each step echoing in the cave. Every turn he made felt charged, like the air before a storm ready to break loose.

I stayed put, shaking and soaked, unable to take my eyes off him. Everything hurt, and that deep scratch from the Sirenshade on my leg was still bleeding a bit. But it wasn't the pain freaking me out, it was him.

Suddenly, Rynar stopped dead in his tracks, tilting his head like he heard something I couldn't. His black eyes cut to me, sharp and searching. I shivered as he stared, feeling like he was peeling my mind apart.

“You tried to escape,” he finally said. Each word seemed to vibrate in the air, like he was barely keeping his fury in check. “You risked everything. You know the sunlight will kill you.”

“What was I supposed to do?” I shot back, my voice all rough and shaky. My hands balled into fists. “Just sit here and rot? I can't live in this, this nightmare!”

His lips curled, exposing his sharp teeth. “Nightmare,” he repeated, the sound rippling through the air like a warning. “I’m trying to hold back, but you’re testing me.”

I let out this bitter laugh. “I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for any of it!” My voice cracked as I pointed at the glowing marks on my neck, at the cave that seemed alive around us. “I didn't want this!”

His whole body stiffened. He stood tall, looming over me. “You shouldn't have come to the water that day.” The words landed hard, each one deliberate. “You shouldn't have stayed. I shouldn’t have given you air. I shouldn’t have...” His claws tightened at his sides. “I shouldn’t have fallen for you.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn't breathe, and for a second the cave felt like it was closing in. He looked away, all tense, like saying it out loud cost him something.

“But now that I have,” he said, quieter but just as intense, “I can't let you go.”

I just stared at him, totally stunned. My mind was racing, trying to process what he'd just said, what it meant. This was way too much.

“I don't belong here,” I managed to get out, my voice shaking. “Look what happened. Those things, they could've killed me.”

He let out this snarl that echoed through the cave. “You think I'd let anything hurt you? Those creatures were there to guard you, keep others away. But you fought back. You resisted.”

“And look what happened!” I screamed, my voice breaking as tears ran down my face. “They attacked me! They almost killed me! How the hell is that protection?”

“They attacked,” his voice shook with anger, he was barely holding back, “because you went against how things work down here. The Sirenshade doesn't hurt what's mine. But you fought it, and it saw weakness. It saw your human side.”

My chest felt like it was gonna explode. “My human side?” I spat. “Is that what this is about? You don't give a damn about me. You just want control.”

I flinched as his hand shot out, his clawed fingers halting inches from my face. His whole body trembled, his control unraveling in a way I hadn’t seen before. “You think I don’t care?” His tone cracked, filled with emotions that clawed at the edges of his words. “I could’ve left you to drown. Let my monsters tear you apart when they threw you in. Let you become nothing. But I didn’t. I chose you.”

The cave seemed to hold its breath as his words settled in. My fists tightened, nails digging into my palms. “I didn't want this,” I said softly, voice shaking. “I didn't want to be your... choice.”

He knelt down slowly, his huge body lowering until he was looking right at me. His black eyes locked onto mine with this intensity that made my breath catch. “You're not just a choice, Pearl. You're my answer.”

His words tore through me, breaking down the wall I’d built to hold back my feelings. I fell apart under the flood of everything I’d been holding back.

The sob that ripped out of me was raw and ugly, the kind that comes from someone who's totally lost it. I curled up into myself, shaking, tears burning hot against my cold skin. All the fear, shame, and anger I'd buried came rushing out. It came out in these heaving breaths and broken cries, messy and uncontrollable.

Rynar just stayed there. He knelt, his massive form looming over me as I fell apart.. His black eyes, strange and unreadable, never left me, not pitying or judging, but something weirdly close to getting it.

Then he moved. Slow, careful, his clawed hand reached out and landed on my shoulder. It wasn't the possessive grab I expected. It was light, almost hesitant, like he was testing how far he could go.

That tiny gesture broke whatever I had left. I threw myself at him, burying my face in his chest. My arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, holding on like someone grabbing the last piece of wood from a wrecked ship.

His arms came up around me in a hug that felt too solid, too warm, to belong to the monster I'd been trying so hard to hate. He didn't say anything, didn't try to feed me bullshit comfort words. He just held me, his claws making slow circles on my back.

The touch should've grossed me out, but it didn't. It wrecked me. I cried harder, the sound muffled against his chest. My fists hit weakly against his ribs, but it was pointless, more about being pissed at the world than actually trying to hurt him.

When the worst of the sobbing finally subsided, I pulled back a bit, my breath catching as I met his eyes. His black eyes burned with something I couldn't name, something that made my chest tight all over again.

“You are mine,” he growled.

And for the first time, I didn’t fight back. Didn’t argue. I let the truth of his words wash over me, pulling me under like the deep ocean.