Shapes moved within the water’s depths. I caught the flash of a tail that could have belonged to a mermaid. Or a Sturgis. Asecond later something much longer and more serpentine slid past.
I shivered as I imagined myself caught in its coils and dragged below the surface.
“Anyone who trespasses in these waters agrees to abide by the rules of those who dwell below,” Nathan intoned.
The water rippled, my reflection wavering.
I squinted, hypnotized as the face of another woman, her eyes seeming to plead with me, slowly came into focus. She had a fragility that made me want to protect her. Her hair swayed around her face, the same pastel pink as her eyes, as she held her hand out to me.
Uncertainty prevented me from immediately reaching for her. That niggling voice at the back of my mind that said something was off. Before I could make a decision, the creature’s mouth stretched wide, exposing serrated teeth. There were tiny strips of flesh caught in them.
She exploded upward, water splashing as she went for my throat.
I threw myself backward, somehow managing to knock Deborah and Caroline to the ground with me. We toppled onto the bank. Safe but with our dignity in shreds.
The siren clicked her tongue at us in disappointment. “Pretty vampire, why don’t you come over here?”
Her voice throbbed with a melody that attempted to lull me closer. Its pull butted up against my mental defenses, failing before it could fully manifest.
Deborah wasn’t so lucky. Her eyes developed a glazed look as she fell under the siren’s spell.
I caught her shoulder, preventing her from going anywhere as I shook my head at the siren. “No thanks. We’re good.”
The siren swept her arms around her, colors spreading out from her body like a peacock’s tail. “Are you sure? The water’s warm. Perfect for a late-night swim.”
“As lovely as that sounds, these aren’t clothes that wear well wet.”
It was an excuse. A polite one. Something I could be on very rare occasions.
If by some strange turn of luck I ended up in her watery kingdom, I didn’t want her to remember me as the rude asshole who’d rejected her offer.
Even though I was pretty sure she’d just tried to eat me.
The siren gave me a sultry look. “You could always remove them.”
I suppressed the tart response that wanted to rise. Apparently, graciousness wasn’t easily achieved.
“Thank you, but I’m far too shy for that.”
Seeing she was getting nowhere with me, she switched her efforts to Caroline. “How about you, wolf? Care for a swim?”
Caroline’s lip curled to expose a row of fangs. “No.”
“Are you sure? Perhaps I could tempt you with the thing you desire most.”
Caroline went very still beside me. “What would you know about that?”
A cruel playfulness appeared in the siren’s expression. “Come in and I’ll tell you all about it.”
I caught Caroline’s wrist. “No.”
As much as we needed answers, I didn’t believe this siren had them. The water fae were notorious for their deceptions.
The risk wasn’t worth the reward.
Caroline patted my hand. “Don’t worry, Lena. I’m not that dumb.”
Relief had me relaxing my grip as I nodded an apology at her. Of course, she wasn’t.
