Chapter 7

My body was swaying back and forth in a rhythmic motion. I was on something solid, dry, and warm. It was not totally unpleasant. I snuggled deeper until my brain caught up with what my body was feeling. I wasn't in the water. I was dry, too dry! Startled, I surged upright, my head spinning and my vision ablaze with swirling stars as I struggled to adapt to this unfamiliar environment. A veil of darkness enveloped me, punctuated only by the soft, swaying glow of a distant light.

Panic threatened to overtake me. I had to breathe deeply to calm my rapid pulse. My eyes darted from the wood plank floor to the bars of what appeared to be a cage. The swaying motion was making me queasy. I had to be on a ship. The lower half of my body throbbed with pain, and it felt strange and foreign. I glanced down, confusion clouding my brain. A scratchy fabric covered my tail. I yanked the material from my lower half. My mind went dead after that point. I reached a shaky hand toward where my beautiful tail used to be.

When I touched the offending legs, a cry ripped from my throat. This was real! They were real. I had legs! I thrashed until my body hit the floor. Panic swelled in my breast. I couldn't breathe; I needed water and my beautiful tail. What had happened to me? What sort of magic was this?

A dark silhouette stalked from the shadows but stopped when the door to the room crashed open and the man from the beach walked in. As he approached, I scooted away until my backside collided with a wall.

"Your timing is impeccable," the man in the shadows said.

"I was on the way down when I heard her screeching," the one who just entered said as he approached the bars.

"Stay away!" I hissed.

He stopped and glanced back at the other man. "You head on up. I will take it from here."

With a swift nod, the man left, closing the door and leaving me alone with the one who was looking at me menacingly.

"What did you do to me?" I cried as a tear slipped down my cheek. Even something as simple as a tear felt foreign. I would have never felt it on my cheek in the water.

"I picked you up off the beach, clothed you, and put you in the brig. I wouldn't complain if I were you. At least you're still living," he thundered in a voice filled with disdain.

"What are these? Where did they come from?" I motioned toward my legs as they bent unnaturally and started flexing the ten little nubs at the end.

"Those are legs…" The dark-haired one eyed me up and down with a scowl on his face.

"I know what they are… I want to know how…" I stopped mid-sentence and slammed my mouth shut.

Why was I accusing this human? He couldn't have done this to me. The sea witch… My mouth fell open again, but no words came out. She did this to me, but why? I looked at the stranger again, and one of his dark eyebrows shot up in questioning.

"Water!" I gasped. "I need water!" I tried to make these accursed legs straighten, but I didn't know how the things worked and ended up on my side.

"Do you plan on drinking the water or drowning yourself in it? I'm fine with either if it stops your screaming." His deep voice boomed, and he crouched down before me so that he was level with my gaze.

Fuming, I locked my gaze on his, and a surprising sense of calm washed over me. His eyes, swirling with shades of blue, reminded me of a tranquil summer ocean. I blinked a few times, still coming to terms with the fact that a human was hovering right in front of me. I had rarely encountered humans, let alone been in such close proximity to one. The rumors I"d heard painted them as feeble beings, lacking both physical strength and intellect. Yet the figure before me defied that description. He stood tall and broad, exuding strength and confidence. His wispy white shirt hung partially open, offering a glimpse of his well-defined chest as he leaned closer.

"See something you like?" His deep voice rumbled with laughter.

My gaze quickly darted back to his face, and a shiver of goosebumps rippled across my skin. I straightened, running my hands along my arms to dispel the sensation. As my eyes were tempted to wander lower, I fiercely resisted the urge to let him catch me ogling his muscles again. One side of his mouth curled upward in an arrogant grin, and I couldn't help but admire his striking facial features. He had a strong face with defined cheekbones and a neatly groomed, dark-brown beard that harmonized with his untamed shoulder-length curls.

It was difficult, but I pulled my attention away from him and focused on my surroundings. I was in some sort of cage in a dark, musty room. "Why have I been locked up?" I tried to act innocent, desperately hoping that he would let me out.

"Let's not play coy, siren. I don't trust you, and I am sure you don't trust me," he answered as he straightened back up.

I glanced down at my legs again in momentary shock. How did he know that I was a siren when I clearly looked like a human?

"Who exactly are you?" I tried to gain my footing but only managed to make it to an upright seated position with my legs tucked under my body.

"Kaiden Alexander, but most people know me as Blackheart Kai."

His response hit me like a surge of icy water, causing my thoughts to run sluggish as I maintained an unwavering gaze. He was the one I had sought, yet deep down, I had hoped to never find him. I swallowed hard, attempting to dislodge the lump in my throat, and observed him with a fresh perspective. In that moment, he embodied everything I had ever dreaded in my darkest nightmares. It was then that my scrutiny fell upon the array of weapons strapped to his body, each sword and knife undoubtedly bearing the permanent stain of the blood of my kind.

He smirked at me, obviously pleased with the fear his name invoked. Anger seared its way through my bloodstream as I fought to balance on these wretched legs. After several failed attempts, I managed to stand upright.

"Bravo." He mocked me with a clap of his hands and another devious smile.

I wanted so badly to reach through the bars and wipe that smirk from his face with a quick slice from my claws.

