Torrents (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 3) (32 page)

     “You’re kidding!”

     “Not at all,” he smiled.

     “Why not when you saw me in Hyvar?”

     He waved a hand. “Oh that was nothing, I merely remembered your face. But I didn’t know you then.”

     “I think you fell in love with the truck,” I said, recalling the pure exhilaration on his face.

     “You might be right,” he exhaled and shook his head. “Maybe this is all just a dream.”

     I elbowed him gently in the ribs, and murmured his earlier words back to him. “Be nice.”

     He sighed and then leaned forward, “What if I don’t want to be?”

     The way his voice dipped low made my stomach flip over itself. When I turned to him, I bit my lip until he ran a thumb across my chin. The lightness had returned to his eyes, but hidden in the depths was the fear of what could happen.

     I didn’t know what I would do if he was taken, the agony of being separated from him again was something I didn’t want to think about. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I realized he was fretting over the same thing. He was worried I would leave him—I had in the past. I had left him in Hyvar, I had left him at the waterfall the night Bolrock attacked. Only now did the two moments coincide in my mind. He had told me later my leaving him at the waterfall had caused him pain, but until now, I didn’t realize how much it really meant.

     Scooting closer to his chest, I clung to him.
I’ll never leave you,
I thought and he held me tighter.

     All night we remained in one another’s arms, though neither of us slept much. Every time I came close to sleeping, the beginnings of a nightmare would form and I would wake to his voice, crooning in my ear. He stilled my hands beneath his own, and together we endured the silence, casting off the omens of the night.

     I was just about to coax him into raiding the kitchen, when Evna appeared in the doorway with a shocking suddenness. We had been waiting all night, and now that the moment was upon us, it seemed too soon.

     “It’s time,” she said.

     Without a word we followed her through the doorway, to begin the last battle.

Cloaked in the pitch of the swirling water, we surged over the ocean depths as one. All around me were flickering tails of varying shades and colors, scales flashing as lightning across a furious storm-swept sky. Each fin worked tirelessly, pushing to a speed I wouldn’t have been able to achieve before my full transformation.

     A solid hole had wormed its way into my gut, growing with each passing hour. We had started in the early morning light, proceeded all day and into the darkness, which enshrouded our heaving forms. The numbers surrounding us were hardly near comprehension. Tunder led the group at the front with Elik, Voon and Calmric by his sides. Kryssa was lost somewhere in the mix of bodies. Every now and again I caught a glimpse of her blue fins pushing against the water, but in this hoard, it was hard to keep track of anyone. I had tried counting when we first began, but got lost in the numbers when I reached the four hundreds and didn’t feel as though I could start all over again.

     Beside me, Patrick was a shadow slicing through the water, a solid comfort for what loomed ahead. Even now as my worry began to make my hands tremble, he reached out and wrapped my fingers within his. I inhaled a shaky breath and drew closer. The push of the water from his fins knocked mine aside slightly, I struggled to remain close to him, my hair rippling against his shoulder.

     I wanted to speak to him, to get him to tell me again everything was going to be all right, but we weren’t allowed to speak. Everyone knew the plans and nothing was meant to be said. Tunder wasn’t going to risk a stray word ruining our surprise.

     A merman bumped into Patrick’s shoulder and he gave an infinitesimal grunt of disapproval. Ever since leaving Lathmor, his expression had changed. As my worry grew, his determination mounted and the tightness in his jaw became more pronounced. He was becoming Zale again, the warrior taking over his mind and body, as he prepared himself for what lay ahead.

     The mermaid on my other side jostled my arm, making me fall against Patrick. He made another sound of annoyance but kept his eyes focused forward. As more bumps and pushing began to happen, I realized we weren’t the only ones overly nervous about what was coming. This was to be the end and the very thought of what might happen was enough to make anyone agitated.

     Tails flicked around us, bodies swarming over one another while leaving formation. They shifted and bumped into each other, one collided heavily with Patrick’s shoulder and he shoved the merman aside. He hissed back in response, but his eyes never left the front of the gathering where Tunder swam.

     My eyes were wide as I took it all in. This was a different group than anything I had ever experienced. I had never seen the Lathmorians on the offensive, to see the agitation and blood lust in their eyes made me shiver with something I couldn’t name. I was torn between wanting to arrive and turning around to retreat back to Lathmor, when I began to notice the rise of the ocean floor. I must have made a small sound because Patrick squeezed my hand tighter as though wanting to pull me close. The moment I could no longer touch him was fast approaching. I would stay close to his side, but neither of us would be able to hold the other in the onslaught of the battle. Merely thinking of it made me tremble even more.

