Siren Awakened (The Cursed Seas Collection)

by Elle Middaugh

I spun around and flashed a dazzling smile at the red- and purple-haired girls. It was probably the first real smile of the day. “Those are my very best friends: Catalina and Malisa. If they’re with me, then you really have nothing to worry about. They’re probably more capable than you, Kayo.”

  He scoffed. “I highly doubt that.”

  Catalina raised her hand. “I doubt it too. No one is more capable than Kayo.”

  “Thank you,” he muttered as if the admission was a long time coming, even though he’d never even spoken to her before.

  I quickly looped my arms through theirs and swam us away as quickly as possible. I was anxious to get the hell out of there for the day. My dragons seemed to agree. When we reached the deeper waters, they swam around happily, chasing fish and each other, while we girls sat around talking right at the outskirts of the kingdom.

  “So how was your first day as queen?” Catalina asked, leaning back on the base of her palms in the sand.

  “Awful,” I admitted in a whiny tone. “It was the most boring thing ever! And I literally screwed up every decision I made.”

  Catalina laughed and I pushed her over.

  Malisa put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  “Well, considering I almost started a war with West Sea, I’d say it was pretty fucking bad,” I deadpanned.

  Malisa gasped, and Catalina laughed even harder.

  “Shut up,” I told her, almost laughing, myself. Her giggles were becoming contagious. “Did you two manage to find that lionfish like I asked?”

  Malisa nodded.

  “And did you get one of its venomous needles, too?”

  “Yep,” Malisa said with a soft smile.

  “It’s already at the research department,” Catalina added, finally sobering up. “The scientists are testing it now to see if it has any curative potential.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to continue my search for a cure now that I was queen. Thankfully, my best friends had stepped up for the job. “Good. Thank you.”

  Catalina nudged me with her shoulder. “You might make some questionable decisions, but you really are a good person, Liliana. You care about your people more than anything. That’s the best quality a queen can have.”

  I scoffed. Caring was nice and all, but if I couldn’t manage to back that emotion with some affirmative action, then it was essentially useless. There had to be something I could actually do to help my people. There had to be a cure for whatever dark sorcery was infecting and mutating our sea creatures. After all, the darkness was spreading quickly. It had already claimed the entire Quadrant of South Sea and even the southernmost part of Seabella. If it moved any closer, the entire kingdom would be lost.

  “I have to find a way to help them,” I whispered, my voice flooded with unexpected emotion. “I have to save my people.”

  Catalina and Malisa each wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

  “You will,” Cat said resolutely.

  “We believe in you,” Malisa agreed, snuggling a little closer. “You just have to learn to believe in yourself.”

  No amount of blind belief was going to be enough, but I didn’t have the heart to tell them.

  ///

  The next morning, I dragged myself to breakfast, but simply shuffled the scallops around on my plate. After the disaster at court yesterday, I honestly wasn’t looking forward to the task of making shitty decisions for the rest of my god-forsaken life. In fact, I absolutely dreaded it. So much so, I was literally sick to my stomach.

  By the time I drifted into the open courtyard, there was a small group of people gathered there. I figured Kayo would be guiding me again, but it seemed I’d need much more help than one mere siren could provide. Arlo was present, as were Luciana Torre, Thalassa Rulo, and a handful of Seabella’s most important clan leaders. Catalina and Malisa were there too, thank Poseidon. They would probably be the only thing keeping me anchored today.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I sighed, flopping gracelessly into my mother’s bejeweled throne.

  Kayo glanced at the group, then stepped forward. “Your Majesty, you have a very special visitor today.”

  “So I better not screw it up. I get it. Send them in.”

  Kayo shook his head. “No, I mean...he’s a foreigner. He claims to be a messenger from the Thirteenth Region.”

  Chapter 4

  My body instantly went rigid. Ever since the meteor struck all those years ago, our world had been divided. And not just between sirens, mages, and humans. But from continent to continent, and sea to sea.

