Arlo was next in line, trident at the ready, acting as a barrier between me, the armed navigator, and the mage.
Catalina and Alanza trailed behind me, bickering and arguing over anything they could possibly think of. After them were Malisa and Zia, picking through the undergrowth in a peaceful and pleasant silence. Kayo brought up the rear, always looking over his shoulder to guard our backs.
It was an exhausting journey. Not because it was particularly long or difficult, but because my damn surroundings were so hot and humid. I was used to the chill of the deep waters, not steamy air and sweltering sun rays. My lungs burned as they fought to fuel my body with oxygen. Sweat poured from my scalp, dampening my dark brown curls and causing them to frizz. I hated it, as I was used to my hair floating around my head like silk.
Alex stopped, and put his hands on his hips, scanning our surroundings with squinty eyes.
“We’ll stop here for a while. I’ll see if I can’t rustle us up some dinner.”
I reached out and rubbed a waxy leaf between my thumb and pointer finger. “I thought the land above was supposed to be a wasteland. Why is there so much greenery?”
Alex spun around and stared at me. “There are trees, bushes, and plants, but none of them bear fruit, and none of their greens are edible.”
I nodded to his gun. “What are you going hunting for, then? I’d assume with no food, all the land animals would be extinct.”
“Creatures that can live on a seafood diet—like bears, wolves, otters, snakes, turtles, and birds of prey—survived; the others did not.”
With that, he turned back around and stalked silently through the trees.
I glanced up at the sky, where the sun was settling considerably lower on the horizon. It would be dark soon. Our first night in the forest. I wasn’t scared per se, but I was definitely leery. So far nothing had tried attacking us, but when the night fell, who knew what would happen?
As Alex disappeared into the forest, gun at the ready, Cruz began setting up camp. He threw away any rocks that he came across and stacked the fallen limbs he found in a pile off to the side. The muscles in his arms rippled with every movement he made. His brows, furrowed in concentration, somehow making his face appear even more handsome.
I forced myself to tear my gaze off of him, and that’s when I realized Zia had joined in. She was unrolling a few large rectangular pieces of cloth that she hung between trees and a few smaller, silken blankets that she laid on the ground.
I glanced from Catalina to Malisa, then to Alanza, and sighed. Exhaustion plagued me, but still, these people were helping us. The least we could do was help them a bit in return.
“Let’s see if we can catch some fish,” I said to them. “There’s a stream nearby, and we should try to help in some way.”
“How do you know?” Zia asked curiously, pausing in the middle of unfurling one of the blankets.
“She can hear it,” Cruz said. “Can’t you hear the gurgling?”
Zia cocked her head to listen, while I rolled my eyes. “I can feel it, actually. And don’t answer for me again, mage.”
He dropped a stack of wood on the pile then put his hands up in surrender, turning his back on me as he went off to collect more sticks.
Asshole. He might’ve been unreasonably attractive, but he was clearly a dick. I mean, his silent response couldn’t have had anything to do with my bitchy reply. Definitely not.
The four of us walked to the edge of the river, and Arlo and Kayo followed close behind—guarding me was their main goal and sole purpose. We jumped in and stood up, the water barely a foot or two above our heads. It wasn’t very deep, but at least we didn’t need to duck to remain submerged.
I crossed my arms, my brown hair being tugged downstream by the current, and got straight to the point. “What do you think of these land-dwellers?”
Alanza scoffed and put a hand on her hip. “They’re wonderful. So pleasant and helpful.”
Catalina sniffed. It might’ve been a chuckle. “The ranger and the mage are rude and resentful of us.”
“The healer is nice,” Malisa added with a smile.
“Do you trust them?” I asked no one in particular.
“Of course not,” Kayo said.
Arlo nodded. “Trust no one, Your Majesty. It’s safer that way.”
Alanza shot them an incredulous stare. “A little late for that, isn’t it?”
