“I understand,” she said.
Gideon shook his head. “No, you don’t. I wish things were different, Evannia. There just wasn’t enough time for me to tell you about the real me. But my feelings for you are real, even though there’s a lot you don’t yet understand.”
“There’s still time. We can figure it out,” Evan said. A sudden thought hit her and she pursed her lips. “Why didn’t you tell me you were Mer?”
“Because I’m not,” he said.
He stepped away from her then, letting her hands drop from his. She saw the silver in his eyes again, and this time she knew it wasn’t a trick of the lights.
“Stay here,” he mouthed as he turned towards the stage. He’d only walked a few steps when he called out, “Stop!”
The Siren turned her eyes to him, but her song continued. A smile spread across her face, but instead of increasing her beauty, it made her unbearable to look at.
“This is your last chance,” Gideon said.
The Siren pursed her lips and ceased her song, though the humans remained entranced by her as she said, “Why would I stop my fun, little brother?”
His voice boomed through the room as he said, “Stop now or face the wrath of your Prince.”
The Siren’s eyes flickered something dark, her smile fading. She jumped off the stage and met him eye to eye. “I do not answer to you, Gideon. You are my brother, not my master.”
“Why must you hurt these people, Juno?”
She laughed, but it was a cruel mirthless sound. “I was only having a little fun. I was thinking of having them battle. Wouldn’t that be entertaining?”
“Release them,” he said, his voice hard with barely contained fury.
“Do not presume to command me, Gideon. You are no longer in a place of honor in our family. You reek of humans.”
Gideon shook his head. “We’ve underestimated them, sister. The humans are full of so much goodness and beauty.”
Juno frowned. “Since when do you care for those things? Are you forgetting who you speak to? I know you brother. I’ve seen the things you’re capable of.”
“I’ve changed, Juno. They’ve helped me become something better.”
Juno waved her hands above her head and asked, “And they gave you all these things? They handed over their riches and homes to you without persuasion? Or you used your song to take what you wanted?”
Gideon gritted his teeth. “I took it.”
“Of course you did,” she said with a smile. “You are Siren.”
“I was trained by the same mother who raised you, Juno. When I came to land, I believed as she taught me. But no longer. I work for the things I have. I earn what I receive. I give back to my community.”
Juno scoffed. “Enough. I’ve heard all the lies I can stomach. You no longer matter in my world. You do not command the respect you once had and I will not bend to you. I bend to no one.”
“You are nothing if not a tool to be used. As has been made clear by the fact that Jove commands you,” Gideon said, his voice barely audible.
Juno’s eyes narrowed. “He will be our king. It is good to serve him now, so that he remembers us when he is crowned. But he doesn’t command me. I serve of my own will.”
“He uses you, Juno, and it’s all for nothing. Mother will not make him king,” Gideon said. “She’s already named me as heir.”
“That was before you left the sea, sweet brother. Things have changed.”
“Release the people, Juno. You’ve stolen enough from them.”
“They won’t even know what I took!” she yelled, her eyes wide. “Why should it matter whether I take them or they forget them on their own?”
Gideon shook his head. “Their memories belong to them.”
“I will drink away their memories, both the bitter and the sweet. They fill me with such power! Don’t you remember their taste, Gideon?”
“Juno, please. It isn’t right. We shouldn’t have such a power.”
“Why should I listen to you?” she spat. “You’re a deserter.”
“Because once you release them, you may command me as your own servant. I will return to the water with you. You can take me to mother in chains, if you so desire.”
She stared daggers at him while she made her decision. After a few seconds, she sang four minor notes and everyone in the room shuddered together. The bass returned to shaking the floor and the humans returned to dancing as if nothing had happened.
Gideon turned back to Evannia. As she took a step towards him, he shook his head the tiniest bit. She stopped in her tracks as fear gripped her heart. She searched his face for any indication of what was happening, but his expression was stony and she could no longer read the look in his eyes.
Juno took Gideon’s arm and he let her drag him out of the party. Evan forced her way through the crowd until she found herself outside in the garden. She saw two figures crossing the sand towards the water. Evan ran towards them. She didn’t know how to help Gideon, but she couldn’t let Juno take him without trying to do something.
They were in the water now, but Evan was closing the gap. She reached the surf just as they were chest deep in the sea. Evan felt a torrent of emotion well up inside her as she stepped into the ocean, and she called out, “Stop!”
Juno and Gideon both stopped and turned to face her. Gideon looked up at the sky and clenched his teeth, looking for all the world like he’d just lost the one thing that mattered most to him.
“Well, well,” Juno said, a smile lighting up her face. “Looks like little brother has been keeping some big secrets.”
“Let him go, Juno,” Evan said.
“And why would I do that? Gideon has been absent for too long, Princess. Our people are starting to worry that he’s knocked up some human whore and plans to stay landed.” Juno’s smile grew wider as she said, “At least if I take him home, he can tell them the whore isn’t human.”
“Leave her alone, Juno. She’s just a kid caught up in something she doesn’t understand.”
