ELEMENTS: Acquiesce by Kathryn Andrews (snow like ashes series .TXT) 📕

returned to the island, each grasping a piece of Mr Kelly. They flung his body onto the fire as though it was nothing more than turf, but their frenzied excitement said otherwise. They prodded him with their swords and when he was cooked, they tore him apart like savages.

Petrified, Cordelia trembled in the darkness as she witnessed Zamira take the first bite. She closed her eyes momentarily and thought of happier times on the boat with Flynn. She wished she was anywhere but here.

With her face pressed against the rock, she inhaled deeply and whispered to herself, “You can do this.”

Cordelia slowly edged towards the hole, grimacing every time pieces of rock crumbled into the sea. She tried her hardest not to cast her eyes down for fear that she would become giddy and fall. The ravens were still celebrating their kill. They seemed eerily drunk on happiness, or perhaps it was from the alcohol running through Mr Kelly’s veins. Whatever the cause, it was keeping the ravens distracted long enough for Cordelia to reach the hole. She stretched out her arm and fumbled in the darkness. She could feel the edge of the hole, she was sure of it.

Flynn had heard the shuffling but thought it must be a bird of some sort. Never did he imagine it was Cordelia climbing up this frightening sea stack in the dark. He could hear the commotion on the island and covered his ears with his hands. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever get off the island alive. He had considered jumping into the sea; it seemed his only option if he didn’t want to appear on the menu, but he was fading away and there wouldn’t be much for the ravens to feast on now.

“Flynn? Flynn, can you hear me?” whispered Cordelia.

Flynn thought he’d finally gone mad and rested his head in his knees.

“Flynn!” whispered Cordelia, a little more forcefully.

Flynn slowly lifted his eyes and blinked a few times. “Dear Lord, help me. Don’t let me become a mad man,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Flynn, it’s me.”

“Cordelia? Is it really you?” he said, desperately.

“Shhh! Keep your voice down,” pleaded Cordelia.

Their eyes darted upwards as the island fell silent, their hearts in their mouths.

“We have to go. Now!” said Cordelia.

“Well well, what have we here?” said Zamira, perching on the iron bars above Flynn. “You must be the fish girl everyone’s been gossiping about.”

Cordelia clung to the edge of the rock face, desperately trying to get Flynn’s attention.

“Flynn, we have to jump,” she said.

“They’ll reject you when they find out who you really are,” said Zamira. “The apple never falls far from the tree.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to end her misery now?” suggested Akilina.

“I hear mermaid tails are quite the delicacy,” said Branna.

“You lay a finger on her and I’ll…”

“You’ll do what, exactly?” said Zamira. “You’ve been in this hole for what must feel like eternity and you’ve done nothing. You’ve given up, because that’s the type of man you are. You’re weak!”

“He’s not weak!” shouted Cordelia. “If he was weak he’d be dead by now.”

“His time is almost up,” snarled Zamira.

“Rubbish! If you wanted him dead, he’d have been dead long ago. Now what do you want with him?!”

“It’s not Flynn we want, it’s you. We knew you’d come eventually.”

“You’ve had plenty of opportunity to confront me but you didn’t.”

“You made the game too easy, where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m not interested in your games.”

Zamira chuckled. “You’re already playing.”

Cordelia greatly wanted to challenge Zamira for her seemingly unjust interest in her but her current position was more than a little precarious. Within seconds the ravens swooped towards her, their claws and beaks ready to attack. Cordelia let go of the rock face and flung herself into a backwards dive, entering the water below where the power of the ocean rolled over her. Cordelia’s tail lit up the murky water like the stars in a blackened sky and the ravens descended after her.

“Cordelia!” cried Flynn, lurching forward to peer over the edge.

“You’ll stay right where you are or I’ll toss you both on the fire!” threatened Zamira whose small glimpse of Cordelia’s tail was enough to confirm her suspicions. She lowered her head as her heart sank to her stomach.

“What’s happened in your life to make you so bitter and twisted?” asked Flynn in anger.

“Are you blind?!” screeched Zamira. “Look at me! I wasn’t born this way. I was beautiful. I was the envy of every woman in the land. I could have had any man I wanted.”

“What’s Cordelia got to do with it? She played no part in what happened to you.”

“Her mother stole my happiness. She stole everything from me.”

“Where is her mother?” asked Flynn.

“Dead.”

At the base of the island, the ravens were pecking at Cordelia beneath the surface like frenzied piranhas, their pursuit relentless. Her crimson blood spilled into the water like sweet red wine. Sharp pains emerged all over her body as though she had a thousand paper cuts, but the pain did not reveal the extent of the wounds, only her lack of powers told her the true extent of the damage. Suddenly, Cordelia felt herself being pulled through the water at high speed. It was Rafe. He wrapped his strong arms around her and they hurried through the darkness to safety.

“What are you doing?!” gasped Cordelia when they reached the cove.

“Saving your life!” replied Rafe, insulted by Cordelia’s apparent lack of appreciation.

“I could handle it.”

“It didn’t seem like it. Look at the state of you,” said Rafe, fastening his trousers. “You’re lucky I got to you before the sharks.”

“I can’t feel my legs,” said Cordelia, worriedly.

“We need to get you help,” said Rafe, gently scooping the mermaid up in his arms.

Cordelia wrapped her arms around Rafe’s neck and he carried her to the lighthouse. As they approached Amatheia’s medical chamber, Cordelia lost consciousness.

“Help! We need help!” cried Rafe, standing outside Amatheia’s door.

Amatheia immediately opened the door and Rafe lay