Catalina nodded. “We’re kinda stuck with them, and forced to rely on them.”
It was odd seeing those two almost getting along.
“Why do you think they hate us so much?” Malisa asked, one hand on her elbow in an almost shy stance.
I’d never really stopped to contemplate that question before, but now that I had, it was easy to understand. “Because we just randomly showed up and ruined their lives. Imagine how we’d feel if a team of humans had journeyed underwater to our home, and demanded our cooperation via ferocious mythological creatures, and we were then stuck putting our lives on hold so we could lead their pompous-ass group to some stone they lost ages ago, all so that they could try to save their land—something we give zero shits about.”
Malisa blinked then glanced off to the side. “Well, now that you put it that way.”
Yeah. Now that I put it that way, I was no longer mad at the mage for acting like such a dick. Actually, he hadn’t even said anything rude to me. Mostly, I’d just overreacted. I probably should’ve apologized, but my stubbornness wouldn’t allow it.
Catalina spun around in a slow circle. “Anybody else notice the fact that there are no fish in this river?”
“Crayfish? Shellfish?” I asked, toeing the rocky bottom in search for either of the two.
Catalina shook her head, bright red hair waving in the current. “Nothing.”
Alanza pursed her lips. “It’s like a wasteland down here.”
I sighed. “Well, we can’t go back empty-handed. The ranger said there was fish. Maybe it’s just up or downstream?”
Arlo shook his head. “We shouldn’t stray far from the group. If we get lost, we’re dead.”
I snarled to myself. “Fine. But, if there’s no fish in this area, then we’ll have to resort to hunting on land.”
Alanza groaned. “But we’ve never hunted land creatures before.”
I raised a brow. “You act like it’ll be hard. If we can stab a slippery little fish with a trident, I’m sure we can stab some clumsy land animal twice the size.”
I climbed out of the river and peered up at the sky. Dusk had definitely settled in by then. I could just barely make out my surroundings. A faint orange glow flickered between the trees in the distance, and a soft crackling sound touched my ears. Cruz or Zia must have started a fire while we were gone. I still couldn’t get over the hypnotizing beauty of fire. I doubted I ever would. It was just so foreign to me.
Other strange sounds drifted to my ears, too. Hoo. Shuffle shuffle. Titter titter. Chirp.
Surely one of those sounds had been made by a creature we could kill?
A trident suddenly flew past my head and struck the bottom of a wide tree. A quick wailing sound filled the air before silence took over. I approached carefully, mostly because I had no idea what my companions had hit.
The creature at the sharp end was hideous. It was big—maybe the size of a dolphin?—and covered in gray fur streaked with blood where the trident had pierced its body. It had a long snout with sharp little teeth, a long furry tail, and claws protruding from its tiny feet.
My lip curled, and one of my nostrils rose disagreeably. “What the hell is that thing?”
Catalina leaned in even further than I had. “I have no idea, but it smells awful.”
Shuffle shuffle.
Arlo quickly whipped around and launched his trident in the direction of the new noise.
“Jesus!” Alex shouted, staring at us with wide eyes. “Are you trying to kill me? Because that seems really counterproductive for you.”
&nb
sp; Arlo cleared his throat and pointed to his trident, which had another strange creature pinned to the end.
I rushed over and examined it. It was long and thin and reminded me a bit of a seal, but it was covered in brown fur and had no fins. Its hands were small and clawed, and its eyes were beady and sly-looking, even in death.
These ugly little beasts were fascinating.
Alanza followed me over.
“And what’s that?” she asked, continuing the conversation from before.
Alex took one glance at the tridents and grinned. It was the first time I’d ever seen such a look on the ranger’s face. It gave him a youthfulness I hadn’t expected.
“Looks like you guys caught a wolf and an otter.”
Kayo lifted his nose into the air. “Are they delicacies where you’re from?”
“No, they’re pretty basic. But considering I found nothing better than a raccoon myself, I guess it’s all we’ve got.”
Alex led the way back to camp, where he skinned the creatures we’d killed, speared them with a long stick, and hung them over the fire.
I lifted a brow. “Why are you doing that?”
Alex sat down and spread his legs out on the ground with a grunt. “Doing what?”
I pointed to the fire. “Burning them.”
He cocked his head at me. “I’m cooking them.”
Back in Seabella, we mainly ate our food raw and uncooked. There were a few undersea geysers that allowed us to boil our meat when we desired a bit of a different texture and flavor, but it wasn’t a very common practice. And right now, with the way my stomach was grumbling, I’d rather not have to wait just on behalf of an altered flavor.
“I’ll just eat mine raw, if you don’t mind,” I informed him, reaching for the spear of dead animals.
Cruz chuckled and grabbed it before I could get to it. “Alex might not mind, but I do.”
My nostrils flared and I pursed my lips. Another snippy remark was about to swim out of my mouth, but I managed to keep it at bay. I’d overreacted last time. I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
Through gritted teeth, I muttered, “And why is that, mage?”
“Because,” Cruz said, spinning the spear, “land animals are contaminated. They have to be thoroughly cooked in order to remove the toxins.”
I glared at Alex.
“What?” he asked offensively. “I never said I’d let you eat it raw. That was the mage’s stupid assumption. And you know what happens when you assume.”
I lifted my chin and glanced at my sirens for support. “I don’t actually.”
“Ah, well,” Alex said, rubbing at the back of his neck with an awkward expression on his face. “Never mind then. But the mage is right, you can’t eat the meat until it’s cooked. It should only take another half hour or so.”
“Great,” Alanza muttered, throwing a small pebble into the flames.
“Don’t do that,” Alex said, just before the little thing popped and exploded, sending little burning crumbs of rock falling all over the place.
“Oops.”
I knew she had no idea that would happen, but she didn’t seem all that sorry about it. I patted down the sleeves of my skinsuit, hoping the falling crumbs wouldn’t burn any holes in the material.
After I’d assessed my suit and was sure it was still perfectly intact, I noticed Cruz staring at me from across the flames. It wasn’t an evil or heated look, but it was definitely a look of intrigue. He was clearly curious about sirens, and as queen, I probably seemed like the most interesting specimen. After a brief moment, he averted his gaze and acted as if nothing had happened.
One of my dragons screeched then, and landed high in the tree canopy on my right, snapping branches and sending them crashing to the ground. The other dragon landed on the left side, his gentle screeches sounding more like a whine. The forest was too dense for them to perch on the ground beside us, so this was as close as they were going to get.
I stood and tried to spy them through the leaves. “What’s wrong, Feroz? Bravo?”
They cried out again, the same gentle whine as before, right as my stomach clenched and growled ferociously. If I was this hungry, they probably were too.
I spun around and stared at the ranger. “How close are we to the sea?”
“You mean you can’t feel it?” Cruz muttered with a smirk. I wanted to smack it off his pretty face.
Alex ignored him. “Very close. A day’s journey on foot.”
“How about by flight?”
The ranger pursed his lips to the side and followed my eyes toward the canopy above. “For the sea dragons?” He shook his head as he calculated the distance. Or so I assumed. “A few hours. Why?”
“They’re hungry,” I told him, knowing in my very bones that I was right. I was slowly beginning to understand them, and that excited me.
“Go,” I told them. “Gather as much fish as you can find, then return to me.”
They screeched again and the tone had a much happier quality to it this time. The thought of filling their bellies, no doubt brightened up their moods. With a whoosh, they pumped their massive wings and took flight. I couldn’t glimpse their departure through the leaves, but I tilted my ear and listened until there were no more flapping sounds on the breeze.
“Why don’t you ride them?” Alex asked, bringing up something I hadn’t really put much consideration into.
“I don’t know how,” I said, crossing my arms. It irritated me to admit that. It was just another reminder of my royal incompetence.
“You should learn,” he said. “You could get to the stone much faster that way.”
I rolled my eyes. “If I knew where the stone was and could get there by myself, then I wouldn’t have needed to drag any of you along for the journey.”
“You ride one, I’ll ride the other,” Alex suggested.
“No,” Arlo said, immediately tensing up. “The queen goes nowhere without her guards. We’ll stick to the ground, and get there as quickly as we can.”
The tone of his voice suggested his words were final.
Sitting back down, I glanced around the circle of illuminated faces. Everyone was quiet. What thoughts were swimming around in those heads? What emotions? No one seemed interested in vocalizing any of them, of course, but I couldn’t take the awkward silence any longer.
I turned to Alex. “How did you become a ranger, anyway?”
“The army.” His voice had taken on a gruff edge. “I was trained for war in foreign territories. That’s why I can navigate so well. Even fought in a few battles.”
He said nothing more and didn’t seem to want to elaborate further.
I turned to Zia, cleverly avoiding Cruz’s gaze. “And how’d you become a healer?”
She smiled softly, giving her eyes a gentle slant. “Training. Lots of training. My family sent me away as a teenager to study with the best healers in Tapachula, so I’ve had a lot of hands-on experience.”
“You’ll be able to fix our boo-boos when we get a scratch?” Alanza mocked with a cutting grin.
I had no idea why she had to be such a bitch most of the time, but I wished she’d draw the line with us sirens. The humans didn’t need to be on the receiving end of her glorious personality.
Zia continued smiling, nonetheless. “Yes. I’ll fix your wee siren boo-boos. Even stitch you back together if a claw finds your belly and spills your guts onto the ground. No worries.”
Alanza opened and closed her mouth as if she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Was Zia being serious, or sarcastic? Even I didn’t really know.
Sighing, I finally turned to Cruz. When our eyes met, the strangest sensation rocked my core. Like I was caught up and tumbling in an undertow. “What about you, mage?”
He quirked a brow, sending my insides tumbling faster. “How’d I become a mage?”
I nodded because I wasn’t sure if I trusted my voice.
“I was born into it,” he said. “You have to have
the magic in your blood, but it’s definitely an art that requires honing. I’ve been training at the Magic Academy for nineteen years.”
My eyes widened, then I frowned, trying to do the math. “How old would that make you?”
“Twenty-five.”
I nodded, feeling a little sad for him. He’d probably missed out on so many childhood adventures by being stuck in school.
I considered the way he and his mother had parted. He should have been more confident. He only had one year left, so he’d already received the vast majority of his schooling. He’d been training, basically, his entire life for this job. Plus, his mother was the head of the academy. It probably came naturally to him.
Then again... I’d been training my entire life to be queen, and my parents had been in charge, too. Did it come naturally to me? Hell, no. Was I going to meet the task head-on or die trying? Absolutely. So the real question was, would the mage do the same? Would he rise up, no matter what it took, and become the leader he was meant to be?
I supposed time would tell for both of us. Though, I had a bad feeling dying was inevitable, either way.
Suddenly most of the mage’s actions had started making sense, and it sort of bothered me that I couldn’t hold any of it against him anymore. It was easier to brush my attraction away when I could think of him as an asshole.
“How old are you?” he asked me in return.
“Twenty three.”
Alex sighed, seemingly a little irritated at the information session I’d initiated, and pulled the meat off the fire. “All right, kids. Eat up.”
The creatures were now black, ashy, and, as far as I could tell, completely inedible.
“After this, we get some sleep. I went easy on you today since I seriously doubt most of you are used to walking on this kind of terrain—or walking at all, for that matter—but tomorrow, it’s go-time.”
I nodded and did my best to choke down the charcoaled meat without gagging.
It was going to be a long four days.
Chapter 9
Siren Awakened (The Cursed Seas Collection) Page 7