I opened my eyes and found the amused look I’d been expecting.
“We don’t have time for me to chase down your horny thoughts about Sirena and show you that they aren’t just you needing to scratch an itch.”
I cringed at the words I’d used to explain off a one-night stand a few months ago.
“But, Rick, I like Sirena. She’s got that natural ease about her that could calm the rough seas in your soul.”
This time I coughed out a laugh at her expense. “Little dramatic, Rox.”
“Nail on the head, Rick.” Roxy patted my chest and then picked up her dive bag. “We’ll talk tonight, after I’ve seen what’s below the glowing waters of Mosquito Bay.”
I stood with my hands on my hips, waiting for that hint of trepidation from Roxy to give me the go-ahead to talk her out of it. By the time she reached the Iara, I knew there wasn’t an ounce of fear in her, and that scared the shit out of me.
The motors of the Iara turned over, the dock crew started prepping the tow lines, and still Roxy hadn’t surfaced on the bow to see if I was coming.
“Shit!” I took off running as the lines started flying through the air one by one. The girl was going to leave me on the dock. I reached the yacht and made the leap—my toes barely clearing the guard rail—and stumbled into the wall better known as Tiki.
“She said you’d do something stupid.”
“Yeah.”
“Your sister agreed, too.” Tiki glanced down to where I held on to the fabric of his shirt. “You think you want to let go; you’re not really my type.”
I gave a hard yank on the fabric and shot Tiki the fuck-you smile that usually started epic bar brawls. Not this time, the giant Puerto Rican deck hand grinned and batted my taunt away like I was an annoying fly.
“She’s on the bow and still pretty pissed at you.” Tiki bent down and finished securing the lines. “Your sister’s with her.”
I bit down on the inside of my mouth so hard I was surprised I didn’t draw blood. It wasn’t hard to leave him on the deck. I didn’t like the guy, and I was pretty sure the feelings were mutual. He had something for Sirena. Why else would the dude constantly be watching her every move? I started for the outside stairway.
“We’ll be at the bay in an hour. Just in time for sunset.”
My grip tightened on the railing, but I pushed on through. I always pushed through. Sirena and Roxy were right where Tiki had said they would be. Wind whipping Roxy’s ponytail and little wisps of hair fighting for freedom from Sirena’s bun, and both of them laughing like we weren’t on a boat headed to the worst moment of my life.
Roxy’s eyes locked with mine, her smile falling just a little. “Are ya coming over, or you going to stand there all stalker like?”
I shook my head and started over to the pair.
“Nice of you to join us,” Sirena said. She nodded to the empty space on the bikini deck. I’d just held Sirena on this deck. Situated her between my legs and felt her truly relax. A couple spins of the earth and she could barely look at me.
“Well, I had a dinner date I didn’t want to stand up.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. Narrowing with a fierceness that would have given other men pause to regroup. Not me. Sirena ruffled up was exactly what gave me the advantage.
We sat on the bikini deck, the girls talking and me desperately wishing I could thread my fingers through Sirena’s hair and pull her into my lap. When the sun started pulling at the twilight, Amy and Beth joined us. Amy carried a platter of appetizers.
“Hydrate, girls!” Beth swirled the carafe of water. “Nothing ruins a dive more than the bends. You diving, Rick?”
I stared at the glass Beth held out for me like it was a live wire; she was not only asking me to grab hold but to jump in the ocean with it, too.
“Yeah.” I shot Roxy a look, and she met my look with a shit-eating smile. “I’m going in.”
Glass after glass, the girls continued to hydrate, and I looked for any inkling of a sign that they couldn’t dive. They’d all drunk pretty heavily last night—sloshed was more like it—but none of them showed any indication of being hung over. No bloodshot eyes, no dry lips, no winces at loud sounds. I should have known better. Three of these girls grew up on Mom’s dive boat, were trained by her, and … my stomach dropped at the last memory of Mom slipping under the water. I knew what to look for this time. I knew how to keep them safe.
