The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  Cheers rang out, and Leo sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. They were saved.

  Rupert started blowing the repaired ships back toward the harbor.

  A bolt of lightning shot toward the third dragon, and Leo quickly struck the bolt aside. With a screech, the dragon zoomed toward the Embraced army and breathed fire, setting the grassy bluff ablaze. The soldiers retreated while Darroc used his power to blow the flames out.

  Rupert sent a blast of wind at them, knocking them all back a hundred feet. The younger soldiers ran for the cover of the nearby forest, where other children were waving and calling them over. That had to be Nevis’s group, Leo thought.

  Only the oldest two soldiers remained.

  Darroc aimed a gust of wind at the dragons, but Rupert knocked him back another hundred feet.

  “Damn you!” Alfred shot a lightning bolt at Leo’s dragon, but Leo managed to divert it.

  His dragon breathed fire, forcing Alfred to retreat into the castle garden. The strangely clipped hedges were now aflame.

  Alfred turned and shot another bolt, aimed straight at Leo. Quickly, Leo returned fire, hitting Alfred’s bolt head-on. The two bolts sizzled and crackled, sparks flying where the two had collided.

  Leo reached into his inner reserves, forcing all his strength into his bolt. With a loud crack, he forced Alfred’s lightning back till the power of both bolts struck the young man in the chest and sent him flying.

  He landed in a green-colored pond, where his body thrashed and jolted in an electric seizure. Finally, he grew still.

  Leo’s dragon swooped down to the ground, dropping him, then landing about twenty feet away. The dragon shifted into human form.

  Silas. Leo smiled at him. “Thank you. I’d shake your hand, but . . .”

  Silas snorted, then glanced at Alfred. “A shame to die so young, but he gave you no choice.”

  Leo nodded. The other dragon shifters joined them, both in human form, with Dimitri dragging a frightened Darroc by the shirt collar.

  “A-Alfred,” Darroc whispered as he spotted the young man’s dead body in the pond.

  Dimitri tossed Darroc on the ground. “Aleksi and I will go back to rescue anyone still in the water.”

  “Thank you,” Leo told them. “Where is Rupert?”

  “He’s blowing the ships into harbor,” Aleksi replied. Then he and Dimitri shifted into dragons and flew off.

  Silas strode up to Darroc, who was cowering on the ground. “Prisoner, I have a question for you.”

  “I-I’ll tell you everything.” Darroc pointed at the castle. “Kendric is in there. And Queen Cahira.”

  “And Brody?” Leo asked.

  “I-I don’t know him.”

  “The Seer?” Leo corrected himself.

  “Oh. He’s in there, too.” Darroc bobbed his head nervously. “And Princess Maeve.”

  “Now here is my question,” Silas growled.

  Darroc’s eyes filled with tears. “Anything, I’ll tell you anything.”

  Silas crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Where can I find some breeches?”

  * * *

  Maeve froze at the sight of all the broken glass around her. Blood stained her sleeves where she’d been cut. Oh, dear goddesses, no. This was just like her dream! She glanced up and saw Brody advancing on her mother. Would he kill Cahira now? She recalled the look of her mother’s glassy eyes.

  “I thought you might be here,” a voice sneered from the doorway.

  Brody spun around.

  Maeve winced. The Chameleon strode into the room, brandishing a sword. Would he stab Brody as he had in her dream?

  The Chameleon glared at Brody. “So you have arrived. The meddlesome animal shifter, always showing up at the last minute to ruin my plans.”

  “Actually, I’ve been here for days. I was the Seer.” When the Chameleon blinked, Brody snorted. “Right. You’re not the only one who can shift into people.”

  The Chameleon smirked. “I always suspected you could but were too cowardly to try it.”

  “Kill him!” Cahira screamed at the Chameleon.

  “Gladly.” He lifted his sword. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for years.”

  Cahira laughed. “Now you will die, Prince Brodgar, still under my curse.”

  The Chameleon glanced at her. “You’re the one who cursed him?”

  “Of course.” Cahira strolled over to a window. “I cursed him and Gavin. And I’m the only one who can undo the curses.”

