Page 75 of In Violent Waves

She had never said it was a death sentence before. She had only said it would consume her? But all magic did that. It was a rush of ecstasy every time you used it. Was that not what she had meant?

“How do you know?”

Lyra gazed at him. Utter hopelessness poured from her eyes.

It was a stab to the heart.

“The sea witch told me. The power will turn me wholly into a monster. She showed me visions. It was cold—chaos and death.”

“The power will only corrupt if you do not know how to control it. That’s how magic is,” Aine replied, nodding. “I understand your fears. But the only way for you to return home is through this bargain. You need to learn how to wield it, just this once. And then you’ll never have to use it again. If you do not, the very fabric of our world will be in jeopardy, and the gods will see fit to intervene.”

Lyra bit her bottom lip, and Wilder could tell she was thinking it over.

“Intervene?” Wilder asked.

Oberon nodded, and his expression was grave. “Their intervention would not be welcome—or pleasant.”

“What if we offered you one more thing?” Aine’s brow rose in one elegant arch. “Your independence.”

That word had Lyra’s eyes glowing. Something about that had her risking it all. It was worth more to her than the possibility of death.

“So the proposed bargain is: you teach me how to wield my magic so that I can use my voice to break the bargain causing magical imbalance, and then you’ll restore my form and free me.”

Aine looked at King Oberon, and he looked at her. Something unreadable passed between them for a heartbeat.

Something was off about this bargain. Either his mother or his father knew something else that they would not share.

“If you break the bargain, we will restore your mermaid form and free you.”

“Immediately,” Lyra added.

Wilder smirked then. She must have known more about the elves than she let on if she was setting a time limit on their bargain.

“Immediately,” King Oberon agreed.

Lyra glanced sidelong at Wilder before looking back at the king and queen. Her face blanched, but she nodded her head.

“I accept your bargain.”

Queen Aine clapped her hands and beamed.

“Oh! Wonderful! You have made an excellent choice!”

Lyra didn’t look like she felt that way at all, and Wilder had to agree. She had agreed to do the one thing she wouldn’t even attempt to save herself.

“Your training will start this afternoon. Wilder will be your instructor,” King Oberon decreed.

Wilder reeled back in shock. He did not want to be around her any more than necessary, and training would put him around her for hours each day.

King Oberon studied him with a daring expression, and his mother bit back a smile.

“Father, my orders were to bring her here alive. You never said anything about training her?—”

King Oberon lowered his brow over his gleaming eyes. “I knew you could get her here, but why would I give you orders based on her decision that hadn’t been made yet?”

He gestured with his head to Lyra. The other half of the equation.

“Surely Otto—or even Maelys—would be a better instructor,” Wilder argued.