The Mermaid That's Sweetest

21] A Lie

Eros waits for me to scream back, but this time I look away. I lock eyes with Irsa and pure rage flows through every damn inch of me. I was tired of being treated like I was worthless by everyone that thought they could walk over me.

Eros approaches again now, despite my warning. He jumps into the rock pool, now standing before me, looking me over with spite.

"...pathetic..." Eros whispers in his classic rasp, "You think your silence will delay your submission to the truth... to your reality?"

"What is this place?" I try to change subjects.

Eros reaches out a hand towards my hair, aiming to grab a piece. I jump back and hold up my hand, feeling that pulse getting hotter and stronger through my feet.

"Some old ruins," Eros shrugs, growling impatiently as his ocean blue eyes, lazily glare at me... focusing in on my tense expression, "What kind of insult are you thinking up now, Lily?"

Oh, that was rich, coming from him. The King of Insults.

However, instead of responding like usual, my stomach twists and a new thought occurs to me. Eros had no idea what he was talking about.

"You don't know anything about me," I whisper, gritting my teeth, a deeper meaning behind my words.

Even I didn't know me.

The true me.

I couldn't find it out in the orphanage, even now with Eros.

It was a journey of self-discovery that would help me find my real identify. Ironically, this was one of the first places I had found, on my own.

"I know you're a half wit, Lily –"

"Leave!" I crack, turning and screaming it right in Eros' face, "Leave me!" I repeat it, ruthlessly.

Eros stops looking so damn relaxed.

His eyes process my reaction, my face, my open palms. I'm starting to feel more of that heat... now all through me. My blood is flowing rough through my viens.

"You think I'll let my sweetest blood bag go?" Eros rasps, quietly pronouncing each word, he's ready to strike, his muscles coiling, "You think you can tell me what to do? You want me to leave?" he chokes on that word, almost sounding hurt, before he adds in a snarl, "You pathetic little flipper... I will not separate myself from you!"

As he starts to boil over, my gaze focuses on that smug siren; Irsa.

And then I look behind her.

Some part of me isn't shocked when I see a wave growing in height, heading straight for her. Because it's then that I realise the pulsing through my legs wasn't heat energy.

It was magic.

And all of a sudden, I was feeling both confident and powerful.

"I know one thing, Eros," I whisper, without looking at him, my eyes are focused on that huge silent wall of water, "I won't be disregarded as your mate by anyone in your Clan. Ever again."

When it collided with Irsa... it'd smack her into the cliff and kill her instantly.

Eros turns to follow my gaze, first smirking when he spots Irsa – and then losing said smirk when he sees what's coming behind her.

The wave closes in on its last few seconds.

Irsa is oblivious.

Eros turns to me, his pale face, draining of even more colour.

"Is it you doing that, Lily?" he asks in a panic.

"...yes," I nod, still focused on Irsa, "I'm balancing the scales, Eros."

"Lily, you'll kill her," Eros grabs my arm and he lets me go when the pulse from the floor, shoots through my elbow and hits his palm. He jerks back, the skin on his palm is red with welts. Burns. He watches me in shock.

"I'll kill her? So? I'm sending a message," I instinctively raise my hand and the water speeds up.

Crash. Boom.

Eros watches frantically as the water engulfs one of his own. The large wave completely washes her away.

We hear the resounding crash of the ocean, echoing off the walls and I lower my hands, still feeling the power rush through me.

Eros stares at a distinct splatter of blood on the cliff wall.

"Fuck. Not a Darv..." Eros turns to me, his eyes wide, and fearful, "...those were raging waters. You controlled the Rough, Lily. Only I can. You? Impossible... how..."

"Stop," I turn to him, my tone is clipped, "Go fight your war. I'm done speaking with you. We're over. Mateship or not. Just. Leave."

Eros looks me over.

His lip curls but he stumbles back.

He considers staying but he caves.

I watch as Eros turns and dives into the water from whence he came.

He's gone.

I fall to my knees in the water of the rock pool when he's out of sight and my eyes travel to the dripping, glistening blood on that cliff wall in the near distance.

What the hell had I done?

First a whirl pool that killed my best friend.

Now Irsa was dead too.

Easily.

I had barely done a thing both times.

Who the hell was I, really? Where was I?

Why did everything feel like a lie?

Only two times in my life I felt real truth.

And both times I experienced death.