Chapter 2
Rose
M y body landed on the ground with a heavy thud, my breath knocked right out of me. I gasped, trying to pull in air as I oriented myself, but nothing about what I saw computed in my mind. I couldn't let my confusion hold me back, though. Not when Joseph was nearby and eager to remove all autonomy from me.
I sprang to my feet, swaying only a little before twisting to look around at my surroundings. Adrenaline pumped through me, readying me for another fight, paltry as my previous attempts had been. But as the details of my situation sank in, it became obvious that adrenaline would do little to help. I'd expected to see the gaudy decorations of the Grand Hall; instead, I was in the liminal space—the space between the waking world and the next—once again.
"Fuck!"
The familiar white sand, brown and red stone cliffs surrounding the beach on three sides, and midnight waters were the same as ever. Yet, something had shifted in this place. It was lighter somehow, the arch of the Milky Way muted by a new star shining in the sky. The star was large and bright and as big as the moon would be, but in the many times I'd found myself between waking and sleeping, between worlds, I'd never seen the moon here. I'd never seen anything like this.
Maybe it's just because I'm fully a siren now? That must be it.
The familiar sight of the beach should've calmed me, but it didn't. So much had happened in this space, and if I was here, then who knew what was happening with my body? Joseph could be defiling me or have fully taken over my mind for all I knew, and I could do approximately fuck all about it, as Ava would say. It pissed me off, and the childish part of me wanted to throw myself onto the sand and flail about in a tantrum of epic proportions. But I refrained. Barely.
Turning around in a circle, I looked to see if Atargatis—or Tisa, as she asked me to call her, despite the fact that she was the freaking Goddess of all the merfolk —was there. Nope. Just me. At least Not-Me Siren wasn't here to torment me any longer, now that she was, well, me. She'd finally fulfilled her purpose and bound herself to me, just as she'd threatened to. Which isn't her fault. She was just doing the job she was created for.
Seething, I fell back onto my ass. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. I was supposed to have killed Joseph—then I could return to my life. I could go back to Milo and continue being his girl. Figure out whatever was going on between Will and I… and whatever it was that Milo had hinted at the night I left, when he'd forcibly put my hand in Will's and told him to "Take care of our girl."
Not only that, but I also needed to find Vi, to see if she was safe and to tell her everything. She deserved that much. With how I'd left her on my boat without any explanation except that I would be back… and now that she'd had to endure losing everything by herself… it wasn't fair.
IT'S NOT FAIR!
Remembering what I'd given up made rage build within me again. My teeth and claws sharpened, my body vibrating at the very thought of who instigated my change and why I'd ended up like this. It always went back to Joseph fucking Kelley. ALWAYS.
As the asshole's face showed itself in my mind's eye, the Call rose within me. It pushed power into my limbs and suffused every cell with it, but there was nowhere to funnel the energy. More than that, what power I did have had failed me, unable—or refusing—to aid me in the one thing it was forcing me to do. I hated it for letting me down. I hated it for not releasing me when it didn't do what it was meant to.
The world got brighter. I snapped my head up to see the new star blazing in the sky, glowing brighter and brighter until it was a veritable sun, turning my nighttime sanctuary into a scorching summer day. Its radiance built with my anger, stoking within me just as hot a rage as the thing burning in my haven's sky.
Then I realized… it was reacting to me. To my Call.
It was my Call.
For far too long, I stood there in stunned disbelief. The damn thing flickered slowly dimmer, then bright again, as if acknowledging I was right about what it was.
Countless days of being forced forward and forward and forward, no rest and no stopping. While I was out traipsing around the Pacific on a ghost of a trail, unable to think enough to realize I was being led the wrong way, Joseph had ruined everything I loved. And now… now everything I was, was likely under his control.
Rage pumped through me, adrenaline joining in once more. With how raw and stupid I felt, how betrayed, there was no containing the emotions welling up inside me.
I went feral.
Flying to my feet, I reached up toward the star, willing it into my hand. In a feat I didn't think was possible, I tore it from the sky. The damn thing vibrated between my fingers as I squeezed it, and I delighted in how it struggled to stay lit in the face of my fury.
"You failed me!" I screamed at it. "I could've saved my home, been with Milo and Will, with my aunt, but I can't because Joseph still lives. How could you guide me so truly with the hunters, but not with him? How?"
I tried to crush it, to kill it with my will alone, but it resisted. It pulsed, sending arcs of electricity up my arm as if trying to warn me off, but I was undeterred. I wanted my life back. I wanted to go about my change, my quest, my return to the islands… everything… in a different way, should I wake up again—which was a crapshoot at this point, given that my body was with Joseph, and he'd likely taken over my mind while I was unconscious.
