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The surface of the water stirs, and then something from its depthsmoves.

I’m not going in there, I try to say, but my mouth is still muffled.

Another something moves, a bit of cloth catching my eye. The longer I stare, the more I see—first a delicate arm, then a face—then another face, and another. All fairies, all silently screaming in apparent agony.

Jesus.

They crowd towards the surface, their hands pressed against the water as though there were some true barrier preventing them from escaping. I suck in a breath when I see a familiar face among them. The fae woman who so recently passed through Euribios’s halls is now trapped down there with who knows how many other souls.

The Thief pulls me close. “You wanted to know what happens to the dead. Look no further.”

They reach for me.

My wings threaten to expose themselves, and the Thief must notice.

“Enchantress, are you frightened?” he asks, his lips brushing against my ear. “Because you should be. Once I throw you in, you will have to fight your way out.”

Going to carve him up from ear to ear and wear a necklace of his entrails, the siren hisses.

With a fierce push, Euribios shoves me into the pool.

I hit the water with a hard slap, but I don’t go all the way under, not right away. My head and shoulders are still above water.

Immediately, I feel them. The ghosts that live in this pool. Their phantom skin slides against me, and I feel their spindly fingers as they grab at my leathers, pulling me deeper into the pool.

“Let me go,” I command.

The hands that hold me don’t budge.

So much for that.

I begin dragging myself back to the edge of the water, towards the Thief who watched me with a treacherous smile. More and more hands grab for my legs, my ankles, and my torso.

The dead are clinging to me!

I’m utterly spooked by the sensation.

They haven’t tried to do more than that, though. At least, not yet.

I want to reach for the Thief and beg him to save me. Anger and pride halt my hand and my voice. Instead, I settle for glaring at him.

He grins back at me, his form darkening slightly.

I can’t believe he’s a god. An evil, cursed god.

“You know,” he says conversationally as I’m dragged backwards, “I knew a siren once. She was beautiful like you. And mated, like you. But that is where the similarities ended.”

A hand jerks on my ankle hard, and I nearly lose my footing.

I don’t really give a fuck about story time right now. I just want these dead fairies to stop groping me.

Euribios frowns, his eyes softening as they grow distant. “But that was another life,” he says, still lost in his memories.

I shudder as phantom bodies swarm around me. They stare at me from below with agonized eyes. Piece by piece, they remove my gear and carry it off, leaving me in nothing but the shirt and trousers I put on back in Somnia.

Even that is not enough to satiate their interest in me. They rally around me, drawn to my life force or my glamour. I cannot imagine how many of them have been imprisoned in this pool. Not even death could release them from the Thief’s torment.

Euribios leans against a nearby pillar. As he watches me, he begins to move his hand, murmuring under his breath.