Page 79 of Between Salt and Serenades
“Please! Stop!” Isla’s pleas echoed off the cavern walls, and my attention swung to her. Zellia gripped Isla’s outstretched arm with a wicked grimace, the hybrid’s once milky skin turning dark with rot.
“Zellia!” I screamed, pulling her attention off Isla. “Don’t do this.”
My sister’s song ceased as she peered down at me in confusion, offering Isla a brief release. The hybrid used it to her advantage and swung at Zellia. Before her attack could land, Rory blew purple dust into her sky-blue eyes.
Isla’s arm dropped as she stumbled away from Zellia in shock. Blinking rapidly, the woman’s face froze before her mouth cracked into a smile—not one of malicious intent, but one of pure awe. She wandered over to the stone wall, running her fingers over it before leaning into its embrace.
The hallucinogen. Atta boy, Rory.
Before I could see what the intoxicated woman did next, Breena’s grunts pulled my attention back to her and Tinelle. The selkie was holding her own against the quickly tiring old woman. I reclaimed much of the power she’d stolen, as did Zellia. I only hoped Maisie was able to obtain as much as we had.
Breathing deeply, I focused on the power building within me, staring down my target and preparing to unleash myself onto her. Just as my lips began to part, a dozen women came barreling into the room.
Breena and I stared at each other, uncertainty filling our gazes. Even Tinelle halted as her pod flooded the cavern. At first, they didn’t seem to know which direction to go, who to attack. When they saw Maisie up on the landing, fighting the remaining puppet alongside Rory and Zellia, the hybrids, all disheveled and dressed in nightgowns, charged at us.
No, not at us. At Tinelle.
Trapped, furious women closed in on their leader, looking as if they were ready to beat the woman to death. Just when I thought Tinelle would surely meet her end at the hands of her pod, she suddenly disappeared. At first, I thought the woman had fallen, but then, the hybrids all began backing away, forming a circle where their leader once was.
Breena and I parted the crowd while we searched for any trace of Tinelle. Only when a young woman pointed to the ground did we realize our plan succeeded.
“For the love of all things salty,” I muttered, a laugh bubbling up in me.
“The potion actually worked…” Breena processed what was happening, and I blinked several times to ensure my fatigued eyes weren’t playing cruel tricks on me.
“We could use a hand!” a familiar voice echoed from above. I cranked my neck to see Zellia waving me down, standing next to a smiling Rory and a haggard-looking Maisie. She pinched glass between her fingers, the curious piece shimmering in the air above her.
Breena leaned into my side as she asked, “What does she have?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted, attempting to get a better look. Curling my fingers inward, I used the rest of my magic to send a stream of water up to the landing, forming a slide from them to us. Zellia was the first to test my magic out, sitting upon the waterslide and riding it down until she landed at my feet.
She jumped up and wrapped her arms around me, relief flooding me as I felt my sister whole and alive in my arms. When she pulled away, she shoved a clear vial towards me. Inspecting it, I noticed three tiny sea snails clinging to the walls of the glass.
“I think there’s room in there for two more, don’t you?” Chuckling, I took the vial from between her pinched fingers. I was more than happy to do the honors, walking over to the circle of hybrids and peeling two more sea snails off the damp, stone floor: one where Tinelle had disappeared, and the other where her puppet had fallen.
Breena let out a relieved laugh, and right as I popped the cork back onto the vial, she pulled me into her. Her lips found mine, and I had to fight back the urge to utterly devour her. My arms were shaking and sore, my buzzing magic slowly fading, fatigue taking its place, but I would always be energized by her and her kisses.
“Well, now what?” Maisie asked. Breena and I pulled back from each other just slightly, our gazes meeting one last time before we detangled ourselves all together.
Murmurs filled the cavern, dazed sirens glancing around at each other, us, and the vial in my hand. I twirled the glass in my fingertips, part of me tempted to smash the fragile thing right onto the ground, but a new, blossoming part of me clung to it, willing to preserve the life within.
“Rory? I’ll take that dagger now,” Breena said, holding out her hand with a lethal smile. Rory reached into his satchel and pulled a weapon free, its sharp tip protected by a stout leather sheath. We all watched her, unsure what the selkie’s plan waswith the deadly object. She freed the blade then took her time inspecting the glinting silver metal.
Striding right over to the diluted pool, she jumped into the tepid water without hesitation. I watched as she traced her inspecting fingers over the stone for harvesting runes. When she found the first one, she lifted the dagger into the air before slamming it down onto the stone, chipping the symbol apart with each powerful strike.
Reaching my hand out to Rory, he obliged by offering me a dagger. I joined Breena in the pool, attempting to destroy the next rune, though my arms were betrayed by my weakened state. Making no more than a few grooves into the stone, I slammed the blade through the water one last time, but to no avail. A frustrated grunt escaped my lips as my hands dropped back to my sides.
Breena slowly reached under my arms, taking the dagger from me. She didn’t pull away like I thought she would, lingering behind me as she whispered, “Wrap your fingers around mine.”
Doing as she asked, I watched as she guided my hands through the water, bringing the sharpened blade back to the stone. Scrape by scrape, we destroyed the rune together, her face buried in my neck as we did. She whispered sweet words into my ear, promises of freedom. I didn’t attempt to hide the tears that trailed down my cheeks as we went, my heart swelling with love and pride. When the rune was no longer legible, the tip of the blade was gone, and I felt as though I could finally breathe again.
Water splashed around us, and we realized we had company. Zellia, Rory, Maisie, and a few other young women all climbed into the pool, various weapons in their hands, some sharp and others blunt. They worked feverishly, slamming their array of weapons into the stone, filling the water with sediment and dusty particles.
A few minutes later, not one rune remained. The cavern filled with excitable chatter and relieved laughter, the sounds echoing off the walls a beautiful song of unbridled relief.
“What will you do now?” Zellia asked before leaning back on the velvet cushion behind her and taking a sip of wine. “You’re free to go anywhere, do anything.”
Do I hear a hint of jealousy in her tone?I thought to myself, wondering if my sister’s time on land was starting to get to her. Only hours ago, she stared longingly at the sea, but I knew all too well how quickly those feelings could change.
