That imaginary dagger within me twists deeper. To know that my sister was suffering, that foryearsshe had held on to this pain and endured it all alone sends regret slinking through me. “Lyre, I had no idea.”
“I didn’t want you to know,” she answers simply, and if I thought it wasn’t possible to love my sister more, I’m proven wrong right then. Giving my hand a squeeze, she releases it to cradle her belly once more. “But I will not go through that again. I will not give our mother the satisfaction of knowing that she has once more successfully torn a piece of us away in her attempt to make us more likeher. I haven’t done enough to protect us, Aria, but that is going to change.”
My brows draw together, the determination in her words sending a jolt of fear through me. “Lyre—”
“After she is born, I’m taking her and leaving Lumen.”
“What?”
“I have scoped out a route I don’t think could be easily tracked, not even by Sade or Allegra. It will take weeks to get far enough away, and carrying my daughter with me will make the journey hard, but I’m going to do it.” Her eyes shine bright as the fingers cradling her belly tighten a little more. “And I want you to come with me.”
Too many emotions battle for attention as my stomach twists in on itself. Terror and uncertainty predominantly shout in my mind, screaming that this is madness.No oneescapes the wrath of the siren queen. Yet something else whispers from a lone corner, a voice that sounds like excitement, likehope.This could work, it says.
But the fear of what could happen is too much to ignore. “Lyre, thereisno escaping from this.” No matter the outpost or town—whatever the distance away from Lumen—it isn’t far enough. It won’t ever be.
“We could do this, Aria. Together. We can protect each other—”
“I can’t even protect myself!” I shout, my arms flaring wide. “I couldn’t protect Mashaka. I—” Shaking my head, I back away from her attempt to reach me. “This is a death sentence.”
“Isn’t our life already one as it is? You think our mother won’t sacrifice us the moment it becomes convenient? How much longer do you think you can go without getting pregnant before she decides your life holds no value and she lets Allegra have her way with you?” Her voice carries in my room, as powerful as the current that surrounds us. Her amethyst scales glint in the sunlight as she swims towards me. “You deserve a life outside of this.We both do. I have had a long time to plan this, and I have no intention of failing. Just as I have no intention of leaving you behind. So, please, if you cannot trust in yourself to do this, then trust inme.”
“What if I can’t help protect you? Protect your daughter? I’m not a warrior, Lyre. I’m not strong or clever or valuable. My own magic doesn’t even work!”
Though Lyre’s gaze widens at first, she immediately softens it, resting her hands on my shoulders. “What you have endured is no small feat. Sometimes, fighting back is as simple as existing in a world that believes you are weak for doing just that. I do not see someone who is feeble when I look at you, Sister. You are brave and caring and smarter than any—including yourself—give you credit for. After all”—a small smile tilts her lips—“you would have to be those things in order to have a secret cave full of treasures.”
I nearly choke on the water surrounding us. “You—youknowabout that?” In all the years I had been visiting my secret spot, not once had Lyre ever given a hint that she was aware of it.
My sister nods, the ends of her braids tickling her shoulders with the movement. “You aren’t the best at making sure you aren’t being followed.” At that, I can’t help but chuckle. I nearly tell Lyre of Nia and the deal I’ve been forced into with her. Of my bargain with the fae, Myla, and what I asked for following Mashaka’s death, but I keep those truths held in. If this is something Lyre really wants to do, I can’t have her awareof things that may derail her one opportunity at the life she deserves to live. If our mother finds out about any of it, we’re as good as dead, and though Queen Amari is already holding my love for Lyre over my head to help her find the missing sirens of the seamounts, I wouldn’t give her any more ammunition.
The consequences of those choices are mine alone to bear. My heart thrums, that small whisper gaining against the trepidation within me.
But the reminder of Myla sparks a different thought. I had made that bargain with her to learn how to fight, hadn’t I? I couldn’t have known that Lyre would present me with arealchance to escape, but I would be a fool to let both opportunities slip through my fingers because this life—this all-consumingfear—is all I know.
I may not trust myself, but I do trust Lyre. And after all she’s sacrificed for me, how could I not take a leap of faith with her? I often thought there wasn’t anyone willing to stick their neck out for me, but Lyre had continued to do so, and though I was terrified I would fail her, something in me sparked at the chance to dosomething good.
“Okay,” I rasp, unable to stop the smile that tugs on my mouth. Lyre’s mirroring one brings a warmth to my chest that is foreign and unfamiliar, but I grasp on to it as hard as I can.
“We can do this. Wewilldo this. Together.” We linger, and though my mind threatens to race back into panic mode, I force myself to enjoy the feeling of hope. “There is one more thing.” She reaches around her back, tugging on a braided cord that is secured around her waist until a small pouch comes into view. Untying it from the cord, she places the pouch gently in my hand, closing my fingers around it until I feel the small round objects that are inside. “I will not need these for a while, so I want you to have them. Add them to your stash, and there should be enough to protect you for a while yet.”
Opening the pouch, I peer inside.Golina berries. They are rare, only found growing in small pockets of sea that the queen hasn’t yet destroyed in her search for the plant. The tiny bitter fruit, when taken within the correct time frame, can stop a pregnancy from taking root. Lyre had been sneaking the berries to me since my very first hunt.
“Thank you,” I rasp, taking the pouch from her and placing it in the only other hiding spot I have now that my cave is no longer my own. Lifting a bundle of the sea kelp in my bed, I tuck it into the sliver of empty space there before smoothing the kelp back over.
“Mother will be announcing my pregnancy this afternoon at the queen’s address.”
That small bit of warmth in my chest ices over as I nod my head.
The yellow sea glass door to the throne room opens, and my mother, flanked by legionaries, enters, swimming down the center aisle with a powerful and raw elegance. The light from the open waters above gets lost in the fathomless black of her braids and the cold darkness of her deep purple eyes. Unlike those who inhabit the pit past Tula Ledge,sheis the only creature here that induces fear.
“My subjects, welcome!” Her greeting quiets the murmurings of the sirens present, all of their attention focusing intently on their queen as she moves up the dais and lowers herself gracefully into her throne. “Thank you all for joining me today. We have something lovely to celebrate.” She taps her trident against the stone once, and the noise beckons Lyre to swim to the front. “It is my absolute pleasure to announce that my daughter, your princess, Lyre is pregnant.” A single moment ofutter shock ripples over the room before claps and cheers of congratulations ring out, the chattering of the females in front of us full of excitement as their eyes eagerly devour my sister.
I glance back to my mother, her smile sharp and eyes keen as she looks down at the sirens filling the room. She taps her trident again, ushering in silence as Lyre bows and then returns to her spot next to me.
“But this is not all we have to rejoice over.” I catch the quick line that forms between Lyre’s brows before she smooths it back out. Allegra’s deep blue tail flashes before us as she makes her way to the front.
Part of the reason I’ve taken to hiding in my room is to also avoid seeingher. The memory of Mashaka—his dying wails and bloody body—skewers me all over again every time Allegra is present. She doesn’t even care that he’s gone. A creature that she had captured and formedsomekind of bond with over years is dead,murdered, and Allegra behaves like nothing of value has been lost. I know better than to be so affected by her callousness, yet I still can’t fathom how she can be socold.
“The goddesses have blessed us with not one pregnant princess but two. Allegra is with offspring as well!”