  In all my years, there had never been a foreigner within our walls. The fact that one was here now seemed like a terribly bad omen. I had no idea what the messenger intended to say, but I had a bad feeling he was baring ill news. Perhaps the end of the world was nearer than I feared? Perhaps the dark sorcery was spreading faster than I realized, consuming everything in its path with no hope of slowing or stopping it?

  My nausea intensified. I had to concentrate hard on breathing and swallowing in order to keep my stomach from rebelling.

  I really did not want to be known as the queen who allowed the apocalypse to happen. Even if no one would be left to tell the tale. I promised myself that, no matter what this messenger said, I would still do whatever it took to save my people.

  “Send him in.”

  The guards opened the tall stone doors, and the messenger tripped lightly into our outdoor court, timidly staring through the arches at the two sea dragons circling in the ocean beyond.

  Arlo and Kayo moved in front of my throne and stamped their golden tridents.

  “You are addressing Queen Liliana Acosta,” Kayo said. “Tamer of Dragons. Daughter of the late David and Selena Acosta. Ruler of the Pacific Southwest Territory. Speak carefully and with respect.”

  The messenger nodded, and when Arlo and Kayo finally moved out of the way, he bowed before me.

  I copied my mother’s old motions, desperately trying to appear like I knew what the hell I was doing. I lifted my hand, palm facing up, and took a steadying breath. “Rise messenger. Tell me the news you bring.”

  He held out a scroll and waited for Kayo to bring it to me. After I opened it, the foreigner smiled wide, an expression I hadn’t been expecting.

  “I bring news from the thirteenth region. With the discovery of the Legacy Stone, our territory has been healed!”

  I stared at the drawing of the stone for a few moments, then passed the scroll to Catalina. The stone was smooth, glassy, and deep blue in color. A soft glow radiated from it as if it produced its own internal light.

  “Where is this stone?” I asked him, sounding strong despite the anxious beating of my heart.

  There was a cure! I could save my people! It seemed almost too good to be true.

  “It is in its sacred resting place in the thirteenth region, Your Majesty.”

  I drummed my fingernails on the jewels of the throne, contemplating. If the stone was secure in the thirteenth region, how on earth was it supposed to help us? He was practically begging for an invasion, telling another kingdom of its existence, but that made zero sense. No ruler in their right mind would invite a war to their gates. Well, except for me, apparently. Stupid ugly angler pets.

  Catalina shot me a guarded glance before passing the drawing to Malisa. I sighed and got back on topic.

  “Explain to me what this Legacy Stone is, exactly,” I said, hoping to gather more information without vocalizing my actual thoughts and concerns.

  The messenger bowed again. “Of course, Your Majesty. My king and queen have been working with the mages and humans on land, and they believe it to be a piece of the meteor that struck all those years ago. The mages have confirmed that each region has its own stone, and its own sacred resting place. When we returned our stone to its proper location, it healed the sea completely and even helped bring a bit of life back to the ground above. It will take time, but we believe
that the land, too, can be healed entirely in a few decades or so—as long as each region finds and returns its stone.”

  My fingers were shaking. A mixture of hope, excitement, fear, and determination flooded my body. He had said more in those last few sentences than I could have dreamed of hearing my whole life.

  “That’s incredible freaking news!” I said, unable to contain my excitement. “Where’s the stone located? Have you brought a map? A mage? Where’s the sacred resting place for our territory?”

  His smile was fleeting. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I do not know. The stones were scattered all over the earth. Your only hope is to locate the local mages and ask for their help. Perhaps they’ve detected some strange magical activity nearby?”

  I sighed. Of course, it’d be much harder than I was imagining.

  “Any ideas on the sacred resting place?” I asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m just a messenger. All I can tell you is that ours was located in an area of historical significance. Perhaps yours is too?”

  “Perhaps.” I moved my fingers to my lips and drummed my nails there instead. “Do you have any more information to share with us, messenger?”

