Page 24 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

Once we’d made it back into his cabin, I stood in the center of the space, my arms wrapping around my soaked chemise as my dark hair dripped onto the floor at my bare feet.

The captain crossed the room and opened a cupboard, pulling out a thick, gray blanket and offering it to me. I didn’t want to take it from him. I wanted nothing to do with what this man needed or wanted. Yet, the dampness of my skin caused me to shiver, so I yanked the fabric from his hold and wrapped the itchy material around my shoulders.

As warmth cocooned me, I almost felt relieved, thankful even. I pulled the blanket closer to me and shoved the emotion away. Pesky humanity sneaked through my defenses. Turning my back to the captain, I peered out the now-broken window to the sea, so close yet still so far from my grasp. I needed to get back to it, needed to fully surround myself in my siren nature before these emotions became more troublesome than they already were.

Sirens became human by staying on land too long during their rite of passage ritual, their humanity breaking their connection to the sea. Something almost as bad could happen to a siren who’d gained her powers and remained on legs for too long as well. It turned them into sea witches, turning them into bitter, angry creatures who yearned for the sea always but would never return to it. Everything stacked against our dwindling numbers as a siren population, and my mother had told me all of this in hopes of wanting us to find a solution together. Now, that seemed to fall to my shoulders alone, but I couldn’t do that bound to this pirate.

The fight fell from me as the weight of my failures pulled me down. I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the blanket closed around my shoulders as I let my chin drop, a shaky breath escaping my lips as I let the rocking ship calm me. A storm brewed outside, rocking the ship and sending waves crashing through the broken window next to us as the sky broke open and cried alongside me.

I didn’t even look at him as I said, “Do you mean to use me and kill me, or drive me mad?” I asked. When he didn’t answer right away, I blinked up at him, peering at him through my damp lashes as I flopped my damp hair over my shoulder.

He shook his head. “None of those things will happen to you if I can help it.” He shrugged. “I need your help. Why would I want to kill you or drive you mad?”

I sucked in my lip, feeling the prick of my sharpened teeth before releasing it. The inner fabric of the blanket now held the dampness from my body, the chill making me feel weaker than I’d care to admit. “What do you want from me?”

He smiled, pleased I’d finally asked. “I’ve been cursed,” he said, and the room felt as if it held its breath as he added, “and I need your help breaking it.”

Chapter 16

The Blood Oath

The Pirate

She stared back at me with eyes I found hard to look away from. Large, beautiful aquamarine orbs ringed in gold that reminded me of the ocean beneath the glittering heat of the sun. I hadn’t been expecting the ring of royalty. The rumors among pirates had the queen long dead with no heir in sight. Supposedly, Poseidon himself now ruled over the sirens, which had kept him occupied in the deep oceans all these years. It had served me well, the lack of violent storms on the surface of the seas for every tantrum he threw. This creature in front of me could change all of that, but, more importantly, she could change my future.

Sharp, glistening, white teeth peeked from behind her lip as she chewed her lip while she watched me, her brow creasing as if she were deep in thought. I could almost picture the images flitting across her expressive face. I had struggled to keep the grin from my face from the moment I’d captured her. I hadn’t just found any siren; I’d found a royal descendent. She would be the perfect creature to break this damn curse.

There was a bite to her words as she said, “Who says I want to help you, or that I even will?”

“I’m Kipp.”

I ignored her question because there was no reason to answer it. She would help. She really didn’t have a choice. She simply hadn’t realized that yet it seemed. Once she did come to that conclusion, this would be so much easier for her, for me, for everyone on this ship.

A bead of blood dotted her lip, and I found myself almost mesmerized by it as her teeth released her lip. My head tilted as the strangest urge hit me, willing me to pull that moistened lip into my mouth to suck the blood away. My breath left me as I imagined the tip of my tongue lining the curve of her upper lip. I cleared my throat, giving my head a subtle shake to clear the errant thoughts running wild in my mind. I watched her arch her brows, a slow seductive smile lifting those lips I’d just admired as if she knew my line of thought. The lust of the siren truly was a plight I’d have to resist it seemed.

“I don’t care what your name is. Release me,” she demanded, as if her royal heritage had any standing on this ship.

“I will… Once our task together is finished. Like I said before. I give you my word.”

I pulled my dagger from my hip, and she flinched back, hissing as she bared her sharp teeth in warning. Claws broke free of her fingertips, and I held up my empty palm to show her that I meant her no harm. She stilled, her teeth still clenched and on display, her claws still curled between us. Using the point of the blade, I pricked my thumb until the flesh bubbled with my blood.

“By blood oath, I swear on my blood that I will release you once my task is completed and my curse is lifted,” I said, my voice as tense as the air between us.

Her nostrils flared as my blood dripped to the wooden planks at our feet. She relaxed slightly as I slipped the blade back into the holster at my hip, but her watchful gaze didn’t leave me once. “It does not matter. I cannot be here. I do not have the time to waste to be here. There are those who depend on me.”

As soon as her words left her, an odd expression crossed her face as if her admission had pained her. Her claws receded as she clutched her fingers into fists, her own blood streaking the skin of her fingers. The slight tightening of her eyes as she winced was the only indication that she had noticed the pain.

“The quicker we are with my tasks, the faster you can return to your people,” I said, though I wasn’t sure of that. Still, I let the lie fall from my lips. The blood oath had been true. I would release her from the task. The bond I’d created between us was another story. I didn’t know how to break that.

She would be able to leave, sure. But she would always be aware of me, and I her. What I’d done had been a great risk, but I’d do it again if I had to. Desperation made people reckless. If we failed… it wouldn’t bode well for her.

“What is it you need?” she finally asked, her shoulders drooping slightly, her chin dipping. It was as if a bit of the fight had been sucked from her, though I knew she still held a lethalness about her.

A wave of relief washed over me, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time. “I was cursed by a sea witch, and I need you to help me break it.”

Her skin flushed red as she smirked, her gaze widening as she responded, “I find it odd you were cursed and your solution to escape it requires my help.”

Venom coated each of her words and it flared to life the darkness within me that I barely held at bay. Her nostrils flared, her anger singing to my curse, almost as if it wrapped it aroundher finger. The darkness within me ignited as if it wanted to devour her along with me.

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