My body exploded into song, tearing me apart at the seams, eclipsing the sweet, simple melody of what the future could hold, a song of deep glory and strength replacing it.
Nymphaea’s song shifted, the tempo lifting and racing toward me, a war cry edged on the crown of her music.
No, I would never be a mother, nor a wife, nor no one at all. That was not my fate. My people awaited a ruler. It was as clear and bright as Nymphaea staring back at me in the sea. That was my destiny. That was my birthright. I would lift them past rags and cold, give them a brighter future in place of mine. I would sacrifice the love of any man, even Arlo. Even my father. For Oakhaven.
Nymphaea’s sound charged louder, faster, toward me.
I answer not only your prayer, child, but that of Aegir, to take his power and gift it to you, daughter of Queen Clare, his soul-tied.
Drums warred, no longer flat but strong and proud as they barreled into me, the power of all the sea’s might with them.
I was not a forgotten, title-less princess. No. I was Elowyn Blackthorn. Destined to save my people and protect all that my father abandoned, including myself.
The incessant blows of song pushed me deeper and deeper into the sea until my back pressed against the silty sea floor. The music blared at its pinnacle, remaking my heart and soul, blaring for my destiny, for that little girl abandoned by her father who had killed her mother. Trumpeting for all the people left in the cold by that same man who swore to protect them. Clamoring for the sirens in the sea, taken.
My eyes flew open. The surrounding water was mine to control, made of pure music, so I played it like the virginal—hard, fast, and with unshackled passion. The only way I knew how.
I propelled through the water, faster, faster, faster. The salt rushing past me shredded away my flesh, filing away the old and honing me anew.
In the distance, deep from within the earth’s soil, something stirred. Angrily rumbling like a bear’s growl. But I did not care. Whatever it was would wait.
Finally, I broke the water’s surface, reborn a siren.
Chapter 43
The sun blazed, the sky pink and orange, breaking through the clouded night, a reminder of time slipping by, time that could not be spared.
Oakhaven glittered to life across the water as the people on the coast of Gyldmare awoke to daybreak. I needed to make it to Thornley, which was far by boat, but not for me. Focusing my mind, I willed the water with music. It was challenging at first, like when I was learning to play the virginal and my fingers felt fat and clumsy. But power was there, right at my fingertips, singing through my veins. The water became an extension of my body, a conduit moving me toward Thornley, where Hylos planned to strike.
In a bay, anchored in the water, I waited. The world was nearly overwhelming. Countless compositions vibrated through the sea, swirling around and through me. The ocean and its song were part of me. The small birdsong I’d once heard echoing back under the sea now emanated from within me, as much my own as the sound of my voice.
But somewhere, nearing, an unmistakable melody boomed loudly, heading my way. That same deep rumbling I’d often heard in Naiadon I now felt in my bones. Powerful. Brave.Impatient. Hylos.
He and his army were barreling toward Oakhaven, the crash impending, and I was the only thing standing in the way. I steeled myself, readyto speak with Hylos. Not sure what I would do if he didn’t agree to put down his arms. Unsure if I was ready, or capable of fighting him.
One by one, sea steeds emerged, each carrying an armed siren rider. There were hundreds of them. Some in pale moon-white, others in Mariscal Circle red, many even in black. The other leaders made good on their word. Hylos had his army.
Finally, he emerged at the forefront, donning the blue of his Circle and standing in a white-shelled chariot guided by two slick white sea beasts. Anticipation vibrated at my fingertips. I concentrated that feeling and turned it to song, to power that radiated from my heart and mind into water that lifted me across the sea’s surface.
Stop!I called, desperation wielding the siren song, forcing it to blast the word from my chest on intense galloping notes to Hylos. The army came to a halting stop. Hundreds upon hundreds of steeds reared and huffed in the water, eager to move forward. Their riders brandished swords and spears, ready to fight at their leader’s command.
Hylos propelled himself from his chariot through the water, closing the space between us with astounding speed.
But when he finally laid eyes on me, confusion flashed across his face.
“Elowyn?” Realization washed over him. “Your hair? Your skin?”
I didn’t even think about it. What I looked like in my new form.
I didn’t care.
“It’s blue,” he whispered.
I grabbed a lock of hair; it was deep navy, like his, with red strands intertwined with the blue. A combination of fire and sea.
I looked down to my hands, washed in pale blue, just as Hylos’s skin was, all the way to the sapphire fins, long and slender, that had replaced my feet.
“All ordained, just as you said,brother.”
