Page 35 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

She didn’t remember falling, but when Dax picked her up, holding her close to his chest, she buried her face in his cloak.

Gripping his lapels, she tried desperately to memorize the haunting melody, until the sweet flower scent faded along with Celeste’s voice and the song she used to hear when she was a youngling.

Dax set her down on a bed of pine needles and removed the fabric, tucking it into the bag on his back. “You okay?” His face tightened with worry, his eyes scanning her for signs of lasting distress.

She blinked away the sudden brightness and nodded, her mouth a thin line as she tried to forget the sounds still echoing in her ears.

The brightness of the clearing was jarring, a harsh reminder of the reality she had just left behind.

“I’m fine. Let’s go,” she said, her voice hoarse as though she were the one who’d been screaming, not the ghosts.

When she tried standing, her legs gave out, and she fell to her back.

“Just breathe deeply,” Dax said, sitting down beside her. “You need to clear your lungs.” His voice was calm, a steady anchor in the storm of her emotions.

Mariana shook her head and covered her eyes with her hands as tears began to trail down the sides of her face.

“Those flowers are awful ,” she said harshly, her voice thick with sudden grief she hadn’t felt in so long.

She’d thought she was strong enough to push back the impending tidal wave of emotions, but when it broke free, it was like drowning all over again.

The sound of Dax chuckling made the water recede slightly, and she wiped her face.

“I know, I’ve seen full-grown scouts with their heads between their knees crying like babies when they stumble upon the field.

When I lived at home, I used to have the privilege of pulling them out before they went completely mad. ”

“I can see how someone would go mad.” She sniffed and stared skyward. The clouds rolled in again, covering the beautiful sun and cloaking everything in a gray tint. The shifting weather mirrored the tumultuous state of her mind.

“I always wanted to ask them what they heard. What they saw.” She heard the lingering question in his voice and sat up.

She groaned. Her hair was an absolute mess.

Shaking her head, she started pulling out pine needles from her braid.

The task was methodical, distracting herself from the lingering fear.

Dax pulled a leaf from her head, and they both laughed softly .

She cleared her throat. How was she supposed to explain what she had heard?

Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. “When Celeste died, I blamed myself. I felt like I should’ve somehow stopped it, like I had the power to.

But I’ve realized I don’t have the power to stop anything.

” Mariana lifted her eyes to his and murmured, “I heard her voice back there. And I wished it were real. But neither the flowers nor I have the power to bring her back.” Turning away, she dragged her wrist under her nose and scoffed.

“Just like I have no power to bring back the song,” she quietly said to herself.

“What song?”

Shit. “Uh …” Might as well confess you’re insane.

“This is going to sound crazy,” she admitted, “but from the day I was born, I could hear this … song. My mother tried dismissing it as whales singing, but no one else could hear it. Just me. Then I discovered it was coming from the sky, and I had to know what it was saying. So—” She cleared her throat, heat rising to her cheeks—“I would leave the palace’s protection and go to the surface to listen to it.

I could never make out the words, but it was always there in the background.

Until the day I came of age, and it stopped.

I woke up on my birthday and haven’t heard it since. ”

“Strange,” he murmured, his eyes narrowing in thought.

“When I got too close to the sun and burned my face, I realized how careless and thoughtless I had been. I almost died. I asked Nyx, our tattooist, to cover it all up—well, except this one.” She gestured to the scar on her temple. “I kept that one as a reminder. ”

“The sun did this to you?” he asked, touching her scar. His touch was gentle, his fingers tracing the outline of the scar with a tenderness that made her heart ache.

Her lungs struggled to operate with how close he’d gotten.

“Yes,” she whispered, and averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing with warmth.

“The only way for a siren to be permanently scarred is by the sun. At the time, I didn’t have full control of my power and …

” Mariana’s voice trailed off as she recalled how angry her mother had been every time she came back with a new scar.

She rubbed the nasty one on her right hand, wishing it would disappear just like she had when she first was burned, but at least it remained semi-hidden beneath the swirling wave tattoo.

“Let’s just say I’m not exactly proud of my scars,” she confessed, then laughed sadly.

Dax took her hand gently, inspecting the scar there. Mariana suddenly felt laid bare, like he’d be able to see past all the tattoos to the ugly truth hidden beneath.

She almost pulled her hand free when he lifted it to his lips and placed a kiss over the scar. Her heart stopped dead in her chest, the simple gesture overwhelming her.

“Your scars are beautiful,” he murmured, and their eyes met. Mariana couldn’t breathe. His emerald gaze held hers, drawing her in, making her toes curl.

“How can you say that?” she asked, her voice barely audible, a mix of disbelief and vulnerability in her tone.

“We all have something we’re ashamed of, Mari. Your scars shouldn’t be one of them. They’re a part of you,” Dax replied, his eyes never leaving hers. “Your shield. ”

Mariana swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words settle into her heart. “No one’s ever seen them like that before.”

“It’s hard for us to see what makes us strong,” he said softly, squeezing her hand. His touch was a lifeline, grounding her in the present.

In that moment, surrounded by the silence of understanding, Mariana felt a flicker of hope she hadn’t known she needed. She released a small laugh and wiped her eyes. “Why is it so easy to tell you everything?” she asked softly.

He brushed her hair back as it fluttered in the breeze, then settled his warm hand on her cheek. Something deep inside her ached, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning toward him. His lips stopped close to hers, their mingling breath hot as they waited for the other to make the move.

“We shouldn’t,” he whispered darkly, his voice filled with regret.

As the wind grew in intensity, she shivered. Tilting her head, she whispered back, “Why not?” His eyes trailed from the base of her throat to her lips, lingering on her mouth.

“Your soul isn’t full of shadows like mine is, Mari.” His words were a confession, a glimpse into the darkness he carried within. He was a man of a thousand secrets, his past locked so tightly in darkness that she wondered how long he’d been its prisoner.

Hearing him say that made her settle her hand over his heart. “So let me chase them away,” she whispered.

Dax rested his forehead against hers, keeping them from going any further. He swallowed and pulled away to stand.

Mariana blinked. Disappointment cut through her like a knife, the moment slipping away .

“Samos is a day’s trek away,” he said, clearing his throat while glancing toward the darkening trail as the clouds rolled in. The sky was a tumultuous sea of gray, promising more rain. “If we move quickly, we’ll arrive by sundown.”

Mariana nodded, trying to forget his lips. She hesitated before taking Dax’s offered hand and stood. Releasing a deep breath, she swallowed her pride and followed him into the misty forest.