Page 13 of Of Song and Darkness

His response hit me like a surge of icy water, causing my thoughts to run sluggish as I maintained an unwavering gaze. He was the one I had sought, yet deep down, I had hoped to never find him. I swallowed hard, attempting to dislodge the lump in my throat, and observed him with a fresh perspective. In that moment, he embodied everything I had ever dreaded in my darkest nightmares. It was then that my scrutiny fell upon the array of weapons strapped to his body, each sword and knife undoubtedly bearing the permanent stain of the blood of my kind.

He smirked at me, obviously pleased with the fear his name invoked. Anger seared its way through my bloodstream as I fought to balance on these wretched legs. After several failed attempts, I managed to stand upright.

“Bravo.” He mocked me with a clap of his hands and another devious smile.

I wanted so badly to reach through the bars and wipe that smirk from his face with a quick slice from my claws.

Would my siren song still work? It couldn’t hurt to try it. My song strummed from my lips in perfect harmony, just like it always had. I was so happy that I still had my song that I almost missed hitting a note, but I quickly corrected myself and continued to sing. A victorious smile graced my lips as the murderous captain’s harsh gaze shifted to me. He emerged slowly from the shadows, steadily advancing in my direction, his unwavering gaze locked onto me. His proximity caused a knot to tighten in the pit of my stomach as he drew nearer, eventually standing just inches away on the other side of the bars.

“Back up,” I instructed him through my song.

“Make me.”

A surge of icy dread coursed through my body as that familiar, smug grin etched itself across his face. Swift as a sea snake's strike, he lunged, seizing the back of my neck, and forcefully thrust my body against the unyielding bars. My head and face collided painfully with the frigid metal. In shock, my song died on my quivering lips.

He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear. “Now what, siren? What happens when you cannot manipulate a man into doing your bidding?”

I was so stunned that my siren song didn’t work on him that I could not move. Mine was the most powerful in all of Aquarius. How was it possible that it failed me now? Had my song been diminished by the sea witch when she turned me into a human? I finally met Kai’s eyes as the swirling blue depths stared down at me. With a sinister sneer, he released me and returned to his spot in the shadows. A trickle of something wet dripped down my forehead. When I reached up to touch it, I winced at the pain. As I examined my fingertips, I discovered them smeared with blood. A swirl of emotions, blending rage and fear, overwhelmed me.

“You…” Anger surged from my depths so hot that it threatened to burn me from the inside out. “You slimy son of an eel,” I sputtered, finally managing to make my mouth form words.

“Is that the best you can do?” Kai asked, leaning against a nearby barrel.

My body shook with rage, and my eyes misted over with angry tears. I breathed deeply a few times and stepped toward the bars to collect my scattered emotions. “I need your help,” I stated plainly, trying to hide how my voice shook with trepidation. I wanted so badly to drown him and watch his body seize as his lungs filled with seawater, but that would have to wait, at least for the time being. Much to my dismay, he was the only one who could get me to Medusa.

“So now you ask,” he answered smugly.

When a hiss slipped past my lips, he smiled.

“Speak up, sea demon. I will hear your request.”

As fierce as the swirling sea, my fury surged once more, stirring tumult in my depths. How was it possible for one man to burrow his way so deeply under my skin and make me so furious?

“Dark Water.” I seethed, clenching my teeth.

His muscles tensed, but he never looked up at me. “It’s not my concern. It’s not in my waters.”

“Yet,” I added, peering around at him.

“What is it you think I can do?” He shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t have a care in the world. What was with the males? Why could no one see that we were all in danger?

“I need you to take me to Medusa…”

A fleeting smile brushed his lips, and then it disappeared like it had never been there. “What do you offer me in return?” He stood from the barrel and stepped closer to the bars.

I did not miss how his eyes raked down the length of my body and stopped on the hideously bare human legs. Were legs something that human men found attractive?

I glanced down at my body. I may be a human, but from the waist up, I still looked exactly the same as I did before, or at least the parts I could see. I was well aware of what the siren males thought of my body. Perhaps I could use my feminine wiles on this killer as well. I pulled on the fabric around my neck, further exposing my breastbone. His eyes immediately followed my every movement. The mental image of him intimately caressing my skin summoned an intense feeling of disgust. I swiftly let go of the fabric and retreated deeper into the cell.

“Changed your mind?” His laughter was gruff and filled with malice. “Probably for the best. I wouldn’t mind a show, but I can promise you, I will never touch a creature like you, not in that way.” His voice was filled with just as much hate as I felt for him.

As he headed toward the stairs, desperation clawed at my throat.

“Wait!” I rushed forward and gripped the iron bars so hard that the metal bit into my skin.

He paused but never turned back around. My mind scrambled for anything to keep him talking. Anything to make him agree to take me to Medusa. What did I have that he could possibly want?

“Treasure…” I sputtered the first word that I believed a pirate like him would be interested in.

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