Page 67 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

I ’m barely aware of my body changing as I dive beneath the frothing waves. I almost don’t notice the scales coating my legs and torso or the webbing stretching between my elongating fingers. My body knows this is where I belong in a way that my racing mind cannot, will not, comprehend.

Not now, while my only focus is on finding Kastian before it’s too late.

I plunge deeper into the shadowy ocean, the water cool and heavy around me. My head swivels from side to side as I squint against the sting of salt that nips at my eyes, making my vision blur.

He must be here somewhere. He has to be.

I propel myself further down, my webbed fingers slicing through the water. It’s strange and unsettling to look at, but I can’t afford to think about it right now. I can’t think about how monstrous I must look, or the frightening “rightness” of the ocean around me.

I dive deeper, the unfamiliar pressure building in my ears, until a sudden glint catches my eye.

There, far below me, I finally spot a tattooed forearm and the sleeve of a black shirt billowing like a ghostly flag.

My heart races and I kick my tail, propelling myself deeper into the dark. Down, down, down.

Along the sandy ocean floor, hundreds of fish of every size and color dart out of my way. Crabs scuttle beneath rocks, and squids blend seamlessly into the swaying seaweed. I ignore them, concentrating on the unconscious prince bobbing just above the sand.

Kastian's body is limp, his dark curly hair forming a weightless halo around him. His eyes are shut, and bubbles drift from his parted lips. A heavy iron chain, anchored at the end, is fastened around his ankle.

My eyes widen. I didn’t even see the masked man attach the chain, and I don’t know how I’m going to break it.

A spark of panicked anger shoots through me as I grip the chain in both hands, pulling with all my strength.

To my utter shock, the iron links snap as easily as twine, and I drop them onto the sand.

My heart races with hope as I wrap my webbed fingers around Kastian’s arms and pull upward toward the surface.

I’m amazed at how he’s not heavy, and how fast I can swim.

Only moments ago, I couldn’t have dragged Kastian across the deck if my life depended on it, but now, when his life really hangs in the balance, I’m different. I’m stronger.

Without warning, something moves out of the corner of my vision.

I jerk as a creeping dread crawls up my spine, and I turn toward the feeling of eyes boring into my back.

Out of the swirling water, three ethereal figures emerge, and I recoil, as the hope in my chest stutters and dies.

The sirens look nothing like the beautiful woman from the beach.

They have the torsos of women and the bottom half of ocean predators.

Each of their faces is angular with enormous pupil-less eyes and tight, greenish-gray skin that appears to be pulled tight over their skulls with no flesh between skin and bone.

Their hair flows like ropes of swaying seaweed, and rows of needle-like teeth fill their wide mouths.

The two in the back have sleek and powerful fish tails, while the leader’s hip bones end above a mass of writhing black tentacles.

A whirlwind of fear and fascination churns within me. I open my own mouth and run my tongue over my teeth, and jolt at the sharp prick of fangs. Looking down, I see my own powerful, glittering tail.

Absurdly, the only thought that passes through my numb mind is that at least I don’t have tentacles.

Like she somehow read my mind, the squid-like siren floats toward me, her tentacles undulating. She opens her horrific jaws and gives me something like a smile. My eyes land on a familiar crown of coral and pearls atop her green hair.

I open my mouth to try to speak. I’m not sure what I mean to say, but it doesn’t matter because no words escape me. The water distorts my voice into a chilling blend of melody and anguish, echoing like a song entwined with a scream.

The tentacled queen stiffens at the sound of my voice rippling through the water. She raises a hand to her companions, and they fall back, swimming in wide circles around us like sharks stalking prey.

The queen glides through the water with effortless grace. Her mesmerizing, fathomless eyes lock onto me with unsettling intensity. Her lips don’t move, but her ghostly voice whispers in the back of my mind: You’re back far sooner than I expected.

I shake my head vigorously and try once again to speak. No, I’m not. I’m not here for you.

She looks at Kastian’s floating body, and in my head her tone is slightly sarcastic. Mocking. What’s this? Another man, lost to a siren’s lure. Unfortunate…and tragically predictable.

I shake my head. No, that’s not what this is. I’ve already seen that happen once. I won’t let it happen again.

The queen drifts closer, and her voice in my mind answers as if she can hear my thoughts. She sounds almost amused. You already let it happen. He’s already dead. I warned you this would happen. You don’t belong on land, and the longer you stay the more people you’ll destroy.

No! I try to shout, even as I know she’s right. The bubbles have stopped rising from Kastian’s mouth, and his body feels heavier in the water. I can still help him.

