Page 92 of MidKnight
The cold made me squint my eyes and I bit my teeth together to stop them from chattering.
Isla and Raj had a dragon. They had djinn. They had sirens, and by extension most of the magical sea folk. Things weren’t looking good for Sedara. Or me, if they thought I was in league with Queen Diamoni.
Quinn grabbed me and pulled me into him. I clung to his body heat.
Those sirens were angry,Quinn said.Inside, they were furious. Incensed.
Over Sedara. And me.
No, Dove. They pictured your mother. They were angry at her more than anyone. They pictured Avia. They were disgusted by her human form. By the thought that she’d been taken.
I know. Avia’s a siren. Mother stole a siren.
No, Dove. She didn’t. A siren doesn’t have the power Isla and Raj are betting on. Their range extends to a roomful at most. That’s why there were two.
But—I swallowed, and the winter cold seemed to invade my insides. The chill spread right to my heart.If not a siren, what type of creature did mother steal?
I saw a picture in their heads.He showed it to me. The dark black of the ocean depths crept around the creature. She was a lithe woman with white hair that floated behind her. Her body had an elongated human shape. She was lined in iridescent scales on either side from foot to neck, on the undersides of her breasts, and around her eyes. The woman’s fingers were webbed and tipped with claws. Huge body-length fins, like those from a beta fish, fluttered from her back like wings. Her eyes were huge—and completely black. The picture she made was utterly beautiful. And utterly terrifying.
I’m not certain what this creature is. Some kind of sea fairy. Do you know?
It definitely wasn’t a siren. I shook my head.Is that … Avia?
No, here’s the next part of their mental picture. It’s not Avia.
The creature shot out a jet of power that created a whirlpool next to her. The swirling vortex rose up, up, up. And then, with a swirl of her hand, the sea woman reversed the rotation. A ship flew down toward her, smashing into the ocean floor at her side. Bodies and cargo burst from the ship like bubbles. The woman moved forward and broke open a chest that had floated to the ocean floor from the wreckage. It was full of coins. She picked up the chest and grinned.
My eyes widened as I watched the sea witch open her wings and flap them to swim carelessly away.
The coins we’ve been seeing. They’re old because they’re—
Sunken treasure,Quinn finished my sentence for me.
This creature—whatever she was—was no siren.
She was something worse.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Instead of flying straight to the castle, Quinn flew us north toward the Cerulean forest. Most of the blue leaves now littered the forest floor and the trees were merely angry hands scratching at the sky.
My head was dazed but my heart was anxious even as he held me in his arms.
Where are we going? We have to find out what that sea woman … sea fairy … monster … we need to know what powers she—
Quinn’s mouth latched onto mine. His lips were ice cold from flying but his breath was warm. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around my waist.
I have to kiss you.
But the rebellion—
Can wait five minutes.
Only five?
He grinned.Or five hours. Whichever you prefer.
But … those sirens came to get those people to act.
