Page 55 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

Aurora turned in her cot restlessly. Her mind was spinning, torturing her by flashing images of scenes she’d thought were long forgotten.

Bloody water. Broken bones. Broken glass. Shards of it sticking out of—

“ Stop! ” she shouted, bolting upright and clutching her head.

Dax, who’d been putting together something to eat in the galley, poked his head into the ridiculously small room with two bunks wedged inside.

“Hey,” he called softly. “You alright?”

Her breath came out in short pants, but she managed to nod.

Brushing her hair back, she sighed. “Yeah.” Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, she nodded again, not meeting his eyes. “I’m fine, just …” She couldn’t find the words. Her mind was a tangled mess of thorny vines she didn’t dare reach her hand into.

“I get it,” he murmured, staring out the porthole letting in rays of the setting sun. His eyes caught hers. An unspoken understanding passed between them .

In all her time as the Scarlet Serpent, traveling all over the fae realm doing her mother’s dirty work, Aurora had only seen Dax once—passed by, more like.

But she knew who he was. Back then, his legion of midnight warriors were legendary, battling armies twice their size under the cover of darkness.

They would infiltrate enemy encampments, leaving them completely decimated.

Not a soul was left to talk about the killers of the night .

They were King Thaddeus’s most honored legion during the Infernal Wars.

Dax was a trained warrior, and she a trained killer. Yet the blood on their hands stained the same.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, I’m starving.” She pulled herself from the cot and stumbled into the galley—if one could even call it that. It was a stove, a shelf, and a pantry all crammed into a corner.

Dax handed her a wooden bowl of boiled potatoes and onions.

She held back her grimace and forced a smile as she took the bowl.

He laughed at her expression. “I know, it’s not ideal, but at least it’s better than this overly salted jerky Kosta and I gotta eat.”

“Sounds yummy,” she drawled, staring down at her potatoes.

Dax had turned toward the stairs carrying two bowls of heaping brown … yuck when she put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

“Listen, I …” she sighed, unable to believe what she was about to say.

Dax seemed like a decent fae who clearly had some shit to sort out.

But he had also protected Mari when Aurora couldn’t.

Sh e owed him this. “I see how you look at her, and how she looks at you. Be careful.” Dax opened his mouth, brows drawn together in a tight line, but she continued before he could speak.

“They say never fall in love with a siren for a reason, Dax. Her love can either save you or destroy you. Just … remember that.”

Aurora averted her gaze and pulled her hand back, suddenly uncomfortable.

He stood in place for a moment, seemingly absorbing what she’d said before giving her a wordless nod and walking slowly up the stairs.

Aurora released a deep, bottomless sigh and trudged up the stairs after him.

Dax handed a bowl to Kosta, who thanked him from where he stood at the wheel.

Kosta sniffed the food, frowning. “Are we sure this is even meat?”

Dax shrugged, sitting next to Mari at a sun-bleached wooden table with a rickety leg. “You get used to it.” He turned to Mari, who was idly braiding her hair. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

Mari shook her head and gave him a grateful smile. She looked tired, Aurora noted, the dark circles forming beneath her eyes a clear indication she needed rest.

“You should try this,” Kosta said, holding out his bowl. “It’s got just the right overly salty taste. Basically it tastes like it came straight out of the ocean. You’ll love it.”

“We don’t eat meat, idiot,” Aurora sneered, chewing her potatoes .

Kosta retracted his hand. “How was I supposed to know that?”

“Not sure. If you had a brain, I suspect you’d have figured it out from day one on this damn boat when I said we would not be eating any of that vile, salty-ass meat.”

“I thought you were being picky,” he muttered, and Aurora squinted at him.

“Excuse me?” she asked in a deadly tone.

“Have you ever tasted meat, Rora?” Mari asked curiously.

Aurora shrugged. “Once.” She eyed the suspicious meat Dax was picking at from his own bowl.

“What was it like?” Mari stared at the meat too, her lips pulled together and her nose slightly wrinkled, as though the scent of it was making her nauseous.

“Exactly how you’d imagine. I was sick for days. The fae bastard that gave it to me claimed it was the best roasted duck he’d ever cooked and I wasted it.” She shook her head, lips tugged up slightly at the drunken memory.

Mari grimaced. “It looks disgusting.”

Dax chuckled. “It tastes like it looks.”

“It’s not that bad,” Kosta said, chewing. “I’ve had worse.”

