MERIBELLA

"Please, please be okay," she begged, falling to her knees besides the still form of her friend.

Bile rose in the back of her throat when she saw the jagged gash across the witch's throat, but after examining the wound, she saw that it wasn't deep enough to have been a killing blow. Tears blurring her vision, she ran her hands over Thorne looking for other injuries.

"Meribella," Caspian said, appearing at the top of the steps. "Is she alive?"

"I c-can't tell. She's-oh gods- she's been stabbed in her side." The selkie squeezed his large frame into the stairwell and scooped the woman up, her body limp in his arms. "We shouldn't move her! What if we do more damage?"

He didn't answer, laying her across the couch and pressing his fingers to the side of the wound on her neck. He went slack and turned to look at her, his face a picture of defeat. Losing her balance, she fell into the wall and slid down until she was on the floor. Shaking her head back and forth, she wailed, "No, no, no. You're wrong. You're wrong."

"We can't do anymore damage to a dead woman, Meribella. I'm sorry."

Wiping her cheeks, mixing blood with the tears, she rose to her feet and pushed him out of the way. Cradling Thorne in her arms, she rocked, trying to make her mind comprehend what Caspian was saying when she still seemed so warm and alive.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. All my fault."

All of the happiness swelling within her earlier had fled, leaving an emptiness behind that consumed her. She closed her eyes and envisioned this new space within her. Just a barren place with a sickly, green sky and a land of dry sand where nothing beautiful and good could blossom. On the horizon, wall clouds hung low and black, lightning flickering deep within their bowels.

"Meribella, there's something we could try." Caspian's voice was muffled, as though he were speaking to her above water. It buzzed in her ears like a gnat, and she tried to banish it. It offered hope and had no place in this world. "Meribella, take her to the water."

She didn't pay attention until he pulled her from her embrace. "Give her back to me!" she shouted. "Please, it's my fault. I have to make her understand I didn't mean for this to happen. She promised me she was strong enough to protect them."

He squatted in front of her, his face kind as restricted her grasping hands. "She's not been gone long, Meribella. Listen closely. If her spirit still lingers, you can save her."

Her body went rigid, and the flow of tears dried. "What do I do?"

"We have to get you in the water."

"What- why? I don't understand how that will do anything," she protested, but still her feet moved to follow him out onto the deck. The flood of sunlight on Thorne only highlighted the damage she'd taken, the bruises large and numerous on her dark skin. The silk nighty she'd been wearing was torn and scarlet soaked, no trace of its original color visible.

Caspian didn't respond to her question with words but jumped over the railing into the ocean. Gripping the bar in her hand, she waited anxiously for him to emerge with the witch still in his arms. Though she'd yet to see him in seal form, she couldn't imagine he could be anymore graceful amongst the waves than he was now, treading water with ease as he kept Thorne afloat.

"Come on," he urged.

Without any further hesitation, she dove over the side, the salt water electrifying her cells as soon as her head passed the surface. The ocean always welcomed her, a lost daughter, home, but this time she could not luxuriate in the feeling, she could not admire the way her skin blazed like starlight.

"What now?" she demanded, as she resurfaced.

"Take her in your arms. Find that central part of your power, the one you can only awaken in the water, and pull it towards you."

"Caspian, the only power I have is shaping water. How is that going to help?"

"Meribella, just stop arguing for once in your life and trust me."

Accepting Thorne's body, she forced herself to focus on the core of power Caspian had described and not how frigid her friend had become. Around her orbs of water separated from the surface and floated around them, but this wouldn't bring her friend back. Digging deeper, looking for more, she found herself in that same wasteland, but now the storm had arrived.

"Meribella, you're so close."

Bolts of lightning struck the ground in rapid succession, each strike growing closer to her until she was forced to sprint away. There was nothing here, and Thorne was slipping further and further away. Thunder shook the ground so hard that she went tumbling, the impact rattling her skeleton.

Unable or unwilling to move, she lay there, sobs choking her, more tears dripping from her lashes, turning the dust to mud. Fingers digging in the softened dirt, she threw her head back and screamed. Is this it? Is this the price you're asking? To keep one and lose the other? She didn't even know who she was speaking to, she knew they were listening.

Beneath her hands, heat flared and she looked down. Pure white light burned away the filth around it and from her hands. Light that gleamed and flickered like her skin in the darkness beneath the waves. A melody, sweet and pure, rose up and swirled around her, riding the light into the sky, where it banished the storm back to the horizon.

Our sweet, Star Blessed child...may you take what we offer you and use it for the good. The feminine voices trilled inside of her skull, the loveliness of their tone almost painful.

"Who are you?" she asked, when the echoing in her head ended, but they were gone.

Looking back at the ground, she saw a tendril of green sprouting up. It grew rapidly, dark thorns appearing as the vine became taller and a single, purple rose bloomed. With shaking hands, she plucked the flower, wincing as the brier pricked her tender flesh. The blood welled from the puncture wound and absorbed into the stem, making the flower petals glow until it blinded her.

Slamming her lids shut, she turned away from the light, waiting until the warmth had faded before turning back and slowly opening her eyes. Only to find herself staring into the most beautiful set of confused brown eyes she'd ever seen.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Thorne said, her voice cracking around every syllable.

Meribella just shrieked and wrapped her arms around her friend in a crushing hug. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"You know I want the dirty details... but I'll start with why are we in the damn water? It's cold."

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"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking you were dragging your feet, and we needed to know the extent of her blessing. Now we know."

Caspian punched the wall beside her head, and it pissed him off that the girl didn't flinch. "You weren't given clearance to do anything. I will not work with some trigger happy assassin."

"What's done is done." His queen's voice drew him to her. She reclined on a dais, the ends of her long, lavender gown trailing on the ground. She seemed bored with the conversation, but he'd long ago learned she wore whatever mask suited her purpose.

"If Thorne had died, my queen, Meribella would've been useless to us. She would've been broken."

"But she didn't," his partner griped, pushing away from the wall and coming to stand before Morgan LeFay. "My apologies my queen if I overstepped, but our original plan was not working. She's not going to kill Raff. Not now that she's slept with him."

The Fae Queen jerked upright, all color seeping out of her already pale skin. "How the hell did that happen? She's no good to me if she dies."

"Is that why you did it? You jealous little whore," Caspian spit out. "They didn't consummate their relationship."

The queen returned to her languid pose. "Make sure that this doesn't happen. I need Meribella to come to me. There has not been a Star Blessed who also carried the blessing of the goddesses in over a millennia. I need that power. Is that understood?"

They nodded, placing fists over their breasts and dropping to a knee. In unison, they spoke, "As my queen wills it."

She waved them away. "I need someone to take care of Herrin. He served the purpose of getting Meribella back to Camden. Raff is holding a roll call, and Herrin will only be quiet if he's dead."

Caspian spoke up. "It will be done, my queen."

"And what of Raff, my queen. Must he die?"

"He holds sway over the werewolves, and I need the werewolves to fight on my side. If you think you can win him over, then by all means, the man may live. I do hate to kill such a beautiful specimen. But, if not. He will die so that power can transfer to Alpha Mac."

They turned to leave, but Morgan LeFay called out again. "Mariah..."

Caspian smirked at the panic cascading over the shifter's face before she turned. "Yes, my queen?"

"If you act out again, I will end your life. Understood?"

Swallowing hard, Mariah dipped her head low. "Yes, my queen. Understood."

a/n @SpratleyMac I chuckled writing the title on this chapter. You wanted to know more about being Star Blessed... so here's a little confusion for you ;)