Chapter 29-Redemption


"Is it too late now to say sorry?" ~Excerpt from Sorry, Justin Bieber


A/N: Hey, it's Darky! And yeah, I know that I should've said this in the last chapter, but time got away with me: We surpassed 50 reviews! Just because of that, I'm going to add a sneak peek of Sweet Embraceand wait for it, wait for it: the preview of Tails of a Soul Speaker: Just a Little Farther, the first book in my trilogy! Not a trailerwhich I actually will be posting sooner or later, but still!

Well, enjoy! ;)


You would think, that after you betrayed your friend, you wouldn't come crawling back to him. Well, not Cam—actually, Cam wasn't exactly crawling—but that was hardly relevant right now. Cam was currently in the grotto of his principal. Cam was going to be severely interrogated—and before you ask, no, Nixie was not going to interrogate him. Well, actually, it was more of she wasn't allowed to.

Cam got up, only to be immediately pushed back into his seat by Lyla. Her azure gaze was narrowed and unreadable. Cam swallowed. He took a deep breath and scoffed. "You're interrogating me first?" he muttered snarkily, glancing at the ground as if he didn't care. In his peripheral vision, he saw Lyla's gaze drift briefly to him before to Poseidon.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, and Cam could feel the power radiating off her voice.

He swallowed. "No, not at all."

Lyla sighed. "Cam, I want to trust you. I believe in second chances. Besides, Nixie's been miserable ever since you betrayed us."

Cam perked up. "She has?"

"It's not easy to tell, but yeah," Lyla said. Her gaze narrowed to vivid, ocean-colored slits. She sighed softly. "Alright. I want you to give me the truth and only the truth." Cam resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stiffly nodded instead. "Alright then. What were your motives of getting the trident? And don't tell me that I already know. I want to hear it from you."

Cam took a deep breath. "I was jealous of Zac, and my jealousy half-blinded me. The other half was me always wanting to prove myself. I'm ambitious. Probably more ambitious than I should be, but we get what we can get." Cam looked at his hands. "But I would really like to try again. I"—Cam bit his lip—"know that what I did was wrong. Erik... he can be very persuasive. I think... if you talked to him, you would know. His voice is like a song you don't know you hate but still gets twisted into your brain anyway. He speaks so confidently that... that you question everything you know."

Lyla frowned. "I'll ask Raiden about that..."

"It's true," Cam said, his words a little more steady, his gaze no longer averting to the ground. "It is true."

Lyla closed her ocean-colored eyes, and her long lashes cast shadows across her face. She opened her eyes, revealing the brilliant cerulean of her eyes. Her eyes—Cam thought—were like Sirena's. Nixie's were a wintry crystalline, something cold and sharp. "I don't know what to believe," Lyla said. "And before you say 'Believe me,' I want to. I told you that before..."

"And..?"

"I think... I think you should be given a second chance..." she spoke finally. "You're not Erik, and you did wrong by stealing the trident, but... I think... I think now I know why..." Cam hardly dared to breathe, and he waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he frowned, a little confused. Grateful, yet confused all the same. Her gaze was fixed pointedly at the ground.

"What... what made you change your mind about me?" he asked her.

Her gaze flicked to his. "I know what it's like to... to be in love." A smile twisted on her face. "Nixie looks at you the same way Sirena looks at David—the same way Zac looks at yours truly... The same way yours truly looks at him..." She turned to him, smiling at his obvious surprise. "God, Cam, I didn't think you could get surprised anymore thanks to Nixie's influence," she teased, her feelings welcoming.

"Thanks," he said, grinning.

"And hey, don't thank me," Lyla said, standing up. "Thank yourself. That you know where your heart lies. Some aren't so lucky."

And somehow, Cam knew exactly who she was talking about.


Zac threw a stone into the water, watching as it skimmed on the surface before plunking down into the dark abyss. He sighed, picked up another stone, and hurtled it as far as he could. Gold streaked the sky, almost like an eternal blaze. The infernal burned in the sky, sparkling and crackling with violets and reds and pinks. Mingling among the colors were wisps of fluffy cloud, scattered along the sky like a perfect array of stars.

"Zac."

Even before Zac turned he knew who it was. He had that voice memorized forever in his heart. "Lyla." He spoke her name fleetingly, and as he turned, he knew he was right. She raced at him and flung her arms around him in a fierce embrace. Zac's hands circled her waist thrillingly, and he breathed in her sweet scent. "I'm so glad you came," he murmured.

"Are you?" she asked, pulling back to look into his eyes.

"Yes," he promised, smiling at the smile that lit up her face. He got used to putting that smile on her face. "Here comes forever now," he sang in an off-key tune, echoing something from a song he had heard a while ago. What was that song called? Here comes forever by R5. The words drifted in his head like a distant memory forcing itself upwards, spiraling into his head.

Lyla laughed. "You're such a horrible singer. Guess you're not all powerful."

Zac grinned. "Do you really care that much about how I sing? Then, I'll go take singing lessons."

Lyla shook her head, laughing. "No, you don't have to do that."

"Anything that'll please you," Zac said, smirking.

"I said no, and—Zac, put me down! Put me down this instant!"

Zac grinned as he lifted her towards the sky. She was as light as a feather, and he saw her cheeks flushed with surprise and delight. He grinned, and the grin froze on his face as Lyla's fingers rested around the nape of his neck. She pressed her lips to his, and Zac's nerves locked up. It was nice while it lasted—because Zac had definitely not anticipated what happened next.

She backhanded him and landed deftly on the ground, smirking.

Zac laughed. "Fine, you win. But I'm warning you, next time, I—"

"You'll what? Somehow spiral up a stream of water at me? Bore me to death? Not that you're not doing that right now."