  “That is all, Your Majesty. I truly hope it helps you and your kingdom.”

  I stood and nodded. “Tell your rulers that I thank them for their help. And thank you as well for risking the precarious seas to deliver the message. You are dismissed.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” He bowed, glanced through the arches again, then scurried away, probably anxious to put some distance between himself and my dragons.

  I flopped back into the throne and rubbed my temples. It was becoming a habit already, the headaches and the temple-rubbing.

  “You did awesome!” Catalina squealed quietly in my ear. “That’s what you need to do all the time.”

  “What? Fake it till I make it?”

  “No, just put on a game face and handle it—just like you did.”

  Right.

  I was totally faking it. I mean, I was always faking it, really, considering I was a sham, but handling things with a queenly game face was going to take a lot of time and energy to perfect.

  “What do the rest of you think?” I asked, glancing around Catalina’s head to stare at everybody else.

  Luciana Torre stepped up, her long golden hair draped over one of her shoulders, and a nastier scowl than usual plastered on her face. She was probably still angry about her cousin getting eaten. For once, I couldn’t even blame her.

  “I think he wants us to die a long and painful death,” she said bluntly. “There’s no cure up above the surface. His only evidence was a drawing of a rock. We’d be foolish to believe him.”

  I nodded, letting her words sink in. I’d never once contemplated the idea that the messenger could have been lying. As queen, I should probably always try to be as shrewd as a Torre, just not as cruel as one. Though, I’d never admit that to anyone, dead or alive.

  “Anyone else?”

  Arlo stepped forward. “I think we should entertain the idea that the messenger was telling the truth. Why else would he risk his life traveling here?”

  “Because he was ordered to?” Luciana said sarcastically. “A king or queen wouldn’t flinch over the death of a single, measly messenger.”

  I flinched...and immediately realized the irony. Quickly, I sat up straight and put my fingers to my mouth, as if I were pondering something deeply profound.

  Yep. Shrewd like a Torre.

  “I agree with my brother,” Kayo said, standing beside him. “If there’s any possibility for a cure on the surface, then we should try to find it.”

  “Do you even know how many rocks are up there?” Luciana contested. “It’d be like sifting through sand to find one particular grain. In other words, futile.”

  “All we can do is try,” I muttered through my fingers, and every head turned toward me.

  “Your Majesty,” Arlo said reverently, kneeling at my feet, “I volunteer for a place in the mission to retrieve the Legacy Stone.”

  “As do I,” Kayo added, joining him.

  Catalina perked up and knelt down beside Kayo. “So do I.”

  And Malisa knelt down beside her. “If you two go, I go,” she said, reiterating her friendship vow from the other day.

  I smiled, heart filled with joy to have such brave and loyal companions at my side. But there was also an unbridled fear swimming in my chest. There was hope, yes, but also a huge risk of dying. Humans and mages might’ve miraculously survived on land all these years, but the messenger had made it clear that the earth was in no way yet healed. It would be an extremely dangerous terrain to traverse.

  “You all understand the very real dangers of this potential mission, right? Any or all of us could literally die up there at any moment.”

  “As members of the royal guard,” Kayo said, “we have already promised to risk our lives for you. We would be honored to die for our kingdom and our queen, if it comes to that.”

  I nodded, feeling a lump growing in my throat, then glanced at my friends. “Please, girls. I don’t want to be responsible for the deaths of my very best friends.”

  Catalina smirked. “Then it’s a good thing we don’t intend to die.”

  Malisa smiled too. “We’re sirens. We fight for what we believe in.”

  Her words rang true and terrifying—as I was now the one responsible for leading said fight.

  After all... A queen is worth nothing if she does not fight for her people. She has no honor if she hides from the distress of her citizens. Royalty must not just sit on the throne and wear expensive crowns but must also brandish their tridents and lead their warriors into battle...

