HIIIIIII! So I decided to post it "early" again! My sleep schedule is out of whack! Out of curiosity, who is able to read and listen to music at the same time? For me, I have to have complete silence for me to read but I have to listen to music to be able to write (I was listening to Adrift by Alaskan Tapes when I was writing this chapter, just in case you were wondering).
As always, thank you for your support and votes! Know that reading y'alls comments makes my day! <3
Enjoy~
_________________________________________________________
Meredith
My red pickup braked in front of me with Bodhi behind the wheel. Tears streamed hotly down my face. I wrenched the passenger's door open. Bodhi stepped on the gas before I could slam the door behind me and looked at the rearview to see if anyone was following us. Bodhi muttered. "We're safe."
"They were hurting them!" I fumbled for the seatbelt.
"I know." Bodhi said calmly, turning the wheel out of the parking lot.
My chest twisted with worry. What will happen to Gale and Tristen? God, I hope Burn and Shade won't torture them... or worse.
Kill them.
"They're gonna hurt them." I blubbered. "I overheard themâtwo dark fays, they're killing the mers and humans." My mind kept repeating the event in a loopâfrom the spear withdrawing and Tristen's face of anguish.
Bodhi's jaw clenched. "I suspected they were." I look at Bodhi tensed frame andâ
I stopped.
Blue liquid seeped through the back of her gray t-shirt, it clung to her back.
"WhaâWhat's happening?" I raised my voice with panic. Then I realized what I was seeing.
Mer's blood was blue.
Bodhi was bleeding from her back...
Just like Gale.
"Why are you bleeding?" I asked alarmly. She didn't answer and her glassy eyes stared out. "Bodhi?"
Bodhi put my truck to park. She turned to me. "Because my shi-amare was stabbed." Her eyes were hard and steely, she meets my eyes with an unwavering gaze. "Meredith, I need you to do something. I need you to be strong for me and go inside the store. I need you to get a first aid kit. Can you do that?"
I looked out the window only to realize that we were parked in front of a corner store. I sniffled and nodded. "O-ok." I stiffly got out of the truck and stumbled into the store. I can't recall the next five minutes, except when the cashier asked if I was ok. I faintly remembered that I managed a nod.
I climbed back into the truck. I instantly went into autopilot. I yanked the first kit box open. I grabbed the bottle of antiseptic andâdammit. I forgot to buy a cloth. Without a thought, I jerked my shirt over my head and poured the alcohol over it. I ordered, "Take off your shirt."
She weakly laughed. "I knew you wanted to see me shirtless, ya perv."
I don't know what happened, but something in me snapped. "How can you joke like this, Bodhi?" I yelled. "You're bleeding!" My eyes burned. "Gale and Tristen could be in danger right now and Dark fays are out there, killing mers and humans." I slumped, drained.
"Red."
I didn't look up.
"Meredith." She commanded.
I jerked and raised my drenched eyes.
Her dark eyes drilled holes into mine. "Listen to me. This is nothing. Gale and I have been through worse. While I worried for him like you can't imagine, I need to trust that he is going to be okay, because he's a damn good soldier. We are both good soldiers. Do you know why I'm bleeding?"
I shook my head, unable to speak.
"Because Gale got injured on the back by what felt like a spear."
Confused, I asked. "How did you know..." I trailed off.
Bodhi was injured on the same spot Gale was.
"You share each other's wound?" I asked apprehensively. And the fact she knew which weapons were used made me realize how much experience she had with spears and the pain they can inflict. I stared at Bodhi. That's when I saw herâtruly saw Bodhi for what she is.
A soldier that's been through hell and back.
"Yes, we do." She nodded once, answering my question. "And that's how I know that he's ok." Her eyes turned dark and fiery as a pair of volcanic rocks. "Because If he dies, I die."
"What?" I whispered.
"Our life force is tied." Bodhi eyes closed and she took a breath. She lifted her shirt over her head, revealing her black bra and her bare skin. She indeed had tattoos. And scars.
So many scars.
Like Gale's.
Horrified, I whispered. "They're identical to Gale's."
Her lips thinned. "Some are mine and some are Gale's." She stared into the distance. "He's a guardian and I am a soldierâour bodies are not ours. Gale is sworn to protect Prince Tristen just as I am sworn to protect my merpeople. We must be willing to throw our bodies in danger to protect. The first time I truly realized that I was his and he was mine..." She gave a dark laugh. "I was happy... then I panicked. I didn't want a shi-amare at first, because pain is all we know and then to find out that we are each other's... I was scared, not for myself but for him." She swallowed thickly. "But I couldn't give up Gale and I have to trust that we will be ok."
