Chapter 68: THIRD POV [BONUS Chapter]

Meanwhile, Persephone took her sweet time making her way over.

She seemed to enjoy watching Artria struggle.

When she finally reached her, she squatted down in front of her sister, looking her right in the eyes.

"You want to know why you’re still alive?" Persephone asked. Her voice was almost a whisper now.

She gently lifted her sister’s chin with her finger, forcing Artria to look up at her.

Her eyes were as cold as the deepest parts of the ocean, even as Artria was perspiring and shaking beneath her.

There was no mercy in that gaze, only a cold glint in her eyes.

"It’s because you..." Persephone’s hand moved suddenly. She grabbed Artria’s cheeks, her fingers digging in with a huge amount of force.

Artria let out a muffled groan of pain, her eyes watering from the pressure on her jaw.

"You’re going to use that repulsive bond you forced on him to help me track his whereabouts," Persephone said.

A light, chilling smile appeared on her face.

While she couldn’t tell his exact location, Persephone knew he was still alive, because she could feel It within her.

After all, she was his master who’d turned him.

She stared at Artria for a long moment, making sure the message sank in. Then, she let go of Artria’s face and stood up straight, the heavy pressure suddenly vanishing from the room.

Artria collapsed forward, gasping for air the moment the pressure disappeared. Her chest heaved as she drew in the damp air of the cave. Her cheeks ached where Persephone had grabbed her.

"He’s gone, isn’t he?" Artria managed to whisper, her voice trembling.

Persephone didn’t turn around.

After catching her breath, Artria didn’t move for a long time.

She sat on the cold floor of the cave, her chest rising and falling as she pulled the damp air into her lungs.

She looked at the dark stone walls, then at the pile of bones, and finally, she turned her head to look at Persephone.

She stared at her sister in silence for a few moments, her mind working fast despite the pain in her body.

Finally, she let out a long, tired breath.

"Fine... But let’s make one thing clear," Artria said. She didn’t look down.

Instead, she raised her head high, meeting her sister’s icy gaze with a steady one of her own.

She wasn’t going to be the frightened little girl anymore.

Not today.

"I never forced anything on him. We both know how it works, Sister."

" The mate mark wouldn’t work if either person had no feelings for the other. It takes two to make that bond hold," Artria chuckled.

The mate mark she was talking about was something extremely precious to merfolk. It was more than just a promise or a label; it was a deep, magical connection that tied two souls together.

Once bonded, they couldn’t simply choose another mate. The bond was part of their very being.

Even if they tried to move on, the lack of that specific soul-tie would leave them feeling empty and incomplete for the rest of their lives.

For Artria to have that mark meant that Jacob, in his own way, had accepted her. Or at least didn’t resent her.

Persephone’s eyes turned as cold as ice.

The air in the cave seemed to drop in temperature instantly.

In an flash, her hand moved through the air and clamped down on Artria’s already damaged throat.

The force was sudden and brutal, pinning Artria against the jagged stone wall behind her.

"Are you looking to die?" Persephone whispered.

Her voice was so low and cold it sounded like the grinding of glaciers. She leaned in close, her face inches from Artria’s, her pupils narrowed into tiny slits.

Rather than the look of fear Persephone expected, Artria looked calmer than one would expect for someone in her situation.

Her eyes didn’t bulge in terror, and she didn’t claw frantically at her sister’s arm this time.

She just looked back, her expression almost peaceful.

"We both know... you won’t kill me," Artria struggled to say while held within that iron grasp.

Each word was a fight, her voice coming out as a strained wheeze. "Because once you do... none of us will get him." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

" If the bond dies with me. You’ll never find him in that vast world above without my help."

"Wanna bet?" Persephone said.

Persephone’s eyes turned even colder, if that were even possible.

She increased her grip, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed.

She was forcing Artria to suffocate even more, cutting off the air until Artria’s vision began to spark with spots of light.

Persephone wanted to see her sister beg.

She wanted to see her take back the words about Jacob’s feelings.

But even then, Artria remained calm.

She refused to take back her words or struggle for her life. She simply endured the pain, her eyes locked on Persephone’s with a stubbornness that was almost frightening.

She knew she held the only map to Jacob’s location, and she knew her sister was smart enough to realize it.

Seeing this only made Persephone more irritated. She was used to being the one in control, the one everyone feared.

To have her weak sister stand up to her like this was infuriating.

She squeezed even more, the pressure on Artria’s windpipe becoming almost unbearable.

Artria’s face was beginning to lose all color, turning a pale, ghostly grey, yet she still refused to yield.

She wouldn’t give Persephone the satisfaction of seeing her break.

"AHH!" Persephone let out a frustrated cry, a sound of pure rage and helplessness.

She suddenly released her grip and tossed Artria against the cave wall with a violent shove.

Artria hit the stone hard, the impact knocking the wind out of her.

She coughed up some blood on impact, the red liquid staining the wet floor of the cave.

She slumped down, her head hanging for a second as she fought to keep from passing out.

But gradually, with a huge amount of effort, she sat up straight again.