Would my siren song still work? It couldn't hurt to try it. My song strummed from my lips in perfect harmony, just like it always had. I was so happy that I still had my song that I almost missed hitting a note, but I quickly corrected myself and continued to sing. A victorious smile graced my lips as the murderous captain's harsh gaze shifted to me. He emerged slowly from the shadows, steadily advancing in my direction, his unwavering gaze locked onto me. His proximity caused a knot to tighten in the pit of my stomach as he drew nearer, eventually standing just inches away on the other side of the bars.

"Back up," I instructed him through my song.

"Make me."

A surge of icy dread coursed through my body as that familiar, smug grin etched itself across his face. Swift as a sea snake"s strike, he lunged, seizing the back of my neck, and forcefully thrust my body against the unyielding bars. My head and face collided painfully with the frigid metal. In shock, my song died on my quivering lips.

He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear. "Now what, siren? What happens when you cannot manipulate a man into doing your bidding?"

I was so stunned that my siren song didn't work on him that I could not move. Mine was the most powerful in all of Aquarius. How was it possible that it failed me now? Had my song been diminished by the sea witch when she turned me into a human? I finally met Kai's eyes as the swirling blue depths stared down at me. With a sinister sneer, he released me and returned to his spot in the shadows. A trickle of something wet dripped down my forehead. When I reached up to touch it, I winced at the pain. As I examined my fingertips, I discovered them smeared with blood. A swirl of emotions, blending rage and fear, overwhelmed me.

"You…" Anger surged from my depths so hot that it threatened to burn me from the inside out. "You slimy son of an eel," I sputtered, finally managing to make my mouth form words.

"Is that the best you can do?" Kai asked, leaning against a nearby barrel.

My body shook with rage, and my eyes misted over with angry tears. I breathed deeply a few times and stepped toward the bars to collect my scattered emotions. "I need your help," I stated plainly, trying to hide how my voice shook with trepidation. I wanted so badly to drown him and watch his body seize as his lungs filled with seawater, but that would have to wait, at least for the time being. Much to my dismay, he was the only one who could get me to Medusa.

"So now you ask," he answered smugly.

When a hiss slipped past my lips, he smiled.

"Speak up, sea demon. I will hear your request."

As fierce as the swirling sea, my fury surged once more, stirring tumult in my depths. How was it possible for one man to burrow his way so deeply under my skin and make me so furious?

"Dark Water." I seethed, clenching my teeth.

His muscles tensed, but he never looked up at me. "It's not my concern. It's not in my waters."

"Yet," I added, peering around at him.

"What is it you think I can do?" He shrugged his shoulders like he didn't have a care in the world. What was with the males? Why could no one see that we were all in danger?

"I need you to take me to Medusa…"

A fleeting smile brushed his lips, and then it disappeared like it had never been there. "What do you offer me in return?" He stood from the barrel and stepped closer to the bars.

I did not miss how his eyes raked down the length of my body and stopped on the hideously bare human legs. Were legs something that human men found attractive?

I glanced down at my body. I may be a human, but from the waist up, I still looked exactly the same as I did before, or at least the parts I could see. I was well aware of what the siren males thought of my body. Perhaps I could use my feminine wiles on this killer as well. I pulled on the fabric around my neck, further exposing my breastbone. His eyes immediately followed my every movement. The mental image of him intimately caressing my skin summoned an intense feeling of disgust. I swiftly let go of the fabric and retreated deeper into the cell.

"Changed your mind?" His laughter was gruff and filled with malice. "Probably for the best. I wouldn't mind a show, but I can promise you, I will never touch a creature like you, not in that way." His voice was filled with just as much hate as I felt for him.

As he headed toward the stairs, desperation clawed at my throat.

"Wait!" I rushed forward and gripped the iron bars so hard that the metal bit into my skin.

He paused but never turned back around. My mind scrambled for anything to keep him talking. Anything to make him agree to take me to Medusa. What did I have that he could possibly want?

"Treasure…" I sputtered the first word that I believed a pirate like him would be interested in.

Relief washed over me when he slightly angled his body to face me. I swallowed past my rising hysteria as his eyes bore into mine.

"If you take me to Medusa, in exchange for your help, I will offer you the treasure of a sunken ship that went down off the coast of Brazil."

It wasn't a lie, exactly. I had discovered that ship on the way to the Caribbean Sea. I wasn't about to tell him that the ship was loaded with barrels of slimy gunk that smelled worse than something that had died.

He stepped closer to me. His scent assaulted me full force at his nearness, and I couldn't help but breathe him in. He smelled of the salty sea air that I longed for, with a mixture of masculinity and spice.

He stalked closer to the bars like a predator and rammed his hand through them. "You have yourself a deal, siren."

I looked down at his hand like it was a shark preparing to amputate my arm if I ventured too close. The last time he touched me, I ended up with a split forehead. I had no intention of repeating that mistake.

"Smart little fish. You might make it after all. But let me warn you, if you ever try to use your siren song on me or any of my crew members again, I will carve you into tiny pieces and use you as shark bait." His voice boomed and bounced off the walls as he walked up the stairs and left me behind in the darkness.