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CHAPTER EIGHT

The sirens broke through the surface several lengths away, General Xandra at the front. A blind rage distorted Xandra’s face. But beside her, Echo was as calm as clear water, which was a great deal more frightening. Celeste expected them to say something. To ask her why she had done this. To ask her to stand down. Instead, General Xandra raised her spear in challenge. The others fell back. Celeste positioned herself in front of the prince and his companions. She eyed her competition, not liking her odds in this rematch.

Xandra launched herself at Celeste. The princess fell back, attempting to knock away the blow. But the general had more force. They collided like a thunderclap. Celeste just managed to deflect the blade away from her shoulder, but the wings just below the weapon’s tip made contact. Pain lanced through Celeste. Sharp and then dull at once. Xandra pulled back, but Celeste was quicker this time. The smaller siren used both hands on the shaft of her spear to swing up. She knocked the second blow out of the way. In the time it took Xandra to recover, Celeste dove.

Celeste knew her strengths and her weaknesses well. As initiates, sirens had weapon training every day. Xandra may have been larger, but Celeste excelled at using her surroundings. Before the general had time to react, Celeste grabbed the fin of her superior’s tail and pulled her under. Xandra sputtered, her lungs taking a moment to adjust. And in that moment, Celeste thrust her spear toward Xandra’s temple. The blunt end. For even now, she couldn’t bring herself to injure this siren she respected.

Xandra saw the blow coming. She evaded to the left, grunting. Celeste let the swing of her spear spin her around and brought the weapon around back toward the temple again. But once more, Xandra’s training was unmatched. The general blocked, the clash nearly knocking Celeste’s spear from her hands.

Celeste swam back, adding distance between them. But as she did, her attention was drawn above. The other sirens were not waiting for their leader to finish her. The fight was a distraction to lure Celeste away and leave the humans unprotected.

“ No !” the princess cried. She darted toward them but was knocked off course. Hard. Pain bloomed again in her shoulder, and she turned to see blood clouding the water. The general lunged again, and this time Celeste did not hold back. With a grunt, the little siren parried and then moved into a thrust of her own. Xandra dodged, but not fast enough to avoid it. The tip of Celeste’s spear sliced across the side of her superior’s arm.

“You can’t win,” the general said.

She was right, of course. Even if Celeste managed to best Xandra, she couldn’t beat them all. Above her, the prince and his companions were surrounded. Feinting another thrust, Celeste used the distraction to flee. She surfaced between the humans and Echo. Despite having the upper hand, the sirens did not move on the humans. Like perfect little soldiers, they awaited instruction from their superior. Celeste pointed her weapon toward Echo, blood and water dripping from her.

“Get back!” Celeste shouted.

Just behind, Maeve floated beside Officer Rae. Celeste avoided her friend’s gaze. She did not want to see how her Maeve looked at her now.

“That’s enough,” Echo said. “Lower your weapon, traitor.”

Celeste wished she knew the perfect thing to say, like her sister Sephone always had. How could she make them understand? But even if she found the words, she knew they wouldn’t listen. Goddess’s fins, she wished she even felt confident she was making the right choice. This wasn’t a simple rule break. This was treason .

The gazes of her fellow initiates felt heavy upon her. It was unbearable. Did none of them feel as she did? Why was Celeste so horrified by what had happened when no one else reacted? You’re acting like a human , her mother’s voice echoed in her head, ringing. She was too much like them. Too emotional. Tears sprung to her eyes. How did she let this happen? Fear and shame simmered inside her, overwhelming her.

General Xandra emerged, and the circle of sirens widened to make room.

“Chorus”—the general sheathed her spear—“drown the humans and capture the traitor.”

“Yes, General,” they responded in unison.

The Chorus closed in, weapons drawn. Celeste no longer recognized them, these sirens she’d known for cycles. She didn’t even recognize herself. Traitor . The pressure inside her built, and she looked at the prince. He held his companions close, jaw tight. Her heart was beating too fast. Her mother’s words shouting at her over and over.

“How am I to trust you?”

“Stop acting like one!”

“That’s enough.”

The ringing in her ears swelled. She could feel herself slipping. It was happening again. Her hands flew to her ears, but she couldn’t block the sound. Echo reached to restrain her. Celeste couldn’t breathe. Her heart raced. I should have never come . Tears pricked her eyes. What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?

Echo’s hand clamped over Celeste’s shaking wrist.

“Calm down,” she said.

It was an order.

Celeste looked into her eyes. And screamed.

The sound poured out of her, vibrating throughout her body. She couldn’t control it and couldn’t stop. Echo’s hand slipped from her wrist. The world tilted. And darkness fell.

* * *

Celeste awoke to the feeling of someone’s hand on her shoulder. The rain had stopped, but it was dark. The hand shook her again.

“Please, wake up.”

She opened her eyes and saw the prince staring at her. His dark eyes seemed to be scanning her, as if looking for an explanation. Her arm burned hot where he touched her, and she tilted her head to look down at it. The other shoulder, which was still bleeding, burned for an entirely different reason.