Gale throwing himself over Tristen to protect him from the spear flashed across my mind. I looked at Bodhi's body, littered with scars that belong to her and Gale's. This was a body that faced many pain and violence. God... how can anyone inflict pain on others. Why would anyone want to hurt Bodhi? Like Gale, I could feel loyalty radiating from Bodhi. Their scars were signs of loyalty. Their scars are the reason why Tristen had none. Gale must be damn good at his job. If what is Bodhi is telling me is true, then she's right. Gale must be fine.
For now.
I breathed, attempting to ease my tightening chest. "I feel better knowing that Gale is okay and I trust that he'll also protect Tristen."
"Good. Now, clean me." Bodhi turned her back to me, exposing her wound. She looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Hurry, you giant."
I gave a wobbly smile. I raised my alcohol drenched shirt and begun cleaning the dried blue blood around the wound. In an attempt to dispel my stress, I bring out my inner curious cat. "How is your blood blue?"
"Well, how is your blood red, Red?" I could hear the smirk in Bodhi's voice.
I rolled my eyes at my nickname then I sighed in defeat. "I think it has to do with the oxygen or iron and something about the hemoglobin."
"I think that's right. Sounds familiar from what I learned back in school. Our blood has different chemical makeup." Bodhi bounced. "Whoa! My brain is working now! I remember!" She swirled in her seat to face me, her eyes glowing with excitement. "The iron and oxygen in your system turns humans' blood red. Mers don't have high iron count, we have high copper count. So when copper meets oxygen, it turns our blood blue!" Bodhi high fived herself. Slap!
I blinked, fascinated by the info and that Bodhi's ADHD memory managed to remember that. And also, who in the world purposefully high fived themselves?
Bodhi leaned forward and begun sniffing me. "Hey Red, why do you smell like weed?" She narrowed her eyes. "Are you smoking weed?"
"WhaâNo!"
"Oh good, I thought you were being stingy and holding back on me." She sighed in relief. "I could use some to chill."
"You need a whole lot to be chill..." I muttered.
"What's that?" She asked loudly.
"Nothing." I smirked. "The weed are from the dark fays." I tell her how I was nearly caught in the storage room and what I overheard from Burn and Shade.
She gasped. "Oh thalassa, are you ok?" Her eyes scanned me, possibly for injury. "How did you escape?"
My lips thinned. "I'm okay." I finished telling her about General Kol. All the way up to Gale and Tristen fighting, finally, explaining how I escaped.
"General Kol?" Bodhi asked. "You saw him?"
"You know him?"
She inhaled sharply. "I know of him. He leads the dark princess's personal dark legion. He's a fierce and calculating general and since he rose to the top at a young age, the dark legion has not lost in a war till they attacked the sea kingdom. He is known for showing no mercy to anyone who stands in his way." Bodhi shook her head at me in awe. "You are very lucky that General Kol didn't catch you."
I snorted. "No kidding."
"Prince Tristen must have noticed that you were stuck in the storage room..." Bodhi scoffed, "And he punched my baby to cause a distraction." She huffed. "I hope Gale gave it right back."
I gave a small laugh. "He gave Tristen a split lip."
Bodhi smiled satisfactorily. "Good, the prince sometimes needs to be knocked down a notch or two." I frowned at that, not liking the idea of anyone knocking Tristen around.
Bodhi growled. "Shade... I'm going to end that slut."
Ok, I can get behind that. I added. "And the dark fays are trying to find the crowned prince without realizing that Tristen is right under their noses."
"Good, 'cause thalassa know what they would do to Prince Tristen if they knew."
"Do you think the dark fays want Tristen to bribe Neptune for an army?"
Bodhi scrunched her brows. "I'm not sure... If they're killing mers, armies seems unlikely. They wouldn't kill perfectly good mer soldiers if they desire a sea legion. Maybe they want something else."
I poundered but nothing came to me.
"What else did the dark fays say, Red?"
"Oh right. You said that General Kol leads the dark princess's personal legion. You're right. Burn mentioned that the dark princess had sent General Kol to take charge of the aquarium."
"Shit."
"What?"
"The dark princess is behind it all after all. I bet my two perfectly-shaped ass cheeks that the dark king and queen don't know about the aquarium."
"Why would you say that?"
"One, the dark king and queen wouldn't dare take such risk that could expose the sidhe world to the humans. Two, I learned that the dark princess was the one to personally asked the sea king for aide. I thought she acted as a messenger for her parents. From what the newly arrived mers told Galeâwhen the sea king refused, the dark princess attacked our kingdom." Bodhi stared off the distance. "Apparently the battle lasted two days till the dark fays retreated. But many were wounded and dead. I think the dark princess was searching for Prince Tristen, but he was already goneâ with Gale and I in towâdays before the dark princess had even arrived." Bodhi clenched her jaws. "I should've stayed behind and fought."
