Page 64 of Voice of the Ocean

The siren princess raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say,What do you think?Without another word, Raiden took her hand in his, guiding her toward the stalls further down the main street. Celeste stared at his large hand, curled around hers. His grip wasn’t tight, and she knew she could slide her hand free if she chose to. But she let him lead her. Nothing about it felt real. Soon she would wake to find she was still in the water looking at shore and watching a human girl hold a human boy’s hand.

Raiden weaved through the crowd, his hand the tether that kept her from being swept away in their current. She should have been afraid among all these humans. Or even nervous. But those feelings did not come. Instead, she took in the sights around her, enjoying the energy of the crowd. It reminded her of holidays in Staria. In the spring, they held the celebration of the Mother, honoring the Mother Goddess and all the siren mothers. They would crown the women in delicate corals, raised for sacred days such as those, and sing songs. With a pang, she realized she had missed this cycle’s celebration. That her mother was left without two of her children. Her heart squeezed in her chest. But Staria did not celebrate the summer like this. Sirens did not honor the sun as humans did. They were children of the moon.

Raiden came to a stop in line for a vendor with a purple awning. On the table beneath sat piles of fruit, round as pearls but far larger. Some were as big as her palm and colored orange, while others were smaller and yellow or green. With a gentle tug, Raiden pulled Celeste into his side and out of the way of those passing. She had been too preoccupied to notice them.

“It’s tradition to eat citrus fruits during the summer festival. That’s when they’re in season, and they’re hard to come by... so it’s sort of a delicacy,” he explained, his hand still holding hers. She stilled when she felt his rough thumb brush idly against the back of her hand. It was such a small touch, and yet she noticed every movement of his hand in hers. The sweet and tart smell she had encountered earlier was stronger now and the music louder. It mixed with the hum of the crowd into a perfect melody. She took in a long breath, tilting her head back to let the sun warm her face as she listened. It was a feeling unlike any she had ever experienced. To be surrounded by sound and smell and...people. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she let herself soak it all in.

“One orange, please,” Raiden’s familiar baritone sounded from beside her.

She opened her eyes when Raiden’s hand pulled free from hers and watched as he pulled out coins and handed them to the vendor. She pulled out coins of her own and tried to offer them to him, but Raiden ignored her. With their single orange fruit in tow—an aptly named thing, she noted—the captain took her hand back into his and pulled Celeste behind him up into the crowd. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, an eyebrow raised.

“I wanted to take you to a nice spot to enjoy our festival treat,” he said in answer.

The two made their way down the busy street, passing vendors selling food, clothes, jewelry, paintings, and knickknacks. Unable to help herself, Celeste pulled Raiden to a stop so she could admire some of the paintings up close. Most of them depicted the city around her through blurry, dreamlike strokes. After she had her fill, Celeste turned from the booth and walked straight into the back of a passing guard.

She froze, every muscle tightening. Her hand left Raiden’s and instinctively went to the knife hidden in her waistband. The sound of her bodice ripping echoed in her ears. But before she could pull the knife free, Raiden’s hand caught her wrist and held it.

“Stop,” he breathed, his lips pressed against her ear.

But it was too late. The guard turned toward them.

“Good afternoon, miss,” the man said, his voice firm. “Is this man bothering you?” He eyed Raiden’s hand around her wrist.

“No, Constable. We were just on our way to enjoy our fruit in the square,” Raiden said.

The guard—constable—narrowed his eyes.

“I was speaking to the lady.”

Celeste pulled her wrist from Raiden’s grasp and hid the knife from view behind her back. She tried her best to keep from shaking.

“She doesn’t speak, sir.”

“Sounds to me like you won’t let her.” The constable’s hand moved to the hilt of his sword. Raiden’s body became tense, ready for a fight.

The constable turned to her. “Is this true? You can’t speak?”

She nodded, but his skeptical expression did not change.

“Was thisforeignerbothering you?” he asked again.

She shook her head, but he could tell she was afraid. Of course, this man wouldn’t know it washimshe was afraid of. It was jarring to hear him speak to her as if he wished toprotecther, even respected her, when just weeks ago a man wearing a similar uniform stripped her naked. She wondered why this situation was so different. Why would this man wish to protect her now when she did not want or need protection? And why did he call Raiden a foreigner, as if it had been a dirty word? She knew Raiden was born in Hinarso, but he had grown up in Ethoria, as far as she was aware.

“Why don’t you come with me, and we can get you sorted,” the constable said, taking a step toward Celeste as if to pull her from Raiden’s side. She took a step back.

“You’d separate a wife from her husband on this sacred day?” Raiden said.

Both the constable and Celeste stopped cold.

Wife?She turned to look up at Raiden, and he gave her a smile. He waslyingto this human. And he did it so well. Celeste wanted to argue, but to deny him would just make things worse. So she decided, against her better judgment, to play along. She wrapped her free arm around his waist, pulling his body closer to hers and trying not to show how her pulse jumped at the feeling. Then she fixed the constable with her best pleading expression.

The constable frowned. She couldn’t blame him. Her actingwasatrocious. And she clearly wasn’t behaving like a human wife.

“Come along,” he grunted, reaching for her.

Panicked, she mimicked that other human couple she’d seen. She lifted herself up onto her toes and pressed her lips to Raiden’s. At first it felt as though she were kissing a wall. Her captain stood stock-still, as if he had stopped breathing. Then his lips softened against hers, and his hands were on her back, pulling her closer. It felt real. Too real. And in that moment, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. Celeste broke away, heart pounding.

What had she done?

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