The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  “So what happens now?” Gwen asked.

  Maeve took a deep breath. “Magic.”

  * * *

  Brody was in his bedchamber, sitting on the window seat, staring out the window. Everyone was busy around the castle. Leo had buried the Chameleon in the back garden. Rupert had returned with the three eldest sisters and their children. Maeve had allowed her sisters inside the workroom with her. Nevis and Elinor were off somewhere getting better acquainted. Brody snorted.

  Everyone had something to do but him. He was supposed to be resting, actually, since he had a wounded leg, but he felt utterly useless. He wasn’t even himself. He’d reverted to the guise of the Seer so he could save his allotted time as Brody in case Maeve came to see him.

  But of course, she wasn’t coming.

  His door swung open, and for a second, he hoped it was Maeve. But no, it was Nevis. And of course, he had Elinor in tow. “What do you want?”

  “You, you grumpy old man.” Nevis motioned for him to come. “The queen has called everyone to the throne room.”

  “Queen?”

  “Queen Maeve. Remember her?” Nevis waved once again. “Come on. She’s ordered everyone to attend.”

  Brody snorted. She must be enjoying her new status. He limped toward the door, shifting into his true form.

  He was exhausted and in pain by the time he hobbled into the Great Hall. The throne room was full. All the Embraced children were there with Ruth, including Gabby and her brother, Gavin, who sat by her feet. Leo and the other kings were in attendance, along with the dragon shifters, ship captains, and General Harden. Leo’s and Rupert’s children sat in the middle of the mosaic floor, examining the octopus and dolphins pictured there.

  Maeve was ensconced on the octopus throne, her sisters standing on the dais beside her. Five queens, Brody thought. They’d come a long way from being orphans at the convent on the Isle of Moon. Maeve looked tired, though, and strained. Her gown was still stained with blood from the cuts she’d received from shattered glass. Around her shoulders, she was wearing an old shawl.

  She raised a hand, and a hush fell over the room. “I am Maeve, daughter of the Seer and Queen Cahira. The powers they possessed have all come to me.”

  Whispers circled about the room.

  Maeve had all their powers? Brody thought back to what the Seer had once told him, that his daughter would inherit his gift when he died. That was the way it worked with his ancient race. And Cahira had come from the same race.

  Brody gulped. Was Maeve now a sea witch?

  She stood and moved to the edge of the dais. “Leofric of Eberon, please step forward.”

  Leo advanced slowly toward the dais, giving his wife a questioning look.

  Luciana nodded with tears in her eyes.

  “As you know, Alfred had the same power as you,” Maeve said. “But he was also able to touch people.” She reached a hand toward Leo and closed her eyes to concentrate. Soon, her hand began to glow. She opened her eyes and planted her hand on Leo’s chest.

  He jolted as her power flowed through him.

  “It is done.” Maeve removed her hand from his chest. She reached up to touch his cheek, but he jerked back.

  “No,” he protested. “It’s not safe.”

  “It is.” She rested a palm on his cheek. “See? Take off your gloves, Leo. And hug your children.”

  He stepped back, his eyes glistening with tears. “I-I don’t dare. I couldn’t . . .”

  Maeve removed his gloves, her hands touching his. “Your power has been turned off for now. In time, you will learn to turn it on or off at will.”

  Leo turned to face his children. Still, he hesitated.

  He has lived with the fear of harming his children for too long, Brody thought as limped toward Leo. “You can test it on me.” He grabbed Leo’s hand.

  Leo blinked back his tears as he shook Brody’s hand. “Have I ever thanked you for all you’ve done?”

  With a smile, Brody clapped him on the back.

  “My turn.” Nevis gave Brody a shove and clasped Leo’s hand in his own. “I’m not sure you’ve ever thanked me, either.”

  Leo laughed. “Thank you both.” He moved toward his children and lowered himself onto one knee. When he extended his arms, they ran toward him, squealing and wrapping their arms around his neck.

  With tears running down his face, Leo embraced his children. Then, with a choked laugh, he rose to his feet, still holding them as he spun in a circle.

  Eric and Eviana laughed and buried their faces against his shoulders. Luciana ran toward them and flung her arms around them all.

  Leo glanced at Maeve, who still stood on the dais. “Thank you.”

  She nodded, then wiped a tear from her cheek.

  The other kings gathered around Leo, each wanting to shake his hand.