When the Iara throttled down, my stomach flopped. A cold sweat slickened my hands as I pulled on my dive suit. I didn’t know the exact time Mom and I got wet, but I did this time, five forty-seven. The sky was the same bruised color. I kicked my feet under the water, watching the hints of luminescent blue popping against the darkening waters. Down below I knew what attacked us the first time was waiting for us this time.
“You do not have to do this.” Sirena handed me my mask as she sat down next to me on the dive platform.
“Yeah, I do.” I spit in my mask and smeared it around before dunking it in the water. The knot of nerves tightened in my stomach at the feel of the ocean on my skin. No other salt water had touched my skin, and I’d sworn it never would, but here I was a year later in the same place, touching the same water, getting ready to follow the most headstrong woman I knew into the depths that had taken our mother, bringing her friends for the ride … and again I was helpless. Worse, Sirena was following. I grabbed the medallion around my neck and rubbed it for luck out of habit.
“Where’d you get that?” Tiki pointed to the piece of gold, shattering my effort at calm.
“It’s nothing.”
Tiki bent down, getting his face close so he could take a better look. “Can I?” He pointed to the medallion again.
“I don’t take it off, but yeah, fill your eyes, Tiki.”
His black eyes grew, filling with a sparkle that made my insides clinch and my fists ball up. He took the medallion between his fingers, and I was almost certain he wanted to rip it off my neck. The space between us shifted to uncomfortable; so much so, Sirena started to squirm where she sat in her dry suit.
“You good?” I pulled the medallion from his grasp, feeling the extra drag of hesitation tug on the chain.
Tiki’s eyes met mine, and I really didn’t like the look swirling in them. “That’s a real unique piece you got there, Rick.” He shot a look over his shoulder. “You see this, Sirena?”
My girl’s face seemed to lose all its beautiful bronze coloring. “Yes.”
“That’s a piece you tell your friends about.” Tiki turned his scrutiny back in my direction.
“Am I missing something?”
“Nope.” Tiki smacked his lips, his eyes darting between my face and my medallion. “When you get back up, you mind telling me where you found that?”
“I would, but I can’t.”
Tiki’s face hardened. “Why’s that?”
“I’ve got a dinner date with Sirena.”
12
Sirena
If looks could kill, I would have died a million deaths by Tiki’s glare. It was not Rick’s claim of a dinner date with me; it was because of the medallion the unsuspecting man was shoving back into the confines of his wetsuit.
“I didn’t know Sirena did dinner dates.” Tiki tsked. “Seems like the two of you have gotten quite close.”
“Who’s close?” Roxy hopped down onto the dive platform, her gaze landing on me in Rick’s arms. I almost wished I could cherish the smile that broke across her face. Genuine happiness. I did not know siblings could live this way. My heart stuttered at the thought of Monica feeling the way Roxy did for Rick. Sirens were not close beings by nature, but my sister’s contempt for me was always on the extreme. Given this morning’s revelation, it made sense.
“Rick and Sirena have a dinner date when you get back.” Tiki wrapped his arm around Roxy, and I could feel Rick tense.
He was right to.
Tiki nodded to the cargo hold where all the dive equipment and tanks w
ere stored. “Sirena, a word before you go under.”
“Certainly.” The knot in my stomach tightened.
I followed Tiki past the water slide, the Seabobs, and the jetpacks until we were out of Rick’s constant view and most certainly out of ear’s reach.
Tiki turned, his eyes rippled with anger, and I knew why.
“How long have you known he’s been wearing the key?”
“Last night.”
“I don’t believe you, Sirena.” Tiki leaned into my space, getting up in my face. “I think you’ve known he’s been wearing the key from the very first night.” His eyes darted across my face. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
I could not. I would not.
“When you’re down there, you take the key.”
“I can not.”
“Then I’ll have minchs who can.”
