Was this real?
My girl was carrying our child, and to save them, this was my sacrifice. These weren’t trials of battle, far from it. I realized that now. I’d give her everything…but it didn’t make the sting hurt any less. Or the fact that I’d be useless to my brothers and her now. What was I going to do?
And what did it mean by, “Someone among you betrays you.” My brothers would never backstab me. No reason to… My head hurt.
I roared and a flash of agony cut through me as I felt the wounds of my past ravage my mind. For so long I assumed I’d escaped my father’s past, and yet coming here reminded me that I would always suffer.
With it came a wave of anger, and acid slipped into the back of my throat.
Syn.
For you, I’ll fight, I’ll give you everything.
***
River
“Something’s wrong,” Syn murmured, shaking against me.
“It’s going to be okay,” I reassured her, rubbing her back, though my stomach clenched tight because she was right. It had been an hour now since Hendrix went in and neither he nor Caspian resurfaced. The fucked up thing was, I had no idea what to expect to go in prepared rather than walk right into whatever trap they’d most likely fallen in.
“I’m going to have to go after them,” I said, turning to my gorgeous Syn, needing her to know I had no choice.
“I know.” She blinked away the tears that broke me. Despite her words, she held onto me with a death grip. “I’m scared of losing you all. I’ve never felt this about anyone. Never found anyone who loved me, so please, whatever you do, don’t die.”
Her sincerity tore at my emotions, and the ache she brought out in me made me gasp for air.
“You’ve got it.” And I kissed her, needing to taste her. I memorized everything… the softness of her lips, her honeyed scent, her quickened breaths. I imprinted them on my mind.
My heart raced for her, but I also had to do this for her like my brothers did. “We’re going to have a future together.” I slid my hand down to her stomach, overcome with emotions I never thought I’d feel about becoming a father.
Everything about Syn reminded me of how real love felt.
With a final kiss, I left her side and moved around the lake as darkness slithered inside me. But instead of walking right in after stripping, I skirted the water’s edge, trying to see if a different angle gave me insight into where my brothers dove into the murky water.
The surface rippled from the breeze, and in all honesty, I saw nothing. The longer I lingered on the edge, the more nerves danced beneath my skin. I had to go in, though part of me felt like I walked directly into a trap.
Trials. The word circled my mind like vultures.
A last glance to Syn who watched me carefully, I gave her a fake smile, and walked into the lake. I guess I had no choice but to do this. To save Syn, to find my brothers.
Whatever it took.
I wasted no time and dove into the cold water. My skin rippled from its bite, and I swam around for a while, finding nothing. I came up, then dove back under, hating that I couldn’t see anything.
Going back in, I instantly spotted a glowing light from an underwater cave this time, and, well, I just knew that was where I had to go.
Kicking madly, I dragged myself through it, then found myself swimming upward past some weird assed shaped rocks. I kept a vigilant eye on everything, expecting the worst.
When I broke the surface, the last thing I expected was to come face to face with a white skeletal creature with a terrifying face from anyone’s darkest dreams.
“Whoa.” I backpedaled instantly, thankful I kept my shoes on, and reached down for my blade. Wielding it, I hurled it at its gaping head, while kicking it in the chest.
Unexpectedly, it threw itself at me, teeth and claws coming so fast, they were a blur.
Then it struck, teeth sinking into my neck and dragging my sorry ass deep down until we hit the floor. I slammed my fist into its head, kicking the motherfucker and dropping the blade.
Pinned to the floor, the thing stood on my chest, weighing a ton. My chest screamed for air, while the thing still held my arm in its mouth like it might tear it off. It reminded me of a damn shark, and they always poke those sonsofbitches in the eyes. But this asshole has none.
Yep, I was fucked.
“River, are you ready? What are you willing to sacrifice for the girl with child?”
The words that flowed over my mind, not from his mouth, stopped me in my thrashing tracks. Had this fucker just spoken to me in my head?
And of course, he’d be my trial. But was drowning me part of the trial?
“Release me,” I bellowed in my head, having no idea if he understood.
“You once welcomed death,” he stated, his voice making a clicking sound in my head, while my vision started to blur in and out from suffocation. “You called for it.”
“I did,” I admitted truthfully in my mind. For a long time, I didn’t know if I wanted this life, if I deserved it, if I even knew how to survive in it. My father did a damn good job of making me hate so much.
“A dead man is a dead man,” the creature droned one. “If you were going to throw your life away, what difference would it make if you gave up Syn and the child.”
I started to convulse because I knew I was going to drown here. White dots formed in my vision, while his words ripped me to shreds.
“Fuck you. You’re not taking her from me.” I’d just found a reason to love, to live again.
His teeth seemed to sink deeper into my neck, striking bone. And I lost all control, my lungs giving up.
As if sensing me slipping away, the creature finally dragged me to the surface and released me, but not before it said, “Not even if it meant her and the baby’s survival?”
Fighting for breath, I battled to stay afloat while desperately taking in air. And yet something inside me shifted. A sense of emptiness crawled over me. I was wrenched underwater, and I reached out for purchase on anything to stop myself.
I flew through the water the way I’d come, and moments later, I was breathing air suffocated by a green mist, while the creature’s words filled my head, “Someone among you betrays you.”
Treading water on the spot, the world seemed to spin with me and his words confused me.