The siren responds as if the thought was intended for her. You can’t. You won’t reach the surface in time.

I can’t keep my thoughts from leaking out for the siren to hear. Please, help me.

The siren’s expression does not change. She doesn’t blink, or even open her mouth, but somehow I know she’s laughing at me. Help you? Why would you assume I can do anything?

Can you? I think desperately.

She gives me another wide, terrifying smile. Perhaps, but what would you give me in exchange?

Anything.

She drifts even closer—so close I can see the faint shimmer of luminescent patterns undulating beneath her skin, casting sickly green shadows across Kastian’s slack face.

Around us, the other sirens circle, watching the drama unfold with idle, predatory fascination.

I clutch Kastian closer, his body growing heavier, colder, every second.

The queen’s power presses at my thoughts, relentless and insistent.

I’ll save him for you, but when I do he won’t remember you. It will be as if you never existed.

I reel back. He won’t remember me? Why?

The song of her mind seeps into mine, cool and unhurried, rolling over my panic like the tide erasing footprints in the sand. That’s just how it is. Would you rather he die, clutching the memory of you to his drowning chest?

My eyes narrow, and my thoughts whip out of me before I can contain them, frantic and stinging. But why would you do that? What good does stealing his memory do for you?

The siren queen’s eyes narrow, her long tentacles curling in a lazy spiral. Oh, dear, this isn’t for me. We haven't even gotten to my payment yet. This is just the price of magic. Large rewards require large sacrifices, and this, my dear, is a very large reward.

My teeth clench. I won’t let him die. I won’t.

Fine, then I’ll tell him. I’ll make him understand.

I wouldn’t do that if I were you. There’s a slow, syrupy amusement in the way her gaze lingers on me, as if she’s savoring a delicate morsel.

Magic doesn’t look kindly on loopholes, and there’s no telling what could happen if you try to evade our bargain.

Until the day your prince dies, he will never remember you and you will never be able to speak of your past together.

My head pounds, my thoughts hammering in time with the beat of my heat . My voice and his memories?

Yes. That is the price of his life...I believe you said you’d be willing to give up anything.

Anger and grief hit me so hard it nearly drowns me. For a moment, I’m paralyzed in the water, clutching Kastian’s arm, staring into the horror of what I’ve just agreed to, and what I’m about to lose.

Fine. I think bitterly . Save him.

A cold, predatory satisfaction glimmers in the siren queen’s bottomless eyes. She drifts in closer, and I am trapped, nose to nose with her. We haven’t yet discussed my payment, she hisses in my mind. If I do this for you, in exchange you will return to the sea where you belong and serve me.

Serve her? As what? Some monstrous creature, haunting shipwrecks and luring sailors to their doom?

My eyes flick desperately to the other sirens, the ones circling us like sharks, their hungry stares so intent I can almost feel them on my back.

In my mind, I see myself among them, my skin grey and stretched tight over bones, my teeth monstrous, my eyes gone flat and glassy, a predator stripped of memory or hope. Is that what waits for me on the other side of this bargain?

When would I have to come back? I think desperately. Will I have time to say goodbye to my family?

They’re not your family! Her angry thoughts whip out as if to sting. We are your family. This is where you belong.

I shake my head. No, no it isn’t.

The siren queen’s face shifts, and for a moment I think I see pity in her—then it’s gone, replaced by a predatory glee.

Fine, then I'll grant you this one more gift: There is no time limit for when you must return. You may spend centuries lying to yourself if you wish, but all sirens return to the sea eventually. One day, you’ll realize you are no exception.

You won’t be able to resist the call of the sea, and you’ll return.

On that day, we’ll find you. Wherever you are in the world, we’ll know, and we’ll come to collect.

I’ll just never return, I think in a panic, almost believing it.

The queen’s mouth stretches wide, and she laughs, a soundless shriek that shudders the water. The circling sirens join in, their voices braiding together in a discordant, predatory chorus that makes every muscle in my body want to flee.

You may try, the queen says, her thoughts curling around mine like a promise and a curse. But it is your nature, Odessa. You cannot choose what you are.

I want to scream at her that she’s wrong, that I belong to myself, not to any queen or curse or ocean. But the words dissolve in the water before I can even form them.

I look down at Kastian’s limp body, his features growing gaunt, almost translucent, as the thin last shreds of life leak from him. Something inside me breaks.

If I have to become a monster to save him, then fine—I’ll be the worst monster this ocean has ever seen.

I grit my teeth and glare at the queen. I accept. Save him.