40
VIVIAN
Steam curled around me as the water cascaded over my shoulders. I closed my eyes, letting it wash away the tension that seemed to cling to me no matter how far we ran.
But then, it began.
That sound.
The melody slithered into my mind like a venomous snake, deceptively soft, beguiling, and utterly impossible to resist.
“No,” I whispered, gripping the edge of the tiled wall as my knees buckled. “No, not now. Not here.”
The song grew louder, insistent, wrapping itself around my thoughts until they no longer felt like my own. I pressed my hands to my ears, trying to block it out, but it wasn’t coming from outside. It was in my head.
“Raffaele!”
My heart pounded, fear clawing at my throat. He’d said he was stepping outside for a bit. Why wasn’t he back yet?
“Raffaele,” I screamed again, the desperation in my voice sharp enough to make my own ears ring.
Our bond trembled faintly, but there was no response. Panic set in as I realized our bond was growing weaker because ofthe siren’s kiss. I hadn’t noticed it the past few days because we were with each other all the time. But now that Raffaele was somewhere outside the cabin, he might not even pick up on my desperation.
The siren’s song swelled, drowning out my thoughts and eroding my resolve. I staggered out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself.
I had to warn him. He had to know why I left the safety of the cabin.
The compulsion built, a force far stronger than my will. My feet were no longer my own, tugging me toward the door, toward the source of the melody. I stumbled into the kitchen, my eyes darting around wildly for something that could help me leave a clue.
A pen. There.
I grabbed it with shaking hands, my vision swimming as I barely managed to scrawl the word “siren” on the wooden counter. The ink bled into the grain, the letters jagged and uneven.
“Raffaele, please,” I whispered.
The compulsion tightened its grip, yanking me toward the door. My legs moved without my permission, every step an agonizing betrayal. I couldn’t stop. The song was too strong.
“No,” I screamed hoarsely as I dug my nails into the doorframe, trying to anchor myself. But the force was relentless, dragging me out into the cold.
The cabin door was left ajar as I stumbled into the clearing. The icy mountain air bit into my bare, wet skin, but I barely felt it. I didn’t feel anything except the pull of the siren’s song, the irresistible command to obey.
My feet carried me forward through the trees, away from the safety of the wards. I tried to stop, tried to scream, butthe melody had taken hold of my body, silencing my voice and overriding my mind.
I was no longer in control.
As the forest swallowed me whole, the only thought I could cling to was a desperate, silent plea.
Raffaele, please find me.
The cold slicedthrough my skin like a thousand tiny needles. My bare feet stumbled over rocks and roots as the forest grew darker and denser. The wind tore at the towel clinging to my body, the only barrier between me and the biting chill.
The siren’s song was all-consuming, tugging me forward with an unrelenting force. The farther I went, the more the cold seeped into my bones, making every step feel like a battle against the elements.
But I couldn’t stop.
My bond with Raffaele was faint and distant, like a single, dying ember. I clung to it desperately, hoping he’d feel my fear, my panic, and come for me. But the siren’s song drowned out everything else, pushing me deeper into the forest, toward the mountains and the fae kingdom.
I stumbled into another clearing, and that’s when I saw him.
