Nix appeared above me. He hovered there for long moments as if deciding what to do with me. With his lightning trident in one hand I watched the indecision flicker over his face. He could take me now and keep me. Or he could let the water have me.
He was bleeding too. He was tired of this fight. And yet, he couldn’t give up.
He couldn’t let my potential power go.
When he started to come for me again, I knew I had to make a choice too. I could keep fighting this losing battle or I could become what I was meant to become and end this once and for all.
With my last moment of clarity, I gave into the destiny I had been fighting for as long as I had been breathing. I let my Siren powers take over completely. I became the ancient, terrifying creature that had sunk massive ships and sent thousands of sailors to their graves.
I became the thing that the gods quaked in fear of and the Fates tried to control.
I became an evil so great and terrible the sea around me trembled in anticipation.
My body changed immediately as my mind gave in. My arms became purposed again, my legs stretched and filled out until there was both beauty and muscle unlike I had ever seen. My hair multiplied around me until the fiery red mingled with the floating blood and I could no longer tell the difference between the two.
I floated into an upright position and stopped falling. I felt energy sizzle through me, taking over, taking control… taking my fate into its hands and deciding what to do with it.
I wasn’t something the Fates could control or Nix could own. I was free.
I would forever be free.
I sped to Nix, meeting him in the middle. His black eyes widened as we stood off. He saw the change in me immediately and didn’t know what to do with it.
Should he be afraid? Or should he be excited?
He should definitely be afraid.
He swung out again with his trident, only this time it wasn’t to kill. He only wanted to maim. He thought he could subdue me.
But my power told me otherwise. Nothing would ever control me ever again.
I shifted gracefully out of the way, then again when his second hit came faster and more determined. When he lifted his arms for a third strike, I opened my mouth and whispered, “Stop.”
My voice traveled through the water and wrapped around Nix completely. His arms paused over his head and they did not move.
“Is this what you wanted?” I asked him with all of the hypnotic power I was capable of. “Is this the Siren you wished to enslave?”
“Ivy…” he answered. Apparently he was capable of speaking through the water too.
“Answer the question,” I demanded. The power reared through me, turning my mind to an abyss of revenge and insanity. I felt lightning spark in the sky above the ocean. I felt my connection to it and the destruction that it could wield.
“Yes,” Nix whispered. “This is what I wanted.”
“Be careful what you wish for, Poseidon,” I taunted. “You just might get it.” I swam closer to him, hovering within his reach, but he couldn’t move his arms until I told him to.
He looked at me softly, as if I were everything he had ever wanted. His eyes danced with lust and longing. His body heat permeated the water, warming my skin and making me sick. “We could rule the world together,” he promised with a deep, melodic baritone. “We could make nations worship at our feet. We could restore our ancient power and conquer kings and Olympus alike. The world is ours for the taking.”
Madness burned through me and I struggled to find reasons not to have those things. The power promised that they were mine anyway. Men were made to worship me. The world was meant to be ruled by someone as magnificent as me.
I could have immortality. I could be omnipotent and eternal.
I could have everything Nix ever dreamed of and more.
And it would be mine.
Everything and everyone would be mine.
“Ivy, this is what I always wanted for us.”
