by Raven Storm
My heart froze.
“It’s your pet name for me.”
He didn’t deny it, just stared at me with that hooded gaze of his.
“Say it,” I challenged, starting to lose my grip on reality and consciousness. Benedict’s eyes were everywhere but me, and that was telling.
“What do you want me to say? That I’ve watched her die thirty-nine mortal deaths because I’m a GODDAMN COWARD?”
Siren. It was always that word, wasn’t it?
“You’re the last male on earth I’d call a coward. Prove it by telling me why you call me siren when she’s still out there.”
He closed the space between us in seconds, my short dagger still gripped in his hand. His body leaned against me even as he dropped it to the ground. We both fell to our knees, the raining soaking our skin.
“I’d rather die than break the protections on her.”
And that was it, wasn’t it? It didn’t matter what I did for him, or what I sacrificed. He’d always be in love with this mythical girl, wouldn’t he? He pushed the dagger between our chests, my sobs threatening to overcome me as my fingers joined his on the hilt. His words burned in my blood, because for whatever fucked up reason, I loved Benedict. I loved him just as much as I loved Kieran and Ronan, even though it hurt. Even though it was like trying to love the darkest depths of the ocean, an endless expanse of black and nothingness that would only suffocate you in the end. Benedict’s eyes glowed in the darkness of the storm.
“I hate you. I love her."
It would be easy to push my dagger forward; easy to stop the hurtful words from spewing out of his mouth. I couldn't hurt him though. I closed my eyes and relaxed my grip.
Benedict growled and shook his head, sending droplets of rain scattering around him. Then he laughed.
“I’m a coward, Wren. I don't have the courage to even do what needs to be done, instead trying to bait you into doing it. Most days I wished I had died with my father, with honor. Just answer one question. Do you think I'm a coward?"
Benedict’s hands grasped mine around the dagger’s hilt, and for a moment we were still as statues, the rain and wind whipping our hair around us.
“Could you ever love me?” I whispered back instead, my heart sinking into my feet. Our foreheads touched, and I knew something terrible was about to happen. His gaze pierced my soul as he caressed my cheek, a look of yearning so raw it stole my breath, preserving it forever as it hung in the space of this specific, fleeting moment. The rain continued to pound around us.
“I'm willing to try." Benedict finally answered, the knife shaking in his hand. A small smile cracked at the corner of my lips.
"That's the bravest thing I've ever heard."
Something glinted in his eyes, as if my words were a sudden catalyst. With a jerk he plunged my dagger deep into his own chest, my fingers still entwined with his around the hilt. I screamed as we both fell to the ground, blood leaving his body in raging torrents as I fell on top of him. He refused to move his hand and the dagger enclosed in it, and my scream didn’t end; it modulated higher and higher, warping into the high keen of a raging distress call, because it was so fucking obvious now even as I spat at the storm and howled my defiance to a hunk of stone that didn’t care. Rage and magick exploded around me, my pain only secondary to the sudden realization that changed everything.
I was the lost siren, and Benedict was trying to die to keep me safe.
Another animalistic shriek left my throat, pain exploding throughout my body as scales erupted from my back with a vicious ripping sound, dotting my body with an iridescent, white color. With an inhuman cry two wings shot from my shoulders, dripping blood and mucus. I went blind, then everything came back into focus in astonishing detail, from the scales on Benedict’s chest to the blood pumping over the ground he laid on. Claws shot out of my nail beds, black and sharp and foaming with a deadly poison.
Benedict stayed sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily but with a stupid, victorious smirk on his face. He pulled the dagger out with a wince and pulled me to him, and for only the second time I could recall kissed me. I forgot to breathe, not able to tell where the air began, and his kiss ended. After the most blissful few minutes of my life, he pulled away.
“Tricked you.”
His fangs drifted to my neck and bit down, his chest healing over as he greedily lapped at my blood. I growled and pulled him harder to me as he drank, until I felt a pull in my heartbeat, and I tore myself away. His chest sported a nasty scar to match the ones on my face. Kieran’s words floated back to me, and I felt incredibly foolish.
