Page 99 of Mermaid on Heels
But the nightmare continued.
In mere moments, Faelina transformed completely. Before Liriya stood an exact replica of herself, so vivid and lifelike that it was impossible to distinguish her from a real reflection. It was as if Liriya was staring into a mirror, yet she knew with a sickening certainty that this was no mere reflection.
Faelina wore her face, her eyes, her hair, every contour of her body, down to the delicate curve of her lips. It was as if Faelina had stolen her very essence, capturing her image with eerie precision. Liriya’s shock morphed into a kind of horrified fascination as she watched this imposter, this doppelgänger.
No!She shook her head vigorously.No, this cannot be happening!
The chanting stopped. Faelina lowered the mirror and turned her eyes—Liriya’s eyes—to her.
“I am sorry, were you saying something?”
Liriya gasped to hear her own voice issue forth; a perfect mimicry that sent shivers down her spine.
Liriya couldn’t take this anymore. She opened her mouth to demand Faelina stop this madness at once, but nothing came out.
Panic clawed at Liriya’s throat as she realized that her voice had been stolen from her. Her attempts to speak, to question Faelina, to defy this nightmarish twist of fate, were met with silence.
Her eyes widened and her uninjured hand went to her throat. She tried again, and still found that she had no voice. Liriya clawed at her throat as if to force sound to emerge, but only a pitiful, strangled cry escaped her lips.
Horror gripped her soul and tears burned in her eyes.No, this cannot be happening!
“That cat really got your tongue now, didn’t it?” Faelina giggled, and Liriya hated the sound of her own voice changed by Faelina’s shrill and cold expressions. “That is alright though sweetie, your little sisters and your dear king are in safe hands. I shall take it from here.”
Before Liriya could shake her head, make another strangled cry of despair,oruse her uninjured hand to block her attempt, Faelina swung the seashell mirror high and hit the side of her head.
Pain exploded in Liriya’s skull, white-hot and blinding. The malicious triumph in her stolen eyes was the last thing Liriya saw before darkness enveloped her vision.
Chapter 22
Luke tossed and turned on his bed. Sweat beads trickled down his forehead and his hands fisted on the sheets. He tried to open his eyes and end this nightmare, but failed. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t surface from the dream to reality.
Luke had always hated reality; it was where he had to do things that he wassupposedto do, and not what he wanted to do. However, that was until Liriya, his angel in person. The moment she stepped through the doors of the ballroom, everything had changed in his life—No scratch that, the moment he saw her in the courtyard at his coronation day was the beginning of all the changes.
She made him love reality because she was in it with him. And she had promised to be there forever.
Except, a mistake he made on their first day almost ruined things between them last night. Though Liriya assured him that she loved him despite this, he was feeling terribly guilty and had a hard time finding sleep. A part of him wished she had opened the door and flung herself into his arms before he walked away, leaving his heartfelt confession hanging in the air.
Reality was a bitter taste. But his beautiful, little mermaid had turned it into sweetness during the past two weeks.
Now, he was trying to surface to that reality from a nightmare dragging him into its depths. He didn’t want to persist in the torture where the love of his life was ripped from his arms by a blonde-haired young woman—undoubtedly her evil half-sister.
Luke knew this wasn’t real. Liriya was safe in the walls of his home and her sister couldn’t reach her.
“Luke, I love you!” Tears streamed down Liriya’s face as she cried to him, her ocean-depth eyes wide.
“Liriya!” Luke shouted in desperation, arms stretched out in front of him as he tried to reach her. But she was being dragged away and he couldn’t move from his stance. He swore and tried to move again, but failed. “Hold on, little mermaid, I’m coming!”
But Liriya was shaking her head vigorously. “My sisters! Take care of my sisters!”
“No, I’m coming for you! Hold on for me! We’ll take care of your sisters together!”
“You cannot—we cannot!” Liriya kept shaking her head. “Just do as I—” A scream cut off her words.
“Liriya!” He bellowed, but she didn’t answer. Her screams resonated through the air, sending chills down to his bones. Luke had never hated himself like this before; the woman he loved was being ripped away from him and he couldn’t do anything but watch. “Liriya!”
“Go! Luke, go! She is coming!” Liriya gasped out between her agonizing screams.
“No, I’m not leaving without you!”