  My parents’ speech. The one they always recited before they went into battle or embarked on a dangerous mission. The one I basically knew by heart. The words used to mean nothing to me, back when my parents would return victorious after every fight. But now, the strain and sacrifice involved practically spilled out of every syllable.

  I stood from the throne, suddenly dizzy and on the verge of vomiting.

  “Court is dismissed,” I said quickly. “I need a few minutes.”

  I rushed through the palace doors, down a long corridor, and promptly puked into a decorative pot of orange cup coral.

  “Sorry,” I apologized to the plant, then hurriedly kept on swimming.

  My mind was awash with a whirlpool of emotions. Desperation, loss, pain, and guilt, but also hope, healing, forgiveness, and excitement—and virtually every emotion in between. I went from princess to queen, daughter to orphan to Tamer of Dragons, and to possible Huntress of the Legacy Stone. And that was a fucking lot to take in. Which is probably why I’d just puked most of it out.

  Sighing, I swam out into the seashelled streets. The northern part of Seabella was more pristine than the southern—even before the latter fell to the mutants. The houses there were large and immaculate, belonging to members of the royal guard and their families, distant royal relatives, royal healers, and treasure seekers who’d made a small fortune off of pirates.

  I followed a trail to a house in the middle of a bustling lane, not even realizing where I was going until I got there.

  Apparently, I needed to talk to Harlow.

  Chapter 5

  I found my cousin wrapping a bandage around a young siren’s knee.

  “Swimming only,” she cooed to the boy. “No walking for a few days while your leg heals. And for goodness sake, stay away from the dead lands.”

  I smiled to myself as I watched her. She was so gentle and kind. One of my favorite family members, for sure. She wouldn’t make a very good queen long-term—she was far too soft—but she would do perfectly as a short-term replacement. If I actually went on this suicidal mission to the surface.

  Oh, who was I kidding? When I went on the stupid-ass mission to the surface.

  “Hey, Harlow,” I said, watc
hing her pink hair swirl in the water above her head as she turned around.

  “Hey, Liliana!” She swam over to me, but her jaw quickly dropped, and her eyes bugged like a goldfish. “Mutants! Behind you! Swim away!”

  I grabbed her wrist and kept her anchored in front of me.

  “No, no, no!” I said with a grin, glancing at the two sea dragons shadowing me. They’d sort of inadvertently become my personal bodyguards. “This is Feroz and Bravo, my... pets, I guess you could say.”

  If it was possible, her eyes might’ve gotten even wider. “Pets? You managed to tame a mutant?”

  I shook my head. “They’re not mutants. They’re just very rare creatures that we’ve never seen before. They won’t hurt you.”

  I had no idea if that statement was true or not. I glanced at them for emphasis. In response, they let out a purr-like growl to convey their understanding.

  She swallowed like she had a blowfish in her throat, then asked, “So... what brings you here this evening?”

  I let out an irritated sort of sigh. The hiss of air that bubbled from my lips suddenly lent the atmosphere a darker edge. “I need you to take the throne for a bit until I return.”

  She blinked, and I wasn’t sure my words had actually registered. “Until you return? Where are you going? And for how long?”

  I hesitated, unsure if I should give her the full details or not.

  “I’m going to the surface—” She gasped and covered her mouth. “—I’m not sure for how long.”

  “Oh, Liliana, that’s suicide!”

  I nodded. “I know. But trust me, it’s the only way.”

  She frowned, searching my eyes. “The only way to what?”

  I took a deep breath and held it. “To survive.”

  She stared at me, eyes full of confusion. “Are you in some sort of trouble? Has there been a threat on your life?”

  “No, nothing like that. It’s about the cure.”

  Dawning finally set across her face and she nodded. Everyone knew I was on a constant search for the cure. Clearly, this came as no surprise.

  I mimicked Father and put my hand on her shoulder. Then I recited his age-old speech. “A queen is worth nothing if she does not fight for her people. She has no honor if she hides from their suffering.”