Page 65 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

“Pay him no attention, dear,” Circe interjected, her tone sharp and annoyed. “We have important matters to discuss.”

I clamped my teeth shut as I tore my attention from where Kipp sat. My brow furrowed as I glared across the room to whereCirce sat calmly, her hands clasped pleasantly in her lap while she watched me. The picture of innocence. “What do you want?” I snarled, my arms still struggling against the god rope. “Break his curse or I will do nothing for you.”

Circe leaned forward, her hands on her knees as a slow, wicked grin lifted her lips as she leveled me with a glittering gaze that sent a chill through me. “Kill him,” she said, her voice stealing the breath from my lungs as I stilled. “Kill him and I will break the sirens’ curse.”

Horror filled every inch of my being as I gasped, “No!”

She’d offered me the one thing that had convinced me to join this journey, but somewhere along the way, it seemed my reasoning had changed. I turned my attention back to Kipp, who still sat so very still in the chair next to mine, shadows creeping along his body. To the room we sat in, a small, cluttered space. Potions, books, candles, trinkets, and mayhem littered every surface. Runes covered the walls like paint, their power unknown to me as I contemplated the sea witch’s words.

“No,” I said, determination setting my shoulders straight as I faced her. “I will not.”

Circe raised a brow. “Interesting,” she said, her voice smooth like ice as she leaned back again. “Then kill yourself,” she sneered, enjoying her little game too much to stop now. “…and I will spare him.”

My mind raced with the impossible choice she placed before me. Sacrifice myself to save Kipp or sacrifice him to save my people from the curse that had decimated our numbers for centuries. The weight of the choice felt like a heavy boulder that pressed into my shoulders, and it threatened to suffocate me with the intensity of it.

Another realization hit me then as I felt my power thrum within my veins. I lifted my chin. “I choose neither,” I said as I pushed with all my might, feeling a power ignite from me as itburned every cell in my body. It electrified my skin and fought against the golden threaded ropes that dug into me, binding me in place, until they snapped. Jumping from the chair, I shoved my hand toward the sea witch, a force sliding her chair back several feet.

I raced to Kipp’s side, my fingers pulling the ropes loose and freeing him. They fell loose, coiling along the ground at his feet as I reached up and cupped his face within my hands. “Look at me, Kipp!” I demanded. I felt a tear fall as I stared into the inky void of his gaze. “Look at me now, Kipp! Yes. Yes, I will travel the world with you, Kipp. I will give it all up,” I pleaded.

It was in this moment that I realized that it was true. As I knelt before him with the very real possibility of losing him, my feelings for him became clear. Somewhere during this journey, I had fallen for this dark pirate. I’d broken every rule that bound sirens, and I’d fallen in love with a damn surface dweller. Except, I realized it too late…

Now, I’d lost him forever.

I slapped him hard, my anger flaring within my chest as I slapped him again. “Fight it, you asshole! You made me feel this way despite everything. You can’t be lost now!”

Nothing flickered behind those pitch black, inky eyes though. He looked at me as if he couldn’t even register my presence, as if he didn’t know who I was.

Circe pounced, the shock she’d felt at my power throwing her into the wall next to her fireplace gone as she sank her claws into my still-healing back and raked them down. She held them deep within my flesh as she began to chant.

I whipped myself around as I stood, feeling the drag of her hold as it cut deeper into my flesh. My fist slammed into her mouth until I gripped her tongue and ripped it from her mouth. Blood splattered my fist and down her chin as she gurgled herwords. She backed up, unable to utter whatever curse she’d been weaving until her tongue grew back.

My hand circled around Kipp’s wrist, and I yanked him out of the room and through the door, our feet sinking into the dirt of the surrounding forest as we raced through the trees. My gaze swept our surroundings, my blood soaking my skin as it seeped from my wounds. Somewhere on this island, I knew we would find Glaucus; the sea witch had always kept him close after she’d cursed Scylla. With Circe at my back, planning a revenge I didn’t want to experience, and Kipp trailing behind like an empty vessel consumed by the darkness, I didn’t know what to do.

I pulled him toward the beach, keeping my eye open for any sign of life that may complicate things further. The darkness slithered along Kipp’s skin and danced within his dark eyes. I didn’t know how long we had before it fully awoke within him, but I knew it wouldn’t be good when that finally happened.

We broke through the foliage into a scene that halted my steps, and I dropped my hold on Kipp’s wrist as I took in the sight. Women turned spears toward our entrance, one of them locking eyes with Kipp as she tilted her head.

“We remember you,” she hissed, and before I could react, she spun her spear around as she twisted her body, a swift kick connecting with Kipp’s chest as she thrusted him backward. He toppled into a tree with a grunt. Instinctively, he lifted himself until he sat, his dark eyes just blinking upward.

Camilla stepped forward, another small boat sat in the sand next to ours. I didn’t know why she hadn’t listened to Kipp’s orders to stay behind, but as these Amazon women circled us, their sharped spears pointing at my heart, I was just thankful to see her here.

“It is not him that you remember,” she said, crossing her tanned arms over her breasts as she glared at the warrior who had spoken. “It was another crew. Too long dead now.”

More spears swung, several of them pointing at Camilla now. “You killed the villagers before we could save them,” the woman said, a growl rumbling through her words.

Camilla didn’t even flinch as a spear thrusted toward her, tasting the air between them threateningly. I stood in front of Kipp, protecting him from the half a dozen spears still aimed at us while the sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard rang through the tense air.

“Move,” one of the warriors demanded, shaking the tip of their blade toward Kipp and me. I took a step in the direction she indicated, watching as she swung the blade toward Kipp. “I said: move!”

I sidestepped until the blade grazed the fabric of my borrowed shirt, my hands held in the air defensively as I said, “He can’t hear you. He’s been claimed by a curse.” My voice cracked as I admitted the loss of Kipp, and I heard the small intake of air as Camilla realized the truth.

A look crossed the warrior’s face, and I knew what she intended as she turned toward Kipp. She appeared to contemplate my words, concluding that she would just end his suffering, her golden tipped spear drawing backward for half a second before she thrusted forward.

With a hiss, I rushed forward, putting myself in front of the spear and feeling the sting of the god’s gold that coated the tip of it as it slid into my abdomen. She yanked it out, tearing my skin even further into a wound that wouldn’t heal quickly. She hadn’t hit any vital organs, but she had weakened me.

“Big mistake,” I said, feeling my teeth and claws sharpen as I growled. Pain radiated through my stomach, and blood still seeped from the wounds I’d suffered at Circe’s hand, but I let pure malice flash behind my hardened gaze as I tilted my head sideways. “Run.”

She turned, but before she could take a single step toward the line of her people, I lunged, feeling my claws sink into the flesh of her neck as I tore through her spine and ripped through her major arteries. I took a single step backward, her blood dripping from my fingertips to the sand below, as her body crumpled, setting the beach into chaos.

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