Chapter Twenty

I sat at the edge of the glowing pool, my knees pulled to my chest, staring at the faint ripples that disturbed the surface. The bioluminescent light shimmered gently, but it did nothing to soothe the storm inside me.

A week had passed since Rynar had shown me his sanctuary. Since he had asked me to be part of his world. His black eyes, those endless voids, had looked at me like I was everything he desired. Like I was the only thing that mattered in his vast, unknowable dominion.

I hadn’t answered him. I didn’t know how.

The ocean, both beautiful and terrible, called to me. Its wonders, its secrets, they had shaped me since childhood. But beneath that beauty, there was always something darker. Something ancient. Something everlasting. My friends were proof of that. Kim’s determination, Jamie’s warmth, Trevor’s quiet strength, all gone. Taken by this place.

Taken by him.

Or were they?

Rynar’s denials circled through my mind, tangled with half-truths and unspoken admissions. He claimed the Abyss had taken them. That it was beyond his control. But the doubt gnawed at me. My fingers traced idle patterns in the water, my heart heavy with unanswered questions.

And yet, I stayed.

I hated myself for it. Hated the way his voice could calm the chaos in my mind. Hated the way his touch could anchor me. But the ocean’s pull was stronger. Vast. Endless. Irresistible.

I inhaled slowly, the salty air cold against my lungs.

I need to see more.

The thought solidified into a decision. If I was going to survive this, if I was going to understand what had happened to my friends, I needed to know the truth. All of it. Even the parts Rynar wanted to keep hidden.

My gaze drifted to the ocean’s entrance, where shadows swam in the distance. I remembered the whispers I had heard, the one Rynar said were of the ones claimed by the Abyss. Those whispers were lingering in my mind like a splinter I couldn’t remove.

I needed answers. If the Abyss was keeping souls. I needed to know if my friends were there too?

I stood, my knees weak, my resolve harder than steel. I tucked the blade, sharp and cold, into the folds of my seaweed-woven clothing. Its weight was reassuring against my thigh. A reminder that I wasn’t helpless.

With a final glance at the cavern, I stepped into the water.

The cold welcomed me, familiar now. I sank beneath the surface, my body moving instinctively. The marks on my neck pulsed in rhythm with the currents, guiding me through the liquid dark. The glow of the pool faded behind me as I swam deeper, the world narrowing to the press of water and the sound of my own heartbeat.

The coral thinned, the seabed turning to jagged rock and stretches of barren sand. The water grew colder, the light dimmer. My breath quickened, unease rising within me like a tide. The cave lay ahead, its mouth a black wound in the ocean’s skin.

But something else loomed between me and that darkness.

The barrier.

It shimmered faintly, a distortion in the water. A wall of force, invisible but tangible, like a pulse of energy locked in place. I swam closer, my fingers reaching out. The moment they touched the barrier, a shock rippled through me.

I gritted my teeth. No. I wasn’t going to stop now.

I pushed harder. The barrier resisted, pressing back with a force that made my bones ache. My lungs strained. Panic clawed at the edges of my mind. But I dug in, every muscle in my body screaming.

Let me through.

I pulled back and surged forward again, my shoulder slamming against the barrier. Pain shot through me, but I didn’t stop. I clenched my jaw, my vision blurring with frustration and determination.

Again. Again.

My body shook with effort, my mind a razor-edged chant of defiance. And then, with one final push, the barrier gave way. I slipped through, the resistance vanishing like a popped bubble. The water on the other side was colder, thicker, as if grief itself had seeped into it.

The moment I crossed, the whispers began.

Faint at first, like echoes from a distant shore. Then louder, weaving around me, curling into my ears.

Pearl... You let us die... Free us...

The water carried their torment, their despair. My heart pounded, a frantic drumbeat in my chest. Each whisper scraped against my mind and suddenly I saw a glow. It was coming from a cave.I swam forward, the cave’s mouth widening before me. Darkness spilled from it, an inkblot expanding, swallowing the ocean around me.

Suddenly, a hint of movement stopped me cold.

The Vurrax slipped from the shadows, its long, eel-like body almost invisible in the murky depths. A faint shimmer caught the edges of my vision, just enough to make me turn. My gut twisted. It was circling me.

Its translucent skin rippled, the spines along its back undulating like a series of needles poised to strike. It moved faster than it had any right to, smooth and predatory. It was hunting me, and it knew I could see it now.

A surge of fear tried to lock up my limbs, but I clenched my teeth, forcing my grip to tighten around the hilt of my blade. I couldn’t let this thing get the upper hand. Not this time.

The Vurrax shot forward, its mouth gaping open to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. I twisted to the side, the water dragging at my movements. Its spines grazed past my arm, cold, sharp, leaving a line of pain into my flesh. A scream bubbled up, choked by the water.

