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CHAPTER SIX

The belly of the human ship cut through the dark waters, its lanterns casting a faint glow around the vessel. Beneath the surface, a small army of sirens in perfect formation awaited, dressed in battle armor with sharpened spears strapped to their backs. Celeste floated among them, her heart pounding in anticipation. She kept her mind focused on her mission, ignoring any thoughts of doubt that tried to slip in through the cracks.

“Initiates, stay with your assigned officer and do not engage with any humans,” General Xandra said. “Officers Zale, Wrasse, and Captain Io will use water to extinguish their lanterns. If they cannot see us, they cannot use their weapons effectively against us. Then we shall begin the Song. Our main target is the prince, but we shall leave no survivors.”

Celeste tried to ignore the churning in her stomach that started at the mention of the prince. It is not your job to question. It is your job to serve , Celeste reminded herself as the general finished explaining the details of the mission. They were to spread out along the starboard side, remaining close enough to help each other but far enough to keep out of each other’s way. Celeste had studied ships with the Chorus for the last several cycles. Port is proven left, and starboard is surely right, so long as you are facing the fight , she recited in her head the little song she had created to remember the difference between the two.

“Initiates, if I give this signal”—the general raised her arm so that it was bent at an angle and her hand was level with her head—“you are to join the Song and sing with us. Understood?” Her piercing purple eyes scanned the group, making eye contact with each initiate until she landed on Celeste.

“Yes, General,” they responded in unison.

“Good,” the general said with a smile. “May the Goddess look upon us with favor and guide our Song this night.”

It was time. Celeste twisted around to catch Maeve’s eye, but her friend was already turning away with her officer, falling into line. You can do this , she reminded herself, but inside she was nervous. Everything was happening so quickly. It felt as though she had blinked, and she was here. She should have felt excited. She should have felt proud. But instead she felt sick. Her mother’s words continued to ring in her ears. You’re too emotional. If you can’t control yourself, you could hurt someone . She had never disobeyed a direct order from the queen before. Everything about tonight felt wrong.

But this was her chance to make things right. To prove she was capable. Celeste let her body go through the motions, following behind General Echo as they ascended. When they were just below the ocean’s surface, the sirens stopped.

“Ray,” Xandra called. And like a school of fish, the sirens moved into formation. The senior members of the Chorus floated beside their initiates, watching their every move. Judging how well they took command. Celeste straightened beneath Echo’s gaze, keeping her eyes focused on Xandra. Waiting for their next command.

With a gesture from the general, Zale, Wrasse, and Io shot toward the surface, breaching so smoothly they didn’t make a sound. Celeste watched with awe. The first lantern flickered out. Then another. When the final light winked out, and the ship was plunged into darkness, General Xandra let loose a single note.

A call.

And the Song began.

Together the sirens cut through the water, smooth as silk. Celeste did not have a moment to think as the surface drew closer and closer. As one, they emerged. At first Celeste saw nothing but white. It was startling, and confusing, until she recalled the name for this phenomenon. Fog . It surrounded them, thick and rolling. In the distance, a streak of light flashed. There, then gone. After several beats, a rumble sounded. Like tumbling rocks. The sound sent a shiver down Celeste’s spine. Within the thick mist, the Chorus drifted like ghosts, letting their lungs and eyes adjust. After a moment, the outline of the black ship appeared. The gold of it looked dull in the darkness. Zale, Wrasse, and Io drifted into their positions. Ocean waves hissed against the side of the ship, mixing with the hushed voices of the few sailors who remained awake.

“They all went out! S’like magic,” one said, fear coloring their voice.

“Just get ’em lit again,” said another.

One of the humans stepped through the fog toward the nearest lamp. Then General Xandra began to sing.

From deep within the ocean, we sisters rise in song.

Her voice was low, rolling across the waters and echoing eerily back. Although Celeste had heard the Song sung countless times over the cycles, it had never sounded like this. The water always muffled the sound, distorted it. But in the crisp night air, the Song was clear and enchanting. The waves beneath them slowed, as if the sea itself calmed to hear her.

Above, the human stilled.

Come closer. Hear us calling. In our arms you belong.