Evan felt the sting of his words, and Juno must’ve seen it on her face, because she started laughing.
“Did you really think you could have him?” Juno asked. “Even if he weren’t a Siren Prince, and you weren’t some Mer dog, he’d still be too good for you.”
Evan bit back the response she wanted to give and forced her face to resume a passive expression. As she opened her mouth to speak, Juno cut her off.
“We really must be going now, Princess. But don’t worry, we’ll see each other again soon. In fact, we’re planning one helluva family reunion for you.”
Evan’s thoughts rushed to Celia and Lucy. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll see, little sister.”
“Sister?”
Juno’s smile faded just a little as she saw the look of confusion on Evan’s face, but it was immediately replaced with hearty laughter. After a few seconds, Juno’s laughter subsided and she said, “Ask your mother.”
With those words, she turned and dived into the sea, pulling Gideon along behind her.
Twenty-Two
Evan raced down the beach towards Malcolm’s home. As she turned up the path towards the house, Dave and another guard stopped her.
“State your business,” Dave barked.
Evan rolled her eyes. “Out of the way, Dave.”
He put his arm out to stop her. “I’m sorry, miss, but no one is allowed on property at this time.”
“Dave,” she said, looking up to meet his eyes, “you were my guard yesterday. You know me.”
“I know someone who looks like you, but she wouldn’t sneak out after all the trouble it caused. So you can’t be her.”
Evan growled, “Just get out of my way.”
“You’re certainly as rude as the girl I’ve been guarding,” he mumbled.
She pushed past him and rushed to the house, the guards trailing after. Celia was sitting at the counter watching the door. Before it even
closed, Celia said, “You told me you wouldn’t go. You promised.”
“I know,” Evan said. “But I’m glad I did.”
Celia raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Did you have a good time with your boyfriend while the rest of us worried?”
After everything that had just happened, Celia’s anger didn’t seem to weigh as much on Evan as it had before. There were other things to deal with. She could worry about apologizing later.
“I know you didn’t want me to go, but something happened while I was there. Something big.”
Celia scoffed. “Let me guess: he finally kissed you and now everything is going to be—”
Rage boiled up in Evan. Her look was enough to silence Celia mid-sentence. “Gideon is a Siren.”
Celia sat in stunned silence for only a moment before rising to her feet. She said, “I think I’d better wake the others.”
A few minutes later, Evan came back down after changing out of the emerald dress. She seated herself with the others around the kitchen counter. Will was wiping sleep from his eyes, but Judas and Malcolm were sharp as ever. Evan met each of their gazes, fearful of the responses that may come.
When Evan didn’t say anything, Celia rolled her eyes and said, “Evan is dating a Siren.”
It took several minutes to regain order. Celia finally took control of the room and asked, “How do you know? Any chance you’re mistaken?”
Evan shook her head. She recounted Juno taking control of the humans. She told them of how Gideon had stepped in to demand their release, and his offer to return to the sea with her.
“So he wasn’t trying to capture you?” Will asked.
“Or he’s playing the long game,” Malcolm countered. “Get her to trust him so she wouldn’t suspect anything.”
Celia pressed her lips together in a grim smile. “He was doing a good job of that. We were all under his spell.”
“All?” Malcolm asked.
“Fine,” Celia conceded. “You didn’t trust him. Does that make you feel better?”
“A little,” he muttered.
Celia shot him a dark look as she continued. “He saved Lucy. And Ev.”
“I didn’t see it either, and I’m pretty good at reading people,” Will said.
“Poseidon’s beard,” Evan said. “That’s why Andrus didn’t use his song on Gideon. It wouldn’t have worked.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Judas said. “It sounds like this Juno girl saved us a lot of trouble and kept our Princess out of harm, even if it was an accident on her part.”
Evan said, “He wasn’t trying to hurt me, he was protecting me. He even gave me a signal to stay away so she wouldn’t know I was there. She didn’t know I was with him.”
There was a heartbeat’s hesitation before Celia asked, “You didn’t stay out of sight, did you?”
Evan shook her head.
Judas cursed. “You just don’t know when to stop.”
“She was taking him prisoner. I had to try to help.”
“And did you?” Malcolm asked.
“No. But I did learn a few things before she took him away.”
Celia raised her eyes from the table and met Evan’s. “Was it worth it?”
Evan nodded. “Gideon isn’t any Siren. He’s the Crown Prince. And Juno is his sister.”
Judas perked up at this and said, “I didn’t think the Sirens had any heirs left. There were rumors their kingdom would fall to pieces at the death of their queen, because of the power grab that was sure to follow.”
“I guess the rumors were wrong,” Evan replied. “Because there’s at least three. Remember Jove, the one working with Prince Calix?”
Judas said, “This doesn’t bode well for the Tritons. The young Protean prince has made a marriage pact with the Glaucan, so we’ll get no help from them.”
“What?” Evan asked. “But Seraphinza is barely fourteen. Phemie hasn’t had her Thrice Day yet, but they’re going to marry off her little sister?”
“Nevertheless,” Judas said, shrugging as he trailed off.
