Lapidary

“Artemis,” I whispered.

He approached me with his wings slightly puffed to make him look bigger and more intimidating.

I held my ground. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to talk to you,” he growled.

“About?”

“Have you found the White Crystal?” He must already know the answer. I hadn’t contacted him once since I had come here, which meant I had found nothing. I remained silent and forced myself to maintain eye contact while my heart pitter-pattered.

“We had a deal,” he said. “A feather, for the crystal.”

“I’ve been trying to find it.” It was not a lie. I had been finding out as much as I could about Ryker, the things he did, the people he hung out with. But everything I discovered only led me to dead ends.

“You’ve not been trying hard enough.”

I was about to argue because I had been trying. I had devoted so much of my time and energy trying to find it. But not even The Sky Watch, The Insurgents, or The Risen has been able to, either. Maybe he was a fool for thinking that I, a human, would be capable of such a thing.

“You’ve not reported back to me once. You’ve not kept your word – and therefore, I won’t either,” he said.

Before I had time to ask what he meant, he grabbed my T-shirt and yanked me closer. The garment tore down the middle – exposing my bra. I cried out and tried to pull away, but he snatched my arm and forced me to stay. And then he took hold of his feather and ripped it from my body. I screamed. It felt as if my chest was on fire. He let go of me, and I stumbled before I fell on the sand.

“You bastard!” Cursing at him might not be wise, but I’d never claimed to be. If anything, I’d begun to embrace my craziness.

He squinted down at me. “You stole the letter – the one Lakelyn wrote to Ryker. I want it back.”

I grinned up at him, satisfied that I had taken something from him, like he had taken back my feather. “Too fucking bad. I burnt it.”

Devton had burnt it, after I had torn it up, but he didn’t need to know that. Artemis raised his hand, and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to strike me.

“Get away from her.” The voice was familiar.

I opened my eyes as Neron approached us. He was dry, which suggested that he had been on land for a while already. He stood in front of me, staring fearlessly into Artemis’s eyes.

“I don’t take orders from fish,” Artemis replied.

Neron cocked his head while keeping his face neutral. “No. You only take orders from Barattiel, isn’t that right? I heard he returned and kicked you out, took your place.”

Artemis paled, and he puffed his wings. So, Barattiel had gone to the angels’ lands and taken control. I couldn’t say I felt sorry for Artemis. I got to my feet, clutching my torn shirt. The spot between my breasts, where the feather had been, was still burning, and it would scar.

“I hope the sea serpent eats all of you,” Artemis said before taking to the skies.

Neron turned to face me, accepting his victory. He must know what Artemis had taken from me, how important it was, and how vulnerable I was without it. Before he could say something, I asked, “Why’d you do that?”

“Ryker and I were friends, not just business partners,” he said. “We became friends when he and Lakelyn were still dating and remained that way, even after he left her.”

“So, you did it for him,” I mumbled.

“Partially for him, and then because I like your guts.”

“My guts?”

“Yeah. Your insides are tough.”

I grinned at him. “Why are you really here?”

“Devton warned me about the sea serpent. He said you were there when the rift opened.”

“That’s right,” I confirmed, “but I can’t tell you anything more than he already did.”

Neron’s face fell. I knew he was scared for his people and wanted to find a way to get rid of the serpent. My gut told me killing it would be more difficult than killing a dragon. I clutched my shirt tighter, aware of how vulnerable I was, and Neron did a fantastic job averting his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“We need to find out who is opening these rifts and why,” Neron said. “I’ve had to evacuate Arameer because whoever he is, fucked up when he let the sea serpent in.”

I didn’t know if it was an accident to let a dragon, Barratiel, and the sea serpent into Testatha, or if it was a calculated move. The three of them didn’t have anything in common, and I had the feeling that the portals opened at random.

I raised my eyebrows as I turned Neron’s words over in my head. “Are all the Merfolk in Vesea, on land?”

He nodded. “I saw the serpent myself – it ate two merfolk – and decided it was too unsafe to stay in the water. We have to find a way to kill it before we can return home.”

The city would be overcrowded, and there won’t be nearly enough space for everyone to sleep. I tried to picture the merfolk sleeping on the streets, but the idea seemed absurd to me. I had killed the dragon in Shark Bay, so how would I kill a huge sea serpent?

“Did you know that before Duras tore the worlds apart, there was only one place where the veil between worlds was thin?”

“Heaven’s Window.”

He nodded. “After he tore the worlds open, many half-rifts were created, as well as four places where the veil stretched thin – Butterfish Chain, Shark Bay, Bareband, and at the edge of Ocelos. It took us a long time to figure out that these other places now existed and could be turned into possible rifts.”

“But the veil is thinnest by Heaven’s Window, and that’s why it was such a disaster when Duras opened it.”

Neron nodded. “You’ve seen rifts open before.”

I frowned as I realized what he was saying. “I saw a rift open in Shark Bay, then Bareband, and then at the edge of Ocelos. Each time a rift opened, I was there.” It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Whoever has the White Crystal, clearly doesn’t like you,” Neron said.

The first time the rift opened, a dangerous dragon had come through that could have incinerated me. The second time it was Barattiel, who could have murdered me. The third time had been a hungry sea serpent that could have eaten me whole.

“Can you think of anyone who hates you and would want you dead?” Neron asked.

“No,” I lied. I clutched my shirt tighter. “I should go inside.”

Neron hesitated before nodding. “Okay. Let me know if anyone comes to mind.”

“Will do,” I lied again.

I went to my cottage and closed the door behind me. Then I drew a deep breath because there was only one person who would want me dead and who hated me: Bellevue Featherswallow.

She had hated me from day one because I was human and not good enough for Ryker. She hated me so much she had even threatened to cut him off if he didn’t break up with me. And, what if, when she stole my inheritance, she had laid her hands on the White Crystal and realized what it was? And when I returned to Vesea, she had opened the rifts to terrorize and potentially kill me.

I must swallow my fear and go pay her a visit. It was something I had to do for myself and for Ryker.

That bitch had to have the White Crystal. She had to.