Halen stopped short. Each second, the mermaids dragged Asair farther away. "Now's not a good time for a tour."
"Come on. You wanted to know everything. You need to see this. If you still want to go after Asair, if you want to find Catch and the other sirens, I'll go with you, but please let me just show you this first."
With a heavy sigh, Halen stepped inside. Natalie punched in a five-digit code and at once, the elevator rushed down, leaving her stomach on the top floor. Without illuminated numbers specifying exactly how many floors down they were traveling, the whir of the decent panicked her already racing heart.
When she bent over to steady her breath, Natalie grasped her arm. "Are you okay?"
Halen nodded fearing if she opened her mouth, the few bites she had for dinner would end up on the floor.
The elevator came to an unexpected smooth stop. When the doors parted, the scents of jasmine, damp soil and fresh cut grass filled her lungs. She glanced up.
Beyond, men and women in puffy white suits shifted hoses, adjusting the water spray, so the droplets hit the palm leaves bending toward the artificial light.
Natalie exited the elevator, but Halen pressed her back against the wall. She counted a staff of three—three new people she couldn’t trust.
"They won't hurt you. They would die to protect us. No one here is marked or sipped Asair's blood. They love the earth realm. They understand what would happen if we die."
"What is this place?" Halen stepped forward, her heels on the edge of the elevator, the toes of her sneakers touching grass. She shielded her eyes from the blinding light.
"Here." Her sister handed her a pair of sunglasses. "Our eyes can't filter this light. You need to wear these."
Halen slipped on the sunglasses, which when worn cast a soft violet hue to the garden.
"Emil and Vita spent many years working on this project. All our food in the fortress comes from here. We’re living in a completely sustainable environment, right in the middle of the desert. The lights are powered by solar energy, the water’s filtered and recycled. She pointed beyond the grass to a layered planter overflowing with fruits and vegetable that reached the ceiling. At the bottom, water trickled through a mound of sand. "The sand works as an insulator and filter at the same time."
"This is incredible. How long has this garden been here?"
"They started back when the portal weakened, when the waters warmed. Even though the Elosians pumped Liquibrium into Earth's waters, Emil and his sister foresaw it wouldn't be enough. Now they're working on ways to grow food from ash."
"Ash?"
"A precaution. If Etlis opens, Tarius will leave Earth in ash. Emil and Vita want to protect humans; give them a fighting chance."
A hummingbird flitted past Natalie, feasting on the nectar of a bright red blossom. Bees hummed in the lavender, while a woman scattered earth worms across the soil. Halen marveled at the beauty—at Earth’s contingency plan.
"Do you want to explore a bit?" Natalie nodded toward the garden.
"No, it's better if I don't. Everything I touch ends up in rubble. No way am I screwing this place up."
"Look, if I haven't screwed it up, then no one can." Natalie smiled. "When I first arrived here I tried to blow the whole fortress to smithereens. I even stabbed Emil with one of his own blades. And now look—he loves me."
"Yeah, well you've been at this a lot longer than me. You have more control."
She laughed, tossing her hair back over her shoulders. "I don't have the same powers as you. Believe me, if I did, I probably would have killed us all by now."
She didn’t want to tell her how messed up her magick could really be—how the darkness had settled in and wouldn’t accept her eviction notice. "So, the Hunters are preparing for the end?"
"Whether Tarius is free or not, our realm will need help. It's not like we haven't caused our own damage. He wants to give back to the place that has given him so much."
"Yet, not all the Hunters feel the same way." She thought of Luke and the others, how the siren population had dwindled since the Hunters built this fortress. Emil and Vita may desire peace, but their siblings wanted death.
"Aurelia likes the power of immortality. She's the kind who jumps off a building just for the thrill. Now that she has Otho, she wants to ensure she never loses him again. If the portal opens, then bye-bye. That's why they want our souls so badly."
"But you think we should let them take our souls? You want to just let them kill us? Are you nuts!"
A gardener stopped scattering worms and glanced their way.
