Page 18 of Siren's Gift

The ocean here was cold and silent, holding its breath as if death itself watched and waited. Perhaps Calypso was death incarnate. Despite the drum of my panicked heartbeat, no other sound penetrated the depths of the witch’s home.

I followed the twists and turns I’d used previously until the tunnel opened into a vast chamber—the heart of the sea witch’s lair. Shelves lined the dimly lit cavern walls, crammed with mysterious objects and strange concoctions. In the center of it all stood a throne formed from twisted white coral that resembled bones.

Just like before, Calypso sat on her throne as if she were expecting me, which was impossible.

Wasn’t it?

The witch’s dark hair fanned out around her head like a tangled mass of snakes. A reddish hue tinted her skin and scales, and her ribs stuck out prominently from her gaunt frame. Flowing black seaweed covered most of her dark red serpentine tail, which was so long it curled around her throne. The end was nowhere in sight.

The sea serpent’s dark gaze was the most terrifying part about her. The bottomless depths of the oceans stared back, seductive in their mystery but promising a sure death if one swam too deep.

"Well, isn’t this quite the surprise?" Calypso’s full red lips curled up, revealing her fangs. The very same fangs I had helped her recover ten years ago. The ones I had stolen from my father.It wasn’t really a smile, more of a predatory look. "To what do I owe the pleasure after, what, nine years or so?"

I wasn’t as naïve as the first time we met. Well, I hoped I wasn’t, anyway. But she knew exactly how long it had been.

I reached into my satchel and pulled the talisman free. Finley remained hidden inside. "The talismans are failing when you said they would last forever."

"Oh, dear." She drew her eyebrows together and held out a crimson hand. "Let me see it."

I dropped the tooth necklace into her palm, avoiding her wickedly sharp claws.

She clenched the talisman in her fist and closed her eyes. After a moment, she pierced me with her dark gaze again. "Dreadful news, I’m afraid. It seems one item you collected for the spell had been tainted somehow. Impure. The spell will continue to fail because of it."

I accepted the talisman back from her and scrutinized it. "What do you mean ‘tainted?’ I got exactly what you asked for."

"Yes, my child, but you must have damaged the piece of seaweed cloak somehow. Did you seal it in a clamshell for protection before bringing it to me, like I’d explained?"

The seaweed in question came from one of the rarest plants in the entire ocean. Similar to Finley’s magic, the plant’s properties rendered itself and anything under it invisible, which made it invaluable as a fabric. That scrap had come from a cloak hanging in my palace’s Hall of Mysteries.

My mouth slammed shut. All of this, everything we’d worked so hard to achieve over the past ten years, would be lost because of a simple error. I hadn’t sealed it in a clamshell, even though she’d told me it would be wise to protect it.

But there was a big difference betweenshouldandmust. I hadn’t realized failing to seal it would alter the spell and causeit to fail. Now we were destined to return to the sea because of a careless mistake.

Mycareless mistake.

Devastation gripped my stomach in a vise, clenching painfully. There was no way I could pay the witch to make new talismans or even fix our current ones. The only way I could even try would be to beg my father for payment or for him to create them for us, and neither of those options was going to happen.

I had failed. Worse, I had failed my sister. I had made a promise to our mother before she died to protect Marissa, no matter what, and I couldn’t even do that.

I’d let Frankie down, Dominic, and now my sister.

My heart was about to shatter.

"I may have a solution for you." The corners of the witch’s blood-red lips tilted up slowly as if tasting something delicious. "But, as with everything worthwhile, it’ll cost you."

"What solution?" Apparently, I was a sucker for pain. There was no chance I could afford her price, but I had to know what she proposed.

Calypso slid off her throne and swam toward me, curling her tail around my waist in a way-too-friendly move. It was weird and unnerving, but I remained still.

"I happen to have a potion on hand that would allow you to change shapes at will…permanently."

My pulse raced as the possibilities of such a life ran through my mind. Never having to worry about wearing a talisman again? Never fearing what would happen if someone removed it or if it broke? She was talking about a dream come true for Marissa and me.

"There’s just one tiny catch—I only have enough for one of you." Calypso pouted. "It’s extremely difficult to create."

Of course there was a catch. "Why didn’t you offer it the first time I visited?"

"It was a risky spell I’d never tried before. I couldn’t possibly test it on you first, especially if it had deadly consequences. Your father would’ve done far worse than banishing me." She still pouted, but the glint in her gaze didn’t match the look. "Thankfully, I’ve had plenty of years since then to fine-tune the spell. It works beautifully now. Perfectly."

---