The initiates listened silently as members of the Chorus joined their voices to hers, harmonizing as though the one voice had split into many. Xandra reached her long arms toward the human who stood along the banister, curling her fingers, beckoning.

“Sirens!” a shout called out from the ship.

“They’re real!” another called, this one in a tone of awe.

“Help! Captain!” The voice cracked as it sounded the alarm. At once, the ship burst into noise. Feet pounded against wooden floors. They called out to each other, shouting orders and rousing sailors from sleep.

It would not matter.

Come rest your weary bones, love. Come join us in the sea.

The Song was a caress, a young lover calling out to their beloved. Along the bow of the ship, another sailor joined the first, moving slowly as though in a trance. Milky-white eyes looked blindly upon the water. Their lips curled into a lovesick smile.

Let the gentle waves consume you, for your heart belongs to me.

“Man the cannons!”

“Where do we aim? I can’t see a damn thing!”

“It’s coming from everywhere!”

Each man talked over the other. They needed to see to use their weapons. It made them weak. Sirens did not need such things.

I’ll fulfill your every longing. I am everything you crave.

The Song drifted, circling the ship. It came from everywhere and nowhere, a cool touch on a fevered head. The notes glided, slithering toward the humans, around them, into them. It held them in its gentle embrace. It guided them. More humans joined the others at the railing, their sightless eyes gazing upon the sirens.

“They’re on the starboard side!” a booming shout called.

The sound made Celeste’s heart shudder. The prince . But despite his cry, the chaos on the ship was quieting as they sang. Sounds of movement slowed until Celeste could make out a unified tap of feet moving in rhythm to the Song.

Let me kiss away your sorrows as I lay you in your grave.

A human began to climb the railing. His feet were sure-footed as they planted themselves upon the banister, and as he pushed himself up to standing, it looked as though he had appeared from a cloud. His body was unnaturally still as he stood in the wind, looking out over the water with murky white eyes. Echo opened her arms wide to him, and like a child, he opened his in response. The Chorus grew louder.

“Bastian? Bastian !”

The shout was startling amid the song, like a rock thrown into a still pond. Celeste had been certain all the humans had fallen under its spell by now. To her left, Maeve’s eyes widened, and Leif stole a glance sideways at Nautica. But the Chorus members remained unperturbed. The only sign they had noticed the disturbance was their growing volume. But Celeste could still hear one pair of offbeat footfalls against the wooden deck.

“Bastian, stop!”

Another bolt of lightning sang across the sky. Much closer than before. Light flashed across the ship. Celeste’s stomach rolled as she gazed upon the lifeless face of the man who had danced and laughed with his prince not hours ago, the one he’d called “quartermaster.” Others began to climb the railing as well. Their expressions all looked the same: soft and happy. But there was nothing alive behind their eyes.

Thunder rumbled as the mist parted, and the prince strode into view. His dark coat billowed behind him with each pounding step, looking like Death incarnate. But his face was not soft. It was tense. Angry. Afraid. The prince was awake. Untouched by the Song. He reached the railing, and with one hand, he hauled the nearest crewmate backward. He reached for the next, throwing this one, too, to the ground. Celeste couldn’t look away as he went through his crew one by one, working his way to the quartermaster.

This shouldn’t be happening. Celeste had never heard of a human who could resist the pull of the Song before.

Take my hand and let me guide you as you listen to our song.

The Song swelled, but the prince remained unaffected. General Xandra stiffened. Then, to Celeste’s surprise, she raised her arm, bending it into a right angle. The signal . Celeste’s throat tightened. The initiates were being called into the Song. Around her, voices rose, entwining. Bastian’s left foot slipped from the banister. With a shout, the prince made a break for the quartermaster. But beneath, Echo beckoned, achingly beautiful. And it was as if Celeste could see the siren’s voice rolling up from the water and wrapping around Bastian’s throat.

My sisters have been waiting, and in our arms you belong.

He dove.

“No!” cried the prince, his hands grasping at air as Bastian tipped over the ledge with a smile. The quartermaster fell headfirst, landing with a sickening splash. One by one, the other crew members climbed upon the railing, arms opening wide. Even the few the prince had pulled away were crawling back, white eyes unblinking. The sight of them made Celeste’s stomach sour. She looked to Maeve, searching for a similar look of horror upon her friend’s face, but instead she saw a warrior. Her gaze was cold as ice as her lips moved in sync with those around her.

