38. The Wild Rush

Chapter 38

The Wild Rush

The Siren

C irce's gaze burned with sinister pleasure as she watched Kipp's transformation, her lips curling into a cruel smile as the darkness devoured Kipp. She clucked her tongue and gave her head a shake. "Pity, really," she murmured as she leaned back into her chair as if this was nothing more than a tea call. "I had hoped for a bit more entertainment from him."

"Kipp!" I cried out, twisting in my chair as I strained against the binds pinning me in place. "Fight it!"

His body slackened, his shoulders slumping. There was nothing but an endless void of darkness behind his gaze, and tendrils of inky shadows emanated from his pores, coating his form like a second skin. My heart sank to see him like this, consumed by the darkness of his curse that we had come here to break. We couldn't be too late. We just couldn't.

"Pay him no attention, dear," Circe interjected, her tone sharp and annoyed. "We have important matters to discuss."

I clamped my teeth shut as I tore my attention from where Kipp sat. My brow furrowed as I glared across the room to where Circe sat calmly, her hands clasped pleasantly in her lap while she watched me. The picture of innocence. "What do you want?" I snarled, my arms still struggling against the god rope. "Break his curse or I will do nothing for you."

Circe leaned forward, her hands on her knees as a slow, wicked grin lifted her lips as she leveled me with a glittering gaze that sent a chill through me. "Kill him," she said, her voice stealing the breath from my lungs as I stilled. "Kill him and I will break the sirens' curse."

Horror filled every inch of my being as I gasped, "No!"

She'd offered me the one thing that had convinced me to join this journey, but somewhere along the way, it seemed my reasoning had changed. I turned my attention back to Kipp, who still sat so very still in the chair next to mine, shadows creeping along his body. To the room we sat in, a small, cluttered space. Potions, books, candles, trinkets, and mayhem littered every surface. Runes covered the walls like paint, their power unknown to me as I contemplated the sea witch's words.

"No," I said, determination setting my shoulders straight as I faced her. "I will not."

Circe raised a brow. "Interesting," she said, her voice smooth like ice as she leaned back again. "Then kill yourself," she sneered, enjoying her little game too much to stop now. "…and I will spare him."

My mind raced with the impossible choice she placed before me. Sacrifice myself to save Kipp or sacrifice him to save my people from the curse that had decimated our numbers for centuries. The weight of the choice felt like a heavy boulder that pressed into my shoulders, and it threatened to suffocate me with the intensity of it.

Another realization hit me then as I felt my power thrum within my veins. I lifted my chin. "I choose neither," I said as I pushed with all my might, feeling a power ignite from me as it burned every cell in my body. It electrified my skin and fought against the golden threaded ropes that dug into me, binding me in place, until they snapped. Jumping from the chair, I shoved my hand toward the sea witch, a force sliding her chair back several feet.

I raced to Kipp's side, my fingers pulling the ropes loose and freeing him. They fell loose, coiling along the ground at his feet as I reached up and cupped his face within my hands. "Look at me, Kipp!" I demanded. I felt a tear fall as I stared into the inky void of his gaze. "Look at me now, Kipp! Yes. Yes, I will travel the world with you, Kipp. I will give it all up," I pleaded.

It was in this moment that I realized that it was true. As I knelt before him with the very real possibility of losing him, my feelings for him became clear. Somewhere during this journey, I had fallen for this dark pirate. I'd broken every rule that bound sirens, and I'd fallen in love with a damn surface dweller. Except, I realized it too late…

Now, I'd lost him forever.

I slapped him hard, my anger flaring within my chest as I slapped him again. "Fight it, you asshole! You made me feel this way despite everything. You can't be lost now!"

Nothing flickered behind those pitch black, inky eyes though. He looked at me as if he couldn't even register my presence, as if he didn't know who I was.

Circe pounced, the shock she'd felt at my power throwing her into the wall next to her fireplace gone as she sank her claws into my still-healing back and raked them down. She held them deep within my flesh as she began to chant.

I whipped myself around as I stood, feeling the drag of her hold as it cut deeper into my flesh. My fist slammed into her mouth until I gripped her tongue and ripped it from her mouth. Blood splattered my fist and down her chin as she gurgled her words. She backed up, unable to utter whatever curse she'd been weaving until her tongue grew back.