Natalie nudged her beneath a leafy palm, away from curious eyes. "We have to make sacrifices." She lowered her voice.
"I can take Tarius. I know it. Galadia is his weakness. You said it yourself, he wants her more than anything. If we can make him think he's getting her back…"
"Asair warned me this would happen."
"What?" What could Asair possibly warn her about? She didn’t like the concerned look now taking over her sister’s face.
"You're trying to be with him."
"With Tarius?” Her jaw dropped.
Natalie nodded.
“That’s crazy talk." She studied the plants, so her sister couldn’t read the doubt in her eyes. She knew a part of her was searching, and even when she found Asair and Natalie, an emptiness still haunted her.
"Galadia loved him."
Halen couldn’t believe Natalie would turn on her like this. "Not you too. I'm not her. I'm Halen Windspeare, very screwed up siren, who is starting to think her sister is more messed in the head than her."
"I want to fight, believe me."
"Do you?" Halen cut her off. "Because I've seen your magick. Together we could do this."
"It's more complicated than that." Natalie picked a bright bloom.
"What is it then?" Why was her sister so scared to fight? She wasn’t the same girl she faced in the hotel, the same girl who released her swarm of yellow jackets on the Tari. What had changed?
Natalie glanced at her birthmark, now a dazzling metallic purple in the artificial light. "Dax wants the portal to open. You're still bound to him. Until we can find a way to get that silver out of you…"
"We're getting closer," a voice said at Halen's back.
She spun to face a slender woman, her teeth gleaming in the purple light, her dark skin glistening like diamonds. "Jae." Halen folded into the woman's open arms. Her perfumed scent of night smoke and pepper curled beneath her nose. She sneezed.
"Sorry." Jae broke the embrace. "I've been working on a few spells."
Halen sneezed again. "It's so good to see you. Thank you for saving me from the mermaids."
"So, you admit you needed help?" Natalie’s mouth turned with a smirk.
"Of course, I need help. I need you to stop talking about giving up and spending eternity in the Hunter's arrow."
Jae hummed under her breath. "It won't come to that my dear ones. I’m not letting your souls near another gold arrow. I will find a way with Dax."
"Can I see him?" Dax lingered in her thoughts, never far from the seam of her soul.
"He's in my quarters. He's safe," Jae said. “It’s better if there’s some distance between you.”
"Who would have thought we'd have to protect that doofus." Natalie cast her gaze to the lights, shaking her head. "I would love to get my hands on him."
"You stay away from that boy.” Jae wagged her finger. “I don’t need him jumping into your seam. He was your Guardian too after all."
"And I'm free of him." She held up her bare arm. "No bracelet."
Jae huffed.
"I swear." Natalie crossed her heart.
Halen thought of the elixir she forced down her sister's throat back at the Tari’s underground fortress. "I'm sorry about the elixir. I never should have made you drink it."
Natalie shrugged. "I didn't even feel the withdrawals with the spell Jae had me under. I was in so much pain from the arrow."
Jae touched Natalie's shoulder, her nails slender daggers capable of tearing flesh from bone, yet so gentle with her sister. "I’m sorry, I couldn’t have done more. I won’t stop searching for a solution."
“I’m strong.” She removed her glasses and glanced away swiping a tear from her cheek.
“Are you all right?” Halen asked
“I will be. I just need to time to adjust. I’m still processing.”
“You’re amazing.” Halen couldn’t believe how open Natalie was in this moment. Had she been masking her true emotions the whole time? “I wouldn’t be as positive as you.”
“It’s challenging, but we have more to worry about right now.” She slid her glasses on and rolled back her shoulders. “We need to concentrate on freeing Halen now.” Natalie looked to Jae. "Nothing's working on Dax?"
"Well, since he’s comatose, I’ve tried intravenous injections. This brought his temperature down enough to attempt extracting the silver, but every time I inject a needle in one of the lines of the birthmark his temperature shoots through the roof.”
"You haven't hurt him in any way, yet," Halen said.