    Tunder’s hand shot above the bobbing heads.

     Every tail and body stilled in an instant—the only sound the churning water all around us.

     Wondering just how close we were to the shore, I peered through the hordes of flashing tails and rippling hair, trying to find one face. Every chest and arm was covered in black fabric, which served as armor for these brave merfolk.

     Finally, I spotted her, her bright green gaze found me, and she gave a worried smile in my direction. I couldn’t help but notice the strain around her eyes. Nixie was beside her, the deep red of her locks floating to touch those of Kryssa’s black strands. With a nod of my head, I attempted to gather my courage as I returned my gaze to Tunder.

     He held his hand in a fist and seemed to be waiting for something. Suddenly, out of the shadows up ahead, Gendra appeared and gave one solid nod. My stomach dropped.

     It was time.

     Pointing to his right and left, the upper legions of Lathmorians split on either side of the king, heading in opposite directions. A third group held back, and I inched closer to Patrick, waiting for our turn. Our mission was to wait until the first two waves of soldiers had drawn out the Hyven, then we would approach the beach to overwhelm them with our numbers.

    
It won’t be long now
, I thought.

     With baited breath, we delayed for what seemed like hours, until a roaring moan split the air above the surface, filtering down to where we drifted in the shadows. It reverberated in my chest, bouncing off my limbs, making me shake inside.

     We had only a split second to react before the entirety of the group shot forward faster than we had been traveling all day. The ocean floor rose, the sand creating a freckled cloud stirred up from our fins.

     I angled my body upward, waiting for the moment I would blaze out of the water. The looming form of Hyvar was barely visible through the murky rippling of the ocean waters, but I could see it all the same, and my gut clenched in a painful knot.

     Patrick was by my side and I swallowed heavily as we arched forward, when suddenly, his arm hit me in the chest, sending me backward with a huff. I had only an instant to glance up and see his blades appear from the backs of his forearms as a Hyven soldier launched himself into the water.

     He was dead before he was fully transformed. I tried not to look at the murky cloud of his blood, as his body was pulled back in the waves, and more Hyven took his place.

     We were stuck, somewhere between the depths of the ocean and the shores, surrounded by pounding water as Hyven soldiers attacked from above. Patrick took down three more enemies before one got close to me and I moved with an instinct I didn’t feel.

     The blades I had only recently gained, sprung forth from my fingers and made contact with the nearest Hyven mermaid. I cringed as she shrunk back in pain and when Patrick finished her off, I was thankful for his presence. He was a swirling cloud of infinite fury, his tail knocking Hyven back with bone-crushing ferocity and his blades finishing them before they had time to retreat.

     The other Lathmorians rallied around us, taking the onslaught from the outside and though my fingers edged toward the sheathed daggers around my waist, I knew they would have to wait. They had no purpose in the water.

     The splashes from diving Hyven disappeared, and when the melee settled for a moment, the Lathmorians took to the offensive when Patrick shot off toward the surface. I streaked after him, following the black shimmer of his tail, until we both sprung free of the water. In the midst of transforming Lathmorians all around us, we landed with frozen feet on the sodden sand.

     I knelt on wobbly legs, before lifting my head to meet the sight which matched the sounds throbbing in my ears. It was complete chaos.

     More merfolk than I had ever seen were combating one another, their blades slicing through the night and cutting one another with mortal blows. Bodies were strewn along the shore, some were dead, others moaned for help and dragged themselves toward the refuge of ocean waves. Daggers flew through the air and one merman knocked into my shoulder, making me tumble into Patrick’s side. He blocked a blow from a mermaid and sent her sprawling on the ground.

     An instant later, a dagger flew past my head and I returned with a throw of my own. I hit my target and ignored the cry of pain, my eyes searching for my next opponent. Maybe it was the utter chaos around me, or the complete fear coursing through my veins, but for a moment I watched everything with perfect clarity, as though it all happened in slow motion.

     The Hyven and Lathmorians clashed together; their blades, their bodies launching into the air as they took one another down. I couldn’t be sure where to look or even who to fight, until I felt a hand on my arm pulling me forward.

     I gasped in shock, and looked desperately at his face wanting to see some of the courage I knew he could give me, but his eyes weren’t on me. He yanked me forward, I felt like a child as he placed me beside him and continued to launch the daggers from his belt, keeping the Hyven at bay.

