Page 149 of Fallen Stars

He was suddenly aware of the lower part of his body, what the backs of his legs were brushing against. Something cool and smooth.

A…tail?

Holy gods, it was a mermaid.

He really struggled then, kicking out.

“Stop fighting,” the voice finally murmured, and he knew the cadence of it instantly.

“Oceanne?”

“You’re going to be okay,” she replied, and her voice seemed to break. Gods, he was in her arms, and all he wanted to do was turn around, but the pain was too much. The pain relief vanished for a moment, replaced with such intense agony that his eye rolled back.

He heard Oceanne curse, the speed at which they swam increasing as she pushed off something.

“Stay with me, Adrian,” she whispered in that beautiful voice, and his eyes flickered. He saw a glimpse of silver hair and luminous skin, the edge of her profile flashing.

She was beautiful.

He could barely see her face, but that one glimpse of the pout of her lips and furrowed brow was enough and told him everything he had already guessed.

“Oceanne,” he tried to croak.

“Hush,” she whispered as his eyes fluttered closed again. “Rest.”

As though her voice was a command, his body instantly relaxed against her, the pain in his eye easing as they floated, he prayed, to salvation.

Elara gritted her teeth against the stitch in her side. She heard Enzo roar to her in the background, still fighting against Scorpius.

She shook all thoughts from her mind, focusing instead on where Adrian’s body had disappeared below the waves. She rowed towards the spot with a vengeance, the patch of water darker there.

Flames licked her, running along the surface of the water, but they didn’t hurt her, Enzo’s powers in complete control as they washed over her, attempting to comfort her.

She raised her oars when she reached the right spot and peered over the boat. She couldn’t see a damn thing, not even a stream of bubbles. She readied herself. Gods, she really didn’t want to swim in this water again, especially not with Scorpius’s poison running rife.

Just as she began to summon the strength, squeezing her eyes shut as she bent in a crouching position, she felt a hand at her throat.

Elara stilled as the scent of oceanflower overpowered her, and she was dragged back into the boat.

“Save him, Moon” a feminine voice snarled in her ear, one familiar, but Elara could not place it.

She struggled, trying to turn to see her captor, but the woman’s grip was vice-like, sharpened nails pressing against her throat.

“Who are you?” she hissed, thrashing.

She was finally released, pushed forward, stumbling as she felt the weight of the boat dip.

When she turned, Adrian’s body was slumped on the rowboat, the pirate groaning. She spun around and saw the flick of a silver tail as it disappeared under the waves, the only sign that anyone had been there at all.

“Benevolent mermaids?” she wheezed to herself. “What else is fucking new?”

She gritted her teeth, looking around one last time wildly as she began to haul them both back towards Enzo, praying that the plan she was forming in her mind would work.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Enzo would not let upas he lashed his magick at Scorpius again and again. The god’s charm was doing nothing to him, and it was something he’d explore at a later date. For now though, he didn’t feel even a wave of sickness as he distracted Scorpius, trying to push the god off the sinking ship.

“You were always too arrogant,” Scorpius hissed as he struck out with his trident. “Even as the Sun.”