Sighing with relief, the prince released her, and Celeste sank back into the water. She felt empty and tired.

“That was—” He paused, looking over his shoulder, then reconsidered. “Thank you,” he finished instead. At his side, his pet was held in his free arm, but it hung there, body limp. Celeste’s eyes widened, and she reached toward the Admiral.

“He’s fine. Just unconscious,” the prince assured her. “They all are.”

A cold dread settled upon her as she lifted her head and looked past him. It was hard to see. Black smoke seemed to have descended upon them, and Celeste wondered if it had somehow come from the burning ship. She pushed past him and saw bloodred hair. A gasp escaped her throat. General Echo’s body floated belly-up in the water. It was almost serene, how her hair circled her pale face. She looked as if she were sleeping. Maeve slept beside her, tentacles moving gently with the waves. The Chorus floating motionless was almost a twisted copy of the humans she had seen not hours before. Celeste placed a hand against her friend’s chest. After a second, she felt the gentle beating of her heart. They were alive . Her hands shook, and she turned away, squeezing her eyes shut. At least they were alive this time.

The tears came anyway. Her body shook with them as they pooled in her eyes and overflowed. But unlike any other time she cried, they did not simply mix with the water and disappear. They trickled and poured and flowed, leaving salty tracks down her cheeks until they were dripping along her chin. The experience was unnerving.

The prince said nothing. He turned his face away to give her privacy and focused on making sure Bastian, who was still unconscious, did not float too far.

Celeste heated with embarrassment. She hated crying. Hated that this human had seen her utterly fall apart. In haste, Celeste dove into the sea. The water rushed up to meet her, mixing with the tears and washing them away. Soon it was as if they never existed. This isn’t helping , she told herself. You need to get it together and swim these humans to land. You can’t undo what you’ve done, so the least you can do is finish what you’ve started . Clenching her jaw, she took a deep breath and resurfaced.

The prince turned, meeting her eye. And the siren paused. Why hadn’t her voice put him to sleep too? Why hadn’t anyone’s Song affected him? But she didn’t have time for such questions. The Chorus could wake any second. Flushing, she reached her hand out to the human.

Let’s go , it said.

“Well, I suppose I can’t swim to Velluno,” he said, taking her hand.

In spite of herself, Celeste laughed. She wrapped her arm around the prince, who held the Admiral and Bastian. She tried to keep her face expressionless as she felt the warmth of the prince’s body pressed against her. Her wounded shoulder still throbbed, but it wasn’t too bad. It was the least of her worries at this point. She didn’t seem to be losing too much blood, and she knew how to avoid attracting predators.

With their party ready, Celeste swam off. She’d need to swim fast if they wanted to make it to Port Velluno before the Chorus could catch them. Luckily for them, she knew the ocean, and although she had never seen them, she knew the locations of the human lands very well. She knew exactly where they were going. Still, the journey was awkward. Despite her being both strong and fast, carrying two grown human men and their dog through the water was a challenge. Bastian was no better than deadweight, and many a time she would feel him slipping and would have to stop to allow the prince to readjust his grip. The prince—she mainly tried her best to ignore him. But his right arm had laced itself around her, large hand pressed against her abdomen, and she couldn’t help but notice what felt like every firm muscle of him.

Above them, stars shone brightly, helping to guide her way. The sea, which had grown still and dark, reflected the glittering sky, and it was as if they were swimming through galaxies. In spite of all that had happened, Celeste couldn’t help but be swept away by the beauty of it all. Their journey was quiet, except for the gentle sound of the waves and Celeste’s tail moving them forward in a repetitive rhythm.

Time lengthened and shortened in equal parts. The journey felt like an eternity, and yet Celeste was somehow shocked when she saw the faint shadow of a human city appear on the horizon just before dawn. Her pace quickened, and her shoulders relaxed for the first time since that morning. The prince didn’t seem to see it for another good hour.

“Velluno.”

He turned his head to look at her, and her heart skipped a beat. This close, she could see he had a tiny mole on his left cheek. One that pulled as his lip curled up. She met his gaze. His beautiful dark eyes and—he turned his face away to look toward the city. They were fast approaching it now. Which, mercifully, gave Celeste something to think about beyond that mole of his. She had never seen a human city before. Even with her excellent vision, she could only make out parts of the port town, which was built into a cliffside. Despite the late hour, there were still many lanterns lit around the town, revealing winding stone streets and short square buildings. But she didn’t dare let her curiosity get the best of her. She couldn’t stay long. The Chorus would awaken and be looking for her soon, if they weren’t already.

She slowed her pace, searching for a dark stretch of beach to drop them. After traveling all night, her arms and tail were sore and tired. The wound in her shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it was still painful. Even her face felt sore. Perhaps from the wind and ocean spray. This surprised her. She never expected the wind to hurt.

