Page 17 of Voice of the Ocean

Maeve would tell them. Celeste did not blame her. Initiates were trained to obey, not question. Celeste was the one who was too curious. Too wild. Too foolish. And look where that had gotten her.

Without hesitation, the princess bolted, racing back to where Bastian and his prince waited. As they swam, the poor animal drifted from its stupor, shaking in fear and cold. It whined softly.

“I’m sorry,” Celeste said in her language, knowing it wouldn’t understand.

She began to feel the humans nearby in the water. They flailed around like prey. Any siren with half a sense could pick them out easily, even in the storm. Her tail pushed faster. She had to reach them first, swim them somewhere safe. If she could somehow get the humans on land, it’d be impossible for the others to reach them.

Just as she spotted the two dark shapes of the humans on the horizon, Celeste felt the Chorus in the water behind her. That meant they felt Celeste too. The Chorus would follow wherever they went. Track them and leave no survivors. She knew their tactics well. But she had never pictured this. She had always believed the Chorus acted in defense. That’s why the Goddess gave them their Song. To protect.

When had that changed? Or had she just been naive?

The prince scanned her face as she approached. Beside him, Bastian floated, still unconscious.

“What happened?” he asked.

The creature wriggled in her arms, yelping and scratching.

“Admiral!” the prince gasped. The animal broke free and paddled happily to him, tail smacking the water. The prince pulled it into his arms and buried his head in its fur. He lifted his eyes and looked at her. “You—you saved my dog?”

Celeste nodded, flushed.

“The others.” He paused. “They’re gone.”

It wasn’t a question.

She nodded again in response.

The water beneath moved, shifted as the Chorus closed in. They were out of time. Everything inside her wanted to grab him and swim, but it was no use. They had no chance of escape. She was out of options. So she pulled her beloved spear from her back and turned to face the consequences.

CHAPTEREIGHT

The sirens broke through the surface several lengths away, General Xandra at the front. A blind rage distorted Xandra’s face. But beside her, Echo was as calm as clear water, which was a great deal more frightening. Celeste expected them to say something. To ask her why she had done this. To ask her to stand down. Instead, General Xandra raised her spear in challenge. The others fell back. Celeste positioned herself in front of the prince and his companions. She eyed her competition, not liking her odds in this rematch.

Xandra launched herself at Celeste. The princess fell back, attempting to knock away the blow. But the general had more force. They collided like a thunderclap. Celeste just managed to deflect the blade away from her shoulder, but the wings just below the weapon’s tip made contact. Pain lanced through Celeste. Sharp and then dull at once. Xandra pulled back, but Celeste was quicker this time. The smaller siren used both hands on the shaft of her spear to swing up. She knocked the second blow out of the way. In the time it took Xandra to recover, Celeste dove.

Celeste knew her strengths and her weaknesses well. As initiates, sirens had weapon training every day. Xandra may have been larger, but Celeste excelled at using her surroundings. Before the general had time to react, Celeste grabbed the fin of her superior’s tail and pulled her under. Xandra sputtered, her lungs taking a moment to adjust. And in that moment, Celeste thrust her spear toward Xandra’s temple. The blunt end. For even now, she couldn’t bring herself to injure this siren she respected.

Xandra saw the blow coming. She evaded to the left, grunting. Celeste let the swing of her spear spin her around and brought the weapon around back toward the temple again. But once more, Xandra’s training was unmatched. The general blocked, the clash nearly knocking Celeste’s spear from her hands.

Celeste swam back, adding distance between them. But as she did, her attention was drawn above. The other sirens were not waiting for their leader to finish her. The fight was a distraction to lure Celeste away and leave the humans unprotected.

“No!” the princess cried. She darted toward them but was knocked off course. Hard. Pain bloomed again in her shoulder, and she turned to see blood clouding the water. The general lunged again, and this time Celeste did not hold back. With a grunt, the little siren parried and then moved into a thrust of her own. Xandra dodged, but not fast enough to avoid it. The tip of Celeste’s spear sliced across the side of her superior’s arm.

“You can’t win,” the general said.

She was right, of course. Even if Celeste managed to best Xandra, she couldn’t beat them all. Above her, the prince and his companions were surrounded. Feinting another thrust, Celeste used the distraction to flee. She surfaced between the humans and Echo. Despite having the upper hand, the sirens did not move on the humans. Like perfect little soldiers, they awaited instruction from their superior. Celeste pointed her weapon toward Echo, blood and water dripping from her.

“Get back!” Celeste shouted.

Just behind, Maeve floated beside Officer Rae. Celeste avoided her friend’s gaze. She did not want to see how her Maeve looked at her now.

“That’s enough,” Echo said. “Lower your weapon, traitor.”

Celeste wished she knew the perfect thing to say, like her sister Sephone always had. How could she make them understand? But even if she found the words, she knew they wouldn’t listen. Goddess’s fins, she wished she even felt confident she was making the right choice. This wasn’t a simple rule break.This was treason.

The gazes of her fellow initiates felt heavy upon her. It was unbearable. Did none of them feel as she did? Why was Celeste so horrified by what had happened when no one else reacted?You’re acting like a human, her mother’s voice echoed in her head, ringing. She was too much like them. Too emotional. Tears sprung to her eyes. How did she let this happen? Fear and shame simmered inside her, overwhelming her.

General Xandra emerged, and the circle of sirens widened to make room.

---