Page 18 of Voice of the Ocean

“Chorus”—the general sheathed her spear—“drown the humans and capture the traitor.”

“Yes, General,” they responded in unison.

The Chorus closed in, weapons drawn. Celeste no longer recognized them, these sirens she’d known for cycles. She didn’t even recognize herself.Traitor. The pressure inside her built, and she looked at the prince. He held his companions close, jaw tight. Her heart was beating too fast. Her mother’s words shouting at her over and over.

“How am I to trust you?”

“Stop acting like one!”

“That’s enough.”

The ringing in her ears swelled. She could feel herself slipping. It was happening again. Her hands flew to her ears, but she couldn’t block the sound. Echo reached to restrain her. Celeste couldn’t breathe. Her heart raced.I should have never come. Tears pricked her eyes.What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?

Echo’s hand clamped over Celeste’s shaking wrist.

“Calm down,” she said.

It was an order.

Celeste looked into her eyes. And screamed.

The sound poured out of her, vibrating throughout her body. She couldn’t control it and couldn’t stop. Echo’s hand slipped from her wrist. The world tilted. And darkness fell.

* * *

Celeste awoke to the feeling of someone’s hand on her shoulder. The rain had stopped, but it was dark. The hand shook her again.

“Please, wake up.”

She opened her eyes and saw the prince staring at her. His dark eyes seemed to be scanning her, as if looking for an explanation. Her arm burned hot where he touched her, and she tilted her head to look down at it. The other shoulder, which was still bleeding, burned for an entirely different reason.

Sighing with relief, the prince released her, and Celeste sank back into the water. She felt empty and tired.

“That was—” He paused, looking over his shoulder, then reconsidered. “Thank you,” he finished instead. At his side, his pet was held in his free arm, but it hung there, body limp. Celeste’s eyes widened, and she reached toward the Admiral.

“He’s fine. Just unconscious,” the prince assured her. “They all are.”

A cold dread settled upon her as she lifted her head and looked past him. It was hard to see. Black smoke seemed to have descended upon them, and Celeste wondered if it had somehow come from the burning ship. She pushed past him and saw bloodred hair. A gasp escaped her throat. General Echo’s body floated belly-up in the water. It was almost serene, how her hair circled her pale face. She looked as if she were sleeping. Maeve slept beside her, tentacles moving gently with the waves. The Chorus floating motionless was almost a twisted copy of the humans she had seen not hours before. Celeste placed a hand against her friend’s chest. After a second, she felt the gentle beating of her heart.They were alive. Her hands shook, and she turned away, squeezing her eyes shut.At least they were alive this time.

The tears came anyway. Her body shook with them as they pooled in her eyes and overflowed. But unlike any other time she cried, they did not simply mix with the water and disappear. They trickled and poured and flowed, leaving salty tracks down her cheeks until they were dripping along her chin. The experience was unnerving.

The prince said nothing. He turned his face away to give her privacy and focused on making sure Bastian, who was still unconscious, did not float too far.

Celeste heated with embarrassment. She hated crying. Hated that this human had seen her utterly fall apart. In haste, Celeste dove into the sea. The water rushed up to meet her, mixing with the tears and washing them away. Soon it was as if they never existed.This isn’t helping, she told herself.You need to get it together and swim these humans to land. You can’t undo what you’ve done, so the least you can do is finish what you’ve started. Clenching her jaw, she took a deep breath and resurfaced.

The prince turned, meeting her eye. And the siren paused. Why hadn’t her voice put him to sleep too? Why hadn’t anyone’s Song affected him? But she didn’t have time for such questions. The Chorus could wake any second. Flushing, she reached her hand out to the human.

Let’s go, it said.

“Well, I supposeIcan’t swim to Velluno,” he said, taking her hand.

In spite of herself, Celeste laughed. She wrapped her arm around the prince, who held the Admiral and Bastian. She tried to keep her face expressionless as she felt the warmth of the prince’s body pressed against her. Her wounded shoulder still throbbed, but it wasn’t too bad. It was the least of her worries at this point. She didn’t seem to be losing too much blood, and she knew how to avoid attracting predators.

With their party ready, Celeste swam off. She’d need to swim fast if they wanted to make it to Port Velluno before the Chorus could catch them. Luckily for them, she knew the ocean, and although she had never seen them, she knew the locations of the human lands very well. She knew exactly where they were going. Still, the journey was awkward. Despite her being both strong and fast, carrying two grown human men and their dog through the water was a challenge. Bastian was no better than deadweight, and many a time she would feel him slipping and would have to stop to allow the prince to readjust his grip. The prince—she mainly tried her best to ignore him. But his right arm had laced itself around her, large hand pressed against her abdomen, and she couldn’t help but notice what felt like every firm muscle of him.

Above them, stars shone brightly, helping to guide her way. The sea, which had grown still and dark, reflected the glittering sky, and it was as if they were swimming through galaxies. In spite of all that had happened, Celeste couldn’t help but be swept away by the beauty of it all. Their journey was quiet, except for the gentle sound of the waves and Celeste’s tail moving them forward in a repetitive rhythm.

Time lengthened and shortened in equal parts. The journey felt like an eternity, and yet Celeste was somehow shocked when she saw the faint shadow of a human city appear on the horizon just before dawn. Her pace quickened, and her shoulders relaxed for the first time since that morning. The prince didn’t seem to see it for another good hour.

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