12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

M aura woke with a start. The color of the lights outside made her think it was still the middle of the night, but it was hard for her to tell down here. Memories of what she and Ana had done came crashing back to her, and she looked to the side, expecting to find him sleeping next to her—but the bed was empty.

She sat up and glanced over to the pool—it was empty, too.

He left. After all of that, he just left. She had thought it had meant something to him, even if she wasn't his Chosen. If he’d felt something, he wouldn’t have just left her, though. The fragile hope she’d felt last night shattered within her.

Gods, what a mistake. If she hadn't given in, she never would have known he was her Còmhanam. Of all the cruel twists of fate. He wasn't a Tuanadair, though, so he wouldn’t feel the mate bond the way she did. She had been foolish to think it could be the same for him.

Maura decided right then that she couldn't do this anymore, couldn't stay. She knew she'd probably die trying to escape, but perhaps the old gods would be kind to her.

She didn't have anything to pack, so she slipped on the dress she'd been wearing when she arrived, and stepped out into the hall. She remembered the path to that door at the top of the tower they'd used when they first arrived and quickly made her way back there, willing her steps to be silent.

Gods, she was so stupid. She had learned in school that only a Còmhanam could talk with a shifted Tuanadair. She should have known the moment he first heard her thoughts.

Maura stepped into what Ana had called the sinking chamber, and she hoped it would start automatically. The door thudded shut behind her, and water began to rise. She summoned her magic to shift, trying to keep her racing heartbeat under control. It was so reckless to get her feelings involved in this; she should have known better, should have stayed distant until it was time to go. Her heart was breaking in a thousand different ways.

As the outer door opened, Maura darted out into the freezing depths. She swam straight up, hoping beyond hope that she could make it to the surface.

She was so focused on her escape that she barely noticed the flash of scales below her. Before she could fully register what was happening, strong hands circled her in a vice grip.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you'd run, human." The voice was vicious, and Maura couldn't quite place it. She turned to try to get a look at her captor, and recognition dawned in her mind. It was one of the guards that had found her with Anatolius the day she fell.

"A Chosen would never run from her mate. You will be dealt with swiftly, outsider."

Maura struggled, trying to free herself from the siren's grasp, but it was no use. She curled her body inward and latched her teeth into the hand that held her, and the siren hissed in pain.

"Horrible creature," he said, but his grasp didn't loosen. He swam toward the palace, and for the first time since her arrival in Vathós, Maura felt truly afraid.