Page 265 of The Wishing Game

"Ze!"

He holds me tightly in his arms as he slowly descends to the ground.

"How could you do this to me?" I ask through gritted teeth. The rage is still there, but now it's being directed to a different target—one equally deserving of it.

"I apologize for my slight delay, but I wished to see what she knew about your marks,"he confesses.

I frown.

"When the high priestess singled you out, it dawned on me that she must know more about your marks from the way she reacted to seeing them,"he adds, his voice pensive.

I nod slowly. That makes sense. And thanks to that, we do have more information about them—that they're written in some ancient Tartareian script.

"But the sphere... Did you do that?"

"No. I have never seen anything of the kind. But have no worry, Luce. We will get to the bottom of this."

I purse my lips. His tone sounds apologetic, but I'm still a little peeved by his marked absence when he said he'd be with me at every step.

"You could have answered when I called. Do you know how scared I was..." I grumble.

"I am sorry."He sighs. "I did not mean to do that, but the runes in this temple must be more powerful than I thought. I could hear you, but none of my attempts to reach you back were successful. There was a static noise that greeted me whenever I attempted to do so."

"Oh," I whisper, surprised. "At least you're here now. How did you manage that?"

"The pearl." He smiles as he speaks aloud. "It carried my essence within it, and when the priestess broke it, it automatically allowed me to enter this hallowed space."

"Did you know she'd break it?" I ask, regarding him with suspicion.

A sheepish smile crosses his face.

"It was a possibility I planned for," he admits.

"Ze! But it was my bracelet! How could you give me a gift knowing it would get destroyed?" I give him a deadly stare as I break free of his embrace. One look around, though, and I note that the priestess has been frozen in place, her eyes wide with shock, her arm stretched and ready for attack. There's not even the twitch of a muscle or the evidence of breathing. It's almost as if she's a statue made of stone. Even those serpent-like locks are frozen still in an awkward position.

Did he...stop time? Of course he did. He's Ze after all. I doubt there's anything hecan'tdo.

He blinks, his smile slowly fading when he realizes he messed up.

"Oh," he murmurs, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his head.

Before I can blink, he disappears and appears again in front of me, taking my arm and slipping another bracelet on it with a similar purple pearl, yet this time it's a deeper color with streaks of black.

"I apologize." He sighs wearily. "I am afraid I am not used to caring about your human sensibilities."

I stare at him dumbfounded.Human sensibilities?The gall on this man.

"Tell me you did not make another mermaid cry." I shake my head at him, though I must admit, this new bracelet is prettier than the other. The chain is a rose-gold color that complements the purple of the pearl.

He gulps guiltily.

"I cannot tell you that, for it would be a lie."

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with and leave. I think I've been traumatized enough for one day."

Snapping his fingers, he allows time to flow again, and the priestess moves anew.

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