With a huff Evan said, “Those things aside, there’s more that I need to tell you. Juno said they were planning a ‘family reunion’ for me and she called me ‘sister.’”
“Sister?” Will asked.
Evan nodded. “She told me I should ask mother about it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Celia said.
Judas cleared his throat. “Actually, it does if you believe some of the stories.”
Both girls looked at him. Celia asked, “What stories?”
Judas bit his lip and managed to look embarrassed. He gave an uneasy smile and said, “I’m sure you’ve both heard about your father’s, um, excursions. You know, before he was the king.”
The girls shook their heads in unison. Judas continued, “I assumed you just didn’t talk about it. I mean, I wouldn’t if it was my father.”
“Out with it,” Celia said.
Judas took a breath and rushed the words out. “They say your father had dealings with the Sirens in an attempt to unite them with our people. He became very fond of the Siren princess, and when she became Queen, he courted her. It was an ideal match if you look at it politically.”
Judas looked up and saw the horror on the faces of the sisters. He pressed on, saying, “He wed the Siren Queen. He lived with her for a few months, but then things went south. I don’t know the details, of course, but I’ve heard he snuck out of their kingdom and made a mad dash for Triton.”
After a moment of stunned silence, Evan laughed. “That’s preposterous.”
“Maybe,” Judas said with a shrug. “But I heard it from a very reputable source, someone who was at court at the time.”
“Who?” Celia demanded.
“My mother.”
Celia said, “Let’s say it could’ve happened. Why am I just now hearing about this? Surely it would’ve been a favorite topic among the nobility.”
Judas said. “But who in their right mind would talk about it to his daughters?”
“What happened with the Sirens after he left?” Will asked.
“Nothing. They went completely quiet and no one heard from them for years.”
“Until now,” Evan said.
“Everyone just thought their queen was embarrassed by your father’s departure. It’s been a joke among the people for years.”
“Nic’ing,” Celia said. “Lower caste slang for running away. I didn’t put it together before. King Nicodemus.”
“But how does that get us to where we are now?” Will asked. “Whatever did or didn’t happen between their father and the Siren queen, why is it just now coming up?”
“Exactly. They’re after Evan, and there’s talk of their future king, but why now after all these years?” Celia asked.
“My Thrice Day,” Evan said. “It’s almost time for me to officially be named the heir. But we have older half siblings who can claim the throne.”
Celia shook her head. “No. There are laws that would keep them from it. But it does mean that our half siblings will feel like they were cheated from taking the throne. Maybe that’s what this whole thing is about.”
“That makes sense. They can’t take the throne for themselves, but they can stop us from taking it,” Evan said.
“Without you or your mom, who is next in line?” Malcolm asked.
“Our little sister, Orielle,” Evan said, her heart jumping in her chest.
“And if Orielle wasn’t there?”
“Uncle Arturo.”
Celia nodded. “Adra’s father.”
“Adra is involved with Calix,” Evan said, her body cold with realization. “And Calix is working for the Sirens. This was masterfully constructed.”
“Not that well. With that list of names, we should be able to work out where the Sirens will strike,” Malcolm said. “Now we just need to figure out what to do about it.”
Will frowned. “Though truthfully, Malcolm and I may not be much help. W
e’re a bit out of our element unless he buys a submarine.”
Malcolm had a look that suggested buying a sub wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Celia dismissed him, taking Will’s hand instead. “I know you want to help, but I don’t think this is something you can fix.”
“I know, but I’ll do whatever I can for you and your family. Our family.”
“That’s kind of you, “ Evan said. “And you’ll be able to help us put together a plan.”
“You have the most important job of all,” Celia said.
Will raised his brows in question, but as soon as he saw Lucy toddling into the room he understood what she meant. Celia would need to return to the water, and Will would be left to take care of Lucy while she was away.
He turned and picked up his little girl and spun her around. “Come on, munchkin. Let’s get you back to bed.”
Lucy shook her head. “Water,” she said, pointing towards the door.
“You want something to drink?” Will asked.
He walked to the cabinet and got a glass, filling it at the faucet.
They all watched in silence for a moment as Lucy argued with Will in her tiny talk, pushing away the glass he offered her. Finally Judas said, “We need to figure something out, fast.”
“You said my guards were imprisoned,” Evan said. “Maybe that’s the first place we should start. If we can free them, our forces would be stronger.”
Judas grimaced. “The rumors say they were imprisoned, but we don’t know for sure. If any of them survived the initial attack, they were probably executed fairly soon after we left.”
Evan felt a stab of pain in her chest as she thought about Declan and Rafe. The sight of Declan being hit with a trident replayed in her head. Had it really only been a few days since she was with them? It seemed like so much had changed in such a short time.
Evan cleared her throat. “We need to find out for sure. If there’s anyone left, we must rescue them.”
“Evan,” Malcolm said with a sigh, “I know you want to help them, but that’s a lot harder than you think. You’d have a better shot if you used your political connections than if you tried to go in by force.”
“Especially considering we don’t have a force to take in,” Judas said.
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