A little north of the port, Celeste found a darkened beach and headed in that direction. But the closer they got to the land, the better she could see the human city. There were no humans, as far as she could see. Perhaps they were sleeping. But floating in the waters just beyond the city were many ships, like the one the prince and Bastian had been on. Most of them were significantly smaller, and some didn’t have sails and looked to only fit one or two humans, but all were connected with rope to wooden platforms that jutted out from the land. So that is how they get on their ships . There were so many things Celeste didn’t recognize or understand. It was overwhelming and thrilling all at once. Tall green plants sprang up between clusters of buildings, fat and full, but she didn’t know what they were called. They made her want to leap from the ocean and run her fingers over them. Would they be soft like algae or hard like coral?

Celeste swam into the shallows of a darkened alcove until she could feel the sand brush against her fin along a sandbar. She stopped and unwound her arm gently from the prince. Her body felt cold in his absence, but she ignored it. Wordlessly, she helped him get ahold of Bastian and the dog, both of whom had begun to stir. It took a moment for him to find his footing, but eventually the prince was able to stand, the water coming up to his chest. He looked at her, about to say something, when the quartermaster let out a long groan.

“Bastian!” he said, watching in obvious relief as the quartermaster rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “You bastard. You slept through the whole thing.” The prince laughed, pulling Bastian into a hug.

Celeste fell back, watching the celebration from the outside. The waves pulled her, drawing her out to sea. She didn’t fight it as the two humans found their legs and stumbled to land. They raised their knees up high with each laborious step. When they finally reached the shore, they collapsed into the sand. The two gasped and laughed until they grew still. And Celeste wondered if the effort had killed them after all. So she stayed for a while, watching until she could see the gentle rise and fall of their chests. They were alive, and yet she remained. The Admiral, at last fully awake, untangled himself from the prince’s arms and shook the water from his body. He circled the men, sniffing them with his little black nose. When neither stirred, the animal paced back and forth until he, too, tired and curled up beside them.

The waves pulled and pulled, and the two humans became smaller and smaller. After a time, Bastian roused from sleep. The sky had just begun to brighten—dawn mere moments away. He turned, waking the prince beside him. The two spoke to each other, but Celeste couldn’t hear what they said. They looked around themselves, as if taking in their surroundings for the first time. And when they finally peered out to the ocean for a sign of their rescuer, she was too far gone.

Maybe it was better this way. After a day or two, they would look at each other and wonder if it hadn’t just been a bad storm. If perhaps the sirens had been a dream. And if they had any sense, they would stay well away from the ocean for the rest of their short human lives. Over time they would forget she existed. But even if they did, the Chorus wouldn’t forget. She knew what awaited her when she returned to Staria.

Her body felt numb as she bobbed listlessly in the waves. She’d had a future with the Chorus. Her family loved her, despite her flaws, and she had thrown it all away. She thought of Sephone’s laugh and her mother’s embrace. Her father’s steady presence. Shye with her fierce protectiveness and how she would braid Celeste’s hair every morning growing up. Even if Celeste was right about the humans, did it matter? It wasn’t as though anything would change. The Chorus would continue to hunt them to protect their kingdom from discovery.

Floating in the open ocean, with Velluno growing smaller and smaller in the distance, Celeste considered her options. She didn’t have many. If she chose to go home, death surely awaited. Perhaps she should flee, although it wouldn’t increase her chances of survival by much. At least she could keep her pride. She wouldn’t have to look into the disappointed eyes of her father. And her mother—a stab of sorrow pierced her heart. How could Celeste face her mother, knowing how she had betrayed her? Perhaps she deserved to rot in the Wasting Waters. Maybe the legendary Sea Witch would take pity on her and—Celeste sighed heavily. From what she knew of the Sea Witch, she wasn’t exactly one to take pity. Or help.

When Celeste was little, her favorite of her mother’s stories was always the one about the Sea Witch. She’d beg and plead to hear the tale, and eventually her mother would relent.

“Deep within the Wasting Waters, where no siren dared to go, lived the Sea Witch,” Queen Halia would say, combing her daughter’s moon-white hair. “But, once, she lived in Staria, as you and I do. She was the most powerful healer in the Southern Ocean. There was no ailment she could not cure and no wound she could not sing closed. But the Sea Witch grew tired of such simple Songs. She began to experiment.”

“And then she became a witch!” Celeste would pipe in, grinning.

“Be patient, little star,” Halia chided, but there was no bite to it. “The Sea Witch invented new Songs. Songs to change a siren’s body into anything she wished. Songs to make sirens fall in love against their will. Songs to grant dreams.” Celeste wasn’t sure she believed such things were possible. “Such experimentation was—and still is—forbidden, and so the Sea Witch was cast out, doomed to wander the Wasting Waters for eternity. But banishment did not stop her. Desperate sirens who heard of her magic went in search of her deep-sea grotto, seeking a miracle. In exchange, the witch would take things. The color of your hair”—her mother tugged gently at Celeste’s hair, making her laugh—“a cycle of your life. The texture of your lips. Or even your voice.”

Celeste broke from the memory. It was at that moment she felt them. Her reckoning. A part of her had been waiting for this. She took one last look at Port Velluno. The city hummed to life as the sun rose above it. Humans opened their doors, and fishermen readied their boats. A new day was here. Swallowing, Celeste turned her face away and dove into the waters to meet her fate.