For once, the threat fell flat. “Then you will have a worthless piece of sea glass.”
“What do you mean?”
“You really did not pay attention to your early studies, did you? Too busy thinking about your first kill to learn the key finds a worthy soul, and only the soul can open the gates.” I tsked. Not ready to give up this rare reversal of power, I pushed on. “Who was she? Your first kill? Some poor unsuspecting sunbather on a yacht? Is that why you hate the girls on this charter so much? Why I see your gills getting wet at the thought of their skin between your teeth, their blood dribbling down your throat?”
Tiki’s muscles rippled under his skin, his breath turned ragged, but I did not stop.
“Have you ever used that piece of flimsy flesh between your human legs, or can you not—what do they say?—get it up?”
“Enough!” Tiki roared.
The noise from the dive platform silenced, and I could only smile when I heard Rick ask, “Everything okay?” with a protectiveness I hoped I had matched by making Tiki angry.
“All good, Rick,” I hollered but kept my gaze trained on Tiki.
“We’re all good, Rick,” Tiki reiterated. “I didn’t think Sirena heard me. She was getting into an area that wasn’t secured. I just didn’t want her to get hurt.”
Tiki’s threats sounded helpful, but if Rick could see the malicious intent his body was communicating, I had no doubt the casual grunt Rick sent back would have been fists flying. While the memory of Rick’s powerful body under my hands was thrilling, I did not know how he would fair against a minch. Even a minch out of the seawater.
I held my ground as Tiki closed what little space there was between us. “Be careful. While I may not know all the ways to access the gates of Atlantis, Critias does. I’m certain he’s thought of a way around the living worthy soul. Probably why he sent Monica to do what we all knew a Crossling couldn’t.”
I gasped.
“That’s right, Sirena. Everyone knew you were a Crossling. Everyone but you.” Tiki bumped my shoulder as he passed me. I stayed in the dark holding area, turning over the fact that nobody below liked me. Not one siren. Not one minch. I was a parasite that was not even worth the breath it would take to let her know.
I felt the warmth of Rick before I heard his footsteps. His arms wrapped around me, and despite the fact I had to take his soul—because that was the only way to access the gates of Atlantis—I leaned into him and cherished the protection I felt when he pressed his lips to the side of my head.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t sound like it.”
I chuckled.
“Well, that’s all the verification I needed that the asshat wasn’t being helpful. What happened, Sirena?”
“Work stuff.”
He pulled me in tighter, and I felt that weight that had been permanently anchored around my soul lighten.
“You don’t have to be a tough girl. I can help.”
“I wish you could.” I wrapped my hands around his thick forearms.
“Tell me what I can do.”
Not be you. The sting of tears blurred my vision.
“I better get out there before I lose my job.”
Rick held on a few seconds longer, and I hated the ache I felt when he finally let me out of his arms. I spared a quick look back. Either he was the most honorable man a siren had come across, or my Crossling charm was not as strong as a siren’s.
A few moments later, with the violet sky warning this was the most dangerous time for a human to be in the water, I jumped into the ocean, watching the devious smile pull at Tiki’s lips. Despite the dry suit, the muscles in my legs screamed to transform. My gills fought for a hint of sea breath, flexing and stretching the deceptive human skin that kept our secret hidden. This was the world Luca and I belonged to, this beautifully dangerous world.
We did not dive deep so Roxy could surface for fresh air. Rick told me about the condition of her lungs that kept her from using air tanks. Hopefully, he would never know how much of a blessing her damaged lungs were. A ripple caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was probably a school of fish, but I doubted it.
Rick swam next to me as Roxy signaled she was surfacing for air. We stopped our forward motion, letting the bioluminescent organisms dim and ultimately disappear except when we exhaled. Rick should have been taking in the coral, the underwater landscape. Instead, his focus was trained on me, and I felt as helpless under his watchful eye as he did under my power.