  “Since our wives are sisters, I consider you all my brothers,” Leo told them. “May we always live in peace.”

  The other men agreed, and everyone cheered.

  Luciana stepped back onto the dais to stand with her sisters.

  Maeve raised her hands, and everyone grew quiet. “Gabby and Gavin, please step forward.”

  Gabby rushed toward her with Gavin trotting alongside her. The tabby cat jumped up onto the dais and meowed.

  “This may hurt,” Maeve whispered as she cradled the cat’s face in her hands. She closed her eyes, concentrating until her hands glowed. Gavin hissed, but remained still.

  Soon, his whole body began to glow. And grow larger. The fur disappeared, and his shape changed. With a cry, his human form snapped into place.

  Gabby fell to her knees while all the other Embraced children cheered.

  Maeve whisked off her shawl to cover Gavin. He sat up, blinking as he gazed around. He stretched out his hands and looked at them. Then he extended his legs and wiggled his feet. He peeked under the shawl and his eyes widened. Opening his mouth, he attempted to talk, but only hoarse noises came out.

  “Gavin!” Gabby threw her arms around him.

  Brody could tell they were twins. They both had golden-red hair and amber-colored eyes. But he had to wonder—if Maeve could lift Gavin’s curse, could she remove his?

  “It may take a while for you to learn how to talk again,” Maeve warned him.

  Gavin nodded and slid his legs off the dais so he could stand up. He promptly fell back on his rear.

  Gabby laughed and helped him up, wrapping the shawl around his hips. “He’ll have to learn how to walk on two legs again, too.”

  As Gavin hobbled back toward the other Embraced children, they gathered around him to give him hugs.

  Maeve took a deep breath. “Before I continue, I want to say this.” She looked at Brody. “No matter what happens, I will always love you. If you remain cursed, I will love you. If you’re a dog, an eagle, or a seal, I will love you. I will always fight for you and never give up.”

  Tears filled his eyes. He strode to the dais, or tried to as well as his wounded leg would allow. “I love you, too.”

  “I’m not sure this will work,” she whispered. “But if it doesn’t, I’ll keep learning. And trying.”

  “It’s all right.” He grabbed her hands. “No matter what happens, we have each other.”

  She nodded, then closed her eyes to concentrate.

  How could he have ever doubted her? His sweet Maeve. He felt the power surging through her hands, then shooting into him. More and more energy, sizzling through his muscles, slithering through his veins, exploding in his head.

  With a whoosh, the energy dissipated, leaving him so weak, he fell to his knees.

  “Are you all right?” Maeve jumped off the dais to kneel beside him.

  “I don’t know.” He couldn’t be sure that the curse was gone until his allotted time ran out. Or didn’t.

  “We’ll have to wait and see.”

  He scoffed. “After that confession of yours, you expect me to wait? Marry me, Maeve. Whether I’m a prince or a dog,
be my wife. No matter what.”

  With a smile, she nodded. “And whether I’m a seer or a siren, be my husband. No matter what.”

  He kissed her, and everyone in the room cheered.

  Epilogue

  Three weeks later, on the Isle of Mist . . .

  Maeve smiled as she strolled hand in hand with Brody toward the Seer’s house. It was a glorious day, and she glanced up at the sky, thanking the goddesses once again that she’d inherited her mother’s powers.

  Ever since that day in the throne room, Brody had been himself. All day. And all night, she thought with a blush.

  Within a week, they had gone back to the Isle of Moon to get married. By the second week, they’d both been crowned king and queen at Lessa Castle. Their kingdom now consisted of three islands, and lately they’d gone back and forth between the Isles of Moon and Secrets to take care of business.

  Young families from the Isle of Moon who desperately wanted a parcel of land to call their own had volunteered to colonize the Isle of Secrets. As for the children, Nevis and Elinor had taken charge, and with Luciana’s help, they were slowly finding the parents of some of the younger ones.

  Farah and Irene had gone to Woodwyn with Sorcha and her husband. Farah was going to be a glass artist, and Irene was eager to work in the gardens at Wyndelas Palace.

  Quentin had announced he wanted to be a dragon. Silas had tried to explain that it was impossible, but the boy had refused to listen. That night, Maeve had dreamed of Quentin, seeing him in the future, flying in the form of an eagle. Apparently, his Embraced gift would be the ability to shift into birds, and eventually, he would become the messenger between all the kings, the job that Brody had held in the past. Silas and Gwen had grown fond of the boy, so they had happily taken him back to Norveshka with them. Maeve was happy, knowing that one day Quentin would be able to fly with the dragons.

