“Did you feed her? Did she eat from your hands?”
I think back. “Yeah, what of it?”
“In our world, monsters claim mates through feeding. Not all of us, but a lot.”
The world narrows down to a crystal-clear focus. I walk to the ocean and step into it.
“Leviathan!” My call summons him back.
He comes fighting me the whole way. The waves slam into me, but I am an immovable rock.
I look up at him, his furious, grief-filled face.
“You fed us,” I snap.
His eyes sharpen.
“Did we…are we your mates?” Why is it so hard to ask the question?
The dragon nods his head. “Mine. Ours. Hers.”
My head reels. It was my arrogance. My foolish blindness.
I reach out and grab the collar around his throat and rip it free. He staggers and grips my wrist before I can stop him.
“Why?” he whispers.
I can’t stop him anymore. This is the Leviathan, and we have had him chained, and he’s been…ours.
“Because I don’t want to make you anymore,” I say to him, staring into the teal swirling eyes. His hair is wet from the ocean and drips from where it hangs limply.
I try to bring back the same prejudices that I grew up with, but they just don’t fit right.
“We’re not Fae,” I admit.
Leaf reaches out and grabs the back of my neck, echoing the exact way I held Lirin just moments ago.
“We’re Sirens. Something different. We aren’t the same. We are monsters,” I whisper into the dragon's mouth.
He stares into my eyes. Pride, purpose, and this ancient knowledge burning deep.
He loves me. I can feel it. So deeply. I step into him, sliding my hand up his chest, before I stand on my tiptoes and sink my teeth deep into his flesh.
The bond is selfish, but it’s going to take all of us to find her in time. We will figure it out. Leaf knows what he’s doing.
Leaf grunts but doesn’t fight me. As soon as I pull back, he tugs my head to the side and sinks his teeth into my neck.
The bond, the impossible bond, flares up like cold water filling a room. His strength is immense.
“You are mine now, Siren,” he says. “I won’t ever let you go.”
There is a comfort and relief to be his. To hear his declaration.
“Yes. I am.”
There are no regrets. Not about this.
I turn away as he goes to Reed. One by one, they open bonds until we are all merged. Until there is a circle of openness inside us. Shared energy, shared purpose.
