The Inked by Kristina Streva

Author:Kristina Streva [Streva, Kristina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy; Mermaids; Betrayal; Battle; Sisters; Twins; Dolphins; Tentacles; Magic
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2022-05-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Kaleb sat in the center of the sandy circular battle arena with his face buried in his hands. His bloodshot eyes peered up at the empty stadium chairs which sat on an incline around the arena. Soon, these chairs would be filled with cheering merfolk hungry for blood. His father would sit directly in the center of the stadium on his golden throne. And it was from this throne that his father would soon condemn one of his sons to death.

Pfft. Father. Kaleb had never even seen King Oasis as a father.

He and his brother had been fully raised by their caretaker, Ella, who acted as a mother to both of them and was with them every step of the way. She taught them how to swim, pack their lunches, and even yelled at them when they misbehaved. Their father treated them more like a prized medal that he had won, a way to keep his bloodline healthy.

Ella had caused a scene when she found out about the competition. Her fragile eighty-year-old body stormed into the King’s chamber, bursting into tears and demanding that he cancelled this “debauchery of a competition.” She didn’t want her “sons” hurt. King Oasis had found her outburst to be quite amusing until she collapsed from the stress, and he had to get his guards to remove her body from his chambers, a most uncomfortable event indeed.

When Kaleb had heard what happened, he had gone to her room to check on her. He was too late, though; by now, her heart had given out. She was lying like a withered mummy on her bed, stiff and clammy with rigor mortis and mottled bluish skin and lips. Her hand was stuck, reaching toward the sky as if she had been trying to pull herself up again with one last ounce of fight. Kaleb cried out for help, but it was no use. The only parent he had ever known was dead. Ella was gone.

Kaleb drew her name into the sand below him with his fingers. E-L-L-A. Well, maybe it is better you aren’t around to watch the two boys you raised kill each other.

“What are you doing here?” Neo’s voice bellowed from the tunneled entrance. He leaned against its narrow opening, the only way in and out of the arena’s center, aside from a small shaft-like elevator in the center of the stadium. This was nestled deep in the ground and required the King’s permission to access it. That would be the way they would enter the fight.

Kaleb leaped up startled as he spun to face Neo with a scowl. “It’s your fault! She is dead!” he screamed, charging at Neo and pushing him up against the curved cement wall next to the narrow entrance.

Neo grabbed Kaleb’s arms, pushing him back into the sand. “I loved Ella too! Maybe it’s your fault for mingling with that creature! We wouldn’t even be here if you’d just settled down with a mermaid like any sensible person would’ve done.

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