  Gavin growled, and the Chameleon jolted with surprise, noticing for the first time that there was a tiger crouched behind the dead guard.

  He stepped back. “That’s the cat?”

  “What’s the matter, Kendric?” Brody taunted. “Are you afraid you can’t handle us both?”

  Kendric’s mouth curled with a snarl. “When you’re dying and crying for mercy, there will be no help from your friends. The ships have all been destroyed. Leo and Rupert are dead!”

  Maeve gasped.

  “You lie!” Brody ran toward the Chameleon, his sword raised. Gavin charged toward him, too.

  The Chameleon shifted into a sparrow, leaving his breeches to fall to the floor as he flew over them.

  “Coward!” Brody yelled at him.

  Gabby grabbed a piece of glass and threw it at the bird as it circled the throne room.

  Maeve suspected Kendric was stalling for time, figuring out what to do.

  Brody strode toward Cahira. “He’s not saving you. Undo the curse now!”

  “He will save me.” Cahira lifted her chin. “I raised him when no one else wanted him.”

  The sparrow landed beside her and quickly shifted into the Chameleon. As he straightened, he grabbed a sharp piece of glass.

  “Attack them!” Cahira hissed.

  Instead, he grabbed her and slit her neck.

  “No!” Brody ran toward them.

  With a laugh, the Chameleon stepped back and let the gasping queen slide to the floor. “Now you will be a dog for the rest of your life!”

  Maeve shuddered as she watched the light dim in her mother’s eyes. No. Now Brody would be cursed forever.

  Brody stumbled, falling to his knees. “No,” he whispered.

  Gavin let out a mournful howl, and Gabby collapsed on the floor in tears.

  The Chameleon shifted into an eagle and flew to where he’d dropped his sword. He grabbed it and charged toward Brody.

  “Watch out!” Maeve screamed.

  Brody spun around, lifting his sword, but the Chameleon’s momentum worked in his favor, and he knocked Brody down. As Brody scrambled back, the Chameleon slashed him in the thigh.

  Oh, goddesses, no! Her dream was coming true! Maeve looked around her for a weapon, but all she saw were shards of glass. And her mother’s glassy eyes. Cahira was dead.

  An abrupt pain shot through Maeve, and her vision blurred. She fell to the floor, writhing as energy sizzled up her spine, then burst into her head. With a scream, she balled up, holding her head. Dear goddesses, it felt as if her head would explode!

  “Maeve!” She heard Brody yelling.

  She turned her head, forcing her eyes to focus despite the pain. Don’t die, Brody. Don’t die.

  With a snarl, Gavin leaped at the Chameleon, but Kendric swung his sword at the tiger, cutting his back leg. In that time, Brody managed to get to his feet. Swords clashed again and again as Brody and the Chameleon fought. Blood from his wound pooled beneath Brody’s feet, and he slipped to one knee.

  The Chameleon lifted his sword, ready to strike the fatal blow.

  Maeve gasped. This was what she’d seen in her dream. “No!”

  As the Chameleon’s sword swung down, Brody rolled to the side and, with an upward thrust, jabbed his sword into the Chameleon’s gut.

  Gavin pounced on him from behind, forcing Brody’s sword in farther. With a gurgling cry, the Chameleon fell down, then disappeared.

  “What?” Brody sat up.

  An insect wa
s darting toward the door, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

  Just then, Nevis ran into the room, his sword raised. “Brody! Where—” He spotted the insect and stomped it with his boot. “Damn! I hate cockroaches!”

  The insect shifted back into the smashed body of the Chameleon, and Nevis jumped back.

  “What the hell?” Nevis took a closer look at the dead man. “He looks a lot like Leo.” He glanced around the room. “Is everyone all right? Wait!” He lifted his sword. “Brody, don’t move. There’s a tiger beside you. I’ll take care of this.”

  With a snort, Brody reached out a hand to pat the tiger. “He’s on our side. This is Gavin.”

  “That’s Gavin?” Nevis gave the tiger an incredulous look.

  With a pitiful howl, Gavin shrank down into a tabby cat. Still crying, Gabby pulled the cat into her lap.

  The pressure in Maeve’s head was making her see stars. And now there was a rushing noise thundering in her ears, making it hard to hear.

