33. Jace

Chapter thirty-three

Jace

The twisted trees, with their roots springing from the marsh floor, held my gaze as I stared into their secretive depths. I couldn’t feel Lia. It was driving me absolutely insane.

I never felt pain, or panic, or hurt—the bond just felt as if it emptied. To calm my nerves, I told myself that it could have been the work of the magic that lingered in this strange land, but I was losing my last bit of patience that remained.

My foot was bouncing uncontrollably, rocking the pinnace we were forced to wait in.

“Brother,” Gage said quietly. “They will be alright.”

“I can’t feel her, Gage! I can’t feel Lia down our bond,” I snapped.

He gave me an awkward smile. “I can’t pretend I know what that’s like, but you know our girls. They’re tough.” A laugh left him. “A hell of a lot tougher than us sometimes.”

I gave him a knowing look as he chuckled at his own joke.

“How much longer do we need to wait? It’s been hours. And as the minutes pass, I’m contemplating stepping foot on the land and taking my gods-damn chances. ”

“I’m all for bravery, but even you know that would be a stupid thing to do. Mating-bond rage or not,” Gage joked.

I scoffed. “Mating-bond rage.”

“Do you have another word for your territorial behavior?” He raised a brow at me.

My shoulders relaxed as I looked up into the foggy air, taking my time to answer. “Perhaps not.”

Silence cloaked the area aside from the occasional buzz of an insect or croak of a frog. Suddenly, my ears picked up a call in the distance. As I looked beyond the marshes, my eyes narrowed and strained, attempting to trace the source of the alluring whisper that seemed to drift from the sea.

My back stiffened, and my stare whirled to Gage. “Do you hear that?”

He sat up straight and surveyed our surroundings through narrowed eyes, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword as he gave a slow, small nod.

The distant hum grew louder, evolving into a haunting, feminine melody that seemed to wrap around everything, filling the air with its presence.

The notes turned into a blend of voices that dripped with an alluring honeyed sweetness—a symphony of temptation. I instantly reached down the tether, latching onto it as I searched for any sign of Lia.

The salty breeze carried the song in from the sea that awaited us beyond the bending marsh, and my body suddenly begged to succumb to it.

A splash echoed only feet away from our boat, breaking my trance. My eyes shot to it, and all I could see was a ripple in the murky water beneath us .

“Gage, something isn’t right,” I whispered.

When I went unanswered, I looked at my best friend and nearly gasped as I noticed his eyes had glazed over and turned a milky hue, seeming to have fallen into a trance-like state.

“Gage?”

When he didn’t respond, I leapt across the boat, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him vigorously.

“Gage, snap out of it!” Panic overtook me as his eyes remained glazed, but a menacing smirk crept up his face.

“Brother, the sirens call to us.” His voice was unrecognizable.

“Sirens?!” My gaze shot back out and whipped in every direction.

The thick water we floated above remained steady, but the calls continued.

His hand dangled over the side of the boat, reaching for the water from where the monsters called to us.

“Gage, no!” I shouted as I reached for him and shoved his body to the center of our small boat.

I smacked his face, but it was no use. There was no reaching him.

Unsheathing my sword, I stood on the benches of the pinnace; my blade held out and ready to strike as I tried to block out the sirens’ song.

“Show yourselves!” I bellowed, my voice booming through the twisted trees. “I know you’re here. Reveal yourselves, now!”

The sirens’ heads emerged from the murky water and the mist that hovered over it. Instinctively, my grip tightened on my blade, and a growl erupted in my chest as two of them effortlessly floated toward the back of the boat. No matter how hard I attempted to block out their songs, I felt an irresistible urge to move toward its seductive pulse.

“A man,” a scenic voice called from the front of the pinnace.

My gaze snapped in its direction, and there, perched on the tip of the ship's front, sat a creature from ancient myths and legends.

Her soaked blonde hair was adorned with the bones of her past victims, twisting the top strands away from her face as the rest remained draped over the front of her bare breasts. A tail with shimmering scales black as night splashed in the water below, its fins appearing as sharp as the blade I held.

My eyes lingered on the conch shell embedded in her throat, which legends claimed produced the melodies of their deadly songs. The moment our stares met, an intense sensation of terror gripped me as I was forced to peer into her unseeing, stark-white eyes.

“Mother of the gods,” I breathed as I held my blade higher, ready to strike.

“A foolish man,” she cooed as she picked a piece of seaweed from her scales. “Your gods are not here. But I am.” Her webbed fingers traced the edge of the wood she sat upon as beads of water slid from her hairline and down her haunting face.

“I am no fool,” I answered. “I know exactly what you are and what you seek. ”

She tilted her head to the side curiously, and I desperately tried not to look into her eerie stare.

She leaned toward me, attempting to tease me by exposing her breasts as her hair lifted from them in her bend. “And what is it that I seek…” The creature looked me up and down. “Captain?”

“I am Commander Cadoria, and you will stand down in whatever trickery you are attempting, siren .”

“Trickery?” she asked. “Commander, I just want to play.” A menacing smile tilted the corner of her sharp lips.

“I know what playing entails with your kind.”

“And what is that?”

“You lure men from their ships with your beautiful songs and false promises, trapping them within the depths of the sea—feasting on their blood and flesh,” I answered through furrowed brows. “We were warned of beasts within these marshes; however, creatures like you are not what I was expecting.”

A sharp giggle left her, sending a chill down my spine. “You speak of me with disgust, yet you do not know me. Tell me, Commander, what is it you long for most? A beautiful woman on your arm? Or is it power that you seek? A siren’s kiss may grant you both.” She paused as her eyes roamed over me once more. “Or am I lacking the allure that a commander desires?”

The melody of her sisters’ calls continued to fill the air as we stared each other down.

“A siren’s kiss is from the pricks of their teeth and always ends in certain death.” A smirk formed on my face. “Besides, I have all you offered—the most powerful and beautiful female in the realm. You have nothing I desire…except perhaps having your head on a spike.”

A hiss left her, exposing her dagger-like teeth that appeared as if they had been carved into points. Suddenly, the songs that had filled the air ceased, and an abrupt splash sounded behind me.

I whipped around just in time to watch as Gage’s body was dragged overboard and beneath the surface of the murky water.

“Fuck! Gage!” I bellowed, and as I went to leap across the boat, the siren whipped her tail out, catching my ankle as I was mid-jump.

My body slammed down into the wood, my head bouncing off the unforgiving edge of the pinnace, causing me to lose hold of my weapon. The sound of my sword clattering as it fell was nearly deafening as an instant headache brewed. I blinked through the blurriness of my vision and was met with icy eyes gazing back at me.

I desperately tried to move my body to strike her as the creature leaned over me, but I had lost all control of myself. As the siren opened her mouth full of razor-sharp fangs, a hymn left her lips.

My eyes glazed over, and a trance took over me simultaneously.

In my mind, Lia's face consumed my thoughts, her panic palpable down our tether that I thought I could suddenly feel once more—yet I couldn't discern if it was her distress or my own dread of losing her forever.

The siren pulled me below the water’s surface, and I knew nothing but darkness.