Nieve didn’t get to make her cupcakes, much to her disappointment. Instead, Keagan and I ate some simple food at the same inn as Merella and Flit. The harpy watched Nieve more than anyone, with a mischievous grin that started to grate on my nerves.

  We finished eating first, and Keagan was determined to make sure we were early. He also made sure we gathered some extra meat to use as bait. Nieve carried that in her pack that somehow never ran out of room.

  As we got closer to the ocean, the fog grew thicker and the salty air heavier. Each step has the memory of my death playing in my mind.

  The tears on Zenny’s face, Mom’s forced bravery, Gifford’s deep respect, and Lexia’s longing—all of it hammered into me relentlessly. My stride shortened. It got harder to breathe. I could feel the fog crushing in around me, blocking my vision of everything.

  No! I have to keep going. Luther must die. I know my old family misses me. I left them.

  Then it hit me.

  And I was going to leave Keagan the same way. I stopped and hung my head. For the first time my head cleared, and the wrath in my blood silenced. I’ve learned nothing. How can I be so stupid?

  “Lucia?” Keagan’s voice called to me. It sounded so far away, but I turned to see him placing his hand on me. “Lucia, are you okay?”

  His voice sounded so distant. My heart was much louder than him. Guilt tore at it.

  “I’m sorry.” Those two words felt like the most important words I needed to say. At the same time, they barely scratched the tip of the iceberg of how insufficient they were at expressing how I felt.

  “No, kid, I’m not alright.” I tucked myself next to a nearby building, sat down, and used it to hold myself upright.

  “Are you sick?” Nieve asked.

  A wry chuckle slipped from my lips. “Sick? Yeah, that’s a way to put it. And before you ask, there’s no cure.”

  Keagan hugged me. “If you’re talking about your demon blood, that’s not something wrong with you.”

  “I know you mean well, kid.” I tried to push him away with my tail. He grabbed fistfuls of my fur. “The tighter you hold on, the worse it is when you have to let go. Or worse, you forget how to let go.”

  Nieve walked around in front of me. “Lucia, what are you talking about? You sound different, almost like you did when we first met, but you sound older.”

  I flattened my ears. “That’s because, Nieve, I am older.” If she’s going to be around us, she deserves the truth. “You see, this isn’t my first life, nor is it my second.”

  Parts of her went limp, but she remained standing. “I… I don’t understand.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t expect you to. Coming to grips with it the first time wasn’t easy for me, and I lived it.”

  Keagan tightened his grip. “Lucia had a hard life before, in another world, and the smell of the ocean reminds her of her death. Even though so many bad things happened to her in that world, and she has so much happening now, she’s only the way she is because she cares.”

  “Wait, you believe her?” Nieve slapped both hands on top of her helmet. “This is impossible, right? I don’t understand. How do you know she isn’t making this all up?”

  The boy turned to her. “I believe her because, after seeing everything I have, I can’t do anything but believe her. And once you really get to know her, you’ll see that she is a terrible liar.”

  “And you’re telling me this now, why?” She relaxed, but she leaned away slightly.

  “Because if you’re going to stick around, you deserve the truth.” I looked down at the boy. “We both know Keagan is going to keep you around. As for why now, maybe because for the first time in more than a week, my head is finally clear.

  I laughed. “Okay, maybe not clear, but I’m not in murder monster mode right now.”

  Nieve put her hand on her hip. “You always did strike me as odd. But I never really gave it much thought. Are you going to tell me more about your past? I would like to hear about it.”

  I smiled. “Later. Once this is all over, maybe. It’s a long story.” I heard the flapping of Flit’s wings heading our way. “But until then, business first.”

  “Does this mean you are in control of yourself again?” Keagan asked.

  I stood up and turned to head into the dock. “For now. The overwhelming wrath that drove me to this point is going to come back.”

  Nieve noisily followed me. “Why?”

  “Because it always does.”

