Whatever comfort Myla dared to offer me was immediately replaced with an even more relentless training regimen. By the time our session was over, I was coated with more sweat than when I climbed the cliff to the palace on the Northern Island. My muscles were so taxed that my knees wobbled as I walked, and I could barely lift my good arm higher than my shoulder. I was exhausted, yet I had never felt better.
In the week that followed, I only saw my mother once. She had issued banishments to sirens who were no longer able to shift into their mortal forms, deeming them dispensable now that they could no longer procreate with those captured by our song. Yet, the energy in the palace was frenzied as whispers about the siren queen being invited to the mortal king’s wedding echoed down the halls. My mind immediately went to Rhea, wondering if she even wanted to marry the king and then why my mother would be invited. Not even Lyre seemed to know. She and I met every night, Sade joining us when she could. To keep those in the legion from getting suspicious—and from word traveling back to the queen—Sade stationed legionaries around Lumen with the task of helping to search for the seamount sirens. She assured me that most of those she sent out were allies, though a few that made the rotation who genuinely wanted to find and harm those they considered to be traitors. But Nia and the rest of the seamount sirens were safely tucked away in Eersten, and that was all the information Sade would give me.
She had, however, begun pairing me with one of the sirens who was aware of my sister’s true loyalties.
“They need to see that you’re one of us and not just our mother’s punching bag,” she told me, before pushing me out of her office in the garrison and right into a pretty siren with teal braids and aquamarine eyes. Our interactions were friendly enough, if a bit stiff at first. Each day we pretend to patrol Lumen, I tried to remind myself that this would all be worth it. The more females who trusted that I was on their side, the safer I would feel when it was time for Lyre and I to leave. Which was a subject my pregnant sister had been avoiding. There was still time before she had the baby, about a month if I had to guess, but what once seemed like eager excitement at the prospect of escaping our mother’s rule had now turned into wincing smiles and changing subjects. And maybe that was for the best. A strange feeling buried itself between my ribs every time I thought about running away from Lumen. When I realized it wasn’t just those below the surface I’d be leaving but someone above it too. In all likelihood, I wouldn’t finish the full twelve lessons with Myla before Lyre’s babe was born, and something about that truth felt like trying to swim on land.
When I wasn’t spending my time forced to make new friends or catching up with Lyre and Sade, I practiced the moves Myla had taught me in my room. They were different beneath the surface, of course, and I doubted that training in the water alone would be as effective as training with Myla on land. But I moved until the exhaustion hit me, and behind a locked door, I fell asleep more easily than I had in a really long time.
I had not seen Lore at all during the week, and while I wanted to believe that it was because she had taken my resistance to heart, a small voice in my head warned against letting my guard down. The thought pushed me to train a little longer. It drove me to get up earlier for my meeting with Myla, knowing that, while she wouldn’t be there yet, I could get a head start on our warm-ups, leaving us with even more time to train.
The sea thrashes at my knees when I can finally transform into my mortal body. Though there are light gray clouds in the sky, they have broken apart enough to allow the early morning sun to peek between them, cascading through the holes and cracks in the cavern and illuminating our training space in golden light. It highlights the vines of green ivy that crawl up the walls and stretch across the ceiling.
Feeling energized, I begin my warm-ups while I wait for Myla to join me. I’m well into my third round of poses, sweat already gathering on my brow, when I hear the distinct beat of dragon wings. As a precaution, I inch towards the pool of water behind the platform, suppressing the memory of the last time I was in it as I crouch down to try to see better past the opening of the cavern.
Navin’s dragon, Lan, lands harshly enough to send sand flying in all directions, his powerful wings flaring out as the sun filters through them, highlighting every vein and their leathery texture before they snap closed. Tilting his head to the side, the dragon’s blue scales shimmer brightly as he extends his leg out in front of him, a deep rumble vibrating the air. I wait to see Myla climb down, a confusing amount of anticipation fluttering in my chest. Navin’s dragon lays his head on the sand, eyes closing as the voices of his two riders carry past the rock.
“You need to let this go for your own good, Myla.”
The growl that she gives is enough to cause his dragon to lift one eyelid, the yellow eye squinting against the sunlight. “The fact that you would evensuggestthat shows how absolutely asinine you’re being.” In a blur of black, she climbs down Lan’s leg, jumping the remaining few feet to the beach below.
