Conviction's King | Damian Book 1

Chapter 47

'You two should leave.'

I stare down Cressa-la's father as he treads at the end of his unconscious wife's bed. We ended up going after them, Cressa-la's curious nature getting the better of her. There's a lick of fire within me as Cressa-la pushes me back, getting between the two of us.

'I want to talk to my mother,' Cressa-la says, her voice trembling but firm.

'I forbid it,' King Kaerius snaps, his jaw flexing as I struggle to contain myself. 'You are an unwanted child. You should have never taken your first breath.'

I exhale sharply, watching this exchange.

'Cressa-la, let's go,' I tell her, interrupting whatever it is she was going to say. 'If your own flesh and blood won't recognize your worth, then we shouldn't let his words have any weight.'

She shakes her head and stands up tall, as much as you can while treading in water with a tail instead of legs.

'No.'

A soft glow pulls from her pores and there's a flash of the Cressa-la I knew in my old timeline once more. A Cressa-la that remembers the fights, the arguments, the years spent chasing each other, spiraling down until I became something better than I was. The Cressa-la I fell hard for and then could never reach her because of my own selfishness.

She's fearless.

'I will speak with my mother once she wakes.'

Kaerius's eyes flash with anger, the violent King most of the underwater world knew coming into view. I fight the urge to get between them, to protect her. She can handle herself. I've seen it first-hand.

'You miserable fetus—have you no respect when it comes to—'

'Respect?' Cressa-la quips, a huffing laugh coming out of her. 'You wanted to kill me before I was birthed. What respect do you deserve from me?' She pushes forward the slightest bit, bursting her father's bubble of personal space. 'Maybe if I was a few years younger, maybe I would be intimidated by you. Maybe I would have caved in and left. But I'm not who I was. I am a Tribe Leader. Maybe that means nothing to you, but it is what I've strived for my entire life. I protect people now, not just myself. My family.' She pauses, her face hard. 'I will speak with my mother. Try to oppose me.'

The tension has grown thick, making my own skin tingle with the energies bouncing off of those two. Like father, like daughter.

I can't help to suppress my smile.

'Okay.'

Hanz pushes the two of them apart, clearly annoyed.

'It doesn't look like we'll get anything done at this rate, so why don't you both just have a seat and we'll see what happens?'

'I will not sit while this disgrace is filtering the same oxygen as me.'

'Well, it's a big ocean. I'm pretty sure it's the same oxygen in here as it is outside, so your statement isn't really practical, dad.' Hanz takes a deep breath as Cressa-la backs up, eyes still trained on her father. There's an iciness to her now, a strength that took her years to acquire in my previous timeline. Could this be from becoming a Tribe Leader?

'You dind't want to be my father,' Cressa-la says, her voice low. It's completely calm; the waver that had been there before has completely dispersed. 'And therefore, you have no control over me. She wanted me. My mother. She tried to save me.' She shakes her head. 'You may be blood, but I will never recognize you as family.'

With that, Cressa-la finds a chair and sits, arms crossed and avoiding eye-contact with her father. I don't fight the smirk as I let out a small laugh.

'Well then,' I say, giving her father a cruel look and swimming over to sit in a chair next to her. She stays silent.

Hanz drags Kaerius out into the hallway, leaving us in the room with the unconscious woman.

'Good job,' I breathe carefully, knowing how moody Cressa-la can get if pushed in the wrong direction. 'Ripped him a new one.'

She shifts uncomfortably. 'Yeah. I guess.'

She says absolutely nothing for the next hour, all four of us crowding the small area as nurses flit in and out, an open window letting in fresh water every so often.

Then.

'She's awake!'

Hanz startles Kaerius out of his light nap and all three of them sit upright, shoving themselves from where they rest and rushing to the Queen's side. I linger behind, making my way forward slowly. Kaerius is in shock as he pulls her in, wrapping her in his arms in a gentle embrace. Words are said. She can't speak; her vocal chords had been removed by Morgiana.

Her eyes rest on Cressa-la, her eyes red with tears that would have been visible if not for being underwater. Her mom had been born human, and her father was born a merman. True merpeople don't have tear ducts; not like us, anyway.

And then, after embracing her two present children, her eyes focus on me, and stay there.

A chill runs through me as she holds my gaze.

Damian, she mouths.

She pushes a hand out to me, beckoning me forward and takes my hand, pulling me down to her level. Everyone watches, just as confused as me.

There's a small zap that makes my fingers tingle and I go to pull my hand away when she shakes her head fervently, holding onto my wrist with her free hand as if begging me not to let go.

She closes her eyes.

I'm sorry. I took some of your powers.

'What?' I ask aloud, and she shakes her head, the pressure of gazes all along the back of my skull. I clear my throat and switch my approach in speaking with her. But you had no magic left in you.

There's a way, she says, waving it away. I remember you.

Remember me? I ask, wanting a clarification.

The boy who stopped the world from turning, she nods with a smile.

My blood runs cold.

'There's no way you should know that,' I spit, the animal inside appearing and growing anxious, skittish as I jump, backing away from her.

'Damian?' Cressa-la asks, concerned.

I don't look at her.

How do you know that?

I was dead, killed by Morgiana, she says, her eyes glinting with an unreadable emotion.

'Damian, what's wrong?'

'No,' I argue, my fists clenching as green seeps from my skin. 'No, that timeline was destroyed.'

'Timeline?' Hanz echoes, studying the two of us.

There was a voice, she continues, her face giving away nothing. It brought me here. It said I was needed.

'No. No, this is insane.'

She lowers her chin an inch.

This may be a fragment of time created just for you, Damian, but that doesn't mean you can do these things on your own. You need help taking down Morgiana.

I stare at her, angry at the chaos inside, suffocating beneath my own pride... This is impossible.

A smile cracks on her face. You know as well as I that impossible is not a word in your vocabulary.

She leans forward, still holding my attention completely.

Let us defeat Morgiana once and for all. Together.