Page 14 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

“So, what’s the plan here? Are we walking until my feet fall apart, or will we stop somewhere with running water?” Mariana stumbled over loose rocks and held back a curse as pain radiated up her feet into her knees and thighs.

“Why? Tough siren can’t handle a little walking?” Dax teased, and she glared at the back of his head.

“No, you stink,” she snapped, hoping the blatant lie offended him. “I’m about to choke to death from your stench.”

“Wow, thanks for the brutal honesty. I appreciate it. Now, stop talking.”

Ignoring him, she said, “How about we talk about you? Tell me all about yourself. I can barely speak without getting nauseated from all the smells—”

“Then you should shut your trap and keep walking,” he barked over his shoulder, tugging her hard by her leash. Her wrists ached in protest, but she yanked back, causing him to stop and turn around.

They held each other’s firm, disdainful stares .

Blazes , she wanted to fight him. But she knew she wouldn’t win if she did, and that fact deeply bothered her. “Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll shut my trap like a good little captive,” she taunted in an overly sweet tone and batted her eyelashes up at him.

She would follow the intolerable fae as long as she needed to, but that didn’t mean she had to make it easy on him.

Her feet stung with each step inside the torture devices they called shoes ; her natural healing unable to keep up with the blisters ripping her skin open over and over again.

And quite frankly, she was pissed, hungry, and tired—there was no room in her heart to care how the fae felt about her constant annoyances.

In fact, each time he growled at her or ordered her to stop talking, the pain eased just the slightest bit.

“Let’s get one thing straight, princess. You and I have to tolerate each other until we get to Aurelia. Save your energy for walking instead of intentionally trying to annoy me so we get there faster. Once we’re there, we can go our separate ways. Agreed?”

Mariana’s fists tightened, and the silk dug into her skin, threatening to slice her wrists apart. But her anger couldn’t overshadow the fact that he had called her princess.

“You know who I am,” she said in a deadly calm tone, noticing how his jaw clenched in response. He wasn’t just a mercenary for hire; the king had told him about her, and the only way the king would’ve known anything was if he had spoken to Astra.

“Is my sister still alive?” she blurted.

His face didn’t move a muscle as his emerald gaze stared her down .

Instead of responding, he turned around and continued walking, forcing her to follow.

She let out a low growl. “Just tell me if she’s alive, that’s all I ask.”

“I won’t tell you anything unless you stop talking and we enter the fae realm.”

Her nails dug into her skin as she gripped her fists tight, wanting to throw something at his head.

The water in the air coating her skin and misting the trees called to her again now that the drug had completely worn off.

She let herself answer the call, pulling droplets into her hand.

Glancing up, she contemplated throwing the ball of water at the fae’s head.

Maybe drowning him just a little … Instead, she formed shapes of sea creatures in her palms as she walked.

The light from the sun glinted off their little forms, casting small rainbows against her skin.

She smiled, finally enjoying herself with youngling tricks.

It killed the time, and before she knew it, Dax had stopped.

She slammed into his back, the tiny water octopus in her hand splashing to the ground. Moaning, she stumbled back and lifted her hands to her face.

“ Good Goddess! You can’t just stop like tha—” Her words dropped away with her hands when she saw what he was looking at.

Through the dense trees at the edge of a cliff stood a pillared arch covered in overgrowth. Ivy spiraled up the columns, and moss covered the cobblestone ramp leading up to a glittering door .

“What is that?” she asked softly. She’d never seen anything like it.

“The Crossing,” Dax replied and began walking toward the archway.

“ That is the Crossing? Everyone always talked about it like it was a land bridge.”

“It was,” he said to her, then turned to face the strange, colorful window. “Before the Infernal Wars.”

Before the fae all wanted to kill each other over power.

“Huh.” She stepped up next to him, staring at it in wonder. It didn’t show what was on the other side, just an array of glittering colors.

“Why would the fae build this and then never use it?”

“They did use it when mortals didn’t inhabit the islands, before the Southern Continent decided all fae were—”

“Demons?” she chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“Back then, these islands didn’t have much value, so the fae left, and mortals moved in.”

“The vultures,” she joked. The sound of the sea crashing drifted to her ears, and she stepped to the side of the arch, tugging on the rope that connected her to Dax. He huffed but let her look over the edge.

“Damn,” she breathed as she stared down at how far the sea was from where they stood.

Violent waves crashed against the rocks jutting out from the sea and up the side of the cliff.

Her gaze lifted to the other side of the chasm, where another archway stood, far enough away to appear twice as small.

The salty wind blew her hair around her face, stinging her eyes .

Dax let out a low whistle over her shoulder. “Yeah, there’s no jumping that. You’ll die instantly.”

Mariana lifted an eyebrow at him. “So would you.”

He had the nerve to smirk at her, then pulled her back toward the strange doorway.

“If this thing doesn’t work, we’ll both fall to our deaths. That’s nice,” she muttered.

“The only way it wouldn’t work was if you and I were mortals.”

She squinted. “How’s that?”

“Mortal blood can’t use the Crossing. Only fae blood can pass through.”

Taking a hesitant step back, she said, “But I’m not fae, I’m a siren.”

He placed his hand against her back, stopping her. “Every siren has fae blood; that much I know. You’ll be fine.”

She hated the worried look he must’ve seen across her face and quickly schooled her features.

“Fine. Bastards first,” she said politely and gestured for him to go. The smirk never left his eyes as he shook his head and shoved her through.

Mariana’s lungs seized. She closed her eyes, fearing the worst, and expected to feel herself falling to her death, straight into the place she called home, when her feet stumbled.

Rocks crunched beneath her boots, and she realized she wasn’t falling.

Releasing a shaky breath, she smiled and opened her eyes just as a pair of rough hands grabbed her arms and sneering copper eyes inspected her.

A gravelly voice from chapped lips said, “Who do we have here?”