Page 54 of Liar Witch

She has that damned athame at her waist, I notice, grimacing. I’d rather chuck that blade in the ocean where she can’t hurt herself with it again, but she’d kill me if I did.

She looks savage as she steps in front of us, the moonlight covering her loose-flying hair in an unearthly glow.

No one who lives with a witch can ever doubt the Goddess’s existence. It’s in every breath Nilsa takes and in the hard stare of her ice-chip eyes.

The two women stare each other down for the longest moment. A silent battle for dominance which, for shifters, would have easily turned into an all out brawl until one of them yielded.

My beast bristles. How dare this woman challenge my mate like that?

“What do you want?” Nilsa demands.

The siren before me slams a fist over her breastplate, her mesh and armour glove making a ringing sound as it makes contact.

“We were sent by my mother, the Empress, to escort your ship to Marisang.”

“We know where it is,” Val growls.

“If you want to run aground on the reefs, be myguest.” Alexandra shrugs and turns back to Nilsa. “A word of advice; you’ll want to gag that one before you set foot in our city or he’ll be flogged in the arena for speaking to a woman without permission.”

My mate grins at the idea. “I’d love to, but I’m leaving him on the boat.”

“Ship,” Alexandra and Val correct automatically.

I smirk. Half the time, I’m certain Nilsa is just calling theDeadwooda ‘boat’ to intentionally piss Val off.

She just rolls her eyes. “Whatever. He’s staying here.”

“Wise decision,” the Princess says. “Come, Marisang is an impressive sight, you’ll want a front row seat. Mage, you’ll want to fly this flag so that they don’t blast your ship to smithereens.”

Nilsa visibly bristles as Alexandra hands Val a piece of cloth that she’s been keeping inside her breastplate, but says nothing as the exchange takes place. The sirenae dismisses the Captain with a flip of her long, sodden hair, heading for the bow of the ship with a sway of her hips.

Our witch doesn’t hesitate, following along with the other sirens, completely at home among the powerful women, despite being a foot shorter than them.

Nilsa

I can’t show weakness in front of these women. Can’t let my fear of the sea show.

So when I look out over the edge, I’m prepared to keep my face completely impassive.

Only to gasp.

Before us rises a city of shipwrecks. Hundreds of wooden carcasses; everything from fishing boats to naval vessels are beached on razor sharp rocks. It almost seems like they’ve been chomped on by the fangs of the sea.

On every one of the vessels, more sirens stand guard beside gleaming cannons. Their spears, ready. The wall of broken ships and female guards stretches as far as I can see.

This place is a fortress. These wrecks are their city’s outer wall.

As we approach, the Princess opens her mouth and lets out a rich, ululating cry that carries over the waves. The answering call that echoes back steals my breath. It sounds like raw power; piercing yet melodic. A welcome that’s so inviting I instantly feel at home.

But I know it’s a false sense of security, and I shrug it off quickly.

If that’s what they do to welcome their friends, I don’t want to know what they do when their enemies approach.

Alexandra turns and yells a bearing across the deck at Val, and the ship moves automatically.

Following Alexandra’s instructions, theDeadwoodcruises through an impossibly small gap in the wall which at first was hidden amongst the wrecks. It’s claustrophobic, and I can’t help but suck in a breath, as if that will somehow help such a large ship fit through the tiny, narrow channel.

It’s silent. Everyone else is just as tense as I am. I can’t even hear any birds.