My hand alone wouldn't be enough to break it, so I searched for another way. My gaze snagged on a rock near me, and faster than my human body could ever go, I ran to it. Raising my hand up, I bashed the star down upon the rock over and over again. Yet, while cracks began to form, it remained whole. It taunted me, as if reminding me that it was divine and more powerful than I was. Quickly, my arm began to tire.
The Call might be a source of power, but it was not the only power at my disposal. Reaching within myself, I called upon the power of the talisman, on the souls with whom I shared my body. I asked them to lend me their strength. Please help me, I begged. Please help me free myself from this so I might be with the ones I love.
For once, they answered.
Up the beach, thirteen—not eleven like I'd thought—souls flickered into existence, each with their own color and brightness. From where I kneeled, they weren't much more than fractals of light, shining and shimmering much the same way their living auras must have. My body filled with their strength, chasing out every last remnant of the Call that had taken me over. The ends of my hair, unbound in the liminal space, lifted from my shoulders to float around my head, and the air crackled.
Raising my arm again, I poured every ounce of my rage, grief, and heartbreak into smashing the damn thing against the rock. Once, twice, three times, I bashed it against the stone. This time, those cracks turned into deep furrows, splitting wider with each hit. On the tenth strike, a pulse of power billowed out of the star, and with one last hit, screaming at the top of my lungs, I shattered the damn thing into hundreds of tiny shards.
The fragments, once bright, dimmed and died, turning into smoke that dissipated in the air. The Call untwisted from around my spine, unhooked itself from my mind as each piece disappeared. Once the very last remnant was gone, every inch of me relaxed. It was like I could breathe again, the constant need to find Joseph and kill him—once an unceasing and nagging buzz in my ears—was gone. My hatred for the man remained, but it wasn't all-consuming as it had been, and I thanked the Gods for that.
I released the power I'd borrowed, and it left me in a rush, returning to its rightful owners as I sat back onto my haunches. I expected the spirits to leave as they'd always done before, yet… they stayed. We stared at each other for a long time. Their familiarity was a comfort, and as we looked at each other, I fought back tears.
Pushing myself to my feet with shaky knees, I approached them slowly, carefully, so as not to spook them. As I got closer, their shapeless forms coalesced into outlines of people, all but two of them with a golden smudge where their hearts would have been. There were no faces or defining features on any of them, no way to tell one from another except by the color of their aura, but it didn't matter. My silent watchers knew me and my heart, had borne witness to this last year of my life.
"I made you a promise," I said, my voice hoarse from screaming, "and I intend to keep it, but I don't know how—not now that I'm a siren. I swear I will return once I can be sure my body is safe."
As before, there was no answer, not even a whisper. I had to hope that they understood.
"Thank you for your help," I continued. "I won't let you down."
Taking a deep breath, I concentrated all my energy on getting back to my body.
My eyes flew open.
The world around me was dark, but as my eyes adjusted, several things became clear. I was lying on my back, underwater, in some sort of cave I didn't recognize—which didn't really mean anything, since I hadn't exactly explored many underwater caves. The walls were the same red brown most of the rock in these parts was, and when I sat up—gingerly, as my whole body ached—I saw the mouth of the cave. A little light filtered through the water, telling me it was still daytime at least. Though I wasn't sure how, I knew I was in the vicinity of my islands. And most curiously, I was alone.
But none of this told me how long it'd been since I had my skull bashed against the floor of the Grand Hall, or where exactly I was. Or how I'd gotten out of Town Hall in the first place. There was no way that monster would've willingly let me go alive or unleashed, not when it would be more beneficial to keep me close at hand, but there really was no telling what he would do with me. Hell, for all I knew, he put me here himself and was waiting for me to wake up so he can torture me again. Regardless of how I got here, I knew I needed to find a safe place to hide until I could find another way to kill him.
For now, though… for now, all I wanted to do was sleep.
Without the Call riding me and forcing me to pursue Joseph at all costs, my exhaustion and hunger crashed down on me. Mixed with my sorrow, it was nearly enough to make me lie down and never get up again. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the need to know my aunt was alive and well… and to know how Will and Milo were.
Eli, how do I get up? How do I find the energy? I prayed, asking the man I wished had been my father. The man who'd had his heart ripped out of his chest at Joseph's order the night we'd grafted the talisman to my soul.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to dwell on the many failures that had brought me to this point. The sensitive receptors in my skin prickled, alerting me to a disturbance in the water, coming my way. It didn't feel like a fish or other ocean creature. The energy that accompanied this disruption in the natural flow of the ocean prickled. It felt familiar, though I wasn't sure how or why.
Snapping my head toward the mouth of the cave, where I sensed whatever was approaching me, I partially shifted in anticipation of a fight. My claws slipped from my nail beds and my teeth sharpened in my mouth, readying for anything that came around that corner. However, the moment I saw the source of what I'd felt, they receded.
