QT: I hijacked a harem system and now I'm ruining every plot(GL) Chapter 401: I’m sorry, I hate you

Chapter 401

Daphne

I wake up, my head throbbing faintly.

I look down.

Paws.

Right.

I shift into panther form last night. The mory cos back in fragnts—the boat splintering against the rocks, the freezing water, the storm swallowing the sky. I rember shifting, my bones cracking, my fur spreading across my skin. I rember clinging to a rock, roaring at the rain, roaring at the darkness.

I rember singing.

Beautiful singing.

It led here.

Or maybe it led to the rocks. I cannot rember. Everything after the storm is a blur of cold and pain and dark.

I look around.

A tiny cave. So small I cannot stand up straight, even in this form. The walls are slick with moisture, covered in algae and barnacles and sothing that glows—soft blue light, pulsing gently, like bioluminescent led lights.

The light is coming from an egg.

I turn my head toward the source.

An egg. Pale. Glowing. Pulsing with a soft, steady rhythm. It rests in a nest of shells and moss and woven seaweed, leaning against my torso.

???

I do not have ti to think about it further.

At the entrance of the cave, sothing moves.

A woman.

She is sleeping, leaning on her elbows, her tail trailing in the water. Her dark hair falls to her waist, covering her face. Her skin is pale in the blue light, marked with scars—old and new, faded and fresh. I notice pink, healing wounds on her back, deep and angry.

Harpoon wounds.

The ones from the ship.

So this is her.

I use my tail to move a damp strand of hair from her face.

She jumps.

Wakes up.

Her eyes find mine.

I’m t with deep blue eyes, a deeper shade than Vivienne’s and her face, with so differences ofcourse.

Like the porcelain skin, high cheekbones, like a model.

The water splashes as she shifts, and like the little rmaid princess, she has faint gills on her neck. They flutter slightly, as if she is breathing the air and the water at the sa ti.

She looks at .

I look at her.

We just look at each other.

She tilts her head.

I want to say sothing, but when I open my mouth, a growl cos out.

Right.

Not human right now.

I shift slowly,and I am left all cold, naked and sitting upright in the tiny cave.

She watches .

Every mont. Every change. Her blue eyes do not blink.

"Hey," I say.

She blinks.

Slowly, she shifts.

Her body changes,scales to skin, tail to legs and she is left kneeling in the shallow water at the cave’s entrance.

She crawls toward .

The cave is so small. There is barely enough space for both of us. Her scars catch the blue light. Her eyes never leave mine.

She stops close enough to touch.

The first thing the love of my life says to in this life:

"What are you?"

I look at her, confused.

"What are you?" She repeats.

I do not know how to respond to that. Is she asking about the attack earlier? Does she think I planned it? Does she think I am one of the humans who hunted her, who hurt her, who shot her?

I do not know how to—

"Are you not human?" She repeats.

Oh.

"Not any more than you are human right now," I say.

She tilts her head, looking at curiously. Her blue eyes are bright in the dim light, bright and sharp. She is studying . Evaluating. Trying to understand what I am.

"I have never heard of a creature like you," she says.

"The land, like the sea, is full of many mysteries." I hold her gaze, willing her to understand.

"If you, my beloved, are the daughter of the waters, surely there must be sothing similar in the lands."

Unable to help myself, I reach out. I grab a few strands of her hair, it’s dark, damp, silken and bring them to my lips. I kiss them.

She does not pull away.

"You call your beloved," she says.

"I do." I repeat.

"Are you the one I am looking for?"

"I am."

She looks at , as if searching for sothing in my eyes. I do not know whether she finds the answer she is looking for, but she speaks again.

"Why did you leave ?"

My heart breaks.

"I’m sorry."

"I searched for you."

"I’m sorry."

"I waited."

"I’m sorry."

The words feel small and insufficient.But it is all I can say. Because what could I say? What explanation could I possibly give?

"For many moons, I was alone," she says.

"I’m sorry."

"Do you love ?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why did you do this to ?"

The question hangs in the air, sharp and fragile.

I do not have an answer. Like a parrot, I repeat myself.

"I’m sorry."

"I was hurt." She says, and I look at her—at the multiple healed scars on her body, white lines crisscrossing her pale skin.

"The humans. They have tried to kill ." Her voice is quiet.

"I’m sorry." My voice cracks. "I swear, I will make them pay."

"I already did."

I think of the body parts. The wreckage. The ships torn apart. She did.I clench my fists.

She watches .

"You are angry," she says.

"Yes."

"At them?"

"Yes."

She looks at .

"And at myself," I say. "For letting everything happen to you. For not being there."

She is quiet for a long mont.

"I hate you," she says.

I gulp. Blink back tears.

"I understand that."

"Moon after moon, I waited. One moon, two moons, three moons, twenty moons, a hundred moons." She says quietly, her voice is kind of resigned.

"I’m sorry," I say again.

"I hate you," she says again. Her voice is flat and cold.

"I want to swim far away from you, to punish you..." She pauses. Looks at the glowing egg between us. "...but the egg needs you."

Egg?