The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 305: The Crest from the merman

"Alright, boys, what’s next on the agenda?"

"What’s next?" Noah repeated, his eyes shifting from Talia’s trembling form to the glowing well. "Next, we let the people drink. And we get you out of the sun before that migraine turns into something worse."

The sheep folks with their shiny pink skin were already dancing around the stone rim, their fluffy tails bobbing as they filled every container they could find. Thalor stood amidst them. He was still glowing slightly from the effort, the violet light in his eyes not quite faded.

As I turned to follow Noah, I felt a sudden, sharp tug at my senses—like an invisible hook had snagged my spirit, and I turned my head back to him.

"Thalor?" I called, my hand clutching my chest.

The Sea Prince turned instantly and moved towards me, though it seemed like his pace had slowed down and he was gliding on his feet. He stopped just inches from me, and I could already tell something was wrong.

"What happened?" I asked. "Was it difficult? Have you still not fully recovered your strength?"

I began to realize that putting a merman who had just survived being poisoned by bitter dust and an overload of water purification to work was just outright capitalistic cruelty.

"You shouldn’t do it if it’s too much for you now," I said. "Learn to say no, so you don’t collapse from exhaustion."

But Thalor shook his head,

"I am fine," he said, but if he says that, it just makes me worry more.

"Why are you pale? Is it too hard?" Once again, he shook his head."The connection is heavy," he whispered, his voice sounding heavy like it was coming from underwater. "The well is deeper than I thought, Arinya. To purify it all, I had to reach the roots of the land, and it seems... I cannot pull back alone."

Ah, was that why he was getting pale? I thought he just needed to drop the single drop of water from his magical vial, and it was done. But I guess it was more than that.

If it were that easy, any merfolk would be able to purify the sea.

Before Fenric could growl or Noah could intervene, before I could even react, Thalor reached out and seized my left hand—the one without Noah’s mark.

"What are you—?"

"Hey!" Fenric barked, stepping forward, his claws itching to just flare out. "Let her go, fish!"

But Thalor did not respond to Fenric and said to me,

"I want you to be my anchor!" Thalor said, and I blinked, what? He wanted to be my what now?

"Let her go," Noah chipped in, his eyes growing dark.

Thalor looked at them and then back to me. I was beyond confused, honestly, but I didn’t struggle. It did not look like he was planning to hurt me. Instead, he was a little... desperate.

"If I let go now, the magic will snap back and drown the square!"

My eyes widened. That sounded dangerous. I looked around. This magic was dangerous.

If the water flows out, everyone will be in danger. My cubs, my husbands, the sheep folks, and those from West Way that were celebrating the water. And though Thalor did not mean it, they will brand him a criminal who tries to take out the king and queen with his magic. The relationship with the mer-folks will become estranged without a single way to fix it.

I twisted my lips, my gaze turning sharp as I looked at him with skepticism.

"Did you know this would happen?" I asked, my heart racing. This might very much be a ploy for him to get what he wants from me.

And if it is, it means I made a mistake in my judgment of character. My hunch was wrong.

But Thalor shook his head, looking genuinely worried.

"No. I wanted to impress you, and so, I did not prepare accordingly. I did not expect the well to be so deeply rooted. It was careless of me, but I do not want the soft ones and you to suffer for my carelessness so... Hold me, Arinya!"

My breath got caught, and my head began to ring. I had a headache again.

Given the situation, I didn’t exactly have a choice, did I? If he has a solution, I’d best follow it.

"Thalor," I called. "If I find out later that this was your ploy to get to me, then I will definitely not forgive you."

I glared at him. Though I adore a handsome face and a hot body, I absolutely do not appreciate the thought of someone using me for their own benefit and lying on top of it. It makes me sick.

"I am not, Arinya," he says, having that meek and innocent expression that made it seem like I was the one bullying him, and I nodded.

"Then, what do I have to do?" I asked, and he pursed his lips for a while before saying,

"Simply accept it."

"Accept what?" I did not need any further explanation as I began to feel a surge of power flowing through me. I couldn’t describe it if I wanted to, but it felt like water was flowing through me, thousands of gallons of heavy water, and they were trying to drag Thalor’s consciousness down into the dark.

I gripped his hand back, digging my heels into the dirt.

So this is what he was struggling with just now. It looked like the well was connected to the world itself, all the water source flowing through to this one opening. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ah, it was like feeling the sea itself.

This well... what was its history?

If I let Thalor go now, he might as well drown in the current. So, that was why he needed me to be his anchor. If the current took him away, there was no guarantee that he would find his way back.

The heat that came with the force was intense. It wasn’t the kind of heat that came from fire or the sun, it was just hot.

Then, a blinding violet light erupted between our palms, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. It felt like my skin, where Thalor held, was being etched by a needle made of ice, and I winced.

"Arinya!" Noah’s voice sounded miles away.

Then, with a sound like a single, clear bell ringing, the light vanished.

Thalor slumped, falling to one knee, still holding my hand as if it were a lifeline. I stood there, breathless, my heart hammering against my ribs. The headache was gone, replaced by a strange, cool clarity that felt like I had just dipped my brain in a mountain stream.

"Are you okay?" Fenric was standing next to me in a second, his hands hovering over me, looking for a wound.

"I’m fine," I breathed, but I looked down at my left wrist.

Burned into my skin was a delicate, shimmering blue crest. It wasn’t a mating mark, I knew for sure. But it was indeed a mark.

It looked like a crown of coral entwined with a tiger’s lily, glowing with a soft, bioluminescent blue.

Noah suddenly took my hand, his thumb brushing over the new mark. His expression was unreadable, but not for long, as he turned to glare at Thalor.

"What did you do?"

Fenric took a look at my wrist and equally frowned.

"Did you mark Arinya without her consent?"

Does that even work? All marks needed consent, right?

"It is not a mating mark," Damar suddenly spoke up, gliding towards us on his tail and holding the cubs protectively.

But even as he knew it was not a mating mark, he was not happy with what had just happened... Or the mark.

"Then what kind of mark is it?" I asked, turning to look at Thalor.

Thalor didn’t get up. He stayed on one knee, his head bowed, still clutching my hand as if he were afraid that the moment he let go, the earth would swallow him whole.

The violet glow in his eyes had faded, returning to the normal purple pupils, but they were swimming with something I hadn’t seen in him before: genuine guilt.

"Explain," Noah commanded, his voice dropping into that lethal, quiet register he used right before a hunt. "Now, Prince of the Deep. Before I decide that the well was better off dirty."

Thalor’s fingers trembled against my skin. He slowly looked up at me, ignoring the powerful predators flanking him.

"It is a Crest of the Tidal Debt," he whispered, his voice raspy, and one of my brows tilted up.

A crest of what now?

"In the sea, when one spirit anchors another against a current that would sweep them into the Abyss, the life-force of the anchor leaves a trace. I did not... I did not intend to brand you, Arinya."

"But you did," Fenric hissed, his tail lashing behind him so hard it would’ve kicked up dust if it were any longer than it was. "You said you wanted her to be your anchor. You used her to pull yourself back, and now she’s wearing your mark."

"It is not a mark," Thalor said, finally finding the strength to stand, though he looked like he’d aged ten years in ten minutes. He turned my wrist toward the light, the coral and lily design shimmering with a soft, watery pulse. "It is a beacon. Because you held my soul while it was adrift in the deep veins of the world, my magic now recognizes you as home. It is a mark of absolute protection."