Page 153 of In Rising Tides

“Lyra!”

Her name came out of Drystan like boulders colliding.

It was so loud it shook the reef.

It was the last thing she heard as darkness tugged her into its cool embrace.

The rocking was what woke her. It wasn’t the steady tugging of the current, but something more, something harsh.

Lyra blinked her eyes open and stared up at the face mere inches from hers.

“You were down longer this time,” Nerida said, concern shadowing her eyes.

Lyra rolled away from her sister and pressed her face into her pillow with a groan.

“I told you not to use it,” Nerida sighed.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Lyra’s reply was muffled as she spoke into the pillow.

Her memory sailed back in, and she shuddered.

There was so much blood. So much iron.

She sat up quickly, and the room spun.

“Is Drystan alright?”

Nerida’s face pinched. “Estria tended to him. He’s fine.”

Lyra exhaled and then stilled.

“That’s a new twist,” Nerida chuckled, patting the side of her sleek bun. “Can’t say I’m surprised, though.”

Lyra swung her tail over the side of the shell. “It’s not like that.”

Nerida’s lips thinned as her brows rose. “Anyway—how did it feel to use your magic?”

At the mere mention of her magic, Lyra felt in her chest for the thread.

It was still there and not as dull as it should have been after her clumsy strum.

“It was easier, but I knew I shouldn’t have pushed too hard,” Lyra rubbed her temples. “I was just angry, so all-consumingly furious. I didn’t think.”

“Why?” Nerida tilted her head to the side.

“They were coming for us, and Drystan wanted to fend them off on his own. We were outnumbered and weaponless. He ordered me back to the palace to be protected, and I just—snapped.”

Her hands slipped from the side of her head. She should have felt something for the lives she had just taken, but she felt nothing.

The shadow of nothing that dwelled at the back of her mind had grown.

“You felt threatened,” Nerida patted the top of Lyra’s hand. “That’s normal.”

“I feel nothing now,” Lyra sighed. “Is that normal, too?”

Nerida shrugged. “We can ask Estria before she leaves if you’d like.”

Lyra wasn’t partial to asking the sea witch for any help at all. But if Nerida felt inclined to, she could.