Page 21 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

As I made my way down the front steps, the footman approached me. “The lord wishes to be left alone for the night. He said something about needing to catch up on work.” I looked up at him from my lashes with a demure smile. “I’m afraid I’ve been keeping him preoccupied as of late.”

He smiled, a knowing glint in his eye. “So I have heard.”

I continued walking toward the front gates.

“Miss,” the footman called to me. “The hour is getting late. Is there somewhere I can have our carriage take you?”

“I appreciate your concern, but that won’t be necessary. I’m just going for a short stroll. I should be back soon. You have no need to worry,” I replied, walking away from the manor and toward my destiny.

Chapter 14

The Fated Night

The Pirate

I’d watched her enter that manor, and now, several hours later, I watched her leave it… alone. I could guess at what that meant for the poor man she’d been wrapped around earlier. He wasn’t important though; only she was. As soon as I’d seen her strolling through the market with such confidence, I knew she would be the one to break my curse. Her beauty, that viciousness, she drew me in toward her without even trying. I needed her with an intense desperation that I felt to the very depths of my dark soul.

The compass was like a weight in my pocket, but I didn’t pull it out. I knew, without a doubt as I trailed this woman, that it would point to her. She was my siren.

It had been a siren’s kiss that had made my curse, so it only made sense that it would be a siren who would break it. She would either save me, or she would be my doom. Either way, this was a day I had waited a long time for, and everything seemed to be lining up perfectly. I’d managed to find a siren at the exactpoint I’d needed one. It was as if the gods were speaking to me, telling me that soon my suffering would be over.

She moved through the village with purpose behind her every step. Several times, villagers stopped her to speak with her, and she placated them with a knowing smile, even as she continued moving through the streets, making it clear to everyone that she seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. I recognized where she was headed though.

“Captain Kipp,” a voice called from over my shoulder as footsteps hurried to step in line next to me. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

I continued tailing the siren, shooting a glance toward my first mate, Patton. He’d joined my ranks not long ago, the great grandson of my first mate, Willy. Every time I looked at Patton, it was as if I peered through a window into the past, seeing one of the only people I had ever trusted completely.

“Yes, Patton?” I asked, my steps not slowing. We neared the beach now.

“If I may be so bold, may I ask why we are wasting so much time in port? There isn’t anything of value in this simple village.” He ran his fingers through the short brown curls he’d pulled into a simple ponytail, drawing my eye to the scar marring the skin of his tanned face.

A pang of guilt squeezed at my heart, the scar reminding me of my failure. He’d been captured and tortured for information about me, the world’s most notorious pirate thanks to the curse granting me everything I had thought I’d wanted, but he’d remained loyal, just as his great grandfather would have done. I’d claimed revenge for the both of us; their deaths had been slow and agonizing. Yet, even that hadn’t filled that missing piece within me that remained an endless void.

I stopped then. There was no purpose in following her anymore. I knew exactly where she headed, and I knew why. She wouldn’t escape me. Not now.

“Tell the crew that we’ve finally found what we’ve been searching for.” I didn’t elaborate. I didn’t need to.

“Does this mean you found one of the creatures, Captain?”

The farther the siren walked from me, the closer the darkness enveloped me. I ground my teeth as Patton stepped forward, watching me. He was either brave or stupid, I knew the color had drained from my eyes, leaving them nothing more than black orbs that shone through with my shadows. My skin vibrated but I forced a step backward, my hands flexing into fists at my side as I breathed.

With a short nod, I turned from him. Before I took another step, I said over my shoulder, not daring to look at him as I spoke, “Get my most trusted men, and tell them to meet me on the shore. And Patton, be quick.”

I walked away then, my finger dipping into the front pocket of my jacket. They closed around the pearl so dark it matched what had been done to my soul, and I pulled it free of the pocket I always kept it within and held it in front of my face.

I had the compass, I had this cursed item, and soon, I would have the siren who would free my soul from this wretched darkness once and for all. I couldn’t fail, my sanity and the welfare of my crew depended on our success.

The full moon loomed overhead, casting its eerie light onto the water in the distance. I could tell from the way she had moved through the village that tonight would be the fated night that she would strike. My inner darkness stirred with the thought, and I remembered the seductive smile she’d sent my way from across the market. A sliver of my humanity felt a twinge for what I was about to do, but there wasn’t any turning back now.

This curse had held me within its dark clutches for far too long already.

The Siren

The ocean rocked against the sandy beach in gentle waves, carrying the scent of salt and home on the cool breeze as I stepped onto the beach. As soon as my feet sunk into the sands, I paused, kicking off the insufferable shoes humans insisted on wearing and sighing with relief as my toes wriggled into the cold sand. The silver moon shone high in the sky, and as I swept the beach with a slow, drawn-out gaze, I realized not another soul was on the beach with me. There was, however, a ship docked not far off with several of the crew milling about on deck. It was far enough away though that I didn’t worry about it.

Movement in my pocket brought my mind back to the task at hand as the heart, wrapped in protective magic, beat within the pocket of my gown. It could sense the nearness of the water. I continued forward, and the heart beat stronger with every step I took. The cool waters kissed my bare toes, and the bottom of the gown became weighed down with water. I slipped the heart out of the pocket when I made it waist deep, and then I quickly unfastened the gown, slipping it from my head and leaving it for the sea to claim. With nothing left but the thin, nearly transparent chemise, Marcus’ ring around my index finger, andthe heart clutched within my palm, I moved further into the ocean, so close to returning home that my heart almost ached.

The heart thrummed like a drum in my hold, beating as magic swirled around us both as my legs began to fuse back into the deep purple scales that I’d missed so much in the weeks that I’d been human. I held the heart to my lips, pressing the glistening organ to my mouth and taking the first bite and beginning the ritual to claim my siren-given power.

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