“This is beyond anything I’ve trained you for. You’re good, Myla, reallyfuckinggood, but not even you can fight against an entire squadron of King’s Riders!”
“It’s insulting you think I’d be dumb enough to get caught in the first place,” she seethes, walking into the cavern before turning to look over her shoulder at him. “You haveneverbeen able to control my actions, so I don’t know why you are trying to do so now.”
“Right,” he shouts as he adjusts his position on the back of his dragon, grasping a leather strap. “Because trying to keep you safe iscontrollingyou. Gods above, Myla, Iswearyou want to die!”
Myla stiffens as her steps come to a halt below, and I watch a quick flash of emotion cross her face before something icy and detached settles back in.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.”
She ignores him as she tilts her head up, her brows furrowing as she inhales deeply. I’m assuming that she is smelling the jasmine too until her gaze snaps right to where I’m standing, the glittering darkness in her eyes making heat bloom deep inside me. I swallow as I stand to my full height and offer a stupid wave of my hand.
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” Myla shouts, continuing forward and climbing up to the platform until she’s standing right before me—all menace and ire andher. “Spying are we, Little Siren?”
Chapter Ninety-Eight: Myla
Itakeintheway Aria’s skin gleams, her scent strong as I take another step towards her. My eyes disobey any sort of logic as they travel of their own volition down the length of her curly hair to the very ends, where it brushes against her hips. The slight shimmer of her scales changes color there, moving from the same garnet of her hair to something that resembles sunrise—golden and orange-hued.
“I’ve been told I’m a terrible spy,” she retorts, drawing my gaze back up. A stream of sunlight coming in from one of thecracks above splits the distance between us, making their hazel color glow.
“I find that unsurprising.”
She frowns as I hand her a new tunic, this one black. I watch as she pinches the fabric between her finger and thumb, feeling the soft cotton as she steps back to slip it on, and I turn to give her privacy. I had noticed that whenever I brought her one of Navin’s training tunics, she would tug at it, as if she didn’t like the way it felt against her skin. I dismissed it as her not being used to wearing clothing until I accidentally grabbed one of my brother’s nicer tops that went beneath his formal uniform for events. The fabric was of richer quality and a softer material, and not once had Aria fidgeted with its collar or sleeves as if she couldn’t wait to peel it off of her the moment we were done. If she wasn’t messing with the top, she was more focused on our training. The reasoning was sound, and that was enough for me to disregard any other thoughts for why I might give a shit about whether or not she was comfortable.
“I got here early so that I could get warm-ups out of the way,” she says, her steps quiet against the stone. That explains why her scent is fuckingeverywherein this damn place. “I’m ready to get right to our lessons.”
“Then let’s start with the hand-to-hand combat. After, we’ll move to wielding your dagger.” She doesn’t bat an eye at the way I don’t acknowledge her arriving early, and though it doesn’t make sense, I find myselfannoyedby that.
I’ve been on edge for what feels likeweeksnow, ever since guards were sent to scuttle around Khargis like an infestation of rats. Shen’s been unable to give me anything new about the handful of males I had been watching, all of the information she’d usually glean at her bar snuffed out by the presence of silver armor and longswords. According to Navin, more guards will be added each week that the Shadow isn’t caught, pressuringboth the people in the poorest sections and the miserable guards who have nothing better to do than be cruel as they patrol the streets.
Shen’s hands had shook with anger as she recounted hearing of assaults by the added males, and though she wouldn’t say the words out loud, I could see the pleading in her eyes:Do something. Of course, I wanted to apprehend each and every guard and bring them to the basement of my warehouse. I could collect a handful of them at a time to hang from the rafters on metal hooks while I questioned them, torturing them with the edge of my blade.
But I haven’t made it this far by being impulsive, something Shen knows.
“Are you alright?” Aria asks from where she waits across from me, lowering her guard.
I lift a brow as I tug the sleeves of my black top up to my elbows, Aria tracking the movement. “Put your arms back up,” I command, stretching my neck from side to side. “And I’m fine.” I give her the time to fix her guard before sending my right fist in her direction, pleased when she blocks it with her forearm, her brows settling low over her eyes.