  “Why do you all look so sad?” Nevis’s voice sounded as if it was coming from the end of a tunnel. “The Chameleon is dead. Cahira’s dead.”

  “And we’re alive,” Leo announced as he and Silas strode into the room.

  “Thank the Light!” Nevis grinned as he shook Silas’s hand and gave Leo a thumbs-up.

  Brody sighed as he remained sitting on the floor. He gave Maeve a sad look. “I know you’re upset. I’m sorry.”

  She opened her mouth to reassure him, but couldn’t manage to talk.

  “What’s there to be sorry about?” Nevis asked. “We won!”

  Brody shook his head. “We’re still cursed. Gavin will be a cat. And I will be a dog. Until we die.”

  As Gavin let out another howl, Maeve lost her struggle, and everything went black.

  Chapter 26

  Brody didn’t know which was worse—the pain of having his wounded thigh cleaned and stitched or the fear that Maeve was avoiding him. Had she given up on him?

  His allotted time to be himself was almost used up for the day, so where was she? The last time he’d seen her, she had fainted in the throne room. Had the shock of knowing he was cursed for the rest of his life upset her so much that she’d lost consciousness?

  Nevis had helped him limp back to his bedchamber, and now Ruth was torturing him while Nevis enjoyed it. Damn him.

  “You’re sure you don’t want more wine?” Nevis asked.

  Brody shook his head and gritted his teeth as Ruth made another stitch on his thigh.

  “I could knock you out.” Nevis pretended to clonk him with the end of his knife. “I’ve had plenty of practice today.”

  “Where is Maeve?” Brody ground out. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine,” Nevis assured him. “Silas carried her to her room.”

  “And I checked on her,” Ruth added. “I’m sure she’ll be waking soon.”

  Brody sighed. Poor Maeve. In a week’s time she’d discovered and lost both her parents and found herself saddled with a cursed lover. At least the Chameleon was dead. The Embraced army, defeated. After Alfred had been killed, the rest of the soldiers had gladly surrendered. Nevis had spent the last ten minutes describing everything that had happened outside the castle. He was in jolly spirits after learning that Leo, Rupert, and his father had all survived.

  The door swung open, and Brody lifted his head to see if it was Maeve. With a groan, he dropped back onto the pillow.

  “Brody!” Elinor ran toward him. “I heard ye were injured.”

  He hissed in a breath as Ruth made another stitch. “This is the least of my problems. I’m still cursed—”

  “We don’t care!” Elinor interrupted him. “Don’t ye dare use this as an excuse not to come home.”

  “No one wants a canine king!” Brody shouted. “Damn!” He jolted when Ruth poured more liquor on his wound.

  “I wouldn’t mind a dog king,” Nevis said.

  “No one asked you,” Brody growled.

  Nevis nudged Elinor. “His bark is worse than his bite.”

  “Sod off!” Brody yelled. “You find this is amusing? Did you hear Gavin howling? And Gabby crying? Shit, Maeve was so upset she fainted!”

  “I know it’s crappy!” Nevis shouted back. “That’s why I’m trying to cheer you up!”

  “It’s not working!” Brody’s heart tightened in his chest. “You think I’m upset for myself? It’s Maeve I’m upset for. She’s stuck with a dog for the rest of her life.”

  Elinor sighed. “She loves you, so she won’t mind.”

  “She shouldn’t love me.” Brody fought back the tears that wanted to come. Dammit. “Check on her, Ellie. Please. I’m worried about her.”

  Nevis pointed toward the adjoining door. “Her bedchamber’s right there.”

  “Oh.” Elinor gave her brother a wry look. “That was convenient.”

  “Sly dog,” Nevis muttered, and Brody threw a pillow at him.

  Elinor gave Nevis a smile before strolling over to the door and going in.

  “I saw that,” Brody grumbled. “Don’t even think about courting my sister.”

  “Don’t take your foul mood out on me,” Nevis told him.

  Elinor rushed back in. “She’s not there!”

  “What?” Brody struggled to sit up, but Ruth gave his chest a push.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” the old woman ordered. “You’ll tear the stitches. Now lie still while I put a bandage on you.”

