Page 161 of The Jasad Crown

Arin’s glare intensified under my maniacal grin. His hair blewaround him like a wrathful cloud, and it only entertained me further.

The Sareekh sank beneath the waves. The first glimmer of unease cracked through Arin as we raced toward the churning waters. I should have warned him what I intended to do. Surprises were not the way to endear magic to Arin.

I heaved myself to the right and grabbed his hand, resenting the gloves more than ever. I wanted to feel his skin. Trace the light veins on his hand with a soothing thumb. He weaved his fingers through mine and held on tight.

Brace yourselves.

We crashed into the water. Our hands flew apart as we submerged, sinking at dizzying speed. The shock of cold faded faster than the disorientation, and I struggled to adjust to the darkness.

Your magic. The purpose of this lovely excursion, no?

Right. The veins lit one by one as magic flooded my body. I opened my mouth. Gold and silver bubbles floated from my lips. The first of them found Arin and quadrupled in size, merging to form a translucent barrier around him. The rest did the same to me. Our chests lifted with air at the same time, and I laughed, the sound swallowed by the still water around us.

But Arin didn’t look excited. The opposite, in fact.

On reflex, I glanced down at myself. Silver and gold veins blazed over my body, wrapping around every inch of exposed skin. I had grown so accustomed to the sight, it barely registered how much they had spread.

He just needed to see. If he understood what magic could do, the wonder it might create, he wouldn’t be so unsettled by the veins. He wouldn’t have the wordsmagic-madnessswimming in loops around his mind.

He just needed to see.

I wrapped my arms around myself. I shaped the silent intent,viscerally aware of Arin’s attention. My magic heated, hungry for more. Always hungry.

I threw my arms wide. Light poured over us, searing as an implosion of the sun. The rays pierced across the water, lighting distances and depths I couldn’t begin to comprehend. They rotated around us, illuminating, exposing the life waiting mere inches away. Schools of fish swam beneath our legs, their scales casting glittering shadows as they passed. A silver creature with a fin on its back chased the smaller fish, its tail cutting naturally through the water.

I did not point out the monsters hovering behind Arin.

They were the same ones that appeared my first time underwater, crowded curiously behind the Sareekh’s head.

They will not come closer.

They are already too close.

As a single force, the creatures wriggled back, putting space between them and Arin.

They obey me, and I obey you. They will not harm what is yours.

Bewilderment cut through my relief. I hadn’t dwelled on it too much the first time, but now, the Sareekh’s proclamation puzzled me. It sounded so certain, so assured.

But why? Why would a creature like you obey me?

It is what I was created to do.

You were not created to obey some random Heir to a throne that doesn’t exist anymore.

The Sareekh hummed, but did not reply.

I moved closer to Arin, careful not to reach him too quickly. I didn’t want to consider how it would feel if he recoiled from my magic.

“Look behind you,” I murmured.

A muscle jumped in Arin’s jaw. “A most comforting sentence,” he muttered. Holding tight to the Sareekh’s ribs around him, he turned.

“Do you know their names? I imagine they dislike me referring to them as ‘the monsters.’”

Arin seemed completely unfazed by the primordial creatures floating in front us. “Your point has been made, Essiya.”

“I didn’t have a point. I had a question.” I nodded toward the spherical pink creature near the front, its glossy flesh puckered with bright blue pods. “Is this an Arnabeet?”

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