Will.
It was like I'd never seen him before, the way my eyes picked up more detail than I'd ever been able to see as a human. His rich copper hair was interspersed with strands of auburn and ruby. The golden tan of his skin stretched over muscles that were well-defined and well-earned through hours in the gym. He was shifted, his long, lithe, black-scaled tail propelling him toward me, glinting purple and blue in the lower light.
Just seeing him there… knowing he was alive and well and not under his father's influence… I hadn't realized until that moment how panicked—and relieved—I'd been when I didn't see him in Town Hall. He was safe from his father. Gods, thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping him away from Joseph.
There was a tug within me, a gentle urge to go to Will that I couldn't deny. Without another thought, I launched myself toward him, needing him in my arms. Having his skin against mine, feeling the beat of his heart, was as necessary to me as breathing. I came at him too fast and crashed into him, slamming us both into the wall behind him. Little rocks and pebbles rained down as his back met the stone, and he grunted with the force of the impact. But I was undeterred.
My arms wound around him, one hand slipping into his hair while the other wormed its way between him and the rock to pull him closer so I could bury my face into his neck. His scent hit my system like a drug—a strong summer's breeze off the ocean, wild and free and him . It was so much more now, so much more Will.
I cried. As much as I was able to underwater, I cried. In relief, in happiness, in sorrow. And when he wrapped his arms around me in return, I sobbed.
"I was so worried… he's taken so many… I thought…" I tried to voice all the jumbled thoughts in my head, but they were so tangled that none of them came out complete.
"I know, sweetheart. I know. I'm okay. I'm safe," he murmured in response, shifting to his human form. He settled us onto the cave floor, keeping me close as I straddled him. His arms were a comforting cage, and he held me together as his words registered in my mind.
I pulled away from him to gaze at his face, to take in every nuance of his features. From his eyes framed with long lashes to the full lushness of his lips, I traced every little detail of his features. The bright glow of the sigil on his chest and the feel of his body shifting to his human form pulled my gaze away from his face, but when I looked up again, those beautiful, storming ocean eyes of his caught mine.
"I'm so happy you're safe, Will," I whispered, meaning every word.
"I'm happy you are, too. When I saw my father—"
I cut him off. "You were there?"
"Yes. I've been spying on him."
Panic ripped through me. I struggled to get in a full breath as all the million ways his father could've hurt him flashed through my head. "Will! What if—what if he sees you? What if he—"
"Rose, sweetheart, breathe. I have the invisibility charm on my necklace, remember? He can't see me when I'm there." His expression darkened, his eyes haunted with a past I knew all too well. "And if I hadn't been there, you could have…" He trailed off.
"What happened after he knocked me out?" I had to ask. I had to know how I got out of there without being followed.
He cupped my cheek with a hand whose knuckles were split and bleeding. "I went on a panicked punching spree to knock out his lackeys and him and got you out of there. I couldn't leave you to have your mind taken from you, too."
Given his history—and mine—the way his features twisted in pain at the very thought made my heart ache. Pressing my forehead to his, I fought another round of sobs and squeezed my eyes shut.
"Thank you," I murmured. "Words aren't enough, but thank you. You've saved me time and time again."
"And I always will," he vowed.
I opened my eyes to look into his again. There was that tug again, that soul deep pull—but I didn't know what it meant or what to do with it. I wanted to say something, anything, but with my awareness of him so heightened, no words came.
"You're injured," he said after a long moment, a mere whisper. "Would you like me to heal your wounds for you?"
As if summoned, the dull ache in my body roared to life. "Yes, please."
I didn't move. I couldn't stop looking at him, didn't want to stop touching him.
A beautiful, if sad, smile tipped up the corner of his lips. "You'll have to get off my lap for me to do that."
I looked down and, for the first time, realized how we were sitting. He was nude beneath me, my thighs spread so his cock was trapped between our bodies. My cheeks blazed, and I hid my face with my hands as I scrambled off his lap. "I'm sorry."
"Having a beautiful siren on my lap isn't something I ever need an apology for," he replied with a chuckle. He moved to settle down on the sand behind me. His hand pushed my braid over my shoulder so he could see my back before brushing his fingertips over my skin. It was featherlight, almost reverent.
"Still, it's…" My words eluded me.
"‘Inappropriate?'" Will finished for me. His hands flattened against my shoulder blades.
"Yes?"
He chuckled. "You were always a good girl. I forgot how charming it was."
Now my blush warped into something quite different as the words good girl sank deep into my core. "You shouldn't tease!"
"Perhaps not, but I like to anyway."
He took a steadying breath, and when he released it, the warmth of his power penetrated deep into my flesh, healing the tender bruises, lacerations, and even my cracked ribs. It felt glorious. My soul rejoiced in feeling his power within me, but I ignored that. It really wasn't appropriate, after all.
