Page 108 of Voice of the Ocean

Celeste turned, heart in her throat. But it was two of the king’s men who had plunged into the streams. Long-clawed fingers tightened around their necks. They did not fight. They did not so much as blink as their bodies were dragged beneath. A fate her crew would soon share.

And all she could do was watch.

The Sea Witch’s words—Don’t fight—rang in Celeste’s ears. She had to get them to stop before they drowned the others—herfriends. But she couldn’t move. The spell fixed her in place. And every second Kiyami crawled closer and closer to the water.

“Maeve!” Celeste cried out, screaming over the music.

The cecaelia’s concentration wavered. Her eyes flicked to the side before returning to Kiyami’s bloodied body.

“Maeve, please! Listen to me!” Celeste yelled, slipping into her mother tongue.

Again, Maeve faltered. But this time she turned, brows knit together. When Maeve recognized her, her eyes widened. She stopped singing.

“Celeste?”

Surprise moved across her face, then relief, and finally confusion. Though time had passed, Celeste could read her friend’s thoughts as she once had.What are you doing here?

Tears rolled down Celeste’s face. “Maeve, I’m so happy you’re okay,” her voice cracked. “But you need to stop.”

Maeve’s eyes hardened. “These humans kidnapped me.”

“Please,” Celeste begged, shaking under the weight of the promise. She looked to her friends, stumbling to their deaths inch by bloody inch.

“Save them yourself,” Maeve spat, turning her face away.

“I can’t,” Celeste called frantically. “The Sea Witch enchanted me.Please.” Her vision blurred with tears. When Maeve still did not turn, she added, “I’ll do anything.”

“Why would you fight to savethem?” Maeve accused, her voice climbing over the battle cries of the Chorus. “They do not deserve our mercy!”

Tears fell from Celeste’s chin, dripping on to the temple floor below. She thought of Nasir teaching her to read. Of Torben giving her a dagger with a wink. Of Kiyami—My sister is a dancer...I want to write to her before we leave tonight about how talented my friend is. The pull on her body loosened as Celeste sank to the floor, surrendering to the spell.

“Because they are myfamily.”

Hurt flashed across Maeve’s face. The cecaelia stared at Celeste, searching for some explanation. Some reason why Celeste would choose these humans over her own. Maeve frowned. And then she sang three jarring notes.

The Song stopped, the final scales of it echoing through the temple. One remaining king’s man got to his feet, blinking as though waking from a dream. A look of horror crossed his face as he beheld the other men floating dead in the water. Then he ran from the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” hissed General Xandra in the siren tongue, her hands gripping another man’s throat.

“The princess ordered it, General,” Maeve responded curtly. Celeste’s heart felt as though it could burst from gratitude.

Narrowing her eyes, Xandra followed Maeve’s gaze to Celeste. But she was already racing to Kiyami’s side. Raiden beat her to it. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and pressed it against the gash at her side. But Kiyami had lost too much blood already.

“Someone heal her,” Celeste demanded, turning around to look at the general.

The sirens did not move.

“This is not a request.” Celeste walked over to pick up the trident. She stood, fixing the general with a hard look. Silence fell.

“Yes,Highness,” Xandra said bitterly. Distrust shone in her eyes. Celeste had never pulled rank before. But Xandra did not fight. The general turned and gave the order. A siren Celeste did not recognize swam forward, eyes as big as saucers. Had the siren ever seen a living human this close before? Touched one? Raiden looked to Celeste, uncertain what was happening.

“Move her to the water’s edge,” Celeste said in his language.

With a nod, Raiden lifted Kiyami in his arms, careful not to jostle her. He placed her gently beside the stream’s edge before the siren. With shaking hands, the healer began to sing. Their voice was soft and soothing as they placed their hands against the wound.

And slowly, color bloomed in Kiyami’s cheeks.

“She’ll recover,” the siren said, looking up to Celeste, who hovered as they worked. “But she won’t be conscious for a while. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

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