     Two approached and he dealt with them quickly, their bodies falling at my feet. When one grabbed at my ankle, I cried out, but not so loud for it to be heard over the shrieks of battle. Scrambling backward, I avoided his grasp.

     My heart throbbed in my chest. I was somewhere else, watching everything around me happen as if from above. I could see the scores of Hyven, running down the hill from the castle, meeting the Lathmorians with wind-cast knives and launched arrows. All around me, Patrick danced, protecting me and I couldn’t move. My only thought was of a wave, the wave that had taken me from my father’s ship and hurled me into the depths of the ocean. On that night, I hadn’t known what was up and what was down. I had tried to find air, and I couldn’t reach the surface.

     It was the same, I was struggling to breathe, to move, to do something to survive, but my body wouldn’t respond.

    
Come on Lissie, pull yourself together.
The thought ran through my mind and I felt a stirring of something deep within my gut.

     The tug at my stomach was enough to bring me back, to the battle. When my fingers twitched, I knew it was only moments before I launched myself into it. With a shuddering breath, one thought filled my mind and I honed it into the foresight of my thoughts.

     The night I was swept overboard, I had been taken into the arms of Morven. He was the reason for all of this.

     Merely thinking of it, my hands moved to the belt of daggers around my waist. Grasping one, I flung it at the nearest enemy. The release of the blade took the locking-fear from my entire body and I moved to fight another mermaid. She retreated, only to be taken down by the passing form of Voon. I pulled two more daggers out of my belt and assumed the crouching stance I had been taught.

     Glancing over my shoulder, there was only a mere flash when Patrick’s eyes met mine. In that small instant, his relief was apparent, and I knew we would survive this night.

     We fought together, a blur and a shadow, ducking and dodging blows, and dealing hits where we could reach. My belt grew lighter by the moment, and the blades from my fingers sprung forth to meet the oncoming assault of Hyven soldiers.

     A roar issued from behind me as a merman bore down on us. I threw a dagger, clipping him along the side. It didn’t stop him as he barreled into me, knocking me into the sand. I struggled beneath him for a moment as his blades tried to find purchase. One clipped my left hip and when I gasped in pain, there was a sharp intake of breath from somewhere above. A wave of anger coursed through me, a surge of something unknown, filling my veins with boiling fury.

     With a cry I didn’t know I possessed, I slashed my blades along his side and when he screamed, a pair of arms pulled the soldier into the air. The merman’s eyes widened as his body left mine and the arms holding him disappeared from his waist. They reappeared, grasping his neck. Patrick’s head was visible just over the merman’s shoulder, his eyes a raging storm. I looked away before the final snap took the soldier’s life.

     There was no time to breathe. Rolling to a crouch, two mermaids were headed directly for us, I threw my daggers at them, feeling a sharp pinch on my hip from my new wound. They both fell to the sand and I advanced forward. The sight of everything around me was causing the wave of anger and fury to grow inside. With every throw and every slice, I felt it creeping toward my throat.

     “Got him,” Patrick said gruffly. Appearing as if from nowhere, he threw a dagger directly at the merman I had been aiming for. His voice was sharp, reminding me of Zale. I felt the bubble of a vicious laugh fill my throat, but held off.

     We were back to back, his large shoulders bumping against my head as we kept our foes at bay. I wasn’t fool enough to not realize how the Hyven seemed to be more concentrated in our area. Whether or not they recognized me, they knew who Patrick was, and who he had been. They wanted him dead. 

     We were slowly making progress toward the castle together, our feet shifting forward as we stayed close to one another. Our arms often brushed, but as we ran out of daggers to throw, we had to separate more often to take on our foes with hand to hand combat. I was tripped and clipped, over and over again. The stinging pain of blades hitting my flesh was vibrant and new. Red seemed to be the only color I could see, and yet, I was able to keep going.

     With each passing moment, the anger I felt inside grew. I knew it wouldn’t be long before my voice would ring out over the battle field. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I wasn’t supposed to use it, but the urge was there all the same. Why shouldn’t I use the best power I had at my disposal?

     Gathering the words in my throat, I fought another mermaid off, rolling her over my back as Zale had done to me on Lathmor. I left her there with a cut along her leg. Eyes searching the battle, I couldn’t tell who was winning. I spotted those I knew. Kryssa and Nixie fighting near one another—Daggin not far off. Up ahead, farthest along the shore was Tunder, his soldiers rallying behind Elik and him.