by Zoe Chant
Saina picked a love song at random and settled herself behind the microphone as the opening bars of music played.
The first line, she kept her magic dampened, relying only on the clear sound of her voice to set the emotional tone.
That got some of the attention in the bar, a few people turning their chairs so they could watch her. She knew she wouldn’t be as eye-catching as she usually was, in her understated staff polo shirt and unremarkable shorts, but she stood as tall and confidently as if she were wearing an evening gown and when the chorus came around, she leaned into the song.
You are my star
However far
I will wish on you
I will always miss you…
She hadn’t intended to pick a song with a sad undertone, but when she heard her own voice singing the words, she could only think of Bastian, and how she would never see him again.
By the second round of the chorus, everyone in the bar was completely enraptured, and drinks were forgotten on their tables.
Saina could feel power resonate deep beneath her, like the resort itself was on a pocket of magic that was leaking out of a dozen cracks in the earth. She could tap it, she realized. She could rule this place, she thought, giddy with the strength of it. She could worm her way into every heart and force them to love her; it could drown out the gaping place that Bastian would leave.
She reached out with her voice, held their hearts, and squeezed.
There urge was like a whisper in her ear, tickling at the back of her mind.
She was a siren and they would obey her.
They were hers, all hers, and she could force them to feel anything she wanted. And with this army of shifters to command, no one could keep her from her goals.
She poured her agony and loss into the last stanza, then suddenly thought, Bastian wouldn’t want this.
She remembered his quiet confession that he had wanted to save people and heal them, despite coming from a family of warriors.
She didn’t have to be like other sirens, either, always seeking control and self-satisfaction.
She looked out over the audience, their tear-streaked cheeks and agonized expressions, and she let the last note release them, holding it while she keyed up the next song, a cheerful pop song that swiftly devolved into happy nonsense.
Instead of reaching down to the great pools of magic below, Saina let it lie, and kept her spell light and easy, an invitation, not a command. Be happy, she suggested with it. Be joyful and love each other.
Bastian would have wanted that.
These were his people, his place. As badly as she wanted for it to be her own, it was his. She didn’t know where she fit in the world without him, but it wasn’t here, knowing she wasn’t wholly his. And it certainly wasn’t at the head of a shifter army. Where had such an idea even come from? She had no desire for that kind of power and control. If that made her a poor excuse of a siren, she could accept that.
Chapter 26
Bastian and Keylor battled as only dragons can, claws drawing along hardened scales, fire singeing, crashing into courtyard walls and stair railings as they beat wings at each other and slashed with tails at sensitive eyes and undersides.
Keylor was stronger, longer-limbed, and faster.
But Bastian was smarter, and he had unexpected endurance from his years of diving.
He could hold his breath when Keylor ignited the air around him, when Keylor had to suck hot breath in, and stagger back as the heat scorched unprotected throat and lungs, or pull his head back out of the flame, leaving himself exposed to slashing claws and gnashing teeth.
They tumbled, wings tangling, and tore scales from each other.
Keylor fought like a thing possessed, confident in his superior strength.
Bastian fought like he swam, making the best use of his advantages and compensating for his weaknesses.
He also had more to lose; if he lost this challenge, he knew he would lose Saina’s Voice, and with her, Saina.
So he poured everything into his fight, ignoring the bites and the wing tears when it allowed him to slip past Keylor’s defenses.
When Keylor leaped onto one of the walls, trying to increase his advantage with height, Bastian gathered himself and leaped after him, and Keylor took the battle to the air with strong wing beats.
Come and get me brother-not, he taunted.
This was a new disadvantage for Bastian, whose strength was not so concentrated in his wings. They swept upwards, then tumbled and dove, slashing and flaming at each other
Bastian tried to use fast, sniping techniques, only to find that Keylor was faster, and still stronger, and met every attack with confidence and cunning.
They battered at each other, angry and mighty, and red blood stained green scales as they fought.
Bastian wanted to protest that this was not an honorable fight; they would be evenly matched if Keylor were not dosed with goldshot. Or, he thought lustfully, if he were also dosed.
I concede! he finally said when they broke apart at last. Fair or not, this would be Keylor’s fight. Bastian had failed Saina.
Keylor paused to pose with an egotistical roar. Win! Smite! Flame!
I conceded! Bastian protested, darting aside at the last moment as Keylor shot a column of flame where he’d been.
Fight! Kill! Dominate! Keylor’s eyes were brilliant red, glowing in madness and bloodlust.
Stop! Brother! Bastian had to dive a side as Keylor came for him, claws-first. He rolled barely in time, and claws scraped across hard scales.
Brother-not! Keylor replied derisively, flaming in his direction.
Bastian began to concentrate on escape, winging upwards while holding his breath. Keylor caught him easily, wings more powerful and more used to flying. Bastian bit and flamed, then darted away through the clouds, trusting his nose.
Keylor was not going let his prey go willingly now; he was out for blood, not just victory.
