Page 6 of Siren's Treasure

Enough talk! Raggon moved for him, dissolving into a vaporous cloud. He couldn’t physically strike until he reappeared, but when he did, he’d be close enough to slit the man’s throat.

He materialized three paces closer, his form condensing from mist to flesh just as Maddox stepped back, anticipating the attack. The pirate’s sword met his with a ring of steel. Switching directions, Raggon swung again, feeling the bite of the man’s blade scoring his stomach.

The man’s hot, fetid breath washed over him with a laugh. “The Land Witch said nothing about bringing you to her in one piece.”

Raggon stumbled back, crimson spreading across his shirt as he also drew his dagger. He’d finish this festering bilge rat. Watching one of Circe’s cursed soldiers tottering behind Maddox, he disappeared again, this time materializing to face the beast. It let out a roar that shook the rigging. Raggon drove his blade deep, then brought his boot down hard against its massive knee. The beast fell like a heavy oak, right into Maddox, ending the pirate’s curses with a grunt.

Raggon lunged for the kill, his body already dissolving into seafoam. He was halfway through his transformation, his essence scattered in droplets through the air, when the first note of a song pierced the chaos of battle—like the sun piercingthrough the clouds, in a sound that was alluring and terrifying all at once. The melody resonated through the rigging and seemed to emanate from the sea itself. Each note carried the weight of ancient depths.

As Raggon moved, he noticed that men and beast alike stood frozen in place, swords and fists raised mid-strike, faces twisted in expressions of rage and fear. The world hadn’t completely stopped—the masts still swayed dangerously, and smoke curled from burning wood and powder. The ship groaned beneath them like a dying thing.

Behind them, near the splintered gunwale, came that soul-shattering music—from what could only be a woman whose beauty was as terrible as a storm at sea. Her copper hair writhed around her shoulders like living flame, and her eyes held the darkness of the deepest trenches. A siren, without a doubt—she’d sing them all to death.

For surely, none of them could survive this!

Raggon snapped back to existence, no longer able to keep from shifting back to his human form. As he became whole, he felt his limbs grow rigid, each joint locking into place like a statue being carved from living flesh.

Was this how they meant to capture the prince of Sylphoria? With the voice of a siren? Only Maddox was also caught in the same snare, his frozen glare directed near the spot where Raggon had first disappeared.

Raggon’s breath came in ragged gasps as he stared at the otherworldly female. Her eyes met his, and the intensity in those fathomless depths jolted through him like fire. Some distant part of him recognized the danger, but he couldn’t look away—didn’t want to look away.

Ironic that such beauty would kill him.

And what was he thinking? Fury coursed through him. Was she controlling his thoughts, making him desire her? Even now,he longed to touch the rosiness of her skin, see if it was as soft as he thought. And no, this wasn’t real. The velvety depth of her song was to blame.

Above them, timber cracked with a sound like breaking bones. The yardarm plummeted toward the deck, trailing ropes and burning canvas. The impact jarred the deck beneath his boots, sending a violent jolt through him as it split the weathered planks with a thunderous crash. Seawater rushed through the breach, curling around his legs.

His tongue worked uselessly against his mouth. He was unable to cry out, to defend himself as the deck tilted beneath him. Raggon’s stomach lurched, and he fell backwards. The ship disappeared in a blur of color and the tropical warmth of the sea rushed up to catch him.

He toppled into its depths, the siren’s song following him down into darkness as the roar of water closed over him. The rest of the deck followed him, and something rough landed onto his arm, then punched into his stomach. Unable to twist from this new danger, his head rammed against a splintered piece of wreckage.

The fading notes of the otherworldly melody were swallowed in the deadly arms of the sea.

Chapter four

The man would drown, and she was to blame!

The morning sun painted the battle in harsh relief—splintered wood ablaze against the pale sky, black smoke threading through the sea mist. Moments before the ship had broken over the surface with its deep shadow, this unusual pirate had surprised her by materializing from thin air. And then, somehow, he’d broken through her spell enough to meet eyes with her.

The intensity of his blue-eyed gaze had sent electric shivers through her core, like touching a living storm-eel. And then he was gone, swallowed by the churning waves. Without another thought, she dove into the water after him.

Shattered planks and torn rigging created a maze in the turbulent water. A broken mast drifted past like a fallen giant, trailing ropes like seaweed. She searched desperately for a glimpse of his proud shoulders, though he’d dressed in such dark colors.

How would she ever find him?

A flash of a hand moving through the water caught her eyes. Unbelievably, she’d discovered him drifting through barrels of wreckage. She swam forward, feeling more of the ship crash into the water behind her. The man would be crushed! She would too! Thessa should move to safety! And yet, she couldn’t stop.

Wasn’t he just like the others? So why was she attempting such a foolhardy rescue?

Her heart pounded harder when she found him sinking further down toward her grotto home. His eyes were closed, blood seeping above a thick brow, the long strands of his dark hair swept around him like storm-tossed seaweed.

The brass buttons of his regimental coat caught what little sunlight filtered through the debris. A golden medallion floated above his head, just another treasure that would be added to her trove below.

Never! Not while she could still save him. She couldn’t bear any more death!

The man himself—the proud line of his jaw marked by a thin scar, the strength in his shoulders even while unconscious—he was a different kind of treasure entirely.

Her arms wove around him, and she felt the warmth of his body against hers, blazing hotter than the surrounding waters. She stilled, never being this close to a human before. He almost embraced her in this form of death, his muscled frame heavy in her arms.

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