Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms Book 2)

Sereia opened her eyes. She was sitting on a hillside, looking down at a vast, black lake. She remembered it being close to sunset, but somehow it was now dark, and a bright yellow moon glowed overhead. It lit the landside enough that she could see what was around her, though not clearly.

The lake was beautiful, flanked by tall mountains on either side. The moon’s glow reflected off the surface, and a half-circle of a rainbow wrapped around it in the sky. Eerie but lovely.

Sereia lifted her hand, shifting it back and forth in front of her. Something was off. Her hand seemed to flicker as she squinted more closely at it. When she tried to grab it with her other hand, the two passed right through each other.

Dead.

There should have been a heart pounding wildly in her chest, filling her with adrenaline and anxiety. Instead, there was nothing. Just an empty lightness. Nothing to ground her to this world except for an inexplicable pull drawing her somewhere over the hill.

Was this all there was to the afterlife?

As suddenly as she realized she was dead, Sereia was drawn from the landscape around her and into darkness again.

Pain filled her entire body, racing along every nerve ending, coursing through her bloodstream, all centering on her abdomen. Her ribs snapped back into place with agonizing swiftness, her muscles began to knit back together, and all of it was with razor-sharp pain coursing through each of her cells.

As her final rib pulled from her lung, Sereia gasped deeply, and her eyes opened to the fading sun and Travion’s face above her. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and the entire world seemed unsteady.

“Trav?” she rasped, a hand lifting to clutch on to his chest.

When he looked down at her, there was a depth of relief in his eyes that struck her down to her core.

“Sereia!” He halted, his arms tightening around her, and he kissed her fiercely, until the world shuddered once more and he staggered. “We need to get off this island,” he growled, then clutched her firmly to him as he ran.

When they reached the shore, he shouted to those on The Saorsa.

“Travion, put me down,” Sereia argued. “They’ll never see or hear you if you’re unable to signal them.”

“No.” His response was short and clipped. “You aren’t steady enough yet. Your body is barely knit together.” He glanced down at her, glaring as her lips opened to respond. “Don’t. Not right now.”

Finding herself too weary to argue further, Sereia laid her head against his chest and shut her eyes. Somehow, Travion managed to signal her crew, and a dory was rowed ashore to retrieve them.

“She suffered a grievous injury and won’t be able to climb the ladder,” Travion muttered to Xiu, who’d come to fetch them.

Sereia squinted in annoyance as Xiu looked at her with concern. “I’m fine. I’m alive.” She could feel Travion stiffen where she leaned against him. Turning slightly and feeling her entire body revolt in protest, Sereia had to silently agree that Travion was correct. She was barely knit back together. “But I wasn’t . . . was I?” Sereia searched his face. “What did you do?”

Travion’s face was dark, and he shook his head. “Only what I had to.”

“Travion . . .”

“No. Listen to me.” His hand slid up to cup her cheek, tilting her head back so that she was forced to meet his gaze fully. “I did what I had to do to bring you back. That is all that matters.”

He kissed her then, firmly and thoroughly. It was full of loss and anger, desperation and love. It shook Sereia to her core, leaving her feeling seared to her very soul. She was Travion’s as wholly as she was her own.

The trip back to the ship was blessedly uneventful. Xiu held onto the rope ladder and called for a net to be dropped down. Carefully, he and Travion settled her into the net, and she was hoisted up onto her ship, into the waiting arms of her crew, who pulled her aboard and settled her onto a barrel with more care and grace than she had ever seen from them before. If she were one to give in to her emotions, she would have shed a tear.

There was no time for peace or explanations, though, for no sooner had they climbed on deck than Ruan landed his griffin on the deck and slid off. “Uncle! She’s gone! I chased after her, but in the chaos of the volcano and the earth splitting, Phaedora disappeared. I have failed!” With a growl of anger, Ruan lashed out and drove a fist into the mast.

“Dammit to the seas,” Travion growled. “You did your best, Ruan.”

“It shouldn’t have even been a possibility,” he snapped, glaring at his uncle. “Had you not—”

“Enough!” Travion snarled at his nephew, warring with the hot-headed male.

“What did you do, Travion?” Sereia demanded once more, as angry silence settled between the two of them.

“He traded his portion of the book for you,” Ruan responded angrily.

His words were a fresh blow as Sereia realized the book was gone once more, and this time, it was because of her. Her jaw clenched, and she pressed a hand to her agonized middle. “Then I guess I will just have to help you get it back.”

Sereia lay back on a chaise in Travion’s office, with her torn and bloodied blouse fully open at her sides, while Queen Eden knelt beside her. Her soft, pale hands rested on Sereia’s darker torso, a warmth spreading from them as she poured magic into her wounds, helping to strengthen what was still weak inside her. While the spell had brought her back from the dead and repaired her, there was still healing to be done from the death wound.

With each wave of warmth, Sereia could feel the pain within her lessening. “Thank you,” she said at last, when the pain was manageable. Resting a hand on her wrist, she pulled Eden’s hand away. “I feel much better.”

Eden frowned at her. “You’re not finished. I can still feel the damage inside of you.”

“I’m done enough for now.” She shook her head when Eden made to protest. “I know that there are plenty of others who need your help. The castle healers must be pushed beyond their limits. Don’t waste your abilities on making certain that I am painless. I’ve felt far worse than I currently do.”

Eden sighed. “I would argue, but I can already tell it will be pointless.”

