The Rising by Terra Harmony

Author:Terra Harmony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, action, magic, romantic, werewolf, mermaid, ocean, eco, ocean adventure, ocean beach, undine, ocean acid, ocean acidification
Publisher: Terra Harmony

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Halt!" Serena hears through the bushes. It is Ervin's voice, deeper than usual, and loud.

Oh no.

Serena pushes her way through, rogue branches grabbing at her hair and scraping down her scales. When she stumbles onto the beach, her eyes go wide and her breath catches in her throat.

Ervin pins Liam to the ground with one foot on his chest, and another guard has his trident at Liam's throat.

"Pull back your trident!" Serena yells at the guard. She turns to Ervin. "Release him."

Liam scrambles back, getting on his feet as the two guards loosen their hold.

"Back off, just stand down," Serena hisses at Ervin and two other guards. The rest must have left with the king.

Glancing at Liam, Serena can see short, stiff hairs pop out, bristling along his neck. She steps toward him. "I'll take care of this. Just—trust me."

Serena crosses in between Liam and the armed Undine to stand at Ervin's side.

"Is this one of them?" Ervin asks through gritted teeth. "He smells like dog."

Liam sniffs. "You smell like fish. There is no denying the mermaid, or…mer…man?"

"Undine!" Serena and Ervin say together.

Ervin steps forward, gills flaring.

"No." Serena puts her hand on Ervin's arm. "Let him go."

Ervin tenses even more, and the men behind him do the same.

"Show him mercy? Like he did the night of the maiden massacre?" Ervin isn't backing down.

"Look at him, Ervin. He isn't even old enough to have been there. Killing him would only spark a war. One for which we aren't prepared." Serena looks at Ervin. "Let me do my job."

Ervin shakes his head. "No, I'd rather see his pelt on the end of my trident."

"What shall I tell the king, then?" Serena asks, glancing at Ervin out of the corner of her eye, then returning her gaze to Liam. "That you interfered with the Werewolf Liaison's duty? That you willingly sabotaged a direct order from the king himself?"

Ervin stops moving forward, but refuses to break his gaze from his enemy.

"Besides," Serena says. "You no longer have a trident. Remember?"

Ervin flinches and turns, eyes full of fury. At least if his anger is directed toward her, Liam will be left alone.

After a short stare-down, Ervin brushes past her, toward the water. He shoulders her in the process, causing Serena to stumble back a few steps. Ervin splashes, very Ungainly-like, into the ocean. The two others back up from Liam, only turning when their feet hit the waves.

Serena lets out a shaky breath. With a quick glance at Liam who is still standing at the tree line with his hands hanging at his sides, Serena turns away, following Ervin.

She waits until she is fully submerged to cross her legs, transforming them back into fins. She can feel Liam's eyes on her, and his words are still ringing in her head—You smell like fish. The slight stings worse than scales poking through her skin.

Ervin swims fast, taking sharp turns and occasionally glaring back at her. Her best friend is angry, but that she can handle. It is better than having Liam upset with her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.