Lucia’s body soared out of the water, sailing overhead. I tracked her progress, slack jawed at the sight of the mermaid she had by the tail. The mermaid squealed and thrashed as they slammed into the water on the other side of the boat.
A wave jostled the boat, snapping me from my stunned slouch against the seat. I grabbed up the oar, slammed it into place and started rowing. I no longer had any sense of where I was. It didn’t matter. I just knew I needed to get away from the fighting before I went in again. My arms and legs ached; and outside of the water, away from the mermaids, my fury temper wasn’t keeping me warm enough. I couldn’t seem to stop shivering, and I doubted it had anything to do with the snow, now falling in earnest, or the fading light. Glancing at the bites on my arm, I forced myself to row harder.
My hair froze to my head as I strained.
Several times, I saw Lucia’s body rise only to disappear again. When something burst from the surface near the end of the boat, I thought it was her. Instead, a mermaid landed on the seat in front of me. She immediately shifted from fins to legs, hissed at me, then stared out at the waves.
One minute the mermaid sat there, the next Lucia exploded out of the water, snatched up the girl, and swallowed her whole before plunging back into the depths of the lake.
I forgot to row as I stared at the space where the oracle had disappeared.
“That should have been you,” a familiar voice said.
The boat tipped and, unprepared, I went over the side again. I barely felt the cold as the lake swallowed me whole. I kicked hard toward the surface, tired and pissed. My head bobbed through a wave, and I looked around for the boat. It rocked nearby.
Before I could start in that direction, Lucia’s head surfaced near mine. She circled me twice, her oddly bulging body skimming the surface. I didn’t miss the way her middle wiggled from the inside. Revulsion filled me but no anger. What was wrong with me? How could the mermaids be wicked, but not the mermaid-eating oracle?
Lucia stopped scanning the water and focused on me.
“Such a tasty looking bit, you are. So pale with pretty blue lips. You’re getting tired.” Her tongue flicked out.
“What happened to not angering the gods?” I asked.
She chuckled.
“Smart little fledgling. That hasn’t changed. But there are a few mermaids who might be willing to risk that.” She looked out over the water. I followed her gaze and saw several heads watching us.
“This has been fun, my sweet treats,” Lucia said. “We’ll need to do it again soon.” The mermaids hissed at her. “If you happen to kill Megan before sunrise, bring her to me. I wouldn’t mind a taste. In fact, I might even reward the one who brings her to me.”
She dove under the water, disappearing from sight.
The mermaids and I stared at each other for a moment. They went under. I bolted for the boat.
Within seconds, someone grabbed my ankle and pulled me beneath the surface. I kicked hard and connected with a body part. A squeal rang out. A hand grabbed my bitten arm. Fingers caught my hair. Claws raked my side, setting paths of fire in the skin over my ribs.
I could barely think through the pain as another blazing trail ignited over my thigh. My struggles to get free lost their strength and slowed. I was angry. But, I was so tired too.
Hands gripped my head, turning me and forcing my attention to the wide eyes only inches away from mine. The familiar face smiled.
“You’re mine,” she said. Her grip tightened as she tugged me upward. The mermaids holding my arms and legs didn’t let go but followed as Merbitch and I broke through to the surface.
“What’s wrong, Megan?” she asked. “Where are your threats to boil us alive now?”
“Go to hell,” I said. My tone lacked its usual bite, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
“You wish. I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Spare me your villain monologue and just do what you need to do.”
She hissed at me and slashed a claw down my neck. I grunted at the burn.
“Do you know what that venomous snake eats when we don’t bring her a human? Us! Our brothers and sisters.”
“Do you think I care or that I’ll give you pity after you tried to feed me to her? Feed Ashlyn to her? You really are stupid.”
She pulled her hand back, looking pissed enough to tear my face off as she swung forward. Before her claws could touch me, an eagle’s cry split the air.
My pulse jumped in hope and fear. Before Merbitch could dive under, she was ripped out of the water. I looked up in time to see her dangling from Oanen’s talons. She screamed and thrashed as he climbed higher into the sky.
A hand locked around my ankle.
“Oan—”
Water closed over my head once more. A second later, a very large and very pissed griffin plunged into the water. The mermaid holding me squealed and tried to flee, but Oanen’s beak caught her fin and ripped it clean off.
I grinned slightly, feeling vindicated as I slowly drifted toward the surface. I bobbed there, my blinks becoming slower as I waited for Oanen to emerge. He did several moments later in a shower of water with a mermaid by her tail. He flung his head to the side, and I watched her go flying.
He turned toward me, his golden gaze sweeping my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him, my fear of hurting him gone. I had no heat left in me.
“I am so glad you’re here,” I said. “Rowing sucks.”
His beak nuzzled my hair for a moment before he started to bump me. He didn’t quit until I floated on my back.
“You could have just said, ‘float’ you know,” I mumbled.
He jumped out of the water, hovering above me. His talons circled my torso, and with the heavy beat of his wings echoing around us, he pulled me from the waves. I wrapped my hand around his leg and closed my eyes.
Vaguely, I knew there were things I should have been doing, like wondering why I wasn’t burning Oanen or asking how he’d found me; but my brain felt too fuzzy to focus. Instead of trying to force my mind to work, I focused on nothing.
Wind and pelting flakes of snow buffeted my face. That stinging burn was nothing compared to the agony growing inside of me. A shudder coursed through my body, and Oanen cried out.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just sick of smelling like fish. Take me home, bird boy.”
I’d never felt so tired before in my life. As much as I wanted to blame it on all the swimming and rowing, I couldn’t. Pain ate at me from the inside. Not wanting to worry Oanen, I forced myself to relax as much as I could in his hold. I focused on the steady thump of his wings, the howl of the wind, and the crash of the waves. It didn’t help. Tracing the feathers under my fingers did. A little.
My heart ached with how much I’d missed him. I couldn’t wait to get back home, shower, and snuggle under a tower of blankets with Oanen wrapped around me. The thought of being warm sent another shiver through me.
He made another sound, but I didn’t have it in me to comfort him.
My fingers gave a final stroke to his ankle feathers then stilled. The oozing mermaid bites and cuts were sapping me of everything. Only, this time, I wasn’t burning up. I was growing colder. So cold, in fact, that after a few minutes, my shivers stopped. I knew that wasn’t good. But, sleep pulled at me, and the agony of my injuries began to fade. I sighed, ready to give into the exhaustion.
Oanen’s eagle scream jolted through me, and I opened my eyes to see the shoreline and Eliana’s car illuminated by the glow of her headlights. Home.
I exhaled heavily and closed my eyes again, dangling loosely in Oanen’s grip. My back gently touched ground.
A moment later, Oanen’s warm arms wrapped around me.
“Do you have a blanket?” he said. “Anything. She’s so cold.”
“Cold?” Eliana said, sounding worried. A hand brushed my forehead. “No. We didn’t bring a blanket. Here. Take my jacket.”
Material covered my torso. It didn’t help.
“Megan, open your eyes,” Oanen said.
I wanted to. I just didn’t have the energy.