We are doing what is necessary. It is for our protection , Celeste reminded herself as her eyes found the prince again. He was no longer trying to stop the tide of crew members, but instead stared down where Bastian had disappeared. Any resolve Celeste had crumbled when she caught the look on the prince’s face. The horror and sorrow as he searched for any sign of life from his friend.

Finally, Bastian’s body emerged from the ocean. His arms flailed not in distress but in desperation. As if he would die should he not reach his beloved Echo. The general beckoned to him again, long arms pale in the darkness. And he began to close the distance between them.

Bring me all your fears and sorrows. I will wash them all away.

Bastian moved like an animal, pure instinct. He paddled, arms smacking the water again and again. The gap between them lessened, until he was halfway between the boat and her arms.

Splash! Celeste looked toward the sound to find the prince breaking through the surface of the water. Her heart hammered. Why would the prince willingly dive into the ocean? He knew there were sirens in the water. Now he’d sacrificed his only advantage. Horror climbed up her throat, stealing the breath from her lungs as she watched him swim after his friend, each stroke clumsy to Celeste’s eyes.

This wasn’t the action of a monster.

Bastian frantically flapped through the water, and Celeste saw the turtle from that morning.

Does that make us the shark? She felt as though she might be sick.

Xandra dove forward, her powerful tail launching her at the prince. She could pull him under, Song or no.

The prince did not see her. His head was underwater as he swam forward. Toward Echo. Toward Celeste. The dark fabric of his jacket pulled at him, dragging him backward. Xandra gained. Above them, the storm approached, threatening rain. He will die . Celeste had known this, and yet facing it was quite another thing. And I will watch him as he dies trying to save another.

It was then that she noticed she was not singing. She had never started.

And I’ll hold you in my arms, my dear, as you perish and decay.

Without thinking, Celeste plunged. There was nothing in her head. No thoughts or questions or doubts. There was only instinct, moving her toward Bastian. Beneath, she could see how his legs flailed without rhythm. The sirens around her did not move. They were a trained system. They did not act without orders, and with the general taking care of the prince, the one human who avoided their Song, there was no need to change tactics.

Within seconds, Celeste had reached Bastian. He was now only a couple of lengths away from Echo. Celeste grabbed at his ankle, hoping to pull him away without being seen. But he was stronger than she expected. His foot kicked at her and collided with her wrist, knocking her arm away. She grunted and reached again and again, until her hand at last grasped his ankle. But his unreasonable thrashing made it hard to keep hold of him, and once more her hand slipped.

There was no way she could save him like this, and she was wasting time. Time the prince didn’t have. Pulling her spear from her back, she flipped the weapon around. Sorry about this , she thought as she jabbed the flat of the spear into his temple. At once, Bastian fell still. Returning her spear to her back, Celeste grabbed the human’s ankle and began to drag his limp body along the surface. She was careful to keep his nose and mouth above water, for the Chorus had taught them that humans—like seals—needed to be on the surface to breathe. How strange that now she used this information not to drown one but to save him. The sight could have been funny—Bastian floating away from the sirens as Celeste towed him from beneath the dark waves. But although Celeste was trying her best to hide, the charade was clearly in sight of Echo and the others.

A commotion rose, the water distorting most of the sound. Celeste ignored it, searching for any sign of the prince. And when she found him, several lengths away from her, General Xandra had reached him.

“Celeste!” Celeste spun to see Maeve floating in the darkness behind her, confusion apparent on her face. “What are you doing?”

Celeste stared at her friend. If she did this, there would be no turning back. She looked toward the prince, resolution wavering. Xandra grasped his leg and dragged him down. He was fighting, but he was staring at her .

He saw her.

There was fear in his eyes as they flicked between her and Bastian’s unconscious body floating above. The prince twisted, trying to break free, and she realized he did not have any weapons. He must have abandoned them on the ship before jumping. Bubbles escaped his lips as he fought to free himself from Xandra’s grip. But she was too strong. And they were descending deeper and deeper into endless nothingness.

With utter certainty, Celeste knew that if she let these humans die, this moment would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“I’m sorry,” Celeste whispered to Maeve, before she raced toward him.