Page 58 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

And he does not care? she questioned.

He has his own inner monster, I shared with her.

I’d hesitated before I’d answered, and she watched me, her mind probing mine. His inner darkness had drawn me in, but it had also repelled me. We were both caught in a tangled web of emotions that we fought, though we seemed to be losing more than we won. All my thoughts were laid bare for her, and she easily saw through the façade.

Don’t make the same mistake that I did, she said, her shoulders drooping as she looked at us both. At the way he stood next to me, his hand gripping the sword he’d reclaimed as he watched for any sign of malicious intent as if he would die to protect me. I did not tell Glaucus. He did not know.

Scylla faced the entrance, a longingness to her gaze as she said, “Travel by night toward the moon but against the wind. Go west from this island.” She swung her attention toward Kipp, looking down at him. “When the sun is just about to dawn in the sky, use the compass. It will guide you the rest of the way.”

My brow lifted as I turned to Kipp. “What compass?”

Kipp’s fingers dipped into the pocket of his trousers, his movements slow and shock painted across his features as he pulled a brass device from his pocket. “This won’t work,” he said, his voice uncertain as he stared down at the spinning arrow. “I’ve tried it before. It was only meant to lead me to her.”

Scylla smiled. “That’s one of the fates’ objects. It led you to what you needed most at the time. When you are beneath the moon and west of here, let her hold it. The power of the compass within her hold will take you the rest of the way.”

I stared down at the device, knowing I’d seen it before but seeing it for the first time truly now. It had been by that device that he’d known exactly where to find me. It had started us on this quest together, and it would lead us to the end of it.

“Thank you,” I said to Scylla, my arm wrapping around Kipp’s waist as he dropped the compass back into his pocket. It was a long walk back to where we’d left the ship.

“Sail safe. I am trusting you to bring Glaucus back to me safely. These times seem to be shifting,” she said with a frown, her gaze shifting to the exit of her cavernous abode. “Zeus has been interfering with matters of the sea as of late,” she added as she turned her attention back to me, a curious look behind her eyes. “I’m not sure what that means for the rest of us.”

A chill traveled down my spine, but I remained tall in my stance as I replied, “We will,” before turning toward the exit, Kipp still at my side.

Tell him. Admit what you feel to yourself before it is too late. You do not want to end up like me, I heard her whisper into my mind as we slipped away into the darkness, leaving her behind… for now.

Chapter 35

The Cold Detachment

The Pirate

Talia had been a force to be reckoned with, fighting Scylla without causing her any lasting harm, using her siren song to communicate our desires, continuously placing herself in front of me to shield me from harm. Even if she never spoke the words of her heart to me, her actions proved them tonight. I couldn’t help but be in awe of her, and yet, at the same time, my heart had raced with unfathomable fear as I’d watched Scylla slam her head against the rock with such a force that I felt it throb within my skull. The thought of losing her had been unbearable, and it had fueled my rage as I’d jumped to my feet, brandishing my meagre sword against the beast.

As we moved through the darkened cavern toward the exit, with her at my side while we walked in silence, my feelings intensified with her nearness. She was like a drug that called to me, addictive and all-consuming. The treasure I’d searched for my entire life, but it seemed to have arrived too late. My own corruption pulled me farther away from her as I felt myself losing control of who I’d been. Every day, the darkness heldme tighter within its grip, and I feared the day I lost myself completely to its hold.

I’d felt the pull of that darkness in the cave, begging to be unleashed as my sword hovered in the air near the tentacles that had held Talia in the air, choking the life from her as she pled our case to Scylla. I’d wanted to destroy the monster, and anyone else in my path, to feel the heat of their blood as it coated my skin. It had taken every ounce of my willpower to resist its call, to still my blade and let Talia talk the beast into giving us what we needed. My blade had shimmied within my hold, my muscles straining with the internal fight within me, as she and Scylla seemed to have a silent understanding while I’d stood idly by watching, ready to spring into action at a second’s notice.

I didn’t know how much longer I could hold the darkness at bay before it consumed me completely. The only thing that I knew was that time was running out.

We stepped out into the night, the icy waters washing ashore as we distanced ourselves from the cave. Talia stopped as she stared out at the sea. When she turned to me, a thoughtful look lifted her brow as she said, “I think we should swim back.”

“Around the entire island?” I asked, skeptical. I doubted I’d be able to make that swim any faster than it would take us to trek through the woods we’d traveled to get here.

She pursed her lips together as she studied me, and then a smile stretched across her lips. “Don’t even worry about it,” she said, flicking a look toward the sea. “I’ll pull you along with me, land-legs.”

I nearly laughed at her teasing tone, but then the gash along her head caught my attention, the blood still fresh seeping from the wound. “You should let me look at that,” I said, motioning toward her head as I pulled the pack from my back.

Talia stepped out of my reach, giving her head a shake as she shrugged off my concern. “I’m fine.”

Her reaction stung like another rejection, and I shouldered my pack again with frustration. I followed her steps further away from the cave, toward the beach just a short distance away. The pounding of the waves along the shore echoed in my ears, mirroring the heated beat of my heart as I ground my teeth, unable to staunch the rage that seethed within me. “Fine,” I muttered under my breath as I followed her, “bleed out then.”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she turned toward me. “You don’t understand.”

“I understand that we both have responsibilities, and that both of our lives are on the line here,” I retorted, feeling the heat in my face as my rage burned on. She was so god damned stubborn and it really was starting to piss me off. “None of that really matters to me though because I refuse to ignore what is going on between us.” I paused stepping back as my feet sank into the wet sand beneath us creating needed distance between our bodies. My voice turned sharp, I was done pretending, “I have to be honest with myself, but you’re right. I don’t understand why you’d rather lie to yourself than to let us have what little time we have left together mean something. I know you feel it too. Why won’t you just be honest with yourself?” I tapped my chest where my heart beat within, “be honest with me.”

Maybe I was being selfish, maybe I’d become used to getting what I wanted easily. Either way, I knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t about to make myself a martyr by ignoring those desires simply because it would have been what was right.

She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she continued walking ahead of me until her feet hit the frothing waves. With the water dancing around her ankles, her scales glittered along her skin, but she held her human form as she lifted her chin to the sky. Her long dark lashes rested on her cheeks as her eyes fell closed, and she breathed in the salty air deeply as if the world fellfrom existence and only she were left. The soft ethereal glow of the moon highlighted her skin, painting her in a gentle light that made her look as if she weren’t of this world.

---