Page 90 of Voice of the Ocean

“She would have told the sirens we were here,” he said slowly. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

Celeste’s sorrow sharpened to a point. “When.”

“A couple of days ago. You went to bed early.”

Her eyes squeezed shut.A couple of days. That meant... she was just upstairs. When they were dancing... drinking... celebrating...kissing... Maeve was here. Alone, scared, and imprisoned.

Celeste’s felt as though she might be sick.

Raiden crossed the threshold, reaching for her, but she pushed him away. Hard. His back collided with the doorway with a thud.

“How could you?” Tears rolled down her face. “Howcouldyou!”

Memories flashed across her mind. Maeve and her sneaking out to train. Sharing secrets. Complaining about Madam Auralia. How Maeve began to drift away. How it hurt. How it pained her to watch the last person she felt she could be at leastmostof herself with slip away. Of course, Maeve never understood why Celeste wasso sensitive.But there were still the late nights talking about what life would be like when they were members of the Chorus.

They will sing songs of us for generations! The day the human prince was lured to his doom by the Chorus and their princess.

“You knew...” She was shouting now. “Youknewwhat I am, and you did this!”

“I did what I had to do to protect us,” the captain insisted.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. But Celeste didn’t care. She couldn’t think.

“She is myfriend!” Celeste bellowed, pulling Maeve’s limp body into her arms.

Raiden’s eyes went wide, just as Bastian rounded the corner, Kiyami, Torben, and Nasir following close behind.

“Is everything okay, Captain? We heard shouting...” Bastian started, then stopped when he took in the scene. His eyes went from Maeve’s half-squid body in Celeste’s arms to Raiden in the doorway. But he didn’t look surprised.

“You toldhim,” Celeste’s voice broke.

Kiyami’s mouth fell open, and Celeste realized what she’d done. But she didn’t have time to explain herself.

“Of course he did,” Bastian spat, venom Celeste could have never expected rising to the surface. “But not until after we captured this one. Raiden knew I wouldn’t let you on the ship if I knew. I figured it out. How you knew about the current. Why I didn’t remember anything from that night.”

“But I saved you,” she said.

“And left our crew to drown!”

“Then why didn’t you just kill me too?” Celeste said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Because weneeded you,” Bastian said. “We can’t get to the island without the help of a siren. Without you, we would have died like the others.”

It was as if he had slapped her.

“You used me,” she said, her eyes turning to Raiden. “You?—”

“My father gave me a suicide mission,” Raiden said, his expression unreadable. “A mission I couldn’t refuse. It was a punishment for letting Valencia get the better of me. Succeed or die. And I failed. Failed and didn’t even have the decency to die with my crew. You saved me. A siren. And then, just when I was losing hope... there you were again in that cell?—”

“You brought us on asuicide mission?” Kiyami cut in, fury on her face. “What about us, Rai?What about my family?”

He turned to look at her but said nothing.

“You told me this job would set me up for life! That I could retire after this. If I die, my family... they’ll be left withnothing!” She looked as though she was about to spring at him, but she stopped when Torben put a hand on her arm.

“You kept this from us. Fed us lies,” Nasir said, his gaze holding none of the warmth Celeste had come to know in it. Her heart cracked at the sound.

They stared at their captain, but his eyes were only on Celeste. Jaw tight. “I didn’t have a choice,” was all he said.

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