“A knife directly to his heart won’t kill him, unless he wishes to die.”
“My stupid little siren.”
I laughed, even as I held Benedict carefully between my new claws, reveling at the iridescent, white scales that ran all over my body. Soft, white scales dotted my wrists and neck, leading to wings that shared the same astonishingly pure color. Benedict devoured the sight of me, emotions of shame and euphoria wafting off him to form a sickly aura. Was this part of being a draken, sensing emotions? I tried to think, but my mind was nothing but new animal instincts screaming at me.
I hissed at him. "You're mine."
Benedict’s nose found my neck, and I decided I didn’t care if he had manipulated me into realizing the truth, and I didn’t care what had happened before between us. He was willing to try, and I needed him like the night sky needed the stars; like the spring needed winter in order to bloom. He stroked the white scales on my wing, and I purred. It was one of the most exquisite things I’d ever felt in my life. The sound broke something in him and Benedict drove me into the ground with the force of his body.
My new draken instincts screamed with indignation, screaming not to give up without a fight. They overtook my human brain, and I didn’t recognize Benedict: I saw one large, unmated male draken. I wriggled out of his grasp and fled, leaping off the top of the mountain and spreading my wings in joy. My wings flared and pumped hard to get ahead of the larger draken, and then I was in the air, soaring along the mountain range in victory. The storm was over, the clouds clearing away to reveal a sun that was dipping below the horizon, coating my white scales in fire. My exhilaration was so complete, I didn’t notice him gaining distance until he slammed into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending us both towards the side of the mountain. I shrieked and raked him across the face with my claws, and the skin bubbled and frothed where my poison worked its way into his blood. He dropped me in pain, and I roared in victory. I dove hard for an outcropping of rocks, planning to use a feint to send him crashing into the stones below. The draken growled and caught up again, even as blood ran down into his eyes. He grabbed one of my legs and yanked, sending me careening into the side of the cliff, and I was momentarily stunned by the hard impact. He used my moment of weakness to flip me over, pressing my face and stomach hard against the stone. His claws hovered at my neck, his large body pinning down my arms and legs. I was trapped.
I gave a fearful warble, and his claw traced down my spine. He sniffed the back of my neck deeply, frowning at the two large scars he saw. The rough pads of his tongue licked across them and I cried out in confusion and need. He stroked my neck softly, the hard surface of his claws cold against my skin.
“Mine.”
A soft growl left my throat: I belonged to no one. He pushed my body harder into the rocks, his wings straining to keep both of us in the air.
“Mine.”
I twitched, unable to thrash against him like I wanted. His fangs hovered above the veins in my throat and I froze, survival instincts taking over. His hands roved over my body, pausing again to stroke the delicate skin in between my wings. I gave a tortured moan of pleasure, and he chuckled darkly against my ear. My draken instincts grudgingly admitted this one would make a powerful mate; large, strong, and able to protect our young. Our young? I trilled in confusion, and his voice was next to my ear once more. I felt my body release a
signal, a waft of pheromones potent to any draken unfortunate to be near, and the large draken’s muscles went rigid against me. I wanted him as my mate.
We disappeared in a wisp of black smoke, the roar of the wind still ringing in my ears. We landed in a hot spring, deep within the recesses of the mountain. The water felt scalding after the bitter cold of the mountain, and I hissed as my skin slipped beneath the surface. After a few moments I adjusted, and let my new muscles stretch as the water wiped away the last vestiges of the battle. The draken with me watched me with hooded eyes as I threw my body under the large waterfall overhead. I leaned my head back, arching my back to bend underneath its powerful current.
