Page 14 of The Deathless One
But she hadn’t asked for this.
He’d given her a second chance, and now he hoped she’d pay for it of her own accord. He wanted a price that he wasn’t owed.
Strengthened by the thought, she rose, dusting sand from the backs of her thighs. “I am not indebted to you. I don’t have to do anything you tell me to do.”
A wave rolled higher than the others, licking at her toes with foam that hardened into shards of ice. “I saved you.” His voice rippled through her mind. “I took your cold, lifeless body from the depths and I delivered you here. To your kingdom that was stolen from you.”
“I did not ask for your help,” she replied, her voice maybe a little triumphant. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“But you did.” And ah, that velvet voice smoothed over her ears like the finest of symphonies. “Don’t you remember?”
“No,” she started, but then she did. In a flash, she remembered all the moments in that terrifying realm made of ink and darkness. She remembered that deep, velvety voice telling her that she wouldn’t remember what he had to say.
He’dtoldher to ask for his help, though! That had to break the rules?He had forced her into making this decision, and she’d only… she’d done…
Exactly what he wanted.
Her knees turned to jelly, and she almost sat right back down into the sand. He wasn’t playing fair, but why would he? The Deathless One had never been a just god, and it was shocking that he’d outlived all the others.
Or was it? After all, his name explained why he was still here. And why he had decided to torment her.
She pointed at him and the sea and all the nonsense that her life had devolved into. “I will not do what you want me to do.”
She wouldn’t destroy her kingdom. And she damn well wouldn’t rebuild it in his name.
Another wave rose, higher than she was tall. The image of him loomed, larger than life, a pillar of darkness that consumed all living things within it. He was the night, and she did not have enough sunlight to beat him back.
“No,” she whispered again, taking another step back. “I won’t do it.”
“I gave you your life,” he hissed, the wave holding impossibly still. “I can take it back.”
It rolled toward her, all the strength of the sea mashed into one terrible wave that surely would drag her into the depths. She braced herself, certain that he would make good on his threat and throw her out to feed the sharks.
But the wave didn’t crash over her head. Instead, it merely lapped at her toes. Just like all the others.
Blinking, she opened her eyes to see that the sea had evened out. It was calm and still, with sparkling diamonds of sunlight in the tiny ripples. Smooth. No deathless god trying to convince her to do his bidding.
“Excuse me?”
The voice interrupted her thoughts like a blade through her ribs. Awkwardly raising her fists, she stumbled into the waves before leaping out again for fear of what that god would do to her. It left her dancing back and forth between the person who had startled her and the person she actually feared.
A woman stood there, one arm hooked through a lovely wicker basket full of seaweed and shells. Her dark hair was pulled back from her equally dark face, but her dark eyes watched Jessamine with amusement. “No need to be startled. I won’t hurt you.”
Jessamine lowered her hands, her face flaming with embarrassment. She’d never hit someone in her life. What did she think she was going to do with her fists?
This newcomer didn’t seem to mind overmuch, though. She just shifted the basket to her other hip and watched as Jessamine gathered herself. It took a while to remind herself that she was the princess of this land, the rightful heir to the throne, and… Well. She knew how to treat someone with respect.
“My apologies.” Jessamine cleared her throat, trying to straighten her shoulders and regain a decent posture. “It’s been a trying few days. Weeks, if I’m being honest.”
“It looks like.” The woman hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “My house is just over there if you’d like to clean up. I don’t have much room, but I have enough for a spare cot and a good bowl of broth.”
Was this woman going to be like the men in the sewers? Would she have to run for her life yet again?
Jessamine looked over her shoulder at the cold, bitter sea, and a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. She was so tired. Tired of running, of hiding, of fearing whatever shadow lurked over the corner.
For once, she just wanted to trust someone.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Alyssa. My name is Alyssa.”
