Page 63 of The Princess of Nothing
Pointing my staff at her again, I used another binding spell to temporarily force her mouth shut, but she still had talons that could easily tear through human flesh. The ropes spelled with magic wouldn’t hold for long.
Three of the crew flourished their swords as two more mer climbed onboard. The stench of fish and salt pinched my nostrils.
I scrambled backward, dodging a crew member who was charging at a mer.
I needed to think, but there was no time. How had I been so stupid to think I could capture one when we couldn’t kill or even threaten them without the Dagger of Ruin or Sword of Impervius?
“Listen to me!” I hissed at the creature. “Try to attack us, I’ll use this.” I pulled the sword from an unsuspecting Aquarius. “Recognize it? It’s the Sword of Impervius,” I lied, hoping she hadn’t actually seen the real thing before.
The creature hissed, pulling air into its sea lungs. “You.”
“It speaks.” My eyes were wild when I kneeled at its side. “Some of you protected me.” My accusing gaze drowned in hers.
“We do not save humans,” she hissed.
“Some of you did. Twice. Why?” I screamed, my expression manic. “Why were your people protecting me? Tell me!”
It opened its mouth. I leaned in, desperate for the answer on the tip of her inky tongue. “We were sent to get you, to bring you to him, but your kind always attacks,” it spat.
My heart sank. “Why were you sent to get me?” Brandishing my staff, I pointed it at her chest.
“Careful,” Cedric warned.
Harnessing the power of the ancients, I felt their magic strengthen as we fully crossed into Magaelorean waters. I could hear the steady, deep beats of drums. The ancestor’s song guided me. I allowed their fury into my soul, and my eyes darkened. Cedric moved an inch closer, then thought better of it.
“Tell me now, or I’m going to make you suffer,” I growled, “until you will. You’ll beg for death.”
Fear crossed her expression, if only for a second. “I’m not afraid of sorcerers.”
“I’m not either.” I stared at her with a coldness that rivaled the bitter winds. “I will never go with you, any of you.”
“Aqugar will see you.” Her eyes somehow changed shape in the moonlight. “Or your friends will die. Each time we have come, you have attacked before we could collect.”
I looked at her incredulously. “You took men, killing them. What did you expect me to do? How could I have known?”
“We hunt too. We must feed. You defend the lives of people no matter the danger for yourself.”
Aquarius growled, breaking in. “It’s called humanity.”
She struggled between shallow breaths.
I relented. “Bring him to me and attack no more of our men.”
“You will come with us.”
I scoffed. “I’m not getting in the sea with you.”
Cedric reached for my hand and tightened his squeeze. “There is no chance.”
“He will not come onto the ship. He gets his powers from the water and will not come aboard where he will be more vulnerable,” she said and gasped for air.
I stood, pressing my teeth into my bottom lip. “Damn my curiosity.”
“No way.” Cedric pulled me back. “Absolutely not!”
“I’ll be okay,” I promised.
“No.” He stood between me and the merwoman. “I won’t let you.”
