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"I guess this means, I have to get used to making decisions for you,"

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"GET IN," HE hummed, a certain twinkle in his eyes underneath the direct moonlight. He watched me from the water as I looked down at him from the bank, trying to decipher what it was he was playing at.

He looked away for a moment, before recapturing my gaze, the water rolling up against his skin in small waves.

"Get in, Talanda," he repeated more firmly this time.

I pursed my lips, my eyes dipping to the water, a shiver crossing my spine. It was already freezing out here in the open.

How was I supposed to lower myself into ice-cold water, no less in my fuzzy pink bunny pajamas?

"Would you look at that," Harvest grunted stepping back into the water until he was surrounded, though his eyes never left mine, " as soon as your anger goes, another fear takes a breath," he grunted, folding his arms with a deep sigh.

"I guess this means, I have to get used to making decisions for you," he grumbled, as if that point was a burden to him.

My eyebrows arched in confusion but before I could register what it was I was saying, I felt him in my head, locking me out.

I could see myself, tossing my notebook to the side, approaching the edge of the water robotically.

My eyes were latched onto him as I got in, stuck in a trance, still fully dressed as my body was attacked by the ice-cold water, shivers rolling down my back in waves.

I waded through the water in a rigid posture, eyes strained in his until I reached him, stopping a foot away.

My body was released from his hold, and immediately my hands went up to my arms, shivering in the cool water, goosebumps littering my skin.

"It's not that cold," Harvest grunted, with a short scoff.

My eyes trailed back to him in horror, noting that his body seemed to be well adapted to the cold, not a single goosebumps, or raised hair, while my teeth were chattering, and my body doused with shivers taking their round through me.

I shot him an angry look at what he had done.

Why on earth had I believed he would honor my request to not use his dilect on me?

"Yes, I broke your little rule, " he sighed, with a slight roll of his eyes, and I looked at him like he had grown to heads.

The way he said it sounded as if he was so unaffected by it like he didn't understand the rules behind giving someone your word.

His eyes studied mine for a second, the arrogance in his eyes whisking away for a short minute, a tick in his jaw, when he saw what I hoped was the dead expression in my eyes I had conjured from the pit of my stomach, looking at him in absolute disgust.

"With the look you're throwing at me, I get the feeling you don't know the number 1 rule to a rule," he said, eyes searching mine.

When I gave him no reply or a hint of one, he prodded on,

"that rules are meant to be broken?" he hummed, searching my eyes for a reason, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

I didn't find anything funny about the statement.

Good heavens, the arrogance coming off this boy, made me feel like I was sinking once again in the waters.

When he saw that I wasn't playing along with his joke, a look of betrayal mirrored in my eyes, because I had just confirmed for certain that there was no trusting Harvest Adams.

He was too unpredictable and ultimately too much of a mystery- that even with the little facts about him I believed I knew, looking into his eyes at the moment, I felt it in my gut, that I hadn't even crossed over the threshold.

He seemed to see all these thoughts racing through my mind, and for a split second, I hoped he couldn't actually read it.

However, I was smart enough to know that had that been the case then he would have already known all of my secrets at this point.

He breathed out lowly, a foreign look crossing his face, one I couldn't quite decipher yet, but he didn't address the issue, instead, he momentarily glanced out at the body of water, before returning to me.

"Since we're doing this manually," he began in a low tone, accent thick on each word, "the best way to start is to expose you to a living conductor. That will soften the barrier between you and your dilect," he explained.

Living conductor? What was that?

I knew about conductors thanks to Miss Alumulese, but I don't believe she had mentioned what a Living conductor was.

He seemed to have read my narrowed look, explaining it with a short sigh.

"A living conductor is a being that has a close connection with raw magic," he explained as if to a toddler, "basically it is a being with magic running through its veins, that it can use to some extent, and of course, one not born of Dilectus," he added.

I thought this over for a moment, still trying to get used to the cold surrounding me, replaying his words through my mind.

Living conductor, non-dilectus, connection to raw magic-

I froze- my whole body on pause, my gaze rising to meet his, eyes widening-

HE WOULDN'T.

NOT AFTER-

The vibration of a ripple grazed my skin and I shakily turned to look sideways, seeing the peering green gaze of a siren in the water, three more appearing behind her.

"Sirens-" Harvest began, his eye glazing over them as if they were beautiful specimens when I would have added one more word to that description.

'Beautiful KILLER specimens-'

"-one of the only living natural conductors,' he continued, as I glanced at him, noting he was staring at them, seemingly as intrigued as the first day I had seen him whilst I hid in the bushes.

"A word of advice," he began, glancing down at me, whilst I kept my look of shock and horror up, completely holding him in utter disbelief that he would have the nerve to bring me here despite knowing I very well almost died because of these suckers.

"They don't like you at all," he stated lowly, and I stared at him like he was crazy.

How WAS THAT supposed to make me feel better? Of course, they hated me, they tried to FRICKIN KILL ME!

"Sirens are naturally possessive creatures. Just like any deception is, really," he casually explained like it was no big deal, "so whatever you do," he began as I felt the waters slowly part, leading to me, my heart thudding with the approaching sirens.

-"Don't panic and most importantly," he grunted, eyes in mine holding a flat warning- gritting down each word, "Don't touch me," he said lowly.

My eyebrows furrowed at the last point, in total confusion, just as the water stilled around me.

My breathing was loud and shallow in a low panic mode, turning around to see if I could spot them but there was nothing, I could see in the murky midnight waters, even with the moon highlighting the surface of the water.

It was only when I felt something brush my leg that I started to panic, scenes of my drowning event, flooding my mind until it all went black and I could feel myself locked out of my body, Harvests' eyes searching mine from a foot away,

"Be still," his tone came running through my mind.

I kept my gaze on him even as I felt his control leave my body, the webbed hands of a siren traveling up my skin momentarily until I could feel its face staring at me from the side, body half out of the water, my heart thudding within me thunderously as I stared into those dark ocean orbs as if they were giving me my sanity.

His gaze suddenly lingered on me, shifting to the side momentarily.

I risked a glance at the siren who was also looking at Harvest as if they were somehow communicating before her reptillic gaze snapped to mine and mine snapped back in place, back to Harvest.

I found it hard to breathe, as I felt the water part from the other side indicating another siren.

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Can't believe Harvest actually brought her back here, and I have to admit she's handling it better than I thought.

Read 7+ chapters ahead on Patreon!
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