Bastian desperately winged through the low coastal clouds, twisting away from Keylor’s teeth and claws, slashing with his tail as he climbed into the sky and dived away. Only the fact that he wasn’t flying in a predictable dragon pattern kept him safely ahead of the glinting weaponry… and it didn’t last long.
Prey! Claw! Kill! Keylor slashed him with a swipe of a lucky claw at his underbelly, and when Bastian’s wing beats faltered in pain and shock, Keylor caught him with his tail, and put claws to his chest as his own strong wings kept them aloft.
There is no honor in this, Bastian roared, flaming directly into Keylor’s face to drive him back.
Honor is a dead thing, Keylor replied, and he flexed his claws into Bastian’s chest, piercing the finer scales around his heart.
Chapter 27
Saina sang the last bars without the slightest hint of magic, and the bar broke into applause.
Above them, the restaurant, which had frozen to listen, also cheered, and there were even whistles and stomps. Saina replaced the microphone and stepped down from the little stage, and everyone went cheerfully back to their meals and drinks, exactly as she’d meant them to.
Tex and Laura, however, stared at her when she returned to the bar.
“That was… interesting,” Tex said diplomatically.
“Beautiful,” Laura was quick to add. “You do have a gorgeous voice.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tex agreed.
“But I thought I was going to enlist in some crazy zombie army for a few moments there,” Laura confessed.
Saina looked at her in consternation. She shouldn’t remember that fleeting compulsion.
She looked over at Tex thoughtfully. They both looked rattled, but not… enchanted.
“I wonder if it is because you are mates,” Saina said suddenly. “Most people don’t have clear memory of siren manipulation.”
Tex and Laura looked at each other and shrugged in unison. Their connection was so tangible and beautiful. Saina allowed herself a pang of envy. That was what Bas
tian thought they had. It was a more lovely fantasy than anything she could have woven for him.
To her surprise, they did not seem to be afraid of her after that. Tex handed her drink back across the bar, and Laura gave her a twinkling smile and went to take drink orders from the newcomers to the bar, and do a quick round to make sure everyone else was still satisfied. A pair of giggly girls took the karaoke stage after her, teasing each other as they made their song selection from the menu.
“Saina?”
Saina froze at Scarlet’s familiar voice and turned slowly to face her.
Scarlet looked no more enchanted than Tex and Laura had. Did she have a mate, too? She looked more put together than she had the last time they’d met, her bright hair pulled tightly back without a single strand escaping.
“Yes, ma’am?” Saina said with a crooked smile, trying to look brave.
“A word, if you don’t mind.” Scarlet did not wait for her response, but turned and clicked away with her sensible business shoes into the darkness past the bar deck to the stairs down to the pool deck. Saina scrambled after her, feeling shabby and chastised in her cheap flip-flops.
At the bottom of the steps, Scarlet continued down the pool deck, pausing only to pick up a towel that Saina had missed, draped at the foot of one of the lounge chairs.
At the dark end of the pool, where the deck wrapped around to overlook the beach, she finally stopped so that Saina could catch up with her. The chatter from the bar and restaurant faded to a hum and the chorus of night frogs and insects made a pleasant drone against the waves lapping the beach below.
“That was an impressive show,” Scarlet said, her voice carefully neutral.
“It wasn’t what I… expected,” Saina said honestly in return.
How much did the resort owner know about the pool of power underneath the resort, Saina wondered.
“You showed... restraint.”
Well, she knew something, then.
Saina lifted her chin in challenge. “I’m a siren,” she told Scarlet frankly. “Restraint may not be something we’re known for, but I promised no harm to your resort.”
Scarlet smiled in the faint light. “I’m pleased to see that you recognize the gravity of a contract,” she said. Then, unexpectedly, “I was impressed with your performance as a lifeguard today, but I was perhaps unnecessarily dismissive when you told me you were a performer earlier. If you choose to stay here at Shifting Sands, I would be pleased to put you on our entertainment schedule.”
Saina suspected that was as close to an apology as Scarlet would get, and it was gracious. She was touched. “I would love that,” she said in an uncharacteristic rush -- then she remembered that she would be leaving in a few days and the familiar pang of regret squeezed her chest. “But I… won’t be staying.”
Scarlet’s expression was unsurprised. “You plan to leave before Bastian returns,” she said dryly.
Saina pursed her lips, not exactly answering. “He’s not my mate. And I have unfinished business to take care of. I don’t mean to waste your time.”
“I have no patience for drama,” Scarlet warned her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Saina started to say, then she staggered in place, clutching her chest and gasping for air.
Everything was black pain, then Saina was aware that Scarlet had her by the arm, looking her anxiously in the face.
“Bastian,” she choked helplessly. “Bastian, you idiot!”
Chapter 28
Bastian fell, tumbling without purpose.
He was distantly aware of Keylor’s roar of triumph above him as he tumbled through the clouds. He’d failed Saina, lost his bid to free her Voice. There was nothing left.
Bastian, you idiot!
Saina’s voice flared in his mind, sharp and angry.
I had to try, he told her, apologetically.
You have to come back to me, she said fiercely. Now!