Zac gaped in mock-outrage. "Me? Bore you?" He scoffed. "That doesn't sound like me."

"Sure it doesn't."


"I know you're mad."

Mimmi glanced up. "No."

Ondina scowled, frustrated at her friend's refusal to elaborate. "You are." Mimmi's face was red. She was obviously still mad. "Are you mad about Erik?" No response. Ondina forced her face into a neutral expression. "Are you mad about Chris?" Even Ondina had heard about the Chris fiasco. From Raiden, actually. Mimmi had come to the Marine Park with Chris, and hello, it's a Marine Park. Mimmi obviously gotten splashed, and she had ditched. Chris had chewed her out later. The seemingly level-headed guy had finally broke. Poor guy.

And Ondina probably should've reassured Chris about it.

Mimmi clenched her jaw. "No."

"You're a terrible liar."

Mimmi stood up, gaze sparkling with evident frustration and a bit of resentment. "Go, Ondina."

"No." Ondina crossed her arms. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

There was obviously something wrong.

Ondina threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Then just tell me what you want!"

Mimmi's gaze darkened, and her hands curled into fists. "You know what I want? Fine, I'll tell you what I want! I wanted you to fight for me—I would've fought for you vice versa. God, fighting with Chris sucked, but at least I got to be around someone who knew exactly who they felt for once in my life!" That last part hurt more than the entire conversation—if you could call it a conversation.

"You wanted me to fight for you?" Ondina struggled to comprehend.

"Yes!" Mimmi's eyes were now swimming with unshed tears. "You're supposed to be my best friend!"

"Best friends don't blame each other on their on problems!" Ondina yelled.

"Best friends don't leave each other alone when they need them the most!"

"Best friends don't abandon each other for their boyfriend!" Ondina yelled.

Mimmi glared. "Best friends don't date their best friend's sworn enemy!"

"Then I guess we aren't best friends!"

"Fine!"


QotD: Do you think Mimmi and Ondina will make up?

2nd QotD: Will Cam be accepted or shunned?


A/N: Review your answer to the QotD! I'll make this QotD short because as promised, I said I would put parts of two stories here. And sorry that I didn't update sooner. I read a book as soon as I got up, and I did Chinese homework right after. Then, at 10, I went to the park to meet my friend there (we schedule these kinds of things to do harmonies and singing and stuff). Then, I had to go to San Francisco and just got home at a little after 4. So I'm really sorry!

Oh, and for Sweet Embrace, I'm really sorry about the cliffhanger.

And listen to the song All We Know by The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan. It's my new favorite song. =o)

Well, thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated (criticism and praise) though not necessary. But what writer doesn't like reviews? ;)

~Darkwind


Now, here's an exclusive sneak peek of Sweet Embrace...


Zac's POV

That night, I dreamed of Lyla.

She had three, long, half-healed slashes running down her wrist. There was a sort of determination in her beautiful azure eyes—but it was the dangerous sort of determination. She was also on land—on a blank, white landscape. Okay, maybe not really, but it was my dream. A sword holster was attached to her belt, and blue light pulsed around her, faster and faster. The light emitted from her moon ring. Brighter and brighter. Her gaze was challenging. Her irises flashed with red, and her fingers closed around the hilt of her sword. She spun it, faster and faster—

I woke up screaming.

My heart was racing, and I opened my eyes—bleary-eyed. The moon sparkled faintly in the sky. Pre-dawn would approach soon. My troubled mind went back to my dream. It felt so real. Her gaze flashed back in the back of my mind. So, so convincing that... that I questioned everything I knew. I buried my face in my hands, my breathing shallow and rapid.

But I could still see azure irises—right before crimson evaded them.

The scars—not fully healed—flashed in my mind.

Then, realization hit me like a wave: Mimmi had said that her attacker had scars... three, long slashes on the wrist. My eyes widened so much that I could've sworn that if I could see myself, I would see the whites around my irises. Could it be..? Had Lyla attacked Mimmi?


Now, here's an exclusive sneak peek of Tails of a Soul Speaker: Just a Little Farther...


Zac gazed out into the distance as vague memories resurfaced from the depths of his mind. He vaguely saw people leaving Ocean Café, where he was currently at. But he didn't exactly mind the fact that his mind was going off to places. Of course. It was almost his birthday. And Lyla wasn't there. Zac swallowed hard. It had been very hard on him when she left. He almost didn't believe it.

"Zac," a soft voice murmured.

Zac turned to see his girlfriend, Evie, standing by him. She wasn't there a minute ago. He must've been really distracted. With thoughts on Lyla…

"Hi," Zac said, hoping his voice was neutral and not shaking. He looked down to see his hands shaking. He folded them, trying to still the movement. It didn't help.

"You're thinking about Lyla, aren't you?" Evie said softly.

"She said she would be here for my birthday," Zac said, "and my birthday is in a few days. Do you expect me not to think about it?"

"Zac," Evie said, "I'm so worried about you. You've been so unhappy."

"I'm fine," Zac said, not really paying attention but wanting to reassure her, "honestly."

"No, you're not," Evie said firmly. "Zac, I know you're missing her."

"It's—" Zac cut himself off, knowing that Evie knew him too well. Protesting would just waste time, and it wouldn't convince either of them. "She just… she understands me."

Hurt flashed across Evie's face, and Zac immediately regretted voicing the words. It wasn't that Lyla had understood him more… well maybe, but it was so easy being around her. They both had connections to the ocean. It was different with Evie, who didn't have such a connection with the ocean. Well, Evie did have a connection with the ocean, because she was a mermaid, but the connection wasn't the same as Zac's. Only Lyla's had been.

"Sorry," Zac mumbled. "I have to go."

Zac left the café hastily before he said the wrong thing again. He definitely did not need more troubles.