My hand circled around Kipp's wrist, and I yanked him out of the room and through the door, our feet sinking into the dirt of the surrounding forest as we raced through the trees. My gaze swept our surroundings, my blood soaking my skin as it seeped from my wounds. Somewhere on this island, I knew we would find Glaucus; the sea witch had always kept him close after she'd cursed Scylla. With Circe at my back, planning a revenge I didn't want to experience, and Kipp trailing behind like an empty vessel consumed by the darkness, I didn't know what to do.

I pulled him toward the beach, keeping my eye open for any sign of life that may complicate things further. The darkness slithered along Kipp's skin and danced within his dark eyes. I didn't know how long we had before it fully awoke within him, but I knew it wouldn't be good when that finally happened.

We broke through the foliage into a scene that halted my steps, and I dropped my hold on Kipp's wrist as I took in the sight. Women turned spears toward our entrance, one of them locking eyes with Kipp as she tilted her head.

"We remember you," she hissed, and before I could react, she spun her spear around as she twisted her body, a swift kick connecting with Kipp's chest as she thrusted him backward. He toppled into a tree with a grunt. Instinctively, he lifted himself until he sat, his dark eyes just blinking upward.

Camilla stepped forward, another small boat sat in the sand next to ours. I didn't know why she hadn't listened to Kipp's orders to stay behind, but as these Amazon women circled us, their sharped spears pointing at my heart, I was just thankful to see her here.

"It is not him that you remember," she said, crossing her tanned arms over her breasts as she glared at the warrior who had spoken. "It was another crew. Too long dead now."

More spears swung, several of them pointing at Camilla now. "You killed the villagers before we could save them," the woman said, a growl rumbling through her words.

Camilla didn't even flinch as a spear thrusted toward her, tasting the air between them threateningly. I stood in front of Kipp, protecting him from the half a dozen spears still aimed at us while the sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard rang through the tense air.

"Move," one of the warriors demanded, shaking the tip of their blade toward Kipp and me. I took a step in the direction she indicated, watching as she swung the blade toward Kipp. "I said: move!"

I sidestepped until the blade grazed the fabric of my borrowed shirt, my hands held in the air defensively as I said, "He can't hear you. He's been claimed by a curse." My voice cracked as I admitted the loss of Kipp, and I heard the small intake of air as Camilla realized the truth.

A look crossed the warrior's face, and I knew what she intended as she turned toward Kipp. She appeared to contemplate my words, concluding that she would just end his suffering, her golden tipped spear drawing backward for half a second before she thrusted forward.

With a hiss, I rushed forward, putting myself in front of the spear and feeling the sting of the god's gold that coated the tip of it as it slid into my abdomen. She yanked it out, tearing my skin even further into a wound that wouldn't heal quickly. She hadn't hit any vital organs, but she had weakened me.

"Big mistake," I said, feeling my teeth and claws sharpen as I growled. Pain radiated through my stomach, and blood still seeped from the wounds I'd suffered at Circe's hand, but I let pure malice flash behind my hardened gaze as I tilted my head sideways. "Run."

She turned, but before she could take a single step toward the line of her people, I lunged, feeling my claws sink into the flesh of her neck as I tore through her spine and ripped through her major arteries. I took a single step backward, her blood dripping from my fingertips to the sand below, as her body crumpled, setting the beach into chaos.

"Oh, shit," Camilla said, her fingers closing around the hilt of her curved blade as she ducked the spear jabbing toward her.

I raced forward, leaping into the center of the Amazonian women and taking as much of their focus from Camilla as possible as my fingers wrapped around one of their spears and pulled it from their grasp. My feet landed in the salty water, and several of my iridescent purple scales burned through my skin as I dodged and countered. My hair whipped around my head and my eyes widened as I kept myself aware of every minuscule movement around me.

"Stop," one of the warriors called out, holding her hands up as she watched me.

I froze. Every weapon stilled.

"You are one of them!" she said, and then she dropped to her knees. Her gaze flicked from the scales coating my legs to the golden ring I knew lined my irises. "Forgive us. We did not know who you were."

Camilla stood, her weapon lifted toward the closest warrior, her body tensed and ready to react at a moment's notice as her brow creased.

I lowered my stolen spear, my empty hand pressing into the fresh wound that still bled from my stomach. "I am Talia, daughter of Poseidon and the great goddess of the sea, the Queen of the Sirens. I am the true queen of Atlantis," I declared, slowly spinning as I stared at each of the kneeling women before me.

