Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Fifty-Eight

I froze, unable to process what Trina told me. I was...her creation?

"What?" I asked, trying to figure out what she meant by that. "How?" I couldn't think of anything to match her words. Was I not born like any other human or creature? My eyes were flying back and forth between the merpeople standing in this room, searching for an answer from anyone.

When no words were spoken, I froze on Asher's face. The only person who didn't react or judge me with his eyes. Even though he was conscious, his frozen state made it feel like time had stood still. With no response from anyone else, besides the swords trapping me, it felt like a dream. The ice was slowly building its way up toward me. For a moment, it felt like it wasn't me.

"Lara!" Noah snapped me out of it. I grabbed Asher's arm and brought my upper body up. Somehow, my mind didn't grasp the fact that I was actually falling unconscious. My arms were trembling as I tried to stay up, while I struggled to breathe. Strands of my hair fell forward, covering part of my face.

The extra strength I was putting to stand up gave pressure to the ice on my chest. A sharp pain shot through me and I fell forward, against Asher's body. I heard the sounds of it shattering under me. People around me shouted my name, but it was a mix of voices. I couldn't place them.

Even with everything I was going through, I couldn't leave this information without an answer. "What the hell does that mean?!" I screamed through the pain. Talking made the process much worse. I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.

"Trina..." my mom said.

"This is what must be done!" Trina replied.

I screamed again. The ice against my chest was breaking apart. Whatever magical ice was keeping my flesh sealed could also be the very thing that could end me. It was like a new skin that had latched itself on me. Which meant, if I made it out alive, I would be walking around with ice as skin.

I placed my hand over my chest, trying to hold the pieces together. "Just tell me what it means!"

Trina walked toward me, kneeling down in front of Asher and I. A smirk formed, "very well." She stood up, pacing back and forth. Behind her, I saw Noah shake his head.

Did he know something I didn't...again?!

I clenched my jaw, impatiently waiting for Trina to tell me.

"When both Amara and Luka found residence in the human world, they reeked chaos with the magic they had discovered. Once we got word of their malicious acts, it was time to take action. Casting them out wasn't the right solution and that is why our people captured them. They brought Amara and Luka to this very room." She paused for a moment, looking around the room, "it was not always made of ice." Her eyes looked distant as she uttered those words. "Anyway, right before they were frozen for eternity as those people had hoped, they casted a spell. The spell that would bring them back to life, but it came at a cost and a deadly one at that."

"What...happened?" I managed to ask, barely holding on.

"The magic consumed them. It changed them. And that magic was passed down to the two of you. Amara and Luka put a piece of themselves into the two lines. One mermaid and one Protector. In those times, Protectors were used to test magic since their bodies were capable of holding it and releasing it as they pleased."

"So, I just have...Amara's magic in me?"

"It's more than that. You're in some form a reincarnation of her, but you will be used to revive her true self as she tried so today." She sighed, "the spell took a long time to work since it was a powerful one and since it succeeded, I'm here to make sure it ends for good."