“Like what?” Dax asked, an amused grin on his face.

Aurora groaned. “Why would you ask him that?”

Kosta’s thick lips opened and closed as if he was considering what snarky comment he’d say back, but Aurora held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t make me throw you overboard.”

He scoffed. “I’d like to see you try!”

In a flash, Aurora had unsheathed her dagger and was holding it against his jugular, the vein pulsing in fear. Kosta stilled, the silver depths of his eyes staring into her own, and despite the urge to look away, she kept her gaze firm and unflinching.

“You know,” she breathed against his lips, “it really is such a shame that such beauty was given to a complete idiot.”

Something shifted in his eyes, a heat that made her step back immediately and turn away from him.

At least it got him to shut up.

Needing to be as far from him as possible, Aurora walked over to the railing close to where Mari still sat, Kosta’s eyes trailing her. Little snorts came from her sister as she tried holding back her laughter, making Aurora fight the urge to smile.

Mari stood and bumped Aurora’s hip as she took up the spot next to her. Happiness shone in her eyes that were like bright pools of water glinting against the setting sun. “Ready for tomorrow?”

Aurora gripped her bowl tight, punching back the images of broken glass, broken bones—

“Are you?” she asked, her voice thick and strained. She cleared her throat, and glanced sidelong at her sister, who had no idea what their homeland looked like. No idea about the pain and suffering their people had experienced.

“I’m ready to finally have Astra back. To know she’s safe with us.” Mari shrugged. “And … maybe there’s a part of myself that’s looking forward to stepping foot on the land everyone always talked about. Finally seeing it for myself.”

The wistful look in her sister’s expression made Aurora’s heart squeeze painfully tight.

“Mari,” she started, but closed her eyes.

She had to tell her the truth. Setting down the bowl on the table, she ignored the way Dax’s cautious gaze shot up to hers and regarded her sister carefully.

Taking her hand, she said gently, “Sirenia is … It’s going to look very different from the way history described it. Because of the Banishment.”

Mari stood up, giving her a nod that said duh . “Of course it is, the king ordered it to be destroyed. I know it’s not going to be … pretty, but still—”

“I just—” Aurora sighed and met her eyes. “I just want you to be prepared for what you’re about to see.” Because truthfully, Aurora wasn’t. The day she’d chosen to visit Sirenia after the Banishment, ignoring their mother’s orders never to return, was a day that changed her life forever.

She hadn’t been expecting the apocalyptic intensity of witnessing all that had been done to their people.

Sisters lying dead in pools of bloody water everywhere.

The ash burned her lungs, making it impossible to breathe.

The glass, the columns, the walls—everything was destroyed.

The water was tainted, foul, choking her when she tried to swim upstream.

Eventually, she’d had to turn back and swim away from it all.

It took her months to stop waking up screaming for help. Years to finally stop seeing it in her nightmares.

There was a part of her that felt guilty for all of it.

She wasn’t in Sirenia when it happened. She was on a job for the queen, far from it all.

When word spread, she had no idea what to do.

It was a miracle she even heard the message her mother kept sending through the sea over and over, begging for any lost sisters to join them in Salus.

But Aurora arrived alone. The only siren who’d heard the message and lived long enough to get to safety.

Mari placed a warm hand on Aurora’s shoulder, yanking her back from her thoughts.

“Rora, I can handle it.” She gave her sister’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m going to get some rest now, okay?”

Aurora nodded numbly and watched her step toward the stairs. Glancing between her and Kosta, Mari said, “You two play nice.”

Rolling her eyes, Aurora tried to hide her smirk as her sister descended the steps and disappeared from view.

Her gaze slid to Kosta’s and narrowed as his glare locked onto hers. She blew him a kiss, earning a scowl, before turning her face toward the darkened horizon.

Gritting her teeth, she gripped the railing tight. She had to prepare herself for all that was to come. Not just seeing their broken homeland but for what came next.

Inhaling deep, she closed her eyes. The wind blowing through her hair had a certain … taste to it.

Lifting her face, she studied it.

It was slightly bitter, tainted, almost impossible to notice amidst the salty air unless one was paying close attention. Something so familiar and yet foreign that she studied it long into the night as the stars soared overhead.

By dawn, she realized what it was. A foreboding message that soured her stomach and laid an icy hand on her heart.

You know what’s coming , the wind seemed to whisper to her.

Death. And they were sailing directly toward it.