Before I could recover, it coiled back, its body tensing. It came at me again, faster, more precise. I slashed out wildly, my dagger connecting with the side of its jaw. The creature hissed, a vibration I could feel more than hear, and backed off, a dark cloud of its blood swirling into the water.

It didn’t stay away long. The moment’s hesitation gave me just enough time to spin and kick toward the cave’s entrance. My lungs burned, every muscle screaming for oxygen, but I couldn’t stop. The Vurrax was on me again, darting forward like a silver needle, its spines flaring out to trap me.

One spine snagged my calf, slicing through my wetsuit, the pain a white-hot spike that shot up my leg. My vision blurred, the saltwater mixing with the raw ache. I turned, desperate, and drove my knife downward, straight into its side. The dagger sank in deep, meeting the soft tissue beneath its scales.

The Vurrax writhed, its body whipping violently, the force nearly yanking the knife from my hand. I twisted the dagger deeper, my fingers numb, my heart pounding in my ears. The creature’s body spasmed once, twice, then went slack. It died.

But I was alive.

And the cave waited.

I swam toward its entrance, my limbs heavy, my thoughts tangled with pain and dread. The water thickened with each stroke, clinging to me like a shroud. My breath came faster, shallow and tight in my chest.

The whispers clawed at my ears, curling through the water, slipping into the cracks of my mind.

Pearl… You let us die… Free us…

The water felt like grief, cold, continuous and smothering. The cave’s mouth gaped before me, a jagged wound in the fabric of the ocean. Blackness seeped out, an ink-stain spreading, waiting to swallow me whole.

I hesitated, my heart a frantic drumbeat. But I couldn’t turn back. Not now.

I crossed the threshold and swam deeper into the cave, and that’s when I saw them.

Bones.

So many of them.

The sheer number of them was impossible to grasp. Hundreds. Thousands. It was like a labyrinth of the damned, every bone was like a monument to suffering.

I gagged, bile burning my throat. But there was no escape from the horror.

And then, I saw the faces.

They surged up from the depths, twisted and broken, barely holding their shape. Eyes rolled wildly, filled with terror that never ended. Their mouths opened and closed, trapped in silent screams, their agony echoing in the dark water.

Kim.

Her face floated up first, her eyes glassy with agony, her mouth contorted in a scream that shattered my heart. Her features rippled, dissolving at the edges like wet paper, then reforming into something worse.

Jamie.

His eyes met mine, wide with desperate recognition, his features melting, warping. His hand reached out, fingers splayed, but his arm disintegrated into wisps before he could grasp anything.

Trevor.

His form flickered, his jaw unhinged in an eternal scream. His arms flailed, reaching upward, his eyes filled with horror and betrayal.

They were trapped. Their souls shredded, splintered, yet still aware. Still suffering.

A sob tore from my throat, a garbled mess of grief and rage.

“No,” I choked, my voice strangled. “No… no…”

The pit convulsed. The molten glow flared violently, casting grotesque shadows across the walls. More faces surged up. More screams layered together until the sound became a physical force, a wave of torment crashing over me.

You let us die. You knew. You’re next.

The voices clanged inside my skull. My limbs trembled, my vision edged with black. My chest felt tight, suffocating. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I screamed, the sound ripping through my throat. My arms flailed, my body convulsed with terror. The shadows surged closer, wrapping around my limbs, tightening.

And then…my fingers struck something hard.

A glint of metal on a skeletal finger.

I reached toward it, my hands trembling, and closed around it. A ring. Small. Delicate. Faintly gleaming in the hellish light.

I turned it over, and the engraving pierced me like a blade.

Diana Hart.

My mother’s name.

The world shattered.

A cold, hollow numbness spread through my chest. Rage ignited in its place, pure and searing. My grip tightened on the ring, the metal digging painfully into my palm.

The souls surged, their screams swelling into a desperate chorus.

Free us… Don’t let him win… He knew… He knew…

Rynar. He had known this whole time. His lies wrapped around me like chains, his whispers soft as poison. He had shown me tenderness, held me close, all while standing guard over this pit of torment.

My tears mixed with the water, salt on salt. The shadows clawed at me, dragging me back toward the pit.

But I fought.

I kicked, every movement a rebellion. The molten glow receded, the icy grip loosening. My muscles burned, my lungs screamed, but I pushed through.

I broke the surface of the barrier, collapsing into clean, cold water. The shadows retreated, hissing into the dark.

I floated there, gasping, my heart a wild, furious thing. The cavern’s soft glow felt sterile now, a mockery of peace. The screams echoed in my mind, etched into my bones.

I will free you.

Rage crystallized in my mind. I would tear this place apart. I would see Rynar’s lies crumble.

You knew, Rynar. You knew all along and now I will make you pay.