“Rhyse, wait.” Sydni looks up at me with pleading eyes. “Let her see if she’s there first and then if she is she’ll come back, right?” She looks to Sinnix.
“Right, I’ll?—”
“No!” I jerk away from her grip. “Take me, and if she’s not there, take me immediately to the boat.”
Just as I’m turning to dive into the sea, a larger hand grips my shoulder, halting me. When I whip my head around, it’s Alaric, eyes bouncing between mine.
There is a moment of pause, causing me to growl out, “What?!”
“Take this.” His opposite hand reaches under his shirt and grabs hold of a chain. It’s gold, and when it comes over his head, the sun beams against it, casting a light across the deck. “Wrap it around the bars. Use it to bend the metal.”
My eyes narrow, and before I can ask the obvious question, he says, “Forged from the Vayl. Should be strong enough to create an opening, but it won’t break it.”
Taking it from him, its weight alone tells me it isn’t gold from this world. I nod, and as his hand leaves my shoulder, I dive into the sea.
The moment I’m in the water, I see that Sinnix no longer has the legs of a Mundane—she’s transformed into her true form. Her fingers are webbed, and when they grip my forearm, the texture feels like silk latex.
“I don’t need to breathe, but I can die from the pressure,” I explain, knowing that if she swims at the speed she’s hinted at, the descent might very well make my head explode.
“Let’s see how far we get, but we will need to watch for that Shifter.”
The moment I nod, she drags me under, pulling me into the depths of darkness that promise to lead me to my reason for living.
Chapter 20
Xeraphine
Kairhyse hasn’t shown back up in bed, and I’ve been laying here for what feels like a lifetime,alone.
He finally figured it out; that I gave my heart to that Siren, and he hates me for it. He probably thinks I’m powerless. Incapable of saving even the most protected part of my body.
I feel the same way.
Weak.
Fighting feels so fucking useless. This cycle is going to be endless.
Do I save what I have left of my sanity and just do as she asks?
I just want to forget everything that has brought me to this point and go braindead.
I’ve never thought of my Amoro as anything beyond an extension of myself—something woven into my being, functioning without conscious thought. But now, I wonder if that disconnect stems from me being Hybrid. Tali can wield her Amoro effortlessly, summoning it as though it were a separate creature, ready to do her bidding.
Whatever the connection between my Demon and me is, there isn’t a part of me that doesn’t appreciate it. It has shielded me in every way imaginable, and I couldn’t love it more.
Just like I love Kairhyse.
Just… like I love Sydni, and Mister.
Rolling onto my back, I look up at the dark ceiling.
I’ve never felt so alone, and I hate myself for feeling sick knowing that when I wake, Sinnix won’t be there to berate me for my heart. I won’t have a Dreb to keep me alive in the darkened abyss. I’ll be back to dying, over and over again.
Endless fucking suffering.
Stretching out my arm, my fingers shift slowly, as though reaching for something, and I let the tension drain from my body.
“I miss you, Syd…”
