Summer 1794 AD/EK 4150
The Opal Palace, Island of Sirenia
Calandra hung suspended in a black ocean. Empty water surrounded her in every direction, crushing her, rushing through her gills. The void pulled at her, diluting her sense of self. Not a mote of light intruded into the perfect, horrifying dark, and no matter how wide she opened her heart, she could not discern a single spark of life.
She had failed. She had destroyed them all. There was no one left but her. She would always, always be alone.
Panicking, she thrashed her powerful undine tail, its broad fins only thrusting her into more darkness. Her sensitive eyes strained to find any variation in this unnatural nightmare ocean.
That's when she saw it.
Light. Not the green of sunlight filtering through water or the blue of a bioluminescent creature. A small speck of golden light bloomed before her in the blackness, swirling and expanding until it took the form of a man.
No, not a man. All the men she knew were human. Below this being's tightly muscled torso, instead of human legs there was a powerful, scaled, fish-like tail-golden where hers was a banded blue-green. Where feet should be were broad fins, flat like whale flukes-or an undine's tail. Impossible. A cloud of long dark hair surrounded a face with strong features, a sensual mouth, and a brawny complexion. As his form coalesced, the golden light flowed into his eyes until he floated before her, as solid as she was. Only, instead of the green irises of her kind, his eyes swirled with molten gold.
"Calandra," he said, and smiled. His voice was sweet liquid caramel, and the moment he spoke, the fear and defeat that imbued the darkness dissolved into a feeling of safety, security, and longing. "I have been looking for you, little lark. My name is Damon."
"Damon," she said, even though she shouldn't be able to speak underwater. "What do you want?"
"Why, I want to help you, my child." His eyes and inviting smile mesmerized her, drawing her in. The fear of the void could not touch her, not while he was here. His undine form, so disconcerting at first, now seemed completely natural.
She reached out a hand to touch him, ignoring the sense that something was not as it should be, yearning to let this feeling envelop her. "Will you stay? I've been alone for so long."
He held up his hand, still smiling. "You need never be alone again."
Their fingers connected in a shower of golden sparks.
YOU ARE READING
The Undine's Tear
Teen FictionShe was raised to save her people-as long as she doesn't go crazy and kill them all first. Calandra is the most powerful undine Healer to be born on Sirenia for three millennia. She has been raised to be the saviour of her people, the only one with...
