Page 13 of A Siren Song for Christmas

A siren song.

He sucked in a breath. The rucksack fell to the snowy ground. Malachi straightened. His heart stuttered in his chest.

It was a mated siren pair who sang. He knew that in his soul. He could hear it in the way their voices mingled and rose with happiness and love. They were not freshly mated. They’d been together at least a year or two. Malachi could tell that by the way they sang in harmony.

That’s how we sounded.

His eyes stung. Without thinking, Malachi walked along the lake’s edge in the direction of the song’s source.

Images flitted in his mind. Memories from years ago stirred. He remembered the face of the siren he’d loved more than lifeitself. He thought of treasured smiles, soft kisses, and gentle touches. Of so much laughter. And singing.

Sirens had many songs; some were specific to the individual, to families, and to regions. The songs had different purposes and communicated different things. One song, specific to each siren, was used to find their mate. Their mate song.

Malachi remembered leaving his home, singing his mate song, a song of longing and hope. At first, he’d been so excited as he swum across oceans and along coasts, the hope propelling him forward through the waves. He’d heard other siren mate songs. But their songs never called to him. And his never called to them.

Until one cloudy, rain-filled day. It had been a day so at odds with what would be the brightest day of Malachi’s life. He’d been singing, growing weary after years of travelling without finding a mate. He’d started to wonder if he should head inland, since not all siren mates were sirens themselves.

Then he’d heard it. A siren mate song. But unlike any he’d heard before.

It slithered into the cracks of his being, swimming down into his very soul. It called to him. It beckoned. It promised. The song felt like it had been created just for him. And it had been.

The moment he heard it, he’d fallen in love. He’d swum closer and closer, his heartbeat speeding up as his legs kicked faster.

Then he’d seen him, his mate, Forathia.

By the lake’s edge, Malachi stopped walking. Two sirens stood amongst a copse of trees, gazing into each other’s eyes, their hands clasped. Their tentacles danced and swayed in the air above them, moving in time with their song.

They sang, too engrossed in each other to see him.

Is that how we looked?

Malachi touched a hand to his necklace. He remembered when Forathia had given him the seashell. It was just after they’d made love on a beach that first night. His mate had spotted the shiny shell amongst the sand.

He’d picked it up and handed it to Malachi.“Here. Now you have something to remind you of the day we met.”

Malachi stared at the pair of sirens before him. He felt his vocal cords tense. For a moment, he wanted to sing his own mate song. He wanted to raise his voice and cry out for Forathia as if his mate might appear before him, come to him, and hold him like he had years ago.

But the urge to sing died as quickly as it came. Forathia was gone. No amount of singing would bring him back to life.

Malachi had not sung in years. Not since Forathia had died.

How could his voice rise when his heart had shrivelled away? How could he sing when his world had descended into bleakness and sorrow?

For two years, Malachi and Forathia had swum through the ocean together. All Malachi’s hopes and dreams of finding his mate had been fulfilled.

Then Forathia had died.

Tears stung his eyes as Malachi listened to the sirens singing. He stared and remembered all he’d lost. His heart bled with each rise and fall of their voices and with the knowledge he’d never know love again.

One of the sirens spotted Malachi. She looked at him, her song shifting. But she did not stop.

The other siren turned to look at Malachi as well. After a second, Malachi realised he recognised this siren from when he’d lived in the ocean so many years ago. She’d been younger than him. And unmated. Taranna, he thought her name might be.

Malachi saw the moment Taranna recognised him. Her voice stuttered and halted. Her features morphed to horror. She looked at her mate, who stared at her in confusion. Both sirens had stopped singing now.

Then Taranna tugged her mate into the trees, not glancing at Malachi.

Malachi stared after them. He was not surprised by Taranna’s response.