“I looked, the only shot we have is to take her power away from her. And maybe then we’ll be able to—”
“Stop. I’ve heard enough of this.” I make my way out of the lagoon, but a body I would recognize anywhere comes out of the garden and toward the tidal pond.
Dagen.
My eyes narrow at him as he comes closer, his expression soft and calm, setting my already wrecked nerves into overdrive.
They’re trying to corner me into some foolish, rash decision, and I’m not going to stand for it.
I point at him. “Stay right there.” He continues on, a white shirt exposing every inch and dip of his muscles while his long, wavy hair falls over his shoulders.
The sunlight hits him perfectly, a beautifully sculpted god. One that has stolen and broken down my defenses. Who made me feel alive again in a prison that I made for myself.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Isolde utters as she brushes my shoulder to get back on land. “I won’t be far.”
Dagen’s foot hits the water, and the ripples make a pattern along the surface. Each step in my direction rattles my hysteria.
“Blood,” he says, his deep octave humming against my chest.
“You shouldn’t be here. Where is Tobias?”
He jerks his head toward the castle. “Inside.”
“But Taysa—”
“Is none the wiser,” he continues. “She thinks I’m still going to steal the cuff from you.”
I lower my head, looking at the reflection of his body off the water’s surface. “Alright.”
“We need to talk.”
My eyes snap back up to him standing inches from me. “What?”
He reaches for me, but I flinch away, not wanting to be coddled right now.
“Your sister told you…”
“She’s insane,” I gripe. “All those mindless, useless facts floating around in her brain is making her crazy. I’ll find a way.”
I hate how no hope or facial expression of his offers any sort of support or agreement.
“Davina,” he asserts.
“Don’t call me by my real name at a time like this,” I fume. “What do you want? No one is killing anyone.”
“It’s the only way.” That sentence, it sounds so final. Like he’s accepted this immediately, and that he’s not giving another option a chance.
“You don’t know that,” I counter with narrowed brows.
“Might not, but we don’t have time to keep searching. If she doesn’t have the cuff soon, she’ll know something is up.” He takes a step toward me. “But the looming problem is that she’ll still have Tobias and I. We are anchors of power for her, as long as we are still alive she remains potent and capable of killing you all.”
“My father is a deity of a god,” I retort. “She’s just a witch.”
“He’s old and not here.”
“He’s still a god and can be.”
“Davina.”
“I’m not having anyone killed,” I rebut through clenched teeth.
His hands grip my arms, and I don’t pull away—I can’t.
Everything about him calls to me. Even though I want to snap his neck in my head, I won’t let his words sway me. Regardless of how my body reacts to him, how it sways in his direction, and all I want him to do is tell me that everything is going to be okay.
“I need you to listen,” he asserts with a soft pressure to my flesh. “We need her power at the minimal, and you can’t do that when Tobias and I are still alive.” I try to pry myself away from him again. “Without us, she becomes weaker, and you might have a chance on your own. Your father is leagues away right now, and Nesrine is on her way to bring him back. But, like I said before, she’s strong. She’s a sea witch, how many of those are there?”
“None that I know of but—”
“You’ve given me more than anyone in this world, Blood. I will always be grateful for that. My only regret is that we never had more time. That we didn’t come from the same place so that I could’ve met you sooner. So that I could’ve made you my wife. You’ll never know how much I hold our memories near and dear to my heart.”
“Dagen, you—”
“I’m not done,” he proceeds, erasing all the space between us until our chests are touching. “With leadership comes great power and decisions, ones that you don’t want to make. Ones that break you a little inside. After this, you will be fine, you will fight because that’s who you are, and that’s what I’m telling you to do. You will carry on, this will all be