Page 83 of Beneath the Veil of Tides
I’d never seen the likes—not in all my godly years.
Roots from ancient trees hung like tangled chandeliers, anchored in darkness and reaching where branches should be. Logs and other debris drifted to the top and stayed there for the swamp creatures to make homes of, as if defying gravity. The ground was unseen in the vast depths beneath the surface, whereas when I was above water, it was only waist deep.
The entire swamp civilization survivedupside down.
I came above the surface for a quick breath and plunged back in. Water rippled away from me, touching my skin delicately as creatures scurried away. Small amphibians I’d never seen before—some covered in white, glassy eyes, some with legs that seemed as if they belonged on land, and some the size of my own body. Each swam in opposite directions, gills reversed to allow water to filter through. They minded their business, gliding slowly through the newly clear water. I never would have assumed there was life beneath the surface. However, the inverted swamp was like a pristine world below.
I came up gasping for air, barely pulling in anything before a solid, firm hold wrenched my foot and dragged me back under midbreath.
Shit.
I writhed against the thick, living vine pulling me, blasting my air power, but it was muted beneath the water. My heart pounded nearly out of my chest. The civilization dimmed the further I was dragged deeper and deeper.
Two glowing yellow eyes met me face-to-face, as the branch released my ankle. Claws dug into my sides, bending my ribs to near breaking point. Everything was dark—void emptiness—except the piercing, smoldering stare of the beast before me.
The daggers released, and I bellowed.
I clawed at the water, begging for purchase but met nothing to help. The iridescent eyes followed my miniscule, agony-stricken motion. I couldn’t form a bubble of air power beneath the surface, not without the air above to draw from.
A branch slammed into me, acting as if it had a will of its own. I crashed into the stony bank, agony rippling through my body and tearing at my consciousness. Two more vines approached, latching on to my neck, holding me in place.
This could kill me. Killus. The curse seeping through my blood would allow this creature to kill a weak god. And Caelyn would die with me.
The dusk-like eyes advanced, stalking closer, assessing its prey. It moved slowly, then glitched and appeared instantly before me. Rows of fanged, sharp teeth glimmered in the dim light of the deep swamp.
A heavy wave of dizziness overwhelmed me. I shot my palms out, another attempt to use my Aetherkin powers to aid in escape. But that time, the water erupted. Streams of high currents blasted into the creature, shooting me into the trunk of a deep growing inverted tree. I expelled more, propelling myself upward. The power I used was not my own, filling me with immense pride.
My Caelyn. My Blood Tie. My heart.
There was power in her stare, her actions, her loyalty. But feeling the surge of tremendous energy through my own body invigorated me. Shewaspower. The trident felt miniscule compared to the power flooding my system from her. I would have been overwhelmed if my heart didn’t already belong to her.
I shifted my aim, shooting her power through our bond to take me back to the surface. Air. I needed air.
My chest screamed as I clawed through the water, getting closer to the surface, but not quickly enough to reach air.Light rippled above, blinding and fractured, until a glint of gilded metal cut through the shimmer.
A faint chime hit my ears. It sang to me in a sweet melody, urging me to come closer.
The bell.
It was woven in a tangle of roots, like a caged animal that had long since stopped struggling. It hummed, as if begging to be used. Water trembled around in vibrations. My hand shook, clinging to it, as I used my other to channel Caelyn’s power and push us upward.
I pierced the surface, struggling to pull air into my collapsed lungs, and I rang it above the dingy swamp.
Where was that woman?
Voices attacked, swarming around me viciously—wicked accusations and truths. They tore into me, far deeper than any blade.
“You will kill her.” A child’s voice. Young and sweet sounding, as if she had no idea the words that were said from her tiny lips.
“They alldiebecause of you.” A male.
“Your mother died because ofyou.”
Mother, I thought, a weight sinking deep in my stomach at her mention. The bruises that marred her body at the hands of my father flashed in my mind. I was only ten.
The voices continued, but I was alone, storming a quarter of the way back to the shore, waist deep in the sludge. I ran my fingers through my fiery hair that plastered to my face. The swamp above sat in dreary gloom, the putrid smell returning.
“She doesn’t love you.”