  With a frustrated groan, Brody lay back down. “Find her, Nevis.”

  “Don’t worry,” Nevis assured him. “She can’t be far.” He headed for the door.

  “I’ll go with you.” Elinor linked her arm with his.

  Shit. Brody watched as the two of them smiled at each other before sauntering out the door. What was he going to do about them? And where the hell was Maeve? Why hadn’t she come to see him when she’d wakened? He was so close by. Did she not care for him anymore? Had she given up on him because he was cursed?

  “Get some rest now.” Ruth tied off the bandage, then picked up her supplies and left.

  With a groan, he realized his two hours for the day had come to an end. As he shifted into the Seer, tears came to his eyes.

  Wouldn’t it be better for Maeve if she did give him up?

  * * *

  In the throne room, Leo’s boots crunched on the broken glass as he paced to a window. He peered down at the harbor below and the fourteen damaged ships docked along the pier. Rupert and Brennan the Woodsman looked as if they were discussing repairs while the surviving seamen rested on the castle lawn. Leo made a mental note to have the servants deliver some bread and jugs of water to the men.

  The elfin navy had anchored close to the harbor, and elfin seamen and soldiers were still rowing to the pier in lifeboats. Out at sea, he spotted the three dragons circling about, searching for survivors.

  Here in the castle, Leo and Nevis’s father, General Harden, had taken charge until Maeve was ready to take on her duties as the next queen. The general, with help from Gabby and the Spiders, had located all the guards and locked them in the dungeons, along with Darroc. The last guard had been found cowering in the lookout tower, hoping he had been forgotten.

  The younger members of the Embraced army were being detained in their dorm rooms with Eberoni soldiers guarding the doors.

  Down on the pier, Leo spotted Sorcha talking to Rupert and her husband, King Brennan. After hugging Brennan, she hurried toward the castle. No doubt she wanted to see Maeve. Unfortunately, Leo had heard that Maeve was unconscious in her room. The shock of seeing her mother die and realizing Brody would never be free from his curse must have been too much for her.

  Poor Brody. Leo shook his head. The man would have to learn to live with it, much as Leo endured the pain of never being able to embrace his own children.

  He turned and spotted the pool of blood where a guard had been mauled to death by a tiger. Gabby had insisted her brother was harmless, and
indeed, as a tabby cat, Gavin did appear that way. Still, Leo had thought it best for Gavin to stay in his room under guard for the time being. The shifter was understandably upset, but Leo didn’t want Gavin to lose control and accidentally hurt someone in his highly emotional state.

  General Harden had ordered his soldiers to remove the guard’s body from the throne room. Cahira and the Chameleon had also been taken away, their bodies laid in a cool cellar for now. Maeve would probably want to give her mother a proper burial. As for the Chameleon, Leo felt obliged to bury him. The man was his cousin, after all. But if Brody hadn’t managed to kill him, Leo would have.

  He took a deep breath. So all five members of the Circle of Five were dead. The entire world of Aerthlan could now be at peace. Even so, there were still tasks to be undertaken. Months ago, he had discovered a hidden stash of documents in the library at Ebton Palace, left behind by Lord Morris. The papers listed the Embraced children he had acquired over the years, and the families he had taken them from. So it was possible that some of the children from this island could be reunited with their parents.

  The sound of booted feet drew his attention to the golden doors, where General Harden was entering with two of his soldiers. They were escorting two girls equipped with brooms, pails, and baskets.

  The girls spotted Leo and dropped their supplies so they could each sink into a curtsy.

  “This is Farah and Irene,” the general introduced them.

  “From the Embraced army.” Leo nodded, recalling their names from his list. “Farah has the gift of fire, and Irene can make things grow.”

  Farah bowed her head. “We’d like to apologize for any damage we caused. And we thank you for saving Mikayla.”

  Irene glanced up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

  The general nodded approvingly as he crossed his arms over his chest. “They begged me to let them clean up the throne room. I thought it a good idea.”

  Irene suddenly fell to her knees. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Tears ran down her face. “I know some peo-people died.” She leaned over, sobbing on the floor. “I didn’t want to hurt the animals. I didn’t want to hurt the sailors.”