But if I don't go, Kaelisar would carry out his threat. And I can't risk Colt and the others. And that man seems much more dangerous to me than these three together.
The building is a modern tower of glass and steel. The kind of place where people live who earn in a month what normal people earn in a year. The doorman looks at me suspiciously when I enter, but soon gets a call and lets me pass without asking questions.
“Penthouse C,” he tells me, pointing to the elevator.
As I go up, I look at myself in the mirror. With my short blonde hair, my worn jeans, and my black hoodie, I look exactly like what I am: a neighborhood girl who doesn't belong in this place. For a moment, the idea that this might all be some kind of sick joke by people with too much money and too much free time crosses my mind.
Before I can knock, the apartment door opens, and I find myself face to face with Sylara.
“We were waiting for you.”
The apartment is impressive, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the entire city. The decor is a strange mix: modern and minimalist furniture, but also objects that look ancient, almost mystical. An aquarium takes up an entire wall, with corals and fish I've never seen before.
“Did you guys squat this place?” I ask curiously. “Because I've been in several houses in this area. Security is shit, though the hauls are good. But this apartment... damn.”
“It's ours,” Althea responds, emerging from what looks like the kitchen.
“Does Kaelisar pay that well?”
“Let's say we have resources,” Sylara responds.
“Where's the siren?” I ask, trying to sound casual.
“Sabina is...”
Before Sylara can finish the sentence, I hear the creak of a door opening. I turn and then I see her.
“Holy shit!” I breathe.
Sabina emerges from the bathroom wrapped in a cloud of steam, completely naked. But she's not like any naked woman I've seen before. Her skin has a tone between pale blue and aqua.
And her eyes... show an intense green that seems to contain entire oceans.
She smiles when she sees me. She doesn't seem embarrassed at all about being naked. Quite the opposite, it's like she's enjoying my reaction. She walks toward me with a movement so fluid it reminds me of water ripples. Now I'm clear she's not human. She couldn't be. She's too... beautiful. Too perfect. Too unreal.
I take another step back, bumping into a bookshelf. All the crazy stuff these three and that psycho Kaelisar havetold me. All that shit about magic and elementals and Fae... maybe it's all real.
“Damn it, Sabina, put some clothes on,” Althea grumbles, looking up at the ceiling. “You're scaring her.”
“I'm not scared,” I protest, though my voice sounds a bit higher than normal and I can't take my eyes off her breasts. “I'm just... surprised.”
“Ugh, humans and their nonsense,” the siren sighs, whose skin begins to change and takes on a more natural, tanned, human tone. “Better like this?”
“Clothes, Sabina,” Sylara insists.
“Okay, okay.”
She grabs some shorts from a nearby couch and puts them on without any hurry. Pinning me with her gaze and smiling. Althea grumbles something I don't understand, but it sounds like a curse.
“Boobs too, siren,” she protests.
“Hey, I don't mind, okay? She can stay like that as far as I'm concerned,” I nod nervously, feeling myself turn red to the tips of my ears, though I still can't look away.
“Thanks for coming,” Sylara says, pointing to the couch and distracting me for a moment. “Please, sit down.”
I settle onto the couch. I try to seem calm, though my heart is beating like crazy. The three sit across from me, and for a moment nobody speaks, which is very uncomfortable.
“Okay, why did you call me?” I ask, letting out a small huff. “What's this about the first mission?”
