My arms and legs were held tightly, and I had lost my last weapon.

The desire to use Spirit to save myself rose up in me and I saw the pathway that I would take. Commanding Spirit, I could kill Requiem, would show my father I should be his heir. I would rule the Rim, have anyone I wanted at my side no matter who. My people would be forced to love and respect me.

I would be unstoppable.

It was as if a mirror were placed in front of me, seeing what I would become. My eyes narrowed with suspicion, my heart empty of love as I forced those around me to bow to me, twisting their minds to do as I wished.

I would become Cassava if I followed that path.

And I suddenly understood why my mother didn’t save herself; the cost wasn’t worth it, not for my own life. Everything I knew would be false if I used Spirit for my own devices. My soul would no longer be my own and that was a price I wasn’t willing to pay. I relaxed. “Kill me then, for I will never bow to you.”

A long, ruddy tentacle rose up behind him, and hanging from it dangled my necklace—griffin tooth dripping with seawater.

“No, I won’t kill you. But I will make you wish I had.” He leaned forward and bit me, his teeth driving into the muscles connecting my neck to my shoulder. I screamed, as much out of frustration as pain, then biting the sound off. I refused to let him have the pleasure of hearing me cry out.

Behind him the coiling tentacles reach forward. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” I whispered.

Olive’s tentacles sliced out of the water, five of them scooping Requiem up, one on each arm and leg, and one wrapped around his neck. His face purpled and then went white with fear. “You will never stop her, Larkspur. I know her plans. I could help you,” he screamed and I opened my mouth to tell Olive to wait. He could only mean one “her.”

Cassava.

The giant squid flexed and Requiem’s body flew apart, his head dropping into the water in chunks in front of me. As brutal as Olive had been with Requiem, she gently scooped me out of the water and ferried me back to dry land. Peta stood on the beach, shaking her—once again—tiny body.

“Thanks, Peta, you saved me again. But why did you come back?” I crouched so I could look her in the eye.

She grunted. “I stayed because you have no familiar and obviously are in need of help. As to the rest, perhaps the mother goddess will forgive me for Loam’s death, if I tell her I saved your life—twice. She seems to have taken a shine to you.”

I didn’t know what to say. The housecat flicked her tail and stalked away from me.

A long, deep red tentacle flicked out of the water, and from it dangled Griffin’s necklace. Olive lowered it so I could pluck it from her. I touched her gently as I slipped the necklace off. “Thank you, Olive.”

Her head came up so I could see the strange eyes watching from under the water. Waving several of her arms at me, she slid back into the depths. I slid the necklace back on, the water dripping off it and down my chest. I let out a breath and the fatigue of the fight hit me square in the guts.

Hands caught me as I stumbled and Ash spoke softly. “The princess is fine.” He helped me back to the throne room where the destruction was obvious. Finley was laid out on the floor, but her chest rose and fell evenly. Everything had been turned upside down and inside out with the tidal wave Requiem had used to wash us out to sea. Yet, beside Finley were my weapons I’d brought with me. Most importantly, my mother’s spear. I bent down beside the princess—no, queen—and scooped up my armaments, slowly re-attaching them too me. I glanced at Ayu as she tended to Finley. “She’ll be all right?”

“Yes, she will be fine. Thank you. You saved us all.” Ayu said softly.

I nodded, unable to find any words for her. I hadn’t really saved them, in the end, Olive had finished Requiem off, not me.

Ash’s hold tightened on me. “Let’s go home.”

I reached to my armband and twisted it, sending us through the ether back to the Rim.

A recent memory of Ash’s came forward.

“You care for her, don’t you? That’s the real reason you came to the Deep.” Belladonna flipped her hair back as she eyed him up. The material Lark had wrapped around Belladonna covered her, and yet she clutched at herself as if she were freezing.

Ash stiffened as the words sunk into his brain. How had she known?

“My reasons are my own, Princess.”

“Don’t you hurt her,” Belladonna hissed at him and he stared at her in surprise. “She is too good for you, too good for anyone I know, and I won’t let you hurt her.”

“Only a minute ago you were furious about her stealing the diamond, and now you would defend her?” He wasn’t really angry, but he had never seen Belladonna, or any of Cassava’s children for that matter, stand up for anyone else. Least of all their younger sister.

The memory was short and cut out as we dropped into the Traveling room. Belladonna sat on the floor, her head in her hands.

I didn’t look at Ash, just went to her and helped her stand. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and some real clothes on.”

Anything to keep from looking at Ash and asking him why he had really come to the Deep.

CHAPTER 21

The next few hours were a blur of activity. Belladonna was sent to the healers first then Ash and I took our turns.

When I stepped out of the healers’ rooms, I was shocked to see Dolph waiting for me. I couldn’t stop myself. I threw my arms around him and hugged him. “I thought you were dead.”