Page 45

The pretty cool thing he referred to was the whale. As in hitching a ride to freedom inside the literal belly of a whale—well, mouth. And yes, it was pretty cool.

"Where’s he taking us?" I asked as I swept a hand across the baleen plates. They needed a good scrubbing.

Finley let out a contented sigh and settled on my shoulder.Home.

Relief didn’t even cover it. The crushing weight of shame and dread that had been dragging me down, tethered to me like a stone to a drowning sailor, was finally gone. “How did you find me?”

You’ve been around humans for too long.His frills fluttered with amusement.Sea creatures notice many things, even siren things. Their gossip came in handy.

Well, that explained the dolphins showing up with the whales. Dolphins were notorious for being the gossip queens of the underwater world.

“As much as I wish you’d listened to me and stayed with Rissa, I’m more glad you didn’t. Thank you.” Gently, I brushed Finley’s cheek with my own.

I’d known thatluminara axolotlscould speak with most sea creatures, whereas sirens were mostly limited to our own kind. But I had no idea this little guy could amass a small army of dolphins and whales and convince them to attack a siren palace like battering rams. My unexpected and timely escape had been a planned rescue by the teensiest of heroes.

I owed him my life, as well as the giant one carrying us across the ocean. How could I ever repay them? Finley, the whale, all the creatures that had risked themselves for me. I wasn’t used to needing a rescue.

The darkness and rocking movement of the water soon lulled me into a doze, which wasn’t that hard considering the day I’d had. I curled up on the whale’s tongue and closed my eyes.

What felt like only a few moments later, Finley nudged me awake.We’re here.

I frowned, groggy. That was impossible. The Thalasses kingdom was farther east than the Naftes kingdom. Even with a whale’s speed, it should have taken us several hours, at least.

The whale opened his mouth to let us out, and I had to squint against the bright light streaming down from the ocean’s surface. Sure enough, we were close to the Delaware shore. I had slept much longer than I thought.

After thanking and saying goodbye to the whale, I turned my gaze toward the distant horizon where my father’s kingdom lay. The sea witch might be on her way there already. To do what, I didn’t know exactly, but I couldn’t escape my duty much longer.

Although there wasn’t a siren alive who could have kept up with a whale, I didn’t stop swimming until I reached the safety of the shore, convinced Ateleíotes’ sirens would catch me at any moment.

We arrived in the morning, a few hours before the attempted wedding thanks to crossing time zones, and before crowds of people would line the Delaware beach. After bobbing at the surface for a few minutes to ensure no one would see me, I hauled myself, tail and all, across the sand to where I’d stored my bag, hoping it was still there.

I wasn’t even sure how long it had been since I’d tucked it away. Two weeks? Maybe three? Anyone could have found and stolen it, or a storm could have buried it or washed it away.

My heart thumped wildly as I felt through the tall grasses, glancing up and down the beach every few seconds. I had no idea what I would do if my bag was gone. There was no way I could ask for help while scales and a flopping tail gave me away, and Finley would need help to get back to Marissa.

At last, I felt the fabric bag under a pile of sand. I tugged it toward me and grabbed my phone out of the plastic bag I’d stored it in. Fumbling it in trembling hands, I managed to turn it on and breathed a sigh of relief that a smidge of battery remained. I ignored the hundreds of missed calls and messages and immediately called Marissa.

Her groggy voice answered on the third ring. "Who the fuck is this?"

I gasped. "Marissa! Language!"

A clatter sounded through the phone, followed by a shriek. "Bree? Is that you? For real?"

"Yes, but I need you to listen closely and follow my directions exactly. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Well, that was a first. My absence must have really scared her. Or maybe it was my tone that made her agree so easily. Either way, I couldn’t worry about comforting her just yet.

"Bring your talisman to the location I send you as soon as possible." I dropped her a pin of my location. "I’ll explain everything when you get here, but my phone’s nearly out of battery."

"Okay, but Bree?"

"Yes?"

She sniffled. "I love you so freaking much, but I will kill you if you ever pull a stunt like this again."

I choked back a sob and laughed. "I love you too. Now come get me."