The draken grabbed me, tilting my hips as he plunged into me from behind, both of us feral and beyond any rational thinking. I screeched as he filled me, intense pleasure surging through my core as he roared his own satisfaction. The water pounded down my body, running in rivulets as his skin slid slickly against my own. Our scales flashed in the dim torchlight, his hands hooking under my armpits and pulling me flush against his pelvis. My claws reached back and caught his neck, neither of us caring as the water washed away the blood welling from the fresh wounds. His fangs sank into my shoulders as I bucked against him. It was exquisite feeling him dominate every aspect of my body, and a satisfied rumble grew in my throat. He laughed, one hand yanking down on my hair to keep my back arched under the pounding of the water. He nudged me to the ground, my hands grasping at the edge of the pool as he withdrew from my body. I couldn’t help the growl of disappointment that left me, and with one jerk he had me turned around, my back pressing into the edge of the pool as his gaze bore into mine.
His black hair fell into his eyes, lost in pleasure as he thrusted again into me, quickly settling into a pattern: in and out, in and out. My breath caught as his rough tongue swiped at my nipple, his fingers teasing and stroking my center in perfect time with his thrusts. The raging fire in my core felt like it was going to explode. My body thrummed in glorious, tangible anticipation as I came closer to an invisible edge, half delirious with pleasure and uncertainty. Was I going to be sick? He took my free breast into his mouth, biting down, then he was drinking from it, two small pinpricks of blood running down my chest as all his injuries began to close. I moaned in desperation, the tension inside of me close to reaching its peak. I moved frantically against him, trying desperately to scratch some sort of internal itch as it came closer and closer, until finally—
I screamed as my body exploded, a strange animalistic screech that came from some unknown depths of my body. Every nerve flooded with euphoria, and my mind went blank as I moved against him. His eyes were feral at the look of absolute bliss on my face, our sounds harmonizing into a sound that stole my remaining breath. As my inner muscles spasmed around him he gripped my shoulders, holding me against the wall as his thrusts lost any semblance of a pattern. He pounded into me like a wild animal, and I never felt more alive or beautiful in my entire life. He tightly wound demeanor was utterly undone while inside of me, and it was thrilling.
He finished with a tortured gasp, clutching me so hard I knew I’d have bruises, if his blood didn’t heal them first. The fang marks on my shoulder bled furiously as he came inside of me, his member swelling and catching inside of me. He held me there for a few moments, both of us panting as we chased our own highs. I wobbled on shaky legs, healed but also feeling used in a way that felt utterly satisfying.
“I wasn’t strong enough to live without you. I’m still not.”
He held me into place long enough to lick the marks on my shoulder until they healed over. He let go, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. None of this.”
My wings slumped; my head tilted to the side. My anger vanished, and I tucked myself into his body, curling my wings around him and putting my face into his neck. I trilled reassuringly, but I felt wet tears drop in my hair as he clutched onto me. My own human mind fought back against the draken instincts, until I felt my wings retract and my claws disappear. My human form was familiar enough, with only a tell-tale shimmer of my skin any testament to my change.
“Word will get out that I’ve found you. The Overlord will come for you. I did that.”
Indignation welled in my chest, as I broke through my animalistic haze to find my voice. I blinked, recognition flooding my face.
“How long have you known it was me?”
He met my gaze, unflinching. “Over five hundred years.”
I pushed him away, not understanding, not comprehending…
“After Rhyfel died, a vampyre somehow survived the blast of black magick. She...she picked you up as a babe and ran through the forest, taking you to Crullfed’s. When I had healed from my wounds, I tracked your scent there, and the vampyre who’d taken you. She was Crullfed’s daughter, and I spared her life if Crullfed didn’t ask questions about the human who would die, then show up on his doorstep as a baby again and again. He knew as well as I did that if the Overlord found out he’d been hiding a magical human he’d be tortured hideously, so he had no choice but to keep quiet.”
I looked at my hands, remembering the claws that had been there moments earlier.
“I’m the lost siren, yet you resented me; hated me even.”
He swiped at the water, sending sparkling droplets everywhere.