A sudden thought occurred to me then. To break a curse, one must sacrifice. Circe had demanded my life, or Kipp's, but as my gaze drifted to where Kipp still sat beneath the tree, the darkness thickening around him as if he absorbed the shade beneath the tree, I wondered if a different type of sacrifice would work. I remembered my promise to Scylla, which had given us the final clue we'd needed to make it here.

"I am here for Glaucus. Where is he?" I demanded, an idea slowly forming within my mind.

"Who calls for me?"

A short, stout man with plain features and a blue tinge to his skin stepped out from the forest and onto the beach. The salty wind caught at the messy strands of his green coppery hair as he dragged a confident hand through it and came to a stop close to Kipp.

"Glaucus?" I asked, puzzled by his appearance. This was the man that two powerful creatures fought over?

"Who wants to know?" he asked, his hands going to his hips as he looked me up and down.

I stepped forward, the warriors still bowed in a circle around me as I turned my full attention toward this man. "Scylla wants to know. She wants you to visit her."

"Scylla?" he said, scoffing as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. It was a reaction that I saw through, one that covered a longingness I'd only just begun to feel myself. "She hates me and wants nothing to do with me."

"No, you are very wrong. She needs you, Glaucus."

He took a breath, dropping his gaze for just a moment before he lifted his attention to me again. "It doesn't matter," he replied. "Circe won't let me leave."

"You can leave if you choose to leave, if you choose Scylla," I informed him, making my way toward Kipp. "Come with us. We can take you to her."

The air seemed to still around us as tears formed in his eyes. He nodded once, and Camilla readied the boats to carry us back to the ship as I reached toward Kipp. Glaucus crossed the sands as the warriors stood, standing aside as they watched us make our way toward the water. I passed Kipp off to Camilla, my heart shattering at the shell of the man I loved as I turned to thank the warriors.

Something crashed through the trees, a purple, shimmering magic thickened the air and created a heavy fog that nearly stole my vision from me as I laid my gaze onto Circe. She advanced on us all with a rage that crackled within her, the electric nature of it could be felt in the air all around us as we still stood on her island.

"You will not take what is mine!" she roared as she reached for me. Blood still coated her chin, and her words were barely audible as she spoke them with only a partially healed tongue. But they dripped with rage, the same rage that burned in her blue gaze.

I stepped toward her, throwing both of my arms out toward her and throwing my power her way with a force that rocked the trees and sent sand flying in the direction of my aim. My power collided with Circe's, creating a blast that knocked everyone off their feet.

Jumping to my feet, I staggered backward, feeling the cold kiss of the ocean as it brushed against my ankles. "You wanted me to make a sacrifice, to take my own life." I smirked, savoring the slight flicker of disbelief within her face. "Well, you get your wish."

My fingers sank into the sea, and I reached for the ocean, calling it to me, calling to the father who had never loved me. I let my siren power whistle through every particle of the sea as I called to one of the three most powerful beings in all the world—well, four if you counted me. I stood, feeling the wild rush of water as it climbed my legs, my hips, up my torso and to my fingertips. I threw my hand toward Circe, watching as water shot forward like a powerful jet until it buried itself within her throat in a steady stream that didn't stop until her knees hit the ground and her hands closed around her drowning throat.

The roiling purple fog of her magic seeped into the ground until it disappeared as she fell to all fours and coughed the water out that I'd filled her lungs with. I wanted her to know the power I wielded, wanted her to know that I could end her with ease if I desired, and that this sacrifice I had decided to make was my choice, and not my desperation or lack of strength.

I watched as she climbed to her feet, a rage within her gaze as she glared at me. Slowly, I lifted my hands out to my sides, offering myself to her as I let it all go. I let go of the throne that I had fought for all these years. I let go of the crown that was always meant to be mine. I let it all go as I tipped my chin toward the sky, my hair drifting in the gentle breeze as I waited for her power to take it all.

"I see the binding between your souls, such a foolish price he paid to make it this far," Circe said as I let my eyes fall closed, waiting for the blow to be struck. "So, I'll make sure this only consumes you so that your sacrifice isn't for nothing."

Only, it never came.

Circe prepared a force that would claim my sacrifice, that would end my life, but as she threw her arms toward me, Kipp jumped in front of me, the blast rippling across his skin as he fell to my feet.

"No!" I screamed, dropping to my knees as realization dawned on me at what he had done. I watched as his curse lifted from him, the darkness that had coated his skin in shadows and filled his eyes with an inky void faded.

Breath gasped from him in short bursts as he lifted his palm to the side of my face, his irises blinking painfully up at me with their brown depths I'd come to love. "She was right," he said, his voice weak, breathy. "It was the siren's kiss that had saved me. I know that now."

