Chapter 64: THIRD POV.

"Die for me, Sister..." Persephone said in a voice no greater than a whisper.

Before Jacob could even blink, Persephone’s arm blurred. With a violent, powerful swing, she hurled Artria straight towards the center of the whirlpool.

"No!!!!" Jacob screamed.

The sound of his voice was lost in the roar of the water, but his body moved before his brain could even think.

Without hesitation, he swam forward like lightning. He didn’t care about the event horizon, nor did he care about the crushing pressure.

He only saw Artria’s small, helpless form being sucked into the white foam.

In that moment, time looked as if it had slowed down a great deal.

He saw the bubbles trailing behind Artria as she spun away.

Jacob saw the look of total shock on her face as she realized her sister had actually thrown her in, even though she seemed to have predicted it, it was still shocking.

He saw the dark center of the whirlpool waiting like a giant mouth to swallow her whole.

Persephone, who had thrown her own sister, watched on coldly at first.

She stood her ground.

But the moment a blur passed her, realising that Jacob was diving in after Artria, her expression changed instantly.

Her pupils constricted and her heart plummeted.

"No! Don’t get near that!" Persephone screamed at Jacob. Her voice was thin and sharp, nearly lost in the deep, heavy roar of the water.

She watched him with wide, terrified eyes, her heart hammering against her ribs.

She really didn’t expect him to go on ahead like that. Even she herself was weary of the humongous whirlpool.

She had decided to use it as a tool to get rid of her sister, never dreaming that the man she loved would dive straight into the jaws of the beast.

But Jacob refused to listen. He didn’t even look back at her.

His eyes were locked on the blue-tailed figure spinning away into the white foam.

Persephone had thrown Artria with all her strength, sending her right to the edge of the supernatural phenomenon.

The spinning water was already starting to stretch Artria’s body out, dragging her toward the dark, empty center. But with Jacob’s speed, he was able to reach her just in the nick of time.

He slammed into the outer wall of the whirlpool, his muscles bulging as he fought the spinning pressure.

Feeling the foreboding pull of the whirlpool, his face paled.

For a split second, an instinctive fright overwhelmed him.

Like a cold, primal fear that told him he was about to die.

The water here felt like giant invisible hands were trying to rip his arms from his sockets.

But he quickly snapped out of it. He didn’t have time to be afraid.

He could see Artria’s hand just a few feet away.

Reaching out with a desperate grunt, he grabbed a hold of Artria’s hand. Her fingers were limp, and her eyes were closed tight.

Tears were streaming from her eyes, mixing with the salt water, as if she’d already accepted her death.

She had stopped fighting.

She was just waiting for the end.

Jacob’s heart ached seeing her like this.

She looked so small and broken against the massive power of the storm.

Strange enough, seeing her so helpless reminded him of his time with Persephone back in the cave.

He remembered the way Persephone had bawled her eyes out, thinking she was all alone in the world.

Both sisters, despite their strength and their anger, were just lost souls trying to find a place to belong.

A self-pitying smile emerged on his face. He was caught in the middle of their war, and it looked like he was the only one who could end it.

The moment he grabbed her, he pulled her closely.

He used every bit of his strength to yank her out of the main spin and tuck her against his chest.

Artria stiffened when she found herself being held close.

She felt the warmth of his skin and the steady beat of his heart pressing against her. It was a shock to her system.

She opened her eyes, to see Jacob’s face just inches from hers. But before she could react or say a word, that surprise grew even more.

The scales on Jacob’s skin began to fade.

The gills on his neck closed, and his powerful tail split and shifted. Right there, in the middle of a literal underwater hurricane, he reverted back into his human form.

Without his merman strength, he was suddenly much more vulnerable to the crushing pressure of the deep.

"Please... look after her for me," he said.

His voice was low, and he looked rather pitiful.

"N-No!" Artria choked out. The sight of him as a human didn’t even fully cross her mind. She didn’t care about his secret or what he really was.

Seeing that look on his face, her heart plummeted, because she knew it well, it was the look of a man saying goodbye.

The same look her father had after she’d arrived at the scene of his death moments before his end.

"You can’t!" she screamed, her voice cracking.

If earlier she had felt hopeless being thrown towards the whirlpool, now she felt a true hint of despair.

Was she going to be responsible for his death? Just the thought of him being swallowed by the dark water while she lived filled her with a huge amount of grief.

’Was this how Persephone felt after the death of their parents?’ she thought to himself.

The guilt and the pain were so heavy they felt like they were drowning her more than the ocean was.

Artria’s body quivered when a glob of water suddenly encased her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

The water around her became thick and solid, forming a protective bubble that shielded her from the violent currents.

This glob’s appearance meant only one thing.

Water manipulation.

It was the same ability Persephone possessed, a power that could command the very water around them.