MERIBELLA

Meribella and Dorea walked along the shore without speaking. They'd come with the intention of swimming, but for the moment, there were too many tourists milling about. She watched her mother absorb the sights and smells, her body more relaxed than it had been since she'd arrived. The ocean had that effect on them.

"The sun will set soon," Dorea said, breaking the awkward silence. "Do people stay here long after that?"

"Not these days," Meribella admitted. "The height of the tourist season is over now that school has started again, and while the water is swimmable, most humans don't consider it worthwhile. They'll stick to their heated pools and tubs from here until next summer."

"Good, it's been too long since I swam. Though, I have to admit, the urge hasn't been as strong since I've been carrying this little monster." She patted her small bump and tested her toes in the water. A faint glimmer appeared on her skin, but for the first time, Meribella realized it wasn't as bright as her own. "Your man tells me you've got something to tell me."

"What?" she growled, wondering what would possess Raff to say such a thing.

Dorea shrugged, her canines pressing into her bottom lip. "Okay, so he implied it. He said I would be surprised by you."

Meribella relaxed, feeling foolish that she allowed her ire to be raised so quickly. Her mother somehow always managed to light the fuse to her short temper- no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She stared at her hands, wondering where to begin. Dorea was still in the dark about the lies Kai had spun, but the older woman had long ago made peace with being bound to land. She viewed herself as a superior being and used men as playthings. That's how she reconciled herself to the hand she was dealt. What Meribella had to say wouldn't really change any of that.

"I met a Selkie. One that knew Kai."

That grabbed Dorea's attention. She turned to her daughter, mouth agape and eyes wide. "Does he know you're related to her?"

Meribella nodded. "He said he followed rumors of a black haired girl who shines like the stars when she swims. It led him to me. Apparently, we're cousins." She thought of Caspian for the first time in his months. If not for him, Thorne would be dead, and she wouldn't know what she was capable of. But at the same time, he was loyal to the woman who had tried to orchestrate Raff's death.

"Strange for them to find us after all these years. Did he have any news of Kai?" Her question sounded nonchalant, but Meribella knew her mother too well. Kai's disappearance haunted them all.

"No, only that they want her to come home. She was supposed to be some sort of clan leader."

"And what does this have to do with you? Aside from the obvious."

Meribella didn't respond. She turned to find the beach empty save for the two of them and she shimmied out of her skirt. "Let's swim."

She didn't let her mother speak. Two steps and cold foam beat around her ankles. She waded out knee deep before diving into water, goosebumps rushing across her skin as the drop in temperature sent a shiver down her spine.

Meribella cut through the ocean, swimming down until her lungs protested. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her mother's familiar glow. Bubbles escaped their mouths as they giggled and dipped around each other. No matter their differences over the years, they always came together in the sea.

After a few minutes had passed, Dorea pointed to the surface, indicating she needed air. Meribella nodded, and pushed off the ocean floor, rocketing after her mother. She opened herself up to the power in her blood and urged the water to push her faster. Let Dorea see her burst into the night sky, body arching like a dolphin, before crashing back into the blue.

Long, tan legs kicked lazily above her until Dorea looked down to see Meribella zooming up. A wicked smile crossed her  mother's face, and she turned on the speed, but Meribella knew it would be too late. Another ten seconds and Meribella would pass her. Five, four, three...

Something crushed into her windpipe, forcing her to draw in a gasping gulp of salt water. It seared her damaged throat and choked her. Pain blossomed in her leg. Through slitted eyes, she could see blood billow around her, staining her shimmer with its crimson hue. The connection she had to her power snapped.

Trying to keep her lips pressed together to avoid swallowing more water, she began to swim again, but the edges of her vision faltered. And whatever had struck her in the neck returned and tightened its hold.

Thrashing, she clawed at her throat, calling the waves to her. The band about her neck loosened, but it only triggered her instinct to draw in a deep breath. Claws raked down her exposed breasts and pierced her stomach, forcing her to curl inward.

Panic began to override her survival instincts, and she opened her mouth to scream. Her assailants were coming from everywhere. Wicked, yellow eyes and sharp nails and teeth. The water wasn't answering her. She dragged her legs to her chest, her arms looped beneath her knees. The assault ended, but firm fingers gripped her hair and began to swim into the deep.

Meribella.

The blended voices echoed in her mind, funneling strength into her limbs. Her eyes snapped open. But instead of the inky blackness she was met with the violet sky of the valley where she'd found found the power to save Thorne. The lightning flashed as always, the strikes timed with the throbbing in her body.

Meribella. Why do you give up? Fight. Work past the pain to find your Blessing. She let her eyes drift shut. A mournful howl split her mind, and a vision of blue eyes drowning in tears begged her to listen. And when the voice spoke again, it was not with the haunting trill of goddesses but with the rough bark of her Alpha. Fight, damn it.

Thunder roared in her ears as she yanked her arm free, and the water hardened around her, forming a shield as the sea monsters reached for her once more. Making wide arcs with her arms and scissor kicks with her legs, she fought her way to the surface, heaving and convulsing as her head broke through and oxygen flooded her system.

"Meribella," Dorea shouted, cutting through the waves to reach her daughter.

"Stay back," she choked out, seeing the sheen of yellow eyes growing. They weren't going to let her escape so easily.

One hand extended towards her mother, the waves obeying her and dragging her to the shore. The other hand she let hover just above the water. Steadying her breath, ignoring the agony in her body, she let her heart find the sea's beat. The steady cadence drew her power into a tight ball between her breasts. She let it build, rising up her chest, and spreading across her arms until the white light reached her fingertips and closed the gap between her hand and the ocean. 

The world went mute.

And then it exploded.