A soft smile lifted his lips. His chest stilled, and my heart sank as the light disappeared from his warm brown eyes. "No!"

I felt him before I heard his voice. "Why have you called me here, Daughter?" Poseidon demanded as he stepped off the wave he rode, letting his feet sink into the sand as he approached. He looked down to the dead pirate before me. "I will not save your human, nor could I."

The shadows around Kipp stretched, growing as if the darkness he'd contained within him poured from him and darkened the sand where he lay in front of me. My father's insults fell on deaf ears at my back as I watched the darkness spread, a sudden realization catching my breath. It was Thanatos, coming to claim the soul of my pirate.

I flung myself over him, ignoring everything but Kipp. I didn't care that Camilla stood, her fingers gripping the edge of the boats we'd been so close to using for our escape. Or that Glaucus sat in one of those boats, his widened gaze on us all as he swayed with the ebb and flow of the tide. I didn't even glance toward where the Amazonian warriors held their gold-tipped spears at Circe. All that mattered was thwarting off Thanatos.

"You can't have him!" I hissed, my arms wrapping around Kipp's body. He already felt colder. I threw my head up and screamed to the gods, "I, Talia, daughter of Poseidon and rightful queen of Atlantis, renounce my claim to the siren throne. I do this of my own free will to break the curse of my people. I pass the throne to Triton, son of Poseidon. Shall I die at Poseidon's hands or under his order, Poseidon shall inherit the curse and the throne will dissolve."

I didn't care about any of it. The only thought that consumed my mind, my heart, was that the man I loved was no longer breathing. I held him in my arms as tears slipped down my cheeks, dropping into the sand as blackened pearls as Thanatos closed in on us both. He loomed over us, his shadow spilling across us both as Poseidon cursed while he disappeared beneath the waves.

A deep voice that echoed behind us and around us, as if it came from everywhere and nowhere, spoke behind me. "What would you give to see him whole again?"

"Anything!" I cried, a kernel of hope flaring within me. "I'd give anything!"

Thanatos stepped into view then, a coat of shadows that coiled around his form falling from him as I stared up at him. "Oh, child, never give anything. Not even for love," he whispered, but there was something in his tone that told me that he was happy with my answer.

He knelt next to us, reaching toward Kipp's shoulders. My head dipped to the side as I watched the shadows of death ripple across his skin as he brushed the cold shoulder of my pirate. They seemed familiar as they coated his form, reminding me of the way the darkness had claimed Kipp.

The same inky tendrils I'd witnessed in Kipp's eyes and forming around him, seeped from Thanato's power. The familiar cold brush against my skin as it touched my wicked pirate's too still form. I frowned. "He wasn't cursed with the darkness, was he?" I asked.

Thanatos flicked a dark look my way. "No," he admitted sadly. "But he craved power and his curse intertwined within that need. The darkness was only a manifestation of his true power, housed and controlled by the curse he'd requested. It is why, even consumed as he was, he was able to stand in the path of power meant to kill you, the siren who broke that curse's hold."

I blinked at Thanatos, seeing it then. The same tanned skin I'd run my fingers over so many times before, the same long dark hair hanging around his thick shoulders, the same thick brows, the same slant to his lips. There were differences too, like the eerie blue behind his gaze where Kipp's held a warmed honey brown hue, though the inky darkness dancing within the pupil was there.

A nervous laugh lifted my lips. "Proteus had called him ‘little Thanatos,'" I mumbled as it came together. "You're his father."

He nodded, looking down at his son who lay dead between us. "What will you give up for him to have life?"

"Everything," I repeated, ignoring the warning he'd given me. "I'd give it all up for him."

Thanatos smirked. "Is it anything, or is it everything, child?"

"Can't it be both?" My fingers tightened around Kipp.

With a low voice, Thanatos asked me, "Will you give up your power?"

"I already gave up my throne," I replied, frowning.

"No, child," he answered with a sigh. "Will you give up your power?"

I looked down at the hands that held Kipp to my chest, feeling the hum of godly power beneath my fingertips. The power that made me a monster to be feared. It made me stronger than nearly every being, and I knew I could claim a place as an Olympian if I wanted. I could use it to reclaim the throne I'd just given up if I so chose. It would give me anything I wanted, but it wouldn't bring me back Kipp unless I gave even it away.

Power beyond imagination… or love.

It was up to me to choose.