“I, too, have eyes.”
“I bet you do,” he says with a laugh.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing at all, Dear Sister.” Lan hits the sand a little harder than usual, and the impact forms stars behind my lids as I growl out in pain. “Shit, are you okay?”
“Fine,” I grit out, grabbing a tunic for the siren from a pack attached to Lan’s back. Undoing the straps that secure me, I carefully hoist myself up. But there is no such thing ascarefulwhen your back is a ravaged, fiery pit of still-healing jagged lashes. Traversing along his bumpy ridges, I climb down Lan’s front leg, leaning against it when I slip and land in the sand in a crouch. Squeezing my eyes shut, I breathe through the lancing pain. While my enhanced healing has stitched the skin back together, it’s what is damaged beneath that still radiates with excruciating tenderness. By the time I stand again, Navin has dismounted and is making his way to the edge of the water.
“It’s nice to see you, Navin,” she says to him as she waves, her eyes bright with excitement.
Wait…
“How do you know his name?”
She jumps at the bark in my voice, her eyes flitting to my brother with a familiarity that I don’t like.
“I may have spent some time with her last week when I came to tell her you wouldn’t be coming.”
“You saw her last week?”
“I did.Andwe spent some time training together.”
I’m going to kill him.
He takes one look at my face and rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on, Myla. It would have been rude to leave Aria waiting.” He gestures to the siren, who at least has the intelligence to take a step back towards the ocean.
“Unbelievable,” I snap, tossing Aria the tunic. Something insidious rises as I turn to face Navin fully. “Andwhendid you take the time to visit her?”
His expression softens, a hand reaching out to my shoulder before I jerk away. “Myla—”
“Just go.” I brush past him towards the cavern, tension rippling from my temples to my jaw. Once beneath the dome shape of the stone jutting out from the mountain, I run a hand down my face, wiping the sweat dotting my brow. Distant wingbeats let me know that Navin has left, and I’m annoyed to realize that behind my anger—and something that feels a lot likejealousy—guilt settles like a stone.
The siren makes her way inside beneath an arched break in the stone, the white tunic hitting her mid-thigh. Her hazel eyes assess me, running over my body in quick sweeps before she adjusts her stance and folds her arms over her chest. “Where were you last week?”
I let my fingers drum against the dagger strapped to my thigh, Aria’s attention dropping to watch the movement. “Navin didn’t tell you when you had your little practice session?”
Her brow furrows as she looks up at me. “No. All he said was that you were preoccupied.”
“Preoccupied,” I repeat. “What else did he say about me?” I watch her throat work as she clasps her hands behind her.
“Nothing of importance.”
I tilt my head to the side as I step into her space, her scent—salt and something warm andsweet—trickles in the closer I get. “You’re a terrible liar.”. I study the way she watches me, her pulse fluttering at her neck while her full lips pinch together.
“I’m not lying. You can ask Navin yourself.” My brother’s name coming out of her mouth sends a jolt of awareness through me. I had never wanted this siren involved in my life more than what was needed to fulfill the life debt. But Navin couldn’t help himself, sticking his nose into places it didn’t belong. And this siren… I growl as I step back and make my way to the platform where we train, climbing the large rocks quickly and ignoring the gripping pain at my back as I do.
I had left Opal Brothel, left Karina, because they had started to feel toofamiliarwith me, and yet somehow, a fuckingsirennow knew more about me than she had anyrightto. Aria climbs up behind me, taking the bag crossed over her body off and laying it down on the ground. Our gazes meet over the length of the platform, and she inhales deeply before opening her mouth to speak.
“Start with your warm-ups,” I tell her, watching as her expression falters into something mirroring disappointment before she steps into the center of the cavern and begins.
Two sets of exercises later, she pauses to wipe a light sheen of sweat from her brow, and I feel her eyes on me where I leanagainst the cavern wall. “Why aren’t you doing the moves with me?”
Disregarding her question, I instruct her to go on the attack. She waits for me to join her, a sparring partner required to truly practice, but my aggravation with Navin—with myself and the siren—keeps my feet rooted in place. When it’s clear I’m not going to move, she sighs, her hands coming to her hips.
“It’s awkward doing this by myself.” Those alluring eyes narrow on me. “Are you sick?”
“Keep punching. Balance your weight better on the balls of your feet.”