I whispered. "That's horrible." I imagined what that must've been likeâyour home attacked and you were not even there. Also not knowing who is injured and who passed. Bodhi must also feel guilty. I softened my voice. "I'm sorry that happened." I reached out to hold her hand. "I am glad that you're here though, helping me."
"Awwww! You are?" Bodhi gushed, her somber mood gone. She uses her humor to deflect her inner turmoil. I decided not to press on the issue and roll with it.
I rolled my eyes and withdrew my hand, "Turn around and let me finish cleaning you up."
She sighed. "Yes, mother."
"I'm so glad I'm not your mom. I would've died an early death."
Bodhi scoffed. "My mother loves me." She paused, then spoke quietly. "I'm glad my mother doesn't live at the kingdom."
Where are you from?" Using her deflection, I changed the topic subtly. I gathered my discarded shirt and drenched in alcohol again.
"I'm from the west of the pacific ocean, but I left home to join the sea legion and began my training at the kingdom."
I took the silence as a minute to pondered. "So Gale followed Tristen when he swam away from home?"
"Tristen told you that?" Surprised lanced Bodhi's question.
"Yeah, but he didn't mention that Gale had followed him."
"Prince Tristen didn't know that he was being followed." She shook her head. "Not until Gale was stuffed in the aquarium after Tristen. Gale had purposely got kidnapped to be able to protect Tristen from humans." She whispered. "I stayed behind so I can free them with my legs." She shook her head. "But I didn't know about the aquarium till I saw it. I didn't know that the dark fays was behind it nor did I know that they had more mers... If I did, I would've brought help. I thought I could handle it on my own, rescue two mers and the merchild from humans and bring them home. I didn't want to waste any time."
I nodded in understanding. Mers were inherently stronger than humans and I could see Bodhi easily knocking humans around. "How did you find them, Gale and Tristen, I mean?" I asked as I discarded my shirt to the back seat once I finished cleaning Bodhi. I began ripping the bandages open.
She gave an airy ha. "While Gale was following Tristen, I followed Gale without him knowing."
"How? You guys are shi-amares. You would've sensed each other." I put two large patches, about to cover the wound.
"I kept my distance. I just wanted to make sure Gale was safe." Bodhi answered, but I barely heard her. I was staring at her stab mark on her back. It was getting smaller and the skin around the gaping cut begun to fuse together.
It was healing fast.
"Whoa, the wound is almost gone." I whispered wonderingly.
"We heal faster than humans."
I breathed. "Right, of course." I already guessed that mers were essentially, stronger and more biologically advanced than humans. Not surprising that they got healing powers considering their life span. "Wait, why are you having me bandage it?"
Bodhi looked over her shoulder guilty. "I had to bring you back. You were freaking outâas a soldierâI find that having a task at hand can help keep us sane."
I breathed out. She was getting to know me and how to pull me out of a spiral that I unintentionally set myself into. "Thank you for that I guess. Now, you owe me a shirt." I looked forlorn at my alcohol and blood drenched shirt in the backseat.
Bodhi giggled. "Deal."
I swallowed, ignoring my anxiety and tried to recall on our previous conversation. "Why did you follow Gale when he left to follow Tristen?"
"You see, Gale has no limits when it comes to pushing himself." Her voice cracked. "Thalassa, he is so fucking loyal and that's his flaw." She swallowed and her voice hardened. "When Gale was kidnapped, I lost it. I knew I had to be on land, no matter what, I spent days looking for a hole in the glamour. When I found it, I had to shift for the first time in my life. It was... painful. After a few days of transitioning, I already had pearls from the transition..." Bodhi breathed. "And the rest is history."
Bodhi was alone the whole time, no one to help her. She was vulnerable and on her own when she was transitioning, no one to hold her hand and tell her that everything would be ok. My chest tightening in empathy and I felt an urge to protect her. Is this what sisters feels like? I finally bandaged her wounds. "All done." I said quietly.
Bodhi put her shirt back on. "Thank you, Red."
"Thanks for telling me." I stopped then slowly proceeded putting the kit away. "Actually, there's been something I've been wondering..."
"Shit," Bodhi muttered. "Look I didn't mean to drop your toothbrush in the toilet this morning, ok? It was an accident." She raised her hands in surrender.
"No, that's notâWait, you did what?" I shouted. I wanted to kill my new sister.
_________________________________________________________________
Design by me, photo is from pinterest.
If you want to see more, check out Glass Prision's tumblr page at -yourandielexxis
Don't forget to vote for this chapter!
<3