Page 48 of Unmoored

My heart broke when she finally came to, and I could see the hopelessness in her frightened eyes. She believed she was a woman gone mad, and I couldn’t blame her. In her short time on this earth, she’d endured far more hardshipsthan anyone should have to, and it only made sense that she would start to wonder about the truth of her reality.

In the end, none of it mattered to me. At some point in the midst of the time we’d spent together, I’d decided she was mine, and when I claimed her, I took on every part of her. She needed someone to nurture and care for her, to support her in the ways she had been neglected ‌her entire life. And I wanted nothing more than to provide that. I wanted to be her stronghold, to show her she could wake that monster inside and fight for herself whenever she felt it was warranted.

When it was time to leave the following day, I strapped her into her Talassi harness, fastening the leather to mine.

“Am I to swim with you?” She asked, and I noticed a small grin.

“Onlywith me from now on.”

She thought about the statement for a moment, then made a satisfied hum, and I thought I noticed a glimmer of light returning to her eyes.

Over the last few weeks, I’d become a changed man. That instinct inside of me that yearned to antagonize Hazel and play with her like a pet had grown tenfold. I wanted to be consumed by her. The thought of being separated for any amount of time caused me physical pain, and the idea of Maki putting his hands on her made me want to rip him apart from head to tail.

Hazel Emerson wasmine. And I hoped she thought of me as hers, but we’d have to figure that out after we completed our mission. For now, I would settle for being heronlymethod of transport.

“Are you well?” I asked, smoothing her pale hair awayfrom her face and pressing my lips to hers. “It’s not too late to change your mind. You can stay here if you’d like.”

“I’m fine,” she said, leaning into me and nipping at my bottom lip. “I just don’t want to hinder you.”

“You won’t.”

And with that, we were off.

The journeyto Akala was quick, about half the time it took for us to reach Emerson’s ship. We’d once again enlisted the help of The Nayte Brigand, who were intended to meet us at the island and stave off any potential threats as we investigated.

Hazel was quiet throughout the journey, and I couldn’t help but wish she’d relented and stayed at the Capital. The Queen wouldn’t have been happy about it, but I wouldn’t have cared. We didn’t know what we were about to find on this wretched island, and I could only imagine the turmoil going through her mind as we approached.

We arrived at low tide, moonlight glinting off the surface of the water, shadows dancing over the peaks of the rocks. The spires of the asylum stood tall against the black cliffs, imposing in nature and indicative of their prison-like role. I hoped that one day it would crumble to ashes, setting free all the souls trapped inside who’d never had a chance.

Hazel pointed out the cave as soon as we were in range, open and beckoning to us thanks to the tide. Upon furtherexamination, using this point of entry was a long shot. We had no idea if it was simply a small cave that held nothing but tide pools and crustaceans, or a passage that would lead us to the inner depths of the island.

Something about it called to me, though, in the same way Hazel explained it called to her. The ocean has a way of speaking to her people, of beckoning to us, and I’d learned over the course of my many years that it was not a summons meant to be ignored.

We congregated in the mouth of the cave, shifting into our human forms as we climbed over the wet, jagged rocks. Everything on this island seemed to exist in a state of decay. Even the walls of the cave seemed brittle, as if they’d crumble if I slammed my fist against them.

Thankfully, the cave was not a dead end. The mouth opened into a long tunnel, just wide enough for us to move deeper in a single-file line. Commander Adri went first, followed closely by Maki, then by Hazel and me. We illuminated the way with torches made from the glowing blue rock found in our volcano, but it was still fairly difficult to see, even for a Talassi. After she tripped three times, I urged Hazel to climb on my back and let me carry her the rest of the way.

“This is embarrassing,” she whispered in my ear, the thumping of her heartbeat hammering against my back.

“You can’t see, my love,” I shook my head. “It will be more embarrassing when you return beaten and bruised with nothing to blame but your own stubbornness.”

She had no response for that, and we pressed forward in silence.

Eventually, we reached the end of the tunnel, greeted bya padlocked iron gate deep inside the island. What lay beyond the gate was difficult to make out, as the tunnel was filled with rocks and seaweed.

Hazel’s breath hitched as Commander Adri crushed the lock in a fist before wrenching the gate open with his bare hands, the squeal of metal grinding against rock echoing down the abandoned tunnel.

“Your kind would do well to be more afraid of us, I fear,” Adri said with a huffed laugh.

“I forget how strong you truly are,” she responded.

We pressed forward through vines and kelp, eventually finding our way to a large domed cavern. Light flitted through the open space, reflecting off the damp rocks and rotting seaweed, revealing what appeared to be a dock.

Fascinating,I thought, approaching the wooden structure. A curtain of seaweed, kelp, and vines was strung between two large stalagmites at the end. As I neared, I realized it was where the small amount of light was emanating from.

“We’re in the hidden port,” Maki said, confirming what I thought as well.

“This is absurd,” Hazel said, sliding down my back onto the wooden planks beneath my feet. “Do you think this is abandoned? Something no longer used?”