Page 55 of Blood of the Sirens
“I almost drowned,” I confirmed, not trusting this suddenappearance of yet another storybook character into my life, but also realizing she likely had valuable information.
Her tentacles waved in the air dismissively as she used them to gesticulate indifference instead of her hands, which were busy patting the zombie mer’s head like a well-behaved dog.
“You didn’t drown,” she sniffed. “You shifted. Have you figured out how to control it now?”
I didn’t like her tone. By the rumbling of Merrick’s chest, neither did he.
“Depends,” I replied. “Are you gonna try to kill me again if I haven’t?”
Her eyes lit with a nasty gleam.
“I like this one,” the witch commented off-handedly to Caspian as if Merrick and I weren’t there. “She is a fighter. Unlike her predecessors who simply gave up.”
Merrick tried to tug me away. I didn’t know how to express to him I agreed; this sea witch woman gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I certainly didn’t trust her, but I needed to learn more.
“Can you tell me anything about what I am?” I asked instead, keeping my tone neutral.
“And what he is,” Merrick butt in, eyes narrowing toward the zombie mer. The creature in question snarled and jerked forward, but Merrick held his ground and hissed back.
“Caspian, behave. We have guests.”
The zombie mer huffed but relaxed as Calypso gently ran her fingers through his dark, matted hair as best she could.
“I’d love to tell you all about your boring heritage, but you’ve got a much bigger problem on your hands currently,” she remarked casually. It was as if she was talking about the weather.
“You mean the clans,” Merrick clarified, never one to beat around the bush.
“Yes, frightful males.” Calypso sighed. “If you go back, they’re likely to tear the poor girl apart.” Calypso pouted, tapping her chin with one long, claw-like fingernail. “Or themselves. Probably both.”
She beamed at Merrick and I. This … Calypso was insane.
“Don’t expect us to hide here because we won’t. My clan won’t hurt her. They won’t let the others hurt her, either. They were just … surprised when she showed up.”
I bit my lip to keep from snorting. Saying his clanmates were surprised to see me was as close to a bold lie as I’d ever heard him utter.
Calypso shot forward from her throne, tentacles flying toward us as she fought to contain her anger.
“You think mers will protect her? You don’t think they would fight and take and steal to be the one who impregnated the first siren in centuries? You don’t think that the others would immediately kill the male who succeeded? If you go back, they will fight and tear and kill until one mounts her, then he will be killed and the next will mount her, again and again and again until she dies from being raped repeatedly.”
My hands covered my mouth at such a horrifying description.
Merrick drew back. “You sound like you speak from experience, but—”
Calypso cut him off. “I’ve seen what happens when you foolish mers lose your possessions. What do you think happened to the other sirens, eh? Their numbers dwindled and dwindled because their own males drove them to extinction!”
Merrick’s jaw dropped, horrified. was shaking his head back and forth. “No.No.That can’t be right. They didn’t teach—”
“What’s the matter, little one? Did they not teach you history in guppy school? Didn’t you ever find it odd no one ever saidwhythe sirens were gone?”
Merrick looked devastated and traumatized all at once. “They wouldn’t … They couldn’t …” He was muttering to himself now, not talking to either Calypso or me.
I put a hand on his arm, and he jumped. “Merrick,” I began softly, “do you think I’m safe with your clan?”
He blinked rapidly, grabbing onto my hand as if it were an anchor. His brow furrowed in thought.
“With the young males … no. But my father would keep you safe. I know everyone lost their head for a moment, but they weren’t expecting you. I wasn’t expecting you. If I sneak you back in, I know he will keep you safe. The other leaders will keep you safe.”
I wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more: me or himself. But I did remember the utter reverence with which the older, white-haired mer had looked at me. If nothing else, I believed in that.