Natalie leaned forward. "You can feel his physical discomfort?"
“Everything.” She pulled up her sleeve. “Even our birthmarks change together.”
Jae waited for a woman in puffy suit to pass before she spoke. "I noticed the new patterns. That’s why he’s so connected to your magick. It’s more than the seam. It’s as if you two are one."
“I don’t want to be one with him. He loves the darkness. The things I’ve done…” Her voice trailed off as it did when death skipped through her mind.
“He loves Tarius.” Jae wrapped her arm around Halen. "We will separate you two, but it isn't going to be pretty."
Halen swallowed hard. "It's going to hurt, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so." Jae squeezed her gently.
Nothing could hurt more than the guilt for sins. She would endure Jae’s methods, anything to sever the strangling Guardian bond. “Let’s do it.”
SANTA MONICA REEKED of death and decay. Asair’s magick tingled along his nerves when he searched the ocean. They were out there somewhere; Rania's mutants camouflaged in the white crests of the ocean waves, awaiting her command to surface. Asair never dreamed Rania would bring the Krull army to the earth realm. From Quinn's memories, he’d witnessed how the sight of land triggered Rania’s fears. How she cowered beneath street lights. She once revealed to her son that when her feet touched land, her scars burned as if she were forced to endure atonement all over again, and even though Quinn suffered the same torture as his mother, she abandoned him on earth. As much as Asair wanted to help Halen find her siren friends, only three souls mattered to him.
"Asair. We should leave." Selene called to him from the empty boat slip. He peered over the dock, meeting her concerned gaze. Her sisters circled the marina, feeding on fish and gulls for strength.
"We'll wait." Asair knelt, lowering his voice, fearful of who might be lingering in the shadows.
"And if the Hunters come?" Her gaze darted between the shore and the water. He had never seen her so unsettled. She had taken on the Krull before, torn their limbs, gnawing the leathery flesh to the bone. Her dark magick was the reason he agreed to come with her. He might despise her for what she did to Halen, but he needed her power to take on Rania’s army. He couldn't have her confidence wane now.
"Since when have you been afraid of a bunch of mutants?" He smiled trying to calm her frantic thoughts.
She smiled back, water dripping from her black lips. "I can handle Rania’s army, but it’s you I’m worried about. You haven’t unleashed your magick as you should. It’s like you’re holding back. You can’t hesitate.”
She had read this part of him—his fear. Never had he cast magick with such care; every action lead to a reaction, and he wouldn’t ruin any more lives because of his recklessness.
“You’re thinking of her again.” She slipped back from the dock.
“I left with you.”
“This isn’t your fight. You paid the price. You lost decades in that lonely dimension. It’s time to live for yourself. Let the others take care of Rania.”
"You know I can’t. This is my fight. This was always my fight. I never should have…”
“I took your blood willingly. I knew what it would do. Do you really think I was that naïve? I thought maybe if we were connected, you might feel the same way.”
Selene always wanted more from him. Heads spun with desire when she surfaced; any mortal would have pledged their loved to her, but he was blinded by the Guardian bond. “You know I couldn’t see beyond Elizabeth. She stole my life.”
“But you’re free now. Don’t you see you can finally be the siren you’ve always wanted to be. You can go anywhere—with me.”
“Halen wouldn’t be bound to a monster if it wasn’t for me. I need to do this.”
“Your heart has always been so big. I don’t know why you didn’t have room for me.” She cast her gaze to the churning water.
“I am sorry, Selene.” He reached out brushing his hand across her scaled tail, wincing inside at his creation while also marveling at the way the silver scales glistened with the glow of moonlight, in awe of darkness’s captivating splendor. This wonder worried him most. He feared Halen would discover beauty in the shadows, find the exquisite taste of dark magick, and turn away from the light as Selene had.
“We can’t change the past.” She swam back from his touch.
The wind whipped around them. A gust shoved the ocean water over her head, and she disappeared beneath. The boats rocked to and fro in the slips; their hulls creaked and moaned.
