Page 102 of Voice of the Ocean

“Wouldn’t you want to protect yourinvestment?” Celeste retorted, frustration simmering close to the surface.

“Perhaps,” Nerissa hissed. “But by the time Imighthave stepped in, you did something—interesting.” Her lips curled up into a smile on the last word.

“You made a deal withthe Sea Witch?”

At Sephone’s voice, Celeste turned, heart sinking in her stomach. “I did what I had to.”

“And now you’ve brought her here! To this sacred island!”

Celeste took in a deep breath, her anger rising to boiling just under her skin.

“I am so very sorry to intrude, Your Highness,” the Sea Witch’s silken voice cut between them as she turned her attention to Sephone. “But I must warn you—when I arrived on the shore of this island, I saw a ship dropping anchor. The human prince’s ship.”

Celeste’s face paled.

“You said they couldn’t find this island without a siren’s Song,” Celeste said.

“I didn’t think they could...” Sephone faltered, looking desperately at Gala. The ancient siren looked as though she was fading by the second.

“Enough talk.” Nerissa’s jaw tightened. “Celeste, you delay your prince. I shall help your sister and her companion escape.”

“I will not leave before the ritual is completed!” Sephone insisted. “I will not be the one who loses the Goddess’s gift.”

“Then I suppose we will have to hold them off,” the Sea Witch said.

Celeste straightened and fixed Nerissa with a suspicious stare. “I thoughtyou don’t do charity.”

“I may be banished, but I am still a daughter of the Goddess.” The Sea Witch looked down her nose at her. Celeste bristled. She felt guilty for assuming the worst of Nerissa. “And I don’t think it’ll hurt to make afriendof our new Voice,” she added with a sly smile.

Ah, there it was. Of course the Witch had some self-serving motivation for helping them. Still, Celeste wasn’t in the position to turn down aid. Her fists weren’t going to do much against a pirate and his crew.

“Quickly now, Your Highness,” Gala croaked, her voice weaker than it had been mere moments ago. With one last worried look toward her sister, Sephone took a deep breath and let out a hum, syncing with her mentor. Their voices melted together, blending once again before opening into song. Without another word, Nerissa strode back through the temple doors, Celeste following behind.

“Why do you have legs?” the princess blurted once they were outside.

Nerissa blinked her large, inky eyes at her. “We are on anisland, Princess.”

Celeste felt her cheeks heat, and she fell silent. The painful process of forming legs burned in her memory. She couldn’t imagine performing such a thing on herself.

The familiar song of the ritual drifted out of the temple on the wind, slowly building the momentum it had lost through its multiple interruptions. Of all the ways her reunion with her sister could have happened, she never expected this. It wasn’t the island or even the revelation that her own sister had hidden her powers from her all this time that bothered her most. No, it was the way her sister looked at her. As though she were some blundering fool who could not help but make a mess of things.Not that I don’t deserve it, she thought bitterly. Still, no cut was quite as deep as one from a sister.

Pressing down her feelings, Celeste looked over toward Nerissa. The Sea Witch was dressed in black fitted pants and top with a deep purple cloak framing her large pearl necklace.

“I don’t suppose you’re carrying a weapon beneath that cloak,” Celeste said.

Nerissa cocked an eyebrow at her. “I am the weapon.”

“Of course you are.” Sure, a siren’s best weapon was their Voice, but even the Chorus carried spears as a precaution. She fidgeted nervously, wiping her hands on her hips. After a moment, her curiosity flourished anew. “How?—?”

“Ask one more question, Princess, and I’ll throw you into the sea.”

With a nod, Celeste fell silent. And that was when she heard them.

The humans.

She had hoped the others wouldn’t have come. But from the sound of their footfalls, each as loud as thunder in the quiet of the island, Celeste could tell many were approaching. The Sea Witch glanced at Celeste. Above them, the afternoon sun slipped away from the moon, washing everything in golden light.

Captain Raiden Sharp appeared like a figment of her worst imaginings, framed in the bows of the trees above. Her heart stuttered at the sight. His face fixed into a grimace. Bastian stood at his left, sword drawn. And behind them, Kiyami, Nasir, and Torben wore expressions of discomfort or dread. A crew of ten strangers walked with them. Burly men with wide shoulders, roped in muscle. They were not as tall as Nasir, but they were twice as menacing.

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