"This feels a little familiar," Will said after a moment of concentration.
It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about, but when it came to me—that he'd done this exact same thing before, right after I'd learned that merfolk were real—I couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, you're right. Do you have any secrets you want to tell me this time?"
"Hmm. Let me think." He moved his hands a little lower to bracket my ribs. "After taking you home the day you jumped off the cliff, I pestered Noemie to teach me how to heal you, since you were still hurt. It took only an hour or so to get the mechanics down, but I spent the rest of the day practicing to get it right. I wanted to make sure you weren't in any pain and that I didn't accidentally give you a brain bleed or something."
My heart lurched within the confines of my ribcage. I tried to sound unaffected as I replied, but my voice came out breathy. "Please tell me you didn't hurt yourself so you could practice."
He was quiet a moment, choosing his words carefully. After a long moment, he said, "The girls helped, too."
"Will!"
I tried to turn and look at him, but one of his hands moved to cup the back of my neck, stopping me. His warmth seeped into my skin, and once the ache had been handled, he massaged the muscles there.
"There is nothing I wouldn't do to ensure your safety and happiness, Rose. Even if it's to my own detriment." Reverence laced his words, each laden with such sincerity that it stole the very breath from my lungs. But as I grappled with what he meant, with the implication of such a statement, Will cleared his throat softly and plowed forward before I could respond to him. "Like I said, I wanted to make sure I was doing it right. You are—well, were, I suppose—incredibly fragile."
"Thank you," I managed to say, my voice a mere wisp on the water.
"It's my honor," he replied, just as softly.
Will pressed his hand to the back of my head and healed that area as well, going silent as he did so. So many words swirled around in my head, brief blips of thought that didn't even form full sentences. I didn't have to sit in that state of confusion for long, however; only a minute or more passed before he was finished. But the momentary levity we'd shared was over, the lightness bleeding from the space between us as we both remembered what had happened.
Leaning forward, Will rested his forehead on my shoulder, his hands falling to grip my hips. "My father is your last Mark, isn't he?"
I stilled. I didn't want to admit to it. Despite everything, Joseph was still his father . It… complicated things.
Apparently, though, my silence was answer enough.
"I'm not mad at you for that. It makes sense. He's done so much to harm you. And with what he's done to your home…" His claws bit into me as his hands subconsciously tightened, not enough to hurt me but enough to bring my attention to him. "I've had a lot of opportunities to kill him since you've been gone. But I can't bring myself to do it. I know it's stupid. He's not in his right mind—if he ever was in his right mind to begin with—and as long as he still draws breath, he's never going to stop. But I can't do it."
Twisting around, I captured his gaze with mine, his anguish like daggers to my heart. "Will, no one expects you to do that. It's too much to ask."
The expression etched into his features made him look so much younger than he was. "I feel responsible. For him… for your death…"
I blinked at him in confusion. "Will, my death wasn't your fault."
He continued as if he hadn't heard me. "I wanted to show you that I wasn't going to fight with your selkie anymore, that I'd changed. If I hadn't gotten distracted, if I hadn't stopped to tell the selkies I saw the hunters leaving the hotel, you wouldn't have—"
I cut him off again. "No. What happened to me was my fault. I should've told you I had trouble with needing to be in the ocean earlier in the day."
He didn't look convinced. At all. But he said, "Allow me to make it up to you anyway. Please."
"Make it up to me how?" I furrowed my brows, failing to stave off the ache that followed the anguish in his tone. Don't you know you've done more than enough to atone for whatever harm you think you've done me?
"Let me teach you how to use magic, how to be a siren. At least then you will be better equipped in case something else happens." He let out a breath. "I know you have no reason to trust me—"
My eyes caught his, and I imparted upon him the fundamental truth of my heart: "Will, I trust you with my life."
How many times had he saved me? How much had he gone through because of his association with me? Losing his mind to his father, his family breaking up, having to leave… all that was my fault. His father hated me so much that he wrecked everything and hurt his own son. And it killed me to remember.
"I don't deserve that," he protested.
I wanted so badly to reach out and touch him, to comfort him, but my hands stayed still in my lap even as I whispered, "I think you do."
Will's expression told me he wasn't sure how to feel about that, but he didn't refute me. His shoulders slumped, his eyes falling for a moment. But when he lifted them again, he looked resolute.
"If you'll have me as a teacher, I'll do my best to teach you all I can. I don't know the nuances of having a siren song, but I have a basic idea from watching my sisters and mother learn." He reached out as if he were going to touch me before he remembered himself and let his hands fall again. "For now, you need to eat, rest, and gather your strength. You have a long road ahead of you. But first, I think there's someone you should see."