Even though I know this isn’t real, I still have hesitations to talk about how I truly feel. It churns my stomach; even just the thought of saying the words. As if speaking them aloud will damn me, curse me to never find it, even in the afterlife.
I confessed I liked him that night, and it ended in him being taken from me.
“Why do you say I’m gone?” His lips brush against my ear, the warmth of the gesture sending a shiver down my spine. The sensation is so tender, so familiar, it almost convinces me it’s real. His fingers trail down my hair in gentle strokes, each pass lulling me into a calm state I desperately need.
“You died… She killed you.” The words come out fractured, breaking apart as a sob chokes its way through my throat. “That crazy bitch took you from me!” My voice rises to a scream against his chest, raw and trembling with the fury and grief I can’t hold back.
My shoulders jerk uncontrollably as another scream erupts, and my body trembles violently, wracked with the pain I’ve been bottling. It’s as if the anguish from my reality, from every wound inside and out, spills into this dream.
“She is crazy, that’s true.” His tone is still that playful one that annoyed the fuck out of me… but Gods, do I miss it.
“I wasn’t ready to lose you,” I whisper against him. “I’m still not.”
“Shh…” He presses a kiss to my head, and in this moment, I feel like glass—fragile, splintered, and beyond repair. “Remember what you said to me…”
Shaking my head, my teeth chatter as I inhale air I don’t want.
“You didn’t need me before, and you would work another ten years not to need anyone… ever.”
Tears flood from my eyes. “I do need you?—”
“No, you don’t.”
“I want to need you!” My chest heaves as I scream and squeeze my eyes shut. “I want to need you. Please…”
“Fight, Xeraphine.”
“I don’t want to…” When I force my eyes open, the world is blurred through my tears. “Not when I have nothing to fight for.”
“Yourself, baby.” He pulls me close. Just enough so I can feel his breath against my lips. “You are all that matters. Remember that…”
When I open my eyes,I’m back where it’s familiar to me; the darkness of the sea.
I know what to expect now that I no longer freak out at my predicament. Though, this time something feels different. When I look down at my hands, I see they are covered in the same type of dark metal that my cage is made of. The cuffs are rounded at the top, bolted tightly at my wrists.
Oh wait… now I remember.
I’d suspected Chase was a Shifter, and it turns out I was right. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he was of the shark breed—how fucking convenient.
I hadn’t realized he was stalking around my cage. After a few times of coming back to life, the shock of where I was had started to set into my brain. It was then I began clawing at my stomach, desperate to rid myself of the abomination inside me.
He swam into my cage and stopped me from tearing myself apart. I don’t remember much after that, but I’m pretty sure I died not long after. This must be some kind of method to prevent it.
I sigh and take in a long, deep breath.
Wait,what?!
Taking another breath, I whip my head back and forth before launching myself off the seabed. It doesn’t matter. The chain locks me in place, preventing any further movement. Where I could once grab the bars, now I can’t even reach them.
Frustration bubbles up inside me, and I scream out, kicking my feet in an attempt to push myself back down to the floor.
I’m still underwater—nothing has changed, so why can I breathe?
A sudden whooshing sound startles me, causing me to spin in an awkward circle. A sharp whistle vibrates in waves around my ears, and I grit my teeth, keeping my lips tightly shut.
It’s then I hear a feminine hum of a voice, slightly muffled and echo-like. “Hello, Succubus.” It’s melodic, very fluid, and bleeds into themovement of the water around me. “Finally not screaming bloody murder or tearing yourself apart, I see.”
I blink rapidly, willing my vision to adjust to the darkness more quickly. When it does, I can see the sandy seabed, dotted with rocky outcrops and distant seamounts fading into the blue. In the distance, bioluminescent creatures dance in the dark, surrounded by flora and fauna—from coral reefs to eerie deep-sea fish. It feels like an alien world.
