Page 88 of A Warrior's Heart

My body was sated, yet I wanted him in my arms. I wanted this soft side of him he only ever showed to me.

We settled down not long afterward, me cradled against his chest and his face in my hair, his hand smoothing up and down my back. The soft thumping of his heart beneath my ear lulled me to sleep.

Sleep that was disturbed when something bumped the side of the ship in the late hours of the night.

Malik flung upward in bed, shielding my body with his. His eyes were wild as he glanced around the room. Another hit came, this time from the starboard side.

“Stay here,” he said before hopping out of bed, strapping on his armor, and leaving the room.

I followed, taking my bow with me. The snarl he gave me when I joined him on the deck would’ve intimidated me had I not known the gentle giant beneath the scowl.

“What did I say?” he growled.

“If we’re under attack, I refuse to cower in our cabin and let you face it without me.” I lifted my chin, daring him to fight me on it.

Instead, he kissed me, briefly, before turning his attention to Ervin and Shar as they dropped down from the masts.

“The attack came from below,” Ervin said right as the ship was hit again, portside.

I stumbled before regaining my balance. “A sea monster? Giant squid, maybe?”

“Sirens,” Lorcan said in a cold tone.

That’s when I heard it: singing. Female voices blended in a hypnotic melody, the minor notes sending chills down my spine. Their spell didn’t work on merfolk. Humans, however, fell prey to their trap. Very few could resist the pull.

“Fletch!” Kellan yelled.

Fletcher had stepped up to the railing, a dazed look in his eyes. His body swayed from side to side.

“Come to me,” one of the sirens sang from below.

Kellan ran forward and threw his arms around his lover, preventing him from stepping off the ship. The captain’s teeth were clenched as he visibly fought the call of the sirens as well.

“Enough,” Lorcan spoke.

One word, but it rang of power. As a nymph, his voice could be used as a weapon. He could command anyone to do whatever he wished. It was a power he used sparingly and only when truly needed. The sirens were nymphs too, yet their hearts had been corrupted by darkness, which was why they lured sailors to their deaths.

The singing stopped.

I walked over to the railing, following Lorcan and Malik. The sirens looked up at us, their teeth sharp and elongated. Their eyes glowed as they hissed at us.

Lorcan stared them down. “Why have you come here?”

At his voice, their teeth retracted, and they appeared as beautiful women with long flowing hair and full lips. They rose from the water, their naked breasts on full display.

“My prince,” one said.

Another sighed, the sound dreamy yet somehow unsettling too. “Beautiful prince.”

The siren on the left side combed her fingers through her honey-colored hair and hummed to herself, her gaze pinned on Lorcan.

“Answer me,” Lorcan growled. “Why have you come?”

His power was so great that it affected those of us standing around him, even though the words were not directed at us. We all shifted in place, our muscles tensing.

“We sensed human men,” the siren in the middle answered. Clouds drifted across the moon, and as darkness fell over her face, her features shifted from a beautiful woman back to the menacing creature with fangs and long sharp nails. “And we wished to feast upon their flesh.”

“Feast,” another one echoed.