487 To be her shadow
Following her memory, Eve finally reached the lonely side of the castle, where the two sisters of the sea, who were the daughters of Nerhys were in the room. She heard the woman’s voice inside the room,
“What have you done, Nerissa…?”
Getting inside the room, Eve noticed horror written on Marina’s face, “What have you done, sister?” She asked in disbelief.
“I have loved, Marina. Erasmus loves me dearly and he will take care of you along with me. It is time you come with me,” Nerissa said, while Marina stared at the mark the werewolf had left on her siren sister. “Acheron is not the man you think he is. He has killed most of his brothers, sisters. Some of them had fled in fear, to protect their remaining kin.”
Marina looked pale, not because of what Nerissa said, about how her sister had a misconception of the things here. She said, “Nerissa, we need to take our mother and go back to the sea. Nothing good has come since we have stepped foot on these lands. And Acheron didn’t kill all of them. Erasmus has done far more damage, wanting to gain power as there’s no King sitting on the throne. Please listen to me,” she stepped closer and took Nerissa’s hands. “Our mother died because of the King, and this curse… this curse will touch us too.”
“Love has brought no harm,” Nerissa argued with her sister, “What is wrong with me seeking love from someone. You found the one for you, and I have tried to be happy even though it was my eyes that first fell on Acheron. Why can’t you be happy for me now?”
Marina pursed her lips when Nerissa pulled her hands away from her hold. The mermaid said,
“I have heard things about Erasmus, and you wouldn’t like it when you hear what I know. I will give up my love for you, all I ask is for you to return with me. Back to where we came from…”
“No!” Nerissa turned angry, with her eyes glowing gold, and she said, “I have bonded myself to Erasmus. I don’t want to fight you, Marina. Not against each other when we have lived our lives with so much love and care.”
“Then don’t,” Marina pleaded. When she took a step forward, Nerissa took a step backwards.
“I will leave it to you. You have the choice to stay with me, the right side or…” the siren’s voice trailed, leaving the next words to her sister’s imagination. She turned around and walked towards the door. But before stepping out, she turned around and said, “Erasmus is stronger and wiser. He promised to keep us happy. I will be giving him the dagger that mother gave us.” She stepped out of there.
When the doors closed, tears slipped from the mermaid’s eyes, and it fell on the ground as pearls that rolled to different places.
Eve turned and followed the siren right on her heel to avoid missing anything. She didn’t know how long this place was going to keep them before it would throw her and Vincent out of the memory and back to the present.
On the way, Nerissa met men who attacked her. One of the men said,
“Capture her!”
But the siren used her jagged teeth and sharp claws to claw their faces and tear them to pieces. But it was only one siren against many men.
“I am the prince’s partner, and I won’t let Acheron win!” Nerissa said, determined.
Eve felt one person thrown right through her, which startled her. Though Nerissa defended herself, she was left with injuries. Leaving the attackers behind, she continued to look for Erasmus.
On finding him, she took a step forward and was about to call him, when she heard him say to the priest standing in front of him,
“Prepare the ground to conduct the rituals tonight. The moon is going to reach its peak and I shall finally tap into the powers that my father tried, but failed.”
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom
“My men are already going to capture the siren, and will go after the mermaid too. Once I drink their blood, and have their hearts sacrificed, there’s no one who will stop me. Acheron will die,” Erasmus laughed before he turned serious.
While the werewolf and the priest didn’t notice Nerissa standing there, she returned to find her sister. On the way, Eve noticed the look of anguish and shock present in her eyes. But on the way, another man who worked for Erasmus came to capture her. She dodged it and finished him. But suddenly, something passed through her body from the back, as if someone else had attacked her. She killed them all and staggered, walking to her sister.
But on reaching the place, her heart slipped from her chest, noticing Acheron pull the dagger from Marina’s chest.
The next moment, Eve found herself standing in a dark corridor. But she wasn’t alone but with Nerissa who appeared to be in pain.
Nerissa whispered, “Forgive me, sister. We should have left the land quickly…”
“Meow.”
Eve’s eyes turned to look in the dark, noticing a black cat, who was none other than Timotei in his first life, who walked near the siren. The black cat looked at the siren with a curious expression.
Nerissa stretched her hand towards the cat, petting its head, she said, “I cannot rely on the vampires, or werewolves, nor the humans with less time in my hand. But you… you are a cat with nine lives and I hope when the time comes, you will give the answers. The truth about what happened.”
A golden hue appeared around them as the little golden particles approached the cat. She said, “From now on, you will have the gift of speech. I hope you will survive, because I know we will return. And when we do, I will be my sister’s shadow and protect her. And together, we will make things right.”