Sereia offered a pitying smile. “I am sorry that we are all such troublesome individuals.”

“I have grown quite used to the stubborn nature of the royal family.” Eden’s smile was softer and more lovely.

As Eden stood, Sereia carefully forced herself up onto legs still weak from blood loss and actual death. Travion was at her side quickly, a hand coming to support her at her back. “I’m okay,” she assured him, and drew the pieces of her blouse back together, tying the ends over her abdomen to offer a semblance of decorum.

“She is,” Eden confirmed. “Don’t allow her to perform any rigorous activities, and certainly no fighting, but she will be okay.”

Travion pulled Eden into his arms, giving her a firm hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure.” She pulled away, offering both of them a caring smile. “I’ll excuse myself to go and aid the other injured soldiers.” At the door, she was greeted by her husband, who pulled her into his own arms after giving her a quick once-over. They murmured something to each other, then Eden left the room, and Draven continued into the office, searching out his brother.

“What happened out there?”

“He threw it all away is what happened!” Prince Ruan came storming into the office behind him, throwing his golden helmet across the room to crash against the bookcase. Behind him, Prince Kian entered in a far calmer manner.

“The sharks in the harbor have retreated, and the crabs on the beach have been subdued. For the moment, we seem to have overcome the worst of it. I have soldiers down on the beach killing anything else that moves,” Kian supplied to the room at large.

“Yes, we’ve subdued them for now, but that bitch is still out there with The Creaturae, and so our battle and our losses have achieved nothing.” Ruan paced the room.

“What happened?” Draven demanded once more, frustration glimmering in his blue eyes.

“I managed to tear The Creaturae in two and possessed the destruction side. But Phaedora used one of her monsters to kill Sereia.” His voice didn’t crack at the words, but there was a strain in his features that told Sereia the mere thought of it still tore at him. Remembering her own desperation when she thought he had been killed, she couldn’t imagine having to watch it.

Sereia reached out to take Travion’s hand, stepping up more fully beside him so that they could present a united front.

“And you did what?” Draven asked carefully.

“I traded my half in return for the resurrection spell in the creation portion she possessed.” Travion did not balk. Did not try to excuse himself, nor did he seem apologetic. He stood by his decision.

“For her. We’ve lost it once again because of her.” Ruan pointed an accusing finger at Sereia.

She could feel her back bristling. She and that callous bastard were going to have words. But before she could respond at all, Travion was speaking.

“Careful with your words, boy.”

“Ruan, go and tell Father and Mother what has occurred, and reassure them that for the moment, all has been secured in Midniva,” Kian said, his voice steady, bringing a sense of calm to the room.

Ruan growled but nodded. He took a moment to shoot another glare at both her and his uncle before storming out the door.

“Charming as ever, Ruan,” Sereia drawled.

Draven eyed her dryly, his own ire just below the surface. “While I cannot condone what has taken place, I also cannot say I would have done anything differently had I been in the same situation.”

Travion sighed, his fingers scratching at his jaw. “What have you learned from Taimon?”

Draven’s eyes darkened further, and true anger filtered across his face. “I fed from him, there’s nothing I don’t know of what he has been up to. He was fully involved with all of Naya’s plans. He helped to orchestrate the chaos here in Midniva and was responsible for dropping the drained bodies along the shoreline.”

Travion cursed and pulled away from Sereia to kick a nearby chair, sending it scraping across the floor. “Phaedora said as much. She admitted they were her puppets but never said how many others belonged to her.”

Draven’s jaw muscles leaped. “He and Phaedora began their attack here on Midniva as a distraction, but unfortunately, Taimon wasn’t told all of her plans. I don’t know what she was distracting us from.”

Travion nodded. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good.”

“No, it won’t be.” Draven sighed. “We always get so close, but it’s never enough.” He shook his head. “I’m going down to the beaches to see where I can be of help with the cleanup.” He nodded to them both and then left. Sereia had the distinct feeling that the king of nightmares was giving them some time alone.

It felt oddly like acceptance.

Sereia sighed and turned to Travion. “You should have just let me remain dead . . . It wasn’t worth losing what grasp you had regained on the book.”

Travion stormed back to her side, his hands grasping her face and holding her tightly. “Not worth it?” His eyes were stormy, and Sereia could swear she heard thunder rumble in the distance. “What would you have had me do? I watched you fade away before my eyes, your blood staining my clothes. Your very last words promising me the one thing I have always wanted from you.”

I was going to stay this time.

Sereia’s heart stuttered in her chest, reminding her that she was, indeed, alive once again. “Yes, I did,” she whispered.

“Did you mean it?” His face suddenly softened, the anger leaving him as quickly as it had taken him over. “Or was that just death-speak?”

Sereia reached out to grip his waist, pulling him closer. Her chest ached, more than just from the injuries still healing. “I meant it, Travion. I’m here to stay. I am yours, now and forevermore.” His eyes were brightening. “I’m tired of being where you aren’t and fighting the knowledge that this is my home. You are my home.”

Their lips met in a deep kiss that tingled down to her toes. Warmth and comfort wrapped around her.

“Home,” he whispered.

“Home.” Sereia pressed another soft kiss to his lips. “And even though you shouldn’t have given up the book for me, thank you for loving me so much.”

Travion shook his head as if denying that there was ever a choice. “I’m not losing you again, not ever. I will fight to keep you at my side—no matter what it takes.”

“Well, then I suppose we will simply have to face the consequences of this together and somehow make it right.”