Page 47 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

Grilled fish, dripping with herbs and spices, decorated the porcelain of my plate, and I placed a bite of it into my mouth. The tenderness felt smooth against my tongue, the flavors bursting within my mouth as I swallowed it, a small measure of pleasure rumbling in my throat. It held an entirely different appeal than the raw catches I was used to within in the ocean.

I glanced up to find Kipp’s inky gaze on me, his breath hitched as the heat of desire burned behind his eyes. Memories of his skin caging mine on the soft sand warmed my blood, sending tendrils of need through my core as I licked my lips clean. I wanted him, even though I knew I shouldn’t, and thetensed posture, his frozen breath, suggested that he wanted me too.

“Enough with the eye fucking,” Proteus said with a groan, breaking the tension and shocking my gaze back down to my plate. “It really is unsanitary at the breakfast table.”

Dionysus simply laughed at the new development, clearly amused by our subtle flirtation.

Once we finished our meal, Proteus led Kipp and I out into the bright sunlight, keeping his head down until we settled beneath the shade of an ancient tree. The small pond of seawater sat nearby, the salty scent making me breathe easier. Dionysus had followed us, sitting with his back along the wide trunk of the tree.

Barely able to contain his impatience, Kipp growled. “We’ve stayed the night, we have eaten your breakfast, we want answers now.”

Proteus hesitated as he settled into a cushioned lounger with a sigh of comfort. “To find Circe, you first need to seek out Scylla. She’s the only one who despises her enough to reveal her whereabouts, and she has nothing left to lose. However, convincing the beast to talk will be…” He paused, as if to choose his words carefully, aware of the dangers that lie ahead. “…challenging, but with her…” His head nodded my way. “…it may be possible.”

Dionysus’ brow lifted. “How did you originally find her, anyway?” he asked, his gaze flicking between Kipp and me.

With a nonchalant shrug, he answered, “A seer.”

“And let me guess, this seer was an older woman with only one eye?”

Kipp threw his hands up into the air. “Why does everyone keep saying that? How did you know?”

“The Fates like to meddle in the lives of gods and mortals,” Dionysus replied lazily. “They get bored.”

The anger at being so easily fooled set Kipp’s jaw into a firm line as he leaned forward, his dark gaze piercing Proteus as if he could glean answers with his glare. “Where is Scylla?”

Proteus leaned back in his chair, his hands folding behind his head like a cushion of flesh as he said, “Last I heard, she was ruling over the treacherous Strait of Messina.”

“And keeping Charybdis in check,” Dionysus chimed in with a chuckle.

My curiosity piqued at the mention of my half-sister. I’d never met her before, but she was another one of Poseidon’s children, just as I was. We were littered across the sea, which was why I had only been mildly surprised by my half-brother’s entrance into the throne room the day I’d been thrown from Atlantis. “Why would Charybdis need to be kept in line?”

I’d heard tales of her destroying ships and consuming mortals as if they were nothing more than fish in the sea. She held a viciousness far worse than even us sirens. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about her ferocity, and I couldn’t help but respect her for it.

Proteus lowered his head and sighed. “I’m sorry, but that is all that I have for you.”

Kipp stood, his nostrils flaring as the chair he’d been sitting on toppled over in his rage. His face contorted in fury as he growled out, “That’s not enough! You promised us the location of Circe!”

“Oh,” Proteus said with a cunning grin, “but I did tell you the location of where to find her.” He leaned forward, locking eyes with Kipp. “Scylla has the information you need.” He turned to me then as he added, “Just be careful, my dear minnow. It would be tragic to lose you.” He paused, a glint of mischief in his gaze. “Especially considering we were once almost lovers.”

I rolled my eyes, feeling Kipp tense next to me as his gaze swung back and forth between us. Turning to Kipp, I said, “There was never an almost. My father just tricked me.”

“A barbaric ritual,” Proteus cut in. “And such a shame that he stole your choice from you on your first mating ritual.”

“I don’t understand,” Kipp said, still standing as he watched us all with barely controlled rage simmering just beneath his skin.

Proteus morphed into his old man visage. “Most of the gods believe I look like this,” he replied, holding his hands out at his side. They shook with the effort, a real show of his feebleness. “Save for a few in my inner circle.”

“Why does that matter?” Kipp asked.

“My father is a real asshole,” I cut in, not wanting to go into the details of my heritage. Kipp knew I was the daughter of the late siren queen, but he didn’t know about Poseidon, and I wanted to keep it that way. “I fucked up and he punished me by choosing an old man, Proteus, for my first mating ritual.”

“Luckily for her, not only am I super handsome,” Proteus joked, earning another eye roll from me. “But I’m also one of the decent ones. Most immortals are complete shits.”

My hand closed around Kipp’s wrist, and he breathed easier beneath my touch. “We spent the night sitting in the sand, talking until the sun rose. After that, I never entered another choosing again.”

Understanding dawned on Kipp’s face as he realized why I’d never been with a man before our tangle last night. I’d feared having my choice stolen from me by my father. Meeting Proteus had been pure luck, but I worried I wouldn’t be so lucky next time. So, I’d never chosen to give myself to a male until Kipp.

I stood, needing this walk down trauma lane to be over. “Find Scylla. Got it,” I said, my hand still gripped around Kipp’s wrist. “Let’s go.”

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