Page 50 of The Sirin Sisterhood (The Sons of Echidna #2)

Lucy

The old witch summoned them early in the morning to announce the next trial, and both women tried to act surprised as gasps erupted from the students.

They were graciously given the day to work out how to approach the challenge and dismissed until evening when the trial would begin.

Lucy had been nervous, but not as scared as the whispering coven.

She and Freya had a plan, and it seemed pretty solid so far.

Now she stood next to Freya on the lake’s edge, the sun disappearing behind the horizon, turning the murky water into an inky black pool. What lurked below the surface?

She had tried to ask Freya what rusalki were, but the other woman struggled to find the words in English to explain just how frightening they were.

Eventually, she shook her head and stubbornly refused to keep talking about them.

Lucy’s mind conjured images of swamp monsters with fish heads and long claws, cold and slimy.

She looked over at Freya, reaching out to touch her golden thread, and was pleased to find that when she checked the tightened strings, she felt nothing but determination.

Thankfully, the late hour and curfew meant they were there without witnesses, although Lucy felt other, familiar life strings lingering behind the trees. Klein and Lai had snuck out to watch them. Both energies twanged with concern, Lai’s the loudest by far, practically humming in anxiety.

Aw. He does care .

Lucy was still a little mad at him, but she had other problems right then. She kept stepping on the hem of the dress Freya had loaned her in exasperation when she’d learned Lucy was planning on jeans and a t-shirt again, muttering in Russian as Lai gleefully translated.

No sense of decorum at all!Centuries of tradition, and you want to wear blue jeans!

She had no idea how she was expected to swim in the dress. If Freya hadn’t been wearing an identical one, she might have suspected that she wasn’t supposed to; she’d be an excellent sacrifice, juicy, plump, and helpless.

The heavy white cotton clung to her curves, making Lucy feel like a maiden in a tragic fairy tale, about to give herself to the dark depths. She laughed softly at that ridiculous thought, and her laughter echoed back to her tenfold, cutting her off short with a startled gasp.

The lake’s surface had broken silently around the faces of a dozen beautiful, ghostly women, their glowing eyes studying Lucy as curious whispers floated over the water.

Come close.

One of the creatures motioned with her hand.

Lucy obeyed. Against her will, against all reason, she slowly stepped into the cold water, the hem of her dress floating elegantly around her.

They were haunting, their dark skin covered with a thin, velvety layer of moss, their enormous, doll-like eyes reflecting the moonlight, and their perfect lips singing to her.

They sang their songs softly, but the music filled Lucy’s mind so completely and so loudly that she couldn’t hear herself think anymore.

All she knew was that she needed to feel those lips on hers.

A splash. Freya jumped into the water beside her, diving into the murky depths. Lucy didn’t care.

Let her go.

There was nothing on the bottom of the lake that mattered. The trial was here, in the arms of the rusalki .They reached lovingly for Lucy as she lifted her feet out of the mud and began to swim toward them; each beautiful hand caressed her body so perfectly that she almost wept.

Lucy melted into their touch, the cold water and heavy dress forgotten as one of the rusalki ’sskillful fingers pressed between her thighs, seeking out the warm entrance between and gently exploring inside her.

The slightest touch was electrifying, making Lucy gasp and arch into the hand that toyed shamelessly with her clit, frantically shoving her hips forward for more.

She whimpered helplessly, trembling as she desperately sought out the mermaid’s perfect lips with her own.

They were soft, cool to the touch, and she kissed her for what felt like an eternity as the ghostly women teased away her dress to wrap their lips around Lucy’s nipples, caressing her breasts, the curve of her stomach, the tops of her thighs.

A dozen loving embraces ignited every spot of pleasure.

Each sensation intensified as the kisses grew rougher, the touches firmer, and the whispers hungrier.

Lucy cried out suddenly in pain as one of them sunk her teeth into her thigh.

A surge of adrenaline instantly sobered her up.

She panicked as she looked back to the shore and saw it was barely visible in the distance.

She reached for the bottom of the lake to gain her footing, but the creatures had dragged her too far away. The water was too deep.

Another bite, another sharp jolt of pain. Lucy reached for their life strings, but found nothing there. Their threads were black and dead.