  Merella and Flit were first, followed shortly by Yaz and Dillon. Yaz’s feathers were bristling constantly while Flit was performing aerial maneuvers more than she was flying forward.

  I’m glad those two have so much energy.

  “Thank you again for coming,” Keagan said. “Like I said before, if things start becoming too much, we leave. Your safety is the most important thing. If we have to try multiple times, that’s fine.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Flit chirped. “Can we just get on with it?”

  “Yes, I want to fight.” Yaz ran up to me. “Loser must admit the winner is stronger.”

  “I agree to nothing.” I pressed my forehead to his, and with each sentence I pressed him further towards the ground. “If you start treating this like a game, you better leave now. I won’t have the time nor the capacity to babysit you. Your kids have to be quick and clean. Don’t be flashy, no showing off, nothing. Got it?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  As soon as I eased off the raptor, he scurried over to Dillon.

  Dillon placed a hand on his partner. “Fernella will be there to help you. But she is right. No showing off. This isn’t a tournament, alright. Right now, go for the kill.”

  Yaz nodded meekly. “What is the best way to kill them?”

  “Strike their vitals,” I answered. “Neck, eyes, spine, large veins, that kind of stuff.”

  Flit scoffed at the raptor. “Are we really bringing such a rookie? Maybe it’s best if the baby goes home and lets the adults work.”

  “No!” Yaz flared his tail feathers. “I fight. If my rival can fight, so can I.”

  I shook my head. “That’s a terrible reason to fight.”

  “And why don’t you tell us why you’re doing this?” Merella asked. “You seemed to care about our motivation but haven’t shared your own.”

  I bared my fangs. “I made a promise.”

  Flit hovered next to me. “You should probably let this promise go. This seems like a lot for a little promise.”

  I glared at her. “No promise I make is little.”

  She rolled her eyes as she flew away. “Alrighty then. Tyr would love you.”

  Yeah, no. None of the gods will love me.

  Nieve clapped her hands. “Is there anything anyone needs? I’ve got lots of things: bandages, dry socks, rope, apple pie, a lantern, paper, a small wooden horse, playing cards, and a towel.”

  “Do you have a weapon in there?” Merella asked. “Or do you have manifest armament?”

  “She has the latter,” I answered for her.

  Before she could say a word, my glare and subtle shake of my head told her to not say what I knew she was going to say. For once, she stayed silent.

  Keagan grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

  Flit floated past Nieve. “You’re possibly the weirdest dullahan I’ve ever met—probably that’s ever existed.”

  Nieve raised a hand and followed after her. “Hey, that’s not very nice.”

  “But you never said I was wrong,” she teased back.

  We’re doomed.

  The fog thickened the closer we got to the water. The sound of waves hitting the shore was muted. I could barely see three body lengths ahead. The salt was overwhelming my sense of smell; I couldn’t smell myself anymore. Everyone around moved in a vague cluster.

  The beach wasn’t sand, not really. The grains were far too large and coarse and were shifting under my paws in uneven patches. I hated how it felt.

  I heard a faint flutter of wings, and it wasn’t like the steady, slow flaps of Flit.

  I turned to look down the shoreline. “Is that you, Fernella?”

  “Ah, you spoiled the surprise,” the water pixie whined.

  Dillon held out his hand. “Any changes, Fernella?”

  She landed on his outstretched palm. “Not really. They’re all just swimming around there. Some of them are swimming a little faster than usual. It’s like they’re getting restless.”

  I flicked my head towards Merella. “Sounds to me like your surge is much more likely than you wanted to admit.”

  She just crossed her arms and pouted.

  Flit hovered lower. “Ugh, I hate this. My wings are getting wet.”

  “We’re not here for your pleasure,” I muttered.

  Dillon sighed long enough that I thought he might collapse. “Please don’t start.”

  Keagan squeezed Nieve’s hand. “This is as good a time as any to get started.” He turned and held his hands out. “Last chance; if you want out, now’s the time to leave.”

