2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A natolius didn't feel like singing that day. Storm clouds had rolled in, and the human he had been watching for the last month had hiked up to the cliff that jutted proudly above the rocky beach. A siren's song came from the heart; it was how they expressed their emotions. The effects on humans, however, were extreme. The sirens used the magical allure of their song to their advantage when needed, but from the moment Anatolius had seen her near the old fisherman's cottage, he had only been curious about her—he had no desire to lure her to her death.

Siren protocol demanded that anyone on patrol around their borders handle human threats efficiently and without remorse. This human undoubtedly would fall into this category, but he just…waited. And watched. He didn't know what to make of it, really. He had always thought their laws a bit harsh, but he'd never had a reason to violate them like this. The humans had kept away from their coast for a long time—it hadn't been an issue.

Now, he watched the human as she stared out across the sea. Her dark brown curls caught the wind and danced behind her shoulders. Her brown skin was the only warmth in a landscape of blues and grays, the stormy light above casting her in a mystical glow.

Tiny ripples danced on the surface of the water– raindrops falling just above his head–and he hoped that the human would return to her cottage soon. Even he knew how slick the rocks could get in the rain.

As soon as the thought entered his mind, she was falling. For seconds that felt like an eternity, he watched her drifting toward the waves. Before he knew what he was doing, his body was moving.

He flicked his powerful tail and glided through the water. He saw her impact; her body, in such violent motion only a moment before, now eerily still as she floated in the water, weightless. The sea had given way to her with a great splash; now it silently wrapped her in its embrace. Anatolius knew she needed air to breathe, so he swam toward her, intent on taking her up to the surface. When he reached out to touch her, a flash of bronze light startled him, and he froze.

His panic shifted rapidly to confusion. A great brown otter floated in the water before him. It was much larger than a regular otter, but otherwise looked the same as the few he'd had occasion to see. They were mostly river creatures and didn't venture out into their sea.

It blinked, cocked its head, and observed him with keen, albeit frightened, eyes. Anatolius looked around him at the empty water and rising bubbles where the woman’s body had been, slowly realizing what had occurred, however unlikely. It must be, though; where else would the woman have gone? He had heard tales of human shifters before. Could this woman be one of them?

He supposed he should just…ask.

"Hello, there. Are you…alright?" he asked, tone hesitant. A siren's voice was made to travel through water, and he'd spoken in the common tongue of Domhan na Rùin in the hopes this otter might understand. He couldn't believe he was trying to talk to an otter.

The otter considered him another moment before looking down to examine itself in a disturbingly human gesture. It looked back at him after a long moment, and without warning, flicked its lithe tail and swam for the surface.

Anatolius followed close behind and popped his head above the water along with the otter. The storm raged on, and the otter looked around as if searching for something.

"It's alright, you fell. From the cliff, up there? And you're…well, you're an otter now." Anatolius had done a lot of things in his life, but this might be the strangest thing yet.

The otter stared at him again before a lovely, albeit annoyed, voice drifted into his mind. Well, obviously I'm an otter, thank you so much for that astute observation.

Anatolius couldn't keep the shock from his face. She had just spoken directly into his mind. The Tuanadair of Beitar must have powerful magic, indeed. "I heard that," he said with a touch of indignance.

The otter whipped her head to face him. What?!

"Yes, I heard that too. You're speaking into my mind."

Well…good, now we understand one another. I assume you're one of these fearsome sirens I was warned about?

This otter—human—was extremely confident. It was an unexpected, if enjoyable, turn. "I am," he answered simply, wanting to hear what else she would say. "My name is Anatolius."

You don't seem that vicious. I need to get back to the beach by my cottage. I think I know the way, so I'll be going now, if it's all the same to you. With that, she dipped back beneath the waves and began to swim away.

Anatolius followed, not wanting to let this fascinating human get away so soon. He'd spent weeks watching her, the least he could do was try to have a conversation.

"You're a shifter, then? I've heard of your kind—from Beitar, if I'm not mistaken?" She ignored him and kept swimming. He was about to ask her another question, or tell her more about himself, or something, when he heard the lilting song of his kin in the distance. If there were other sirens headed this way, this human's life was in grave danger. She would not find them so curious—they would kill her on sight.

"Wait! There are other sirens approaching. They will kill you if they find you here."

Again, the otter whirled toward him.

What do you propose I do? she asked, with a bite to her voice.

"Just…play along with me. I'll handle it." Anatolius' mind raced through possible solutions, but only one completely ridiculous and slightly terrifying option would be certain to save her life. "Just stay close to me," Anatolius whispered to her, drifting closer.

After a long moment, two other sirens materialized from the deep green of the sea—Yiorgos and Lugana, two of Vathós' most ruthless guards. Anatolius' pulse kicked up. He didn't know why he was so determined to protect this human, but for some reason he didn't want her to die.

"Anatolius, my prince? Why are you not at your post? We grew worried when we passed it and did not find you there as usual." Lugana's dreamy soprano voice glided across the waves as the two sirens closed the distance. The sirens’ tails were long, and covered with opalescent scales. The delicate, frilly fins on their forearms moved with the subtle currents around them, and their bluegreen skin blended eerily into the water. Anatolius knew the exact moment they noticed the human shifter, could sense the slight tensing of their bodies at the foreign presence. No siren would think twice about ending her. Except him, apparently.

"I am sorry to have alarmed you both. I seem to have been too distracted spending time with my Chosen and have been negligent today. I offer my most sincere apologies." Anatolius put every ounce of his will into sounding calm and sure, as if there was nothing the least bit odd about having a human otter fiancée.

"Your Chosen?" Yiorgos did nothing to disguise the shock and disgust in his voice.

"Yes. My Chosen. We were just about to make our way back to Vathós to begin the proceedings. If you don't mind taking over my post a bit early? I know it's outside of protocol, but," Anatolius glanced over at the otter, still floating next to him.

"Of course, your Chosen is an exception to protocol, we'll handle things here," Lugana interrupted, taking in the otter shifter with even more interest now.

"I know you both likely have many questions, but for now, you must excuse us." Anatolius scooped the otter into his arms as he spoke, and every nerve ending in his entire body lit with a flash of heat. It was a palpable, visceral rightness that was all at once exhilarating and peaceful. The shifter tensed in his arms for a split second before he gathered himself enough to flex his tail and begin swimming. He'd never felt anything like that, and his mind raced with the possibilities of what had just happened.

He took them in the direction of the shifter's seaside cottage, swimming slowly, surely, hoping beyond hopes that the two sirens would be so surprised at his news that they wouldn't notice which direction he went.

"My prince?" Anatolius froze and turned to look back at Lugana and Yiorgos.

"Yes?"

"Why are you not heading toward Vathós?"

Anatolius' mind clambered for some reason why he would be swimming in the opposite direction. "We need to stop and get some of my Chosen's things for her stay with us."

The two sirens exchanged a confused look. "Anatolius, you know very well that your family has had everything prepared for the day you find your Chosen for nearly a decade. She will want for nothing in our city," Lugana said, genuine confusion lacing her voice.

"I suppose it wouldn't be the most practical detour," Anatolius said, trying desperately to think of some other reason not to take this human to the very place most dangerous for her in this whole vast sea. After a beat of silence, he couldn't think of anything compelling enough to go against what was expected without raising suspicions. The traditions surrounding finding one’s Chosen were ancient. It would be highly unusual for a Chosen to bring their own things to the siren court. So he reluctantly turned to swim deeper, away from the shore and toward the siren city of Vathós. The other two sirens continued their patrol, drifting toward the edge of their territory, singing as they went. The human's claws dug into his arm as he carried her into the depths.