Page 171 of Gods of the Sea

I stopped, and his eyes fluttered open. His hand crawled up my back and pressed firmly between my shoulder blades, bringing me in as his lips pressed against the corner of my mouth.

The sensation was cosmic. It made my whole body tingle.

He kissed me again, full on the mouth, inviting me to trust him as he sucked slowly on my lips with each consecutive kiss.

Each kiss was sensual, adventurous, and comforting. Much like Luc himself.

Our lips parted, but not our bodies. He randomly planted kisses around my face and neck, chuckling softly as I became shy from his affection. His fingers came to my wrist, satisfaction beaming off his face as my pulse raced against his fingers.

“Are you happy now?” I teased.

He shook his head like a playful puppy. “This is only the beginning.”

I squealed as he leaned down and wrapped his hands behind my knees, lifting me up into the air. He smiled up at me.

“There are so many things I’ve wanted to do to make your heart race,” he whispered seductively. “And now, I finally get to try them.”

***

I had five years with my father before he was laid next to my mother.

Jacques’s father paid for not only all of Father’s medical bills, but also for all the funeral expenses. He even purchased Father’s estate from me for a single franc; after all, I didn’t need it where I was going.

Luc escorted me back to the Den of Sirens not long after Father passed, and the king granted me my wings. I remembered all my lives before, overwhelmed with gratefulness for every one of them—painful or pleasurable—as they had turned me into what I was now.

Although sirens usually didn’t marry, King Melchior allowed Rhys and I to be partners. His only response to Rhys’s passionate confession of love for me was, “I knew you would find your bravery eventually.”

(Followed up with Hugo’s comment: “It took you long enough.”)

Jacques and Henrik worked for the king as Judges, and I only saw them at times of the trials. Adrian sometimes accompanied them as captain over one of Jacques’s trade ships. Apparently, Jacques had created an entire trade business traveling between the den and the city so many times. This meant that Jacques was even richer than his father. And needing help with his business, he had put Adrian in charge of one of his vessels.

Because of my true form, I knew that Adrian couldn’t recognize me outside the Den of Sirens. It seemed, however, that nothing was kept secret in the den itself, and because of this,Adrian knew who I was in this place. But he was still susceptible to my charms, and this kept Luc on his toes at all times.

Henrik and I were able to reconcile our relationship, and he became a dear friend once again. He served the king and sirens well, his reputation nothing but honored in the den. He was a great leader among them. Possibly the best in centuries. And when the king walked by him and smiled, I couldn’t help but wonder if the king had known that would be the case all along.

And I was forever by Rhys’s side. Nothing between the human world or siren world was forbidden to us, and we worked each day collecting humanity for judgment.

Our task as sirens was painful but necessary. Although we could not cure evil entirely, we could address the evil in front of us. And since we both had already addressed our own evils, we were much more effective in cleansing the world the rightful way.

There was nothing easy about purity. It was an endless commitment, with no immediate reward. But we knew that evil had a devastating outcome, even if it rewarded us for a short time. Living in the world we knew we were meant to live in—serving the king, dwelling with the people we loved most, and saving others from their own evil—that was the most satisfying life I could think of.

Satisfied with what I had, I needed nothing else. Satisfied with what I had, I could give more to the world instead of taking from it.

SCENES FROM HIS POV

Don’t like any of the endings? Well then, write your own! At the end of this book are blank pages for you to write whatever ending you want.

For further inspiration, or to spend more time with your favorite leading man, here are some scenes from the points of view of Adrian, Henrik, Jacques, and Luc. Get to know them better by seeing the story through their eyes!

ADRIAN

ONE

I could hear music flowing out of the windows.

It wasn’t my place to ask why a broke man was throwing a hell of a party. It was better just to join in the fun. It didn’t matter whether or not I had been invited. I had crashed many parties before in the past, and this one would be just as fun to sneak into.

Of course, this was the first time I had to cut someone open and steal their blood, but I always enjoyed a new challenge.

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