  Yaz wiggled his claws in the sand. “I said I fight, so I fight. When I say I will do something, I do it.”

  I chuckled as I stepped past him. “Finally, something about you worth respecting.”

  He grinned. “When we’re done, you will have more to respect about me.”

  I flicked my tail as I moved to the edge of the water. “You have to survive to ’win.’ Remember that.”

  Keagan stepped next to me as Nieve started throwing chunks of meat in the water. “Is that a friendship blossoming?” he whispered.

  “Just because I don’t care about him doesn’t mean I want to see him die,” I whispered back. I nodded my head inland. “Now, get back. It’s about to get very bloody.”

  I sniffed the air. Still salty. What was I expecting?

  “Oh good,” Flit chirped. “She’s smelling things.”

  Fernella hovered next to her. “You should smell the sea air more often. It’s quite calming.” Then her face went serious. “They’re coming.”

  “Nieve, get behind us,” I called.

  Yaz’s feathers puffed as he posted up next to me. “That’s good. That’s good, right?”

  “Yaz, ten feet behind Lucia now,” Dillon answered for me. “Merella, we should step back now.”

  They did. Nieve ran past us and tossed her pack behind all of the trainers.

  “This is where we hold them,” I said. “Here, or not at all. Flit and Fernella, focus on the ones on the outside. Yaz, keep them off my back. Nieve, don’t let them near the kalands.”

  Flit turned towards me. “Wait, the dullahan isn’t taking the center?”

  I shook my head. “No, she’s the last line defending our partners.” I turned my head back towards Nieve just as she summoned her icy rapier. “Remember, that weapon is for stabbing only. Do not slash. If you have to grab them, use one hand and aim for the eyes. Don’t feel bad for killing them.”

  This time Fernella cocked her head to the side. “Are you seriously teaching the dullahan how to fight? Right now of all times?”

  “Is this a bad time to say I’ve never been in a fight before?” Nieve asked as she held her weapon with both hands.

  Merella groaned. “I’m going to take five more steps back.”

  The ocean licked at my paws as the waves lapped at the sand. The water was cold. I took a step back as I heard something parting the water in the fog in front of me.

  The water churned more. I still couldn’t see them, but I could hear them approaching. Something long and sinuous cut through the shallows. A dorsal fin. Then two more. Then five. They were moving slowly.

  Yaz hopped back and crouched low. “They here!”

  “Wait for it,” I growled.

  Fog shifted as something rose beneath it. Then claws dragged against coarse sand, and the first one emerged.

  It had a shark’s head with black and glossy eyes with flaring gills behind them. Its skin was mottled gray-blue, and I could see how it looked rougher than sandpaper. As it pulled itself further into the shallows, its body tapered into a muscular torso carried by squat, lizard-like legs tipped with hooked talons.

  Behind it, more fins knifed through the water and towards us.

  Flit’s feathers rustled. “Okay, I’ll admit it, that’s a little unnerving.”

  The triton lifted its head, sniffing blood-heavy air. Then it saw me. Its pupils dilated. Its jaw opened in a wet, grinding click.

  Yaz stepped forward.

  “No,” Dillon snapped, grabbing his tail. “Not until Lucia goes first. Stick to the plan.”

  The triton lunged onto land, claws digging into the shell-stone. It made a frantic sprint towards me with its jaw opened wide. I created an ice shield and tried to stuff it down its throat.

  Predictably, it bit right through. But the triton looked confused.

  “Please tell me you can do better than that,” Flit begged sarcastically.

  I stepped next to it and fired an ice spike directly into its eye. It got stuck halfway in. There was no notification. So I slammed my paw on the spike, jamming it all the way in.

  Enemy defeated. Level 6 achieved. New special attack available.

  The harpy stared at the corpse. “Alright, fair enough.”

  https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0BVWLYCT3