Bastian was tired, and fighting with her seemed like more work than twisting, folding his wings against his back and diving into the ocean surface that was rushing up at him. He had, at least, been able to lead their fight out over the water.
As he broke through the waves and was once again cradled in the comfortable saltwater he knew so well, he thought belatedly that he should have brought the fight here, to his own element. Keylor, even with goldshot coursing through his veins, wouldn’t have stood a chance against him here.
Air, Bastian. Go up and breathe now. Saina’s voice in his head was all that could make him move again, and he obediently broke the surface again, pain blossoming in his chest as he drew in a heavy breath. What did he do to you? Bastian couldn’t tell what was her agony and what was his.
Kicked my ass, he said. Sideways. He had to add defensively, But only because he was dosed up on goldshot. Did it sound like an excuse?
I could have told you that he would be, Saina said in exasperation. Bastian, you have got to tell me your stupid plans beforehand so I can talk you out of them.
I will, Bastian said meekly.
Go breathe again, Saina chided him. Bastian hadn’t even realized he’d gone beneath again, half drifting rather than swimming. Swimming hurt.
He broke the surface too close to a ship. He squinted at it in tired confusion. They wouldn’t see him, of course. He was masked in the way that dragons naturally were, and only other mythic shifters would see him in this form.
Slowly, as it bore down on him, he realized it was a container ship, chugging south at a steady clip, faster than he’d be able to swim in his current state. It should pass Shifting Sands in just a day or so. He dove just as it came upon him, and rolled, shuddering at the effort, to come up alongside it, hooking one forearm into the docking clips and letting it drag him forwards.
Clever Bastian, Saina said in his head. I will come meet you.
Am I clever, or an idiot? Bastian found the energy to tease, shifting his grip to ease the pain in his chest. Make up your mind.
You’re both, Saina said. My dear, clever idiot.
Chapter 29
I have to go to him,” Saina told Scarlet, as she realized the red-haired woman was still holding her up with one arm. “He’s hurt, he needs me.”
She could stand again, and Scarlet let go of her carefully.
“Is there anything you need?”
Bastian, Saina thought achingly. I need Bastian. She shook her head to clear it, and Scarlet took it as an answer.
Scarlet sighed. “Our boat has not been replaced or I would offer you the use of it. Our usual alternative would be to have Bastian himself do an airlift, but that is of course not possible. I could check the guest list and see if we have any other dragons at the resort currently who may be able to take you, but I don’t recall any.”
Saina suspected that the offer was only a courtesy, that Scarlet had the list memorized. “I will swim,” she said firmly. “He has caught a ride on a freighter headed this way, so it won’t be long until I can get to him.” She looked down at herself. “I should get the first aid kit.” She would be able to shift anything she was wearing with her, and it might come in handy. She remembered that it was resort property. “Er, may I borrow it?”
“Yes,” Scarlet said promptly. Then she added, “Saina?”
Saina braced herself to meet any argument against her departure.
“We’re all very fond of Bastian,” the owner said gently. “Bring him back safely.”
“I will,” Saina promised firmly.
She had to.
Chapter 30
Bastian let the ship drag him in a daze through most of a day, exhausted muscles cramping and wounds stinging from saltwater as they continued to ooze precious blood.
He could dimly hear sailors arguing over the poor performance of the vessel he was clinging to, and knew he must be slowing it considerably.
Saina remained close in his head, teasing him, reminding him to breathe if he let his head slip beneath the surface for too long, even singing to him when the
pain grew unbearable.
His strength felt like it was coming to an end when Saina finally told him, Let go. I’m here.
He opened gleaming eyes, not even aware that he’d closed them, and groaned, slowly let his cramping forearm release the ship. It was full night, and he could not see her at first, but her hands on his nose let him breathe freely as they sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Saina, he said weakly, drifting down.
My treasure, she said sweetly, her loose hair tickling sensitive scales on his dragon face as she leaned into it with her arms wrapping around him.
They reached the bottom of the ocean with a lazy, gentle landing in soft sand. A ray that had been hiding there high-tailed away from his monstrous shape.
Bastian drowsed as she swam the length of his body, making angry, concerned noises over the cracked scales and wounds, gentle hands exploring the damage.
You aren’t bleeding badly anymore, she said at last.
Just need to rest, heal, Bastian said, fighting to stay conscious. Sleep.
You sleep, she said fiercely, laying a kiss on his big head. I will watch.
Bastian had never felt safer.
Chapter 31
Bastian groaned as he settled into the sand, wrapped his tail over his feet, and closed his giant eyes. It was darker with them closed, but Saina was relieved to hear his breathing grow steady as he fell into sleep. She found that he continued to breathe easily as long as she was within arm’s length and she inspected the scaled length of him again.
Satisfied that nothing else could be done to make him more comfortable, Saina curled into the hollow by his neck, where his tail made a perfect resting place.
Nothing dared to disturb them, but Saina didn’t allow herself to sleep. She did sing, a wordless song of comfort for Bastian, tangled with a warning to anything that might encroach.