He grabbed my gloved hand, threading our fingers like he would have done on the surface. The familiar warmth blossomed again in my belly. We stayed there, staring at each other like neither his world nor mine existed. Down here we were wrapped in a protective bubble where he was part minch and I was part human.
A brilliant stream of blue illuminated, and Roxy was next to us, signaling with her flashlight at the mouth of a cave none of us should be near.
Rick shook his head before I could, but that did not stop Roxy. She pushed away from us and started diving deeper. Diving for the mouth of the cave that led to Atlantis. Blood sloshed in my ears, and the new muscles in my legs screamed as I kicked toward Roxanne and the ribbon of blue she left. Roxanne turned, and even from this distance, I could tell she was in trouble. Rick pulled past me, his long legs doubling the distance between us. He wrapped her up in his arm, shoved the spare regulator into her mouth, and started kicking for the surface. I started to follow but stopped when I saw the three minch float to the mouth of the cave.
I stayed put, only moving to grab the knife strapped to my leg. If any of them made a sprint for the Martins, they would have to get past me. One of the minchs pointed in my direction before all three laughed and slipped back into the darkness.
When I broke the surface, I could hear Rick hollering at Roxy.
“Do you know how dangerous that stunt was you just pulled?” He splashed the water, and a circle of blue lit up around them. “Roxanne!” Rick hollered again.
“Yes, but Rick—”
“Your lungs can’t handle contained air. What’s wrong with you?” The anguish in his voice was heartbreaking.
Beth, Amy, and Luca surfaced behind me. The girls both simultaneously echoed Rick’s concerns about Roxy and her reckless stunt. But I locked eyes with Luca and knew he had seen the minch ambush waiting for us.
“We should get back.” I interrupted the ongoing chastising and cautioning happening between the four humans. “Rick.” I pushed.
“I heard you, Sirena. Roxanne, get your ass on the Iara and pray this water cools down my temper.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
Rick swam by me, and I caught the way his jaw ticked at his sister’s taunt. “Then you and me and your two wanna-be friends are on a plane in the morning.”
My blood ran cold. Rick was serious, which meant my time was no longer days. It was hours. If I did not deliver, either Rick was gone and so was my freedom or Rick was gone and my freedom came at the price of taking Roxanne’s last living relative.
I was the last one to come aboard. Rick was not on th
e dive platform, and the girls’ groans poured from the main salon above. The one person I did not want to see was the only person left on the platform. His sharpened teeth poked through the stupid grin I wanted to smack off his face.
“Any problems?”
I tossed my flippers at his feet and then pelted him with my swim booties. “You went after his sister?”
“I only told her there was an amazing cave that had pockets of air for her to breath if she was brave enough to make a run for it.”
“A run for the minch you had waiting to ambush her.”
Tiki folded his arms, his chest puffing up like a poisonous fish about to spray venom.
“You really do not care, do you?”
“Why would I? They’re humans. Inferior to us in every way.”
I pushed past Tiki, unbuckling the dive tank from my back. He followed me into the holding area, hitting the light so he could see exactly where I went.
“Sirena, you have one job. Find the key. You have. So what’s the problem?”
“I told you, the key is useless without the person it has fused with.”
“But if you consume him, then you will be that person, so, again, what’s the problem?” Tiki searched me for an answer, but I had none to give him. None that I wanted to share.
The hard lines of Tiki’s face softened, folding into a smile and then giving way to a full hardy laugh. “You fell for him.” He cackled, grabbing his sides. “You fell in love with a human.”
I slapped my hand across his mouth. “No, I did not.”
Tiki batted me away. “Yes, you did. Which is just precious. God of Triton, I wish I could be there when you see Critias tonight.”
My eyes flared.
“Oh, yes, I know you’ve been summoned. If you don’t go, Critias will transition and come find your ass. Trust me, Critias hates transitioning more than he hates humans. You better kiss that human goodbye, because one way or another, you aren’t ever going to see him again.”
Sirens and Scales Page 410