Is there any kindness or just a flicker of regret?
“I saved you,” I whisper and push against the blade. It pricks my skin, breaking it, and my blood rolls out of my body and joins that of the monster on the floor. “You owe me.”
The laughter comes from beside me, light and lyrical. Lirin. My ears strain to hear every sound like he’s the food I’ve been starving for.
“We owe you nothing,” Brio says harshly.
“I am in your house, saving you from beasties while you sleep; surely, that affords me some goodwill.”
“We don’t negotiate with monsters,” Reed hisses.
“We made a deal in front of Becky,” Lirin reminds them.
A flash of memories hit me. The way the sand felt, his dying heart beating under my hands, struggling to survive. His long and nimble fingers pressing fruit to my lips. I shove it all aside, hating myself for remembering.
Their angry auras spike and shift around me, and I pick out the delicious scents I have come to loathe. Each one of these sirens smells like the ocean but with a subtle difference, a baseline of something else. For Lirin, it is the sweet scent of dragon fruit. We had a tree that used to grow in Nightmare; my mother taught me about it. I would always recognise that scent; to me, it’s home.
I’m pulled up, straight into the cloud of hibiscus. When I came to this place, I had followed that scent, drawn to it because of him. An old lady had given me a flower. I’d run my fingers over it and brought it to my nose. She called it hibiscus and said that it meant fleeting beauty, resilience, and life’s impermanence. Then her husband tried to skewer me with a blade.
Reed. So strong, so angry. He is my hibiscus flower.
“How did you get in?” Reed growls in my face. He gives me a shake, just once, enough to rattle my teeth. My irritation returns with a vengeance.
I hum, but a sharp jab to the throat has me choking on air. I wheeze through the pain, struggling to draw in air.
“What was that for?” I protest with a whine. Stupid Sirens, they lash out when they shouldn’t and completely miss what they should.
“No spells, Strega,” Brio snarls.
I almost tell him the truth, that I can’t sing spells, but that seems like a dumb way to die, so I clamp the truth behind my teeth and force one of the smiles that terrified the humans.
“She’s lost weight,” Canto murmurs. He moves closer, and I feel like I should edge back into the wall. Canto and Ronit are the two who are born weapons. But where Ronit’s dominance and leadership is given a role to play to, Canto has his all suppressed. He’s like a box packed too tight; he’s going to explode one of these days, and blood will rain down. His coconut scent is deceptively calming, and I wonder how many people can’t see the true heart of this warrior. He’s as much a monster as I am. Maybe more.
“Strega!”
Fingers snap in front of my face, and I cock my head, waiting to see who will talk, who is summoning me.
Acacia. We have forests of acacia trees at home. Their long thorns make it deadly to wander into their densely packed spaces, but if you are careful, the acacia can save you. I don’t think Brio will save me, even if he does smell like them.
I reach out, and my hand collides with a massive wall of Siren chest. Without needing to be told, I know it’s Ronit, and I shiver a little. His scent hits the hardest but is often the most difficult to detect. Ronit smells like lightning hitting the ocean.
He is wild and powerful, and all things that I have learned to hate.
I withdraw my hand slowly.
“Found it,” Canto shouts from the back of the house. When did he even disappear? I need to keep an eye on him. I snigger at my internal joke.
A hand lands heavily on the back of my neck, and I’m forcefully shoved through the house until I find the room that smells like me. It’s tiny compared to the rest of the house.
“You’ve been in here the whole time?” Reed shouts.
The ocean outside slams into the shore. I hear it, and my heart speeds up. I try to edge away, but the hand on my nape tightens until I let out a whine and hold perfectly still. God, don’t let them find my weakness.
“Three months we’ve been hunting for her! Wasting time, wasting what we have, and she’s been right here, under our noses?”
I frown and reach up to adjust the bandages over my eyes. My fingers touch a rune on my cheek that turns icy. I memorise the feel of it before I bring my hand down.
“I’m going to kill her now and end this once and for all!” Reed hisses.
