Page 24 of Unmoored

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling a pang of guilt. “You weren’t nervous while we travelled.”

“When you’re here, I’m not as nervous,” she said. “I know it’s ridiculous, but the cold, wet, dark makes me feel like I’m all alone in that hospital again. It makes my heart beat very fast and my head becomes cloudy, and it’s difficult for me to remember where I am.”

I brushed my hand along the lines of crystal splintered through the wall, and within seconds they lit up with a bioluminescent glow. It wasn’t as bright as being above the surface, but it was enough that she could hopefully see around the room a little better.

“I wasn’t even sure if I was alone in here,” she whispered, and I felt true remorse.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, grabbing her plate of food and setting it down on the stone beside her. “I can’t stay in here with you for much longer, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She nodded.

“Please eat,” I said. She nodded again.

“Draya,” she started, staring at the food but making no move to retrieve it. “Why did you bring me here?”

I sighed, not exactly sure how to answer. In part, I was intrigued by her. I wanted to understand how and why an Emerson had Talassi blood, or so I assumed. But I was also starting to care about her in the way a child cares for their first pet, and I wasn’t sure how to explain that to her without making her cry again. And I couldn’t handle any more of her tears.

“You’re an interesting phenomenon, Miss Emerson,” I said, backing up towards the doorway. “And I intend to figure you out.”

She said nothing as I slipped out of her cell and back into the water, and I hoped the Queen would grace us with a meeting sooner rather than later.

14

HAZEL

My skin was damp, my hands were clammy, and I’d never felt so cold, numb, and helpless in my life. And that was saying a lot, considering how I’d spent the last two years.

Somehow, in the span of… I wasn’t sure how many days because I had no way of tracking time anymore, I’d lost my only friend, escaped the Akala Asylum, and been rescued for a second time by the mythical creature that I’d spenttwo yearsthinking I’d created in my own head.

There were moments I believed all of this was real, such as when Draya and I were flying through the ocean, carried along by the currents and spirits of the water. Both terrifying and exhilarating, it lit a fire in my soul and I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt so alive. Then there were moments like this, as I sat huddled alone on a damp rock in a magical underwater prison cell, where I began to second guess everything once again.

The back and forth was exhausting, and I was startingto wonder if I was trapped in some new form of “therapy” back at the Asylum, forced into a perpetual dream-state.

Could any of this be real? Was it even possible? Would I wake up in some strange new contraption, with prying eyes in lab coats roving over my limp body, scribbling in their little notebooks?

Aside from all of that, I wasfreezing. And I hated being alone in the dark. Draya had given me a small amount of light from the crystalline fractures in the walls and floor of the room, but it wasn’t anything close to what I’d considercomfortable. The Talassi must have had far better eyesight than I, something I found myself deeply envious of. I wished I could be as strong and brave as these creatures, but instead my heart skipped a beat every time I heard a noise or saw a shadow.

Although I wasn’t very hungry, I knew I needed to eat. I picked at the plate of food Draya had brought me, forcing down a few bites of some type of cold fish, but the fear of falling ill crept in after a few bites. The pouch next to the plate was filled with fresh water, which I eagerly downed in a matter of minutes, unaware of how thirsty I was.

When I was done trying to force myself to eat, I placed the plate and empty pouch on the floor, suddenly wondering if the food had been poisoned. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?! How easy it would be for Draya to just let me slowly dessicate in this cell.

Minutes passed, then what felt like an hour, and I felt perfectly fine.I suppose I’m not poisoned,I told myself, making a mental note to be more wary of things in the future. I hadn’t had much of a choice, but in the last few days I’d garnered a small level of trust in Draya. It was reckless andutterly insane, but he had yet to place me directly in harms’ way, and he’d saved my life twice now.

While I was still unsure of his intentions, I knew that if he wanted me dead, I wouldn’t be here. He clearly hadn’t held me in high regard since the day we met due to his disdain for my father, and I understood his reasoning. I just wasn’t sure why he was keeping me alive, aside from his theory that I may have Talassi blood.

What if my father truly believed I was a witch? I’d always thought he was merely insulting me with the word, but was it more dire than I had assumed? Was he somehowsavingme by sending me to Akala?

Historically, witchcraft was not taken kindly to in our society. There were legends of entire communities being burned at the stake for having beliefs and practices that went against the Church. It was far less common now than it had been a century ago, but I wouldn’t put it past my father to believe such nonsense.

Although, was it really nonsense if I did somehow have magic in my blood?

That was something I wasn’t sure how to reconcile in my own mind, and I didn’t want to think about it at the moment. So instead, I curled up in my soaking wet nightgown and rested my head against the smooth, damp stone beneath me.

I lay there for what felt like hours, though I knew it was only minutes, counting my breaths and trying to force my heart to stop beating so irregularly. My body wouldn’t stop shivering, and I wished that I knew how to use this supposed magic to make myself and this cell warmer!

This has to be a dream,I thought, flopping onto my back.Prior to being thrown overboard from that wretched ship, I didn’t even know the Talassi existed! Now I’m in their city, waiting to meet with their Queen!

The mere idea of meeting Talassian royalty sent even more shivers through my body. Their species wasn’t known for being friendly and welcoming – they were known for luring sailors to their death.