Page 18 of Rise of the Siren Queen
This is insane.
I clenched my fists, the cold stone beneath grounding me just enough to keep from spiraling into outright panic. I had come here for peace, to escape the noise of everything. And now… now I was trapped in a cave under a moonlit pool, where I had almost fucking drowned. A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it, the sound hollow and rough.
Sirens. Fucking sirens exist.
Every rational part of me screamed that this wasn’t real, that it couldn’t be. But I had seen it. I had felt it. The icy grip of the water, the way the world faded in and out as I struggled to breathe. And then…her.
I shook my head, trying to push the image away, but it clung to the edges of my mind, vivid and undeniable.
And she saved you, you idiot.
I grimaced, my chest tightening as the realization hit me hard. I had been a total jerk to her, lashing out when she had pulled me from the depths, my body still in shock and my mind scrambling to understand.
She saved my life.And what did I do? I pushed her away and threw insults at her when I should’ve been thanking her. But, beyond the anger and confusion, there was something else. Something I hadn’t been able to admit at the moment.
She was stunning. Breathtaking, even. The way her golden tail glowed beneath the water, every movement fluid and deliberate, like she was part of the ocean itself. I had seen little, too busy trying to keep myself conscious, trying not to drown, but the little I saw was enough to stir a beat deep inside me. Beat to an organ I thought could no longer function, and it scared me as much as it intriguedme.
After the initial shock faded, giving way to a feeling far more consuming. She was dazzling, wild, and ethereal in a way that made it impossible to look away.
My gaze traced the delicate curve of her ears, their shape reminiscent of translucent fins, flickering subtly with each shift of movement. Her slit pupils, dark and piercing, locked onto mine with a quiet intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. However, her other features enthralled me, her green shell top highlighted her curves beautifully.
And then there was the crown, golden, woven with pearls and emeralds, gleaming beneath the water’s fractured light. It wasn’t just an ornament. It was a declaration. A master piece of gold with a trident made of dark green gems, golden spear-shape shells and a pearl pendent. Yet, it was the inconspicuous tail in the middle provided the piece with grace and elegance.
Royalty.
But it was her lips that mesmerized me. I’d noticed them the moment I first saw her, full, enticing, maddeningly distracting. Now, as they moved, forming sharp words of warning, a reminder not to dive again, I found myself caught in a silent, reckless wonder.
How would they feel? Soft and yielding, or just as fierce as the fire in her eyes?
Magnificent. Alluring. Dangerous.
I should have been wary, should have recognized the threat in the way she carried herself, like a blade sheathed in silk, lethal even in stillness. And yet, none of that dulled the lure I felt toward her. If anything, it only made it stronger.
No. Focus. I wasn’t here to be mesmerized by whatever strange, transcendental beauty she possessed. I needed answers. Needed to get out of this nightmare before it swallowed me whole. But themore I thought about it, the more the reality of my situation pressed in on me, suffocating in its significance. I wasn’t just stuck.
I got caught in something much bigger than myself. A situation I couldn’t control, and the very idea of it lit a fire of spite inside me.
Anger surged, hot and fast, mingling with the confusion and fear, twisting into something volatile.
How the fuck did I end up here? How had I gone from a normal life, with normal problems, to this? Trapped in a labyrinth of caves, saved by a siren, who, if I was understanding any of this correctly, was part of a world that had been hiding beneath the surface all along. A world that apparently didn’t want me in it.
I scoffed bitterly. The sound echoing in the cavern. Why the hell would they? I wasn’t one of them, didn’t belong here. I was an outsider.
But then there was the other part. The part that scared me the most, the way she looked at me. Not with anger or annoyance, but something else, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I felt it too, a draw, something deep and unexplainable. And that was the part I hated most, how drawn I was to her, even amid this chaos.
I forced myself to stand, my legs unsteady but determined.
Focus, Adrian. Get your head on straight.
I couldn’t afford to get caught up in whatever strange attraction or curiosity I felt toward her. Not now. Not when my life was literally on the line.
“Sirens,” I muttered again, the word still sounding ridiculous on my tongue.
I glanced around the dim cavern, hoping to find something, anything, to make a bed. Leaves, moss, even stray branches. But as expected, there was nothing. Just cold, unforgiving stone stretching out beneath me, offering no comfort.
I let out a sigh, running a hand through my damp hair. My bodyached from exhaustion, the adrenaline crash hitting hard, but the idea of sleep felt like a distant memory, something unreachable.
With no other option, I lowered myself onto the hard floor, the rough surface digging into my back immediately. I shifted, trying to find a position that didn’t make every muscle protest, but it was impossible. The stone was cold, the air damp, and my thoughts, mydamnthoughts, wouldn’t stop racing.