“Selene,” he called out to her, but his voice was lost in the howling breeze.
He stood, feeling the static of magick in the air. When he turned, he spotted three figures emerging from behind one of the boats. His magick charged through his veins, as he faced a stout boy and his companions; a girl with long silver hair, which wrapped her muscular frame, and a slender boy with a gleaming sharp grin; young, but not from the local high school, not with hungry eyes flashing in the night. He glanced between the boards of the dock, hoping for a little assistance from Selene, but found only water.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the girl with the silver hair said. “Heading out for a night swim—siren?"
"Back away." Asair held his palms to the air. "I don't want to hurt you."
The stout boy laughed as his gaze trailed Asair's birthmark. "You don't have a chance."
The girl crouched, placing her fingertips on the dock. As she shook her head, her cheeks sprouted with whiskers. "This won’t hurt as much if you don't fight."
He stepped away. How could he kill young Etlins? They hadn't been taught the real history. They only knew the Tari lies. It wasn't their fault. He backed away until his heels met with the end of the dock. “You don’t want to do this.”
“Actually, we do.” At once the boy shifted, his movements mesmerizing as a plume of feathers filled his head. His skull narrowed; his nose hooked with a curved beak. As his back sprouted with wings, he leapt into the air, completing the transformation. The girl was now a leopard; her snow-white fur bristled when she growled. She lowered her stance, nudging him farther. Asair glanced skyward as the hawk boy rushed him from behind, digging his talons into his skull. Asair cried out as blood dripped down his forehead. With the warmth of blood on his face, his magick broke through his resistance.
He thrust his hand toward the bird. His magick crackled in the night air, illuminating the marina. The hawk cried out as Asair’s blow dragged him to the water. The boy’s wings dipped in the waves, his fear calling to Selene. She hooked her claws in the shifter boy’s flesh, dragging him under. The shifter girl growled. She scraped her paw along the dock, then ran full force, shoving Asair in the ocean.
They tumbled together, submerging in a twist of fur and claws. He untangled himself from her limbs, paddlin
g toward the surface, when the leopard swiped him from below. His leg cut with pain, releasing the full wrath of his magick. He shoved a wave over the shifter girl’s head as she clawed the surface. Silver fins darted in the wake of his sparks, stirring the water with a dark a force. He retaliated, swimming back at once.
The shifter didn't have much time before Selene claimed her too. He cast another wave, this time with the purpose to save the young shifter. He curled the water beneath her, dragging her away from Selene, forcing the water toward the shore.
Selene popped up. Her sharp gaze met with Asair, her rage thick in the water. “Stop trying to save them all. You were made for death.”
“They’re innocent,” he shouted over the rising winds.
“No one is innocent.”
He had spoken the same words when he convinced her to drink his blood. He had been selfish to take her life. He owed her, but not this way. He could never repay the debt and perhaps she knew this too. “We’re not killing them.” He shoved the shifter girl once more toward the shore.
Selene dived and thrust through the water. She snagged the shifter before she reached the sand.
The leopard girl yelped as water slipped down her throat. Kye and Diya swam to Selene's side circling the shifter girl.
"Stop!" Asair called out.
Selene and her sisters were deaf to his plea.
As they sliced the shifter girl, her blood pooled, warming around him. These lives were not Selene’s to take. He waved, flicking his wrist, so the leopard rose over the water.
Selene jumped clawing the leopard's paws. She hooked her fur, dragging the shifter under, swimming deep out of Asair's reach.
He slammed the surface. He was tired of playing her games. Even if Selene loved him, she had her own agenda. He couldn’t stay with the mermaids. He had to stop what he started so many years ago, even if it meant facing Rania on his own. He swam away from the safety of the dock, searching now for signs of the Krull soldiers.
Selene surfaced beside him in seconds, her scales now a shimmering black from the kill.
“Go away!" He shoved a wave in her face.
"If you don't kill them, they come back. How do you expect to face Rania? Or should I just let the Hunters take your soul?"
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