  Rupert had volunteered to train Darroc to be a ship’s captain. Bettina and Catriona had become Maeve’s ladies-in-waiting. And Elam hadn’t wanted to part from Nevis. Maeve felt sure that eventually all the children would be happily situated.

  She glanced back at the bluff where she and Brody had just paid their respects to the Seer. His cairn was there, the same one she had seen in her first dream. And a second cairn was close to it, for Maeve had buried her mother next to the Seer. It had seemed fitting, since she suspected her father was the only person Cahira had ever truly loved.

  Brody led her through the broken gate into the disheveled garden.

  “My father lived here for seventy-five years?”

  Brody nodded. “And most of that time, he was completely alone. I was with him for six years. And Trouble, or Gavin I should say, was with him for two.”

  “Did he ever know Gavin was a shifter?”

  Brody paused by the door, thinking. “I don’t think he did. After he got involved with the Circle of Five, he lost most of his power of foresight.”

  “Then how did he continue to make predictions?”

  Brody grinned. “I was spying all over the mainland and passing the information back to him.”

  She scoffed. “How many people were paying you to spy for them?”

  “Only Leo.” Brody shoved open the creaky door. “I helped the Seer for free. After all, he raised me.” He stopped to look around the room. “He saved me. I was ten years old and cursed. I’d just seen my father and brother die. The Seer gave me love and taught me to keep fighting and never give up, no matter what.”

  “No matter what,” Maeve repeated, recalling those same words they had said in the throne room.

  She glanced around the tiny one-room cottage and tried to imagine living here alone for seventy-five years, the only person on the island. “I have a feeling you saved the Seer as much as he saved you.”

  Brody nodded. “I’m sorry you never got to meet him.”

  She ran her hand along the scarred table. “It is sad, but at the same time, I’m glad you were with him.”

  Brody strode over to the bookcase and reached behind some books. “Here it is.” He pulled out an old journal. “When you read this, you’ll feel like you know your father.”

  She took the journal and cradled it against her chest. “Was this his bed?”

  “Aye. That is where he died.”

  She sat on the bed and touched his pillow. “Thank you, Brody. Thank you for being here with my father. Thank you for always fighting and never giving up.”

  He sat beside her. “No matter what.”

  She smoothed her hand over the worn leather of the journal. As much as she wanted to know her father, she was afraid the reading would be painful. “I’ll read it when I’m alone.”

  “I understand.”

  She glanced up at her husband. Now that he was always human, he was eating and sleeping regularly. And the result had left him more handsome than ever. “Are we truly alone on this isle?”

  He nodded. “There might be a few deer left that Gavin didn’t have for dinner.”

  “Ugh.” She grimaced.

  With a smile, he brushed her hair from her brow. “Why do you ask? Do you have something in mind?”

  After three weeks, she knew exactly what that twinkle in his pretty blue eyes meant. Luckily for him, her thoughts tended to steer in the same direction. “I seem to recall a promise you made to me.”

  “Which one?”

  “Something about making love to your siren in the deep blue sea.”

  “Ah.” Another twinkle in his eyes. “I just happen to know where there’s a sandy cove and a cave.”

  “And a deep blue sea?”

  “Very deep. Very blue.”

  Maeve slid the journal beneath her father’s pillow. She would read it later. For now, she wanted to celebrate being alive and being with this beautiful man she loved with all her heart. “Then you will take me there immediately.”

  His eyes widened. “That sounded like an order.”

  “It was.”

  He stood and bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

  She jumped to her feet and kissed him. “It’s good to be the queen.”

  Kerrelyn Sparks apparently has issues with reality. After writing sixteen books about vampires, she has now completely gone off the deep end and wound up on another planet. She is delighted to take her readers to the magical world of Aerthlan with her new Embraced by Magic series, which will take up where The Embraced series left off. Her previous books have hit as high as number 5 on the New York Times list, 22 on the USA Today list, and even been featured as a question on the game show, Jeopardy! To learn more about her paranormal, historical, and out-of-this-world fantasy romances, please visit Kerrelyn on Facebook, Twitter, or her website at www.kerrelynsparks.com.