Chapter 67: THIRD POV [BONUS Chapter]

And... is that water I hear?’ He opened his eyes at the end, his pupils shrinking as he listened to the constant splashing against the walls of the room. It wasn’t the sound of being in the water; it was the sound of being on it.

"Wait, am I on a ship?" he blurted out, the realization hitting him hard.

"That’s what you’re asking? You sure you’re ok, squirt?" The old man stared at him strangely, as if looking at a mentally deranged person.

He leaned back against the wooden bars of his cage, his eyes narrowing as he studied Jacob’s confused face.

"We’re on a pirate ship, boy. Of course you’re on a boat. Did the water rot your brain while you were floating out there?"

’Pirates?’

Jacob didn’t say anything to the old man. He didn’t have the energy to argue or explain. Instead, several other things were going through his mind.

He looked down at his shackled wrists, the cold metal biting into his skin. If he was on a ship, it meant he was still at sea.

If that were the case, it meant his earliest thoughts of having been washed onto land were unfounded.

He wasn’t safe on some beach; he was in the middle of the ocean, trapped in a wooden box.

Which meant that he was probably drifting across the sea’s surface when these supposed band of human trafficking pirates found him.

He must have floated up after the whirlpool exploded, his human form making him look like just another shipwreck survivor.

A wry smile emerged on his face. Of all the people he could’ve run into, it had to be pirates.

Not a merchant ship, not a fishing boat, but a group of people who saw him as nothing more than a product to be sold.

Jacob let out a heavy sigh. He felt a deep sense of exhaustion that went beyond just being tired.

Moreover, something else was pressing on his mind. Since he’d been on this ship for who knew how long, retracing his movements back to Artria and Persephone was impossible.

The ocean was too big, and the currents had likely carried him miles away from the rocky landscape where the whirlpool had been.

From the looks of things, he might never see them again. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He suddenly thought about the village, the small comforts of the nest, and the two sisters who had become his entire world.

The thought of never seeing Artria’s shy smile or Persephone’s intense, protective gaze again felt like a hole was being ripped in his chest.

He was back in the world of humans, but he felt more alone than he ever had in the cave.

Or so he thought.

*******

"Urrgh..."

Deep within the sea, far below the waves where the pirates sailed, someone else had finally regained consciousness. The sound of water dripping against stone echoed in the quiet space.

Artria winced as she gradually propped her upper body up to sit up straight. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest.

Her ribs felt like they had been crushed, and her head was spinning. She felt the familiar texture of the ground beneath her, not the soft sand of the village, but hard, cold stone.

Her tail lay flat against the wet ground, the blue scales dull and covered in fine silt.

"Where am I?" she groaned, her voice sounding like it was coming from far away.

She was still suffering from a huge amount of discomfort. She tried to remember the explosion, the rush of water, and the feeling of being thrown through the sea, but it was all a blur of pain.

She looked around. Her surroundings didn’t look like her nest or any part of the village she knew.

Rather, it resembled an underwater cave with a large air pocket at the top.

The walls were jagged and dark, lit only by a few bioluminescent plants that clung to the damp stone walls.

It was a lonely, frightening place that felt heavy just by staying here.

" You wanna know were you are."

"It’s the very place I had to live in all those years ago."

Artria stiffened when she heard a voice from behind her, a voice that sent a chill straight down her spine.

It was a voice she knew all too well.

Turning around, she saw Persephone standing not too far away. She was positioned beside the large pile of skeletons.

Persephone’s current form was that of a human. She stood on two legs, wearing a piece of red clothing created due to her transformation.

Her eyes were glowing with a faint, predatory light, and her posture was as still as a hunting shark.

"Tell me... sister, why do you think you’re still alive even now?" Persephone asked.

She was holding a small, weathered skull in her hand, turning it over and over.

She tossed the skull back into the pile, the bone clattering against the others with a hollow sound.

Then, she turned to glance at Artria.

Artria’s expression stiffened. Her heart began to beat fast against her ribs. She tried to move, towards the water, but her body was too weak.

She watched as her sister slowly approached her, each step echoing in the cavern.

"Not only did you interfere when I tried saving him, but you even had the gall to try and steal him away from me," Persephone said. Her voice was low and dangerous.

With each step she took, a heavy pressure began to exude from her body.

It wasn’t just a feeling; it felt like the very air in the cave was getting thicker and heavier, bearing down on Artria.

Artria’s features began looking strained. She felt like she was being crushed under a mountain of water.

It wasn’t long before the pressure became too much.

Artria was forced down on her hands, her arms trembling violently as she struggled to keep her head up.

She fought to not face-plant into the hard ground, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps.