“She doesn’t look like a sea siren, Aldrick,” Melvin says, sounding bored.
“I can see the blue to her skin when the light hits just there… A sea siren on land? We hit the jackpot. We can take her and have a little fun.”
“Let go of me!” I hiss, my entire body tingling with rage. Hunger twists in my gut, sharp and dangerous, demanding release. If I feed on his soul, it will give me strength, enough to last longer away from the water. No one will ever know what happened to him. No one will miss one more body.
I lean closer, every instinct rising to the surface as my mouth begins to change. My teeth sharpen, jagged and white-like shards of glass, a gift from the sea. They are more than weapons. A single scrape delivers venom, a paralysing poison that numbs the body and makes the victim stop resisting. It makes what comes next easy.
My lips curl back, hunger tugging at me, and for a moment, I almost pity him.
His eyes widen in dawning horror, but the fear only drives me on. One quick bite, then the kiss. That is how sea sirens devour a man. Teeth to still the body. Lips to claim the soul.
It’s happening so fast, his friend doesn’t even realise what I’m about to do. So foolish… but how would they know what a sea siren does? After all, none live to tell the tale.
I can already taste him in the air between us, already feel the pull of his essence waiting to be sucked from his chest and drunk down into mine. It would be so easy.
Just one kiss…
A Disguise
Siralaine
Iopen my mouth, ready to take it all from him, to leave him hollow. My breath mingles with his. I can almost hear his soul singing to me.
Then, a dagger slices through the air, nicking my cheek. A sharp sting jolts me to reality as I jerk back, and I gasp, spotting the dagger buried in the throat of the fae I was about to end.
He chokes, his eyes rolling back, and then collapses in a heap at my feet.
I stumble back as the hunger recoils, withdrawing my teeth as I force them to smooth into harmless human shapes. The taste of venom lingers on my tongue as I wipe the blood from my cheek.
The other fae is dead, too, a dagger lodged in his throat.
The air shifts, thick with a presence I know too well now. I sense him before I see him. Kai. He stands a few metres away, eyes blazing, his chest heaving as he surveys the body on the ground and then fixes his sharp, merciless gaze on me.
For a beat too long, I can’t move. Did he see? Does he knowwhat I am? His eyes narrow.
I force myself to straighten, to swallow the trembling hunger still curling in my veins.
“You took your time,” I say, willing my voice not to shake.
Kai steps closer, his eyes on the cut on my cheek, and for a moment, I think he’s about to check it, but instead, his gaze flicks to my mouth. It lingers there suspiciously. As if searching for something, and it’s all I can do not to let the terror show on my face.
“Funny thing,” he murmurs, eyes narrowing further. “It almost looked like you were feeding.”
My heart pounds. If he knew… if he even guessed what I truly am, I’m dead.
I bite back the panic, forcing a small smirk to hide behind. “You must have hit me harder than I realised,” I murmur, gesturing to the thin cut on my face. “I flinched. That’s all.”
He studies me for a moment too long, unease flitting through me, but I don’t look away, hoping he doesn’t see through me. I can’t read what he’s thinking, but there’s something ominous about his posture, and the glint in those golden eyes warns me to be careful.
Please tell me he hasn’t seen through me… please. It’s all I can pray for.
“Andthisis the very reason I told you to come with me,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, sorry…”
He clenches his jaw, but says nothing for a moment.
“Well, I’ve found us lodging. It’s with a family. They think you’re my wife, so we need to keep up the façade, and I got you aglamour spell to hide your hair and eyes.
