Page 103 of Bind Me

“Now let’s do this because your sad face is ruining my day. I have things to do.”

One of her men is there, forcing my mouth open as Lilia leans in, whispering words in a language I can’t understand. Her breath is cold against my skin, and I watch, horrified, as black smoke pours from her mouth into mine.

I thrash, a scream in my throat, and I see commotion at my side, which I know is Chowder and the other men stopping him.

The black smoke, the breath… it’s suffocating, a bitter taste that coats my throat and fills my lungs. I shove against the hold, terror making my heart race, but the darkness wraps around me, squeezing tight.

“What did you do to me?” I gasp, stumbling back as they release me. I stagger, my body heavy and barely responsive, fear thrumming through my veins as Chowder rips free from a guard and scrambles back up on the railing.

“Sasha,” he keeps calling my name. “Run!”

I try to take a step and find myself glued to the spot. Lilia’s laughter grows louder, a sound that promises nothing but more pain. The world tilts, threatening to swallow me whole.

I pound at my chest with my palm, trying to dispel the acrid taste of smoke that seems to cling to my insides. My vision blurs, and I fight to remain standing, to keep my focus.

The boat rocks beneath me, but there’s nothing comforting about the sway. It feels like the world is tilting on its axis, dragging me down into an abyss. I glare at Lilia, standing just a few feet away, her foot tapping on the deck as if this is merely a mild inconvenience to her. Her sharp gaze cuts through me like knives. Every muscle in my body is tense, my breath shallow and rapid as panic coils around my heart.

“Sasha,” Chowder calls, his voice breaking.

“Go home, Chowder,” I whisper, my voice barely audible over the sound of the waves slapping against the hull. “Do it for me, please…”

Lilia’s voice is a whip crack, slicing through the air. “Get that fucking pesky otter… just kill it already.”

“No!” My voice cracks, raw with desperation. “Chowder, leave the boat, now!”

“Sasha,” he pleads, his small voice trembling with terror. “Danger here. You must leave with me!”

His words pierce my heart, and I’m torn between the desperation to protect him and the inability to move. Tears burn in my eyes as I struggle against the invisible bonds holding me, my limbs heavy and unresponsive. I can’t let them take Chowder. I won’t let them hurt him.

A guard steps forward, and a cold wave of dread washes over me.

“Chowder, leave me now! Go get Kaden!”

Chowder’s eyes are filled with fear, his body quivering so hard I’m afraid he might collapse, but he needs to run. My heart aches with the weight of our parting, and I’m choking on the fear that this might be the last time I ever see him.

The guard lunges, and Chowder looks at me one last time, his eyes glistening. “We always stick together… we family.” His voice breaks.

“Go, now!” I scream, tears streaming down my face as he dives into the sea just as the guard’s hand swipes through the air where he was. Chowder vanishes beneath the waves, leaving behind a splash and my shattered heart.

“You idiot… can’t even catch a damn otter,” Lilia snarls at the guard. “I should make you dive in after it for that. Knowing your luck, you’d get eaten by a damn shark.” She shakes her head, turning back to me with a mock pout on her lips. “Oh, how sad… boo-hoo.”

Her words ignite a fire within me, a burning rage that surges forth with a force I didn’t know I possessed. My skin tingles, and I feel my body start to change, an overwhelming sensation of something powerful pushing through me. My fingers extend, claws ripping through my skin, and darker, murky scales ripple across my flesh. I scream out from the pain of the forced change.

I’m convulsing, my body twisting under the force of the transformation. I recognize it, the change I’d feared all my life. It’s not just a shift; it’s a violent rip, tearing away the parts of me that are familiar, replacing them with something monstrous. A numbness spreads through me, swallowing my emotions and leaving behind only hatred and an unbearable hunger.

“Good girl,” Lilia coos, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

“No!” I shout, my voice shattering as I cling to the last threads of myself.

Lilia’s laughter rings out. “You will work for me now, Sasha, do my bidding, and no one will ever be able to take you from me.”

Fear roots itself deep within me into a suffocating vine of thorns wrapping around my soul. Everyone knows that once you turn into a siren, there’s no turning back. That dread coils tighter around my heart, and my mind drifts to thoughts of my mother, the day she drowned my father, the day she abandoned me.

All my life, I feared becoming like her. I thought it was in my blood, a curse I couldn’t escape, but now I see the truth—Lilia was responsible. It wasn’t my destiny; it was her doing. But this doesn’t lessen the terror gripping me now.

And when Kaden finds me as I know he will, I’ll do what sirens do best. I’ll drown him with my kiss, stealing his life.

The darkness sweeps over me like a tide, suffocating the light from my mermaid side, replacing it with the icy chill of the siren. It creeps into every corner of my being, an unstoppable coldness that’s driven by magic, a change I can’t control or reverse.

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