“Nothing is as it should be. There was no courtship, no claiming ceremony, and no celebration with friends and family. I am forced to mate with you so our species survives, and that is what I hate. I wanted to wait until our species was strong and had our homeland back. Then I would raise you in our culture and reveal your identity. I grew impatient, and too afraid to wait any longer.”
He hung his head, and I knew I needed to distract him from his own morose thoughts. I stepped out of the pool, uncaring of my naked body. My enhanced eyes took in the glowing stones set into the walls with magick, something my human eyes had never noticed.
“You didn’t act like anyone was forcing you a few minutes ago.”
“I just wanted a choice!” He snapped back, and then I lost it.
“Choice? You dare speak to me about choice? You chose to kidnap me, and then treat me like garbage. You chose to stalk me, wearing down my defenses until I couldn’t think about anything except your body against mine, and hating myself for it because of how much you hated me. You chose to sit in this mountain and do absolutely nothing for centuries, while your people despaired, and your blood relatives turned against you for your inaction. Don’t you DARE talk about CHOICE to ME.”
My shoulders were heaving, quivering with rage. He took a step towards me, but I held out a clawed hand, shifting unconsciously back into my draken form.
“I didn’t choose to be kidnapped, but here I am. I didn’t choose the draken people at first, but I still fought and bled with them. I didn’t choose to be the lost siren, but I accept you Benedict, I love you, for all the good it will do me.”
I took a deep breath as he flinched, pain spreading across his face. I crumpled, my heart breaking into a thousand tiny pieces.
“Would it really be that bad to love me?”
I turned, not wanting to see his reaction.
“I’m leaving this mountain and taking any drakens who wish to come now that the curse is broken. We will return to Lyoness and ward it with magick and rebuild our race. I choose to help the draken race, because sometimes what I want isn’t what matters most. I guess I’ll have to thank several dozen lifetimes as a human for that lesson.”
Benedict stood stonily, not reacting. I spread my wings and imagined the grand entrance hall. Benedict lunged towards me, but his hands only grasped air.
EIGHTEEN
The moment my feet hit the stone of the entrance hall, I glanced up to find them all gathered, offering each other blood and licking wounds. Stunned silence fell upon the hall, neither of us knowing what to say first. I patted each part of my body and found everything important w
here it should be. I guess as his mate, I now had a few of Benedict’s abilities. Gelf approached slowly, his grey head bowed.
“May I?”
I offered him my clawed hand, which he handled like spun glass between his weathered, mottled scales. Gelf fell to his knees in front of me, pressing my hand gently to his forehead. Tears glistened at the corners of his eyes, and as one they fell to their knees before me. Gelf rose, lifting my hand in the air, his face radiating with a joy that was contagious. I spread my wings wide to the assembled drakens, and everyone gaped at the dazzling white color that covered every part of my body except for my wings, whose edges looked like they had been dragged in black and purple ink. Benedict’s colors.
“The lost siren has returned!”
The drakens roared, stomping their feet and singing in exuberance as I stood before them, Benedict’s colors painted on the edges of my draken body. The drakens pressed in close to me but didn’t approach past Gelf. In a way, I was thankful of Benedict’s claim on me; otherwise, I’d probably be buried under a pile of feral drakens.
Gelf turned to me, his eyes shimmering with unshed emotion.
“We’ve waited so long. How is this possible?”
Benedict’s tortured face swam in my head, isolated by the consequences of his choices and mine. His people were all he had left; I couldn’t take them from him by telling them the truth.
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied simply. “I’m here now.”
His leathered hand squeezed mine, and the respect I saw in his grey eyes gave me the confidence to keep pushing.
“Where are the rest?” I demanded, my eyes scanning the crowd and seeing too few drakens. Kieran and Ronan approached Gelf, who let them pass when I gave him a slight nod. Their eyes held the same fervor of animalistic madness Benedict’s did right after my change. I put a warning hand on Gelf’s shoulder, and he tensed, stepping between me and my other two mates.
“You need to hold on. Soon, I promise.”