his spear trained on all three of us, alternating between which one to point it at. Stepping in front of me, Ari used a free hand to push me slightly behind him, looking to Kayden and giving him a short nod in the same move. Kayden’s eyes flashed, the cheerful smile turning dark, hungry.
In a flash, Ari had moved behind the Siren, wrapping his arms through the Siren’s limbs and clasping his hands behind his head. He gave a jerk upward, the Siren crying out in pain, his shoulder giving a audible pop before dropping his golden spear to the floor. I snatched up the spear, holding it tight, keeping it poised over the Siren’s heart.
“I take it this is what you meant by ‘sort of’ being friends?” Ari said with mock skepticism.
“Not at all,” Kayden beamed, the smile reminding me of a squirrel on speed. “It gets much, much worse.”
I rolled my eyes before I could help myself. “Kayden, lead us to the center of this place,” I growled, eyes locked on the green creature in front of me with distaste. “So we can get this over with.”
“Gladly, m’dear,” he said with flourish, tipping himself forward in a bow with Zeevna still in his arms. Leading the way, I kept close behind him, Ari bringing up the rear. His fire had reassembled to the makeshift, blazing armor around his chest and arms. I clutched the golden spear tighter in my hands, paused, then unleashed my own inner fire. It exploded from my hands, swirling up and long the spear. Interestingly, it didn’t melt the weapon, but only made it deadlier for me to use. Absolutely, freaking awesome.
We took several turns, Kayden practically skipping ahead of us, as if the unconscious girl in his arms weighed nothing. Bystanders, both young and old, stopped to stare, some yanking their young inside, screaming in fright as they saw Kayden. Apparently, he’d done more than stop by for tea and biscuits the last time he had come around.
The short turns widened to an opening ahead, houses turning scarce before finally vanishing altogether. Honey-swirled marble spaced out to a series of steps, ascending nearly as high as the glass dome above. Golden torches blazed their purple flames, lining the stairs like double-sided bannisters. Sirens of all shapes and sizes slowly gathered, leering behind us, but whether it was fear of Kayden, or of all three of us, I wasn’t sure.
“Let me guess,” I offered when no one made to move further. I gave the spear a jab skyward. “She’s up there.”
“No, she is coming,” someone said from the crowd. Their voice acted like a switch; a rush of voices collided in my ears, the effect like multiple cascading waterfalls, washing out all other sound. It was a language I didn’t know, guttural and lyrical in the same breath, like a melody of harsh chanting on repeat. Within seconds it swelled to a loud roar, pounding against my head with a force strong enough to nearly knock me unconscious.
Turning around, I stared in confusion. Every Siren in the crowd was chanting, mouthing the words, their voices chanting in the same haunting, shatteringly grim tone. The ground began to shake around us, sprouts of seaweed shooting through the ground near the base of the stairs. It fashioned into what first looked like a chair, a weak throne at best.
Jewels, some as big as my fist, pushed out from the seaweed, creating a gleaming outline of the makeshift seat. Gold began to bubble from the cracks, spreading over the green like an artist drawing a fresh paintbrush over a nude canvas. The gold hardened within seconds, creating a rough throne of jeweled glory shaped like an open clamshell.
At once, the room hushed, heads swinging up to the tip of the stairs. A figure descended, slithering down on a tail that reminded me more of a serpent than a fish.
She was tall, standing higher than any Siren in the room. Long, blood orange hair fell freely down her shoulders and past her hips, a startling contrast to her pale green skin, reminding me
In a flash, Ari had moved behind the Siren, wrapping his arms through the Siren’s limbs and clasping his hands behind his head. He gave a jerk upward, the Siren crying out in pain, his shoulder giving a audible pop before dropping his golden spear to the floor. I snatched up the spear, holding it tight, keeping it poised over the Siren’s heart.
“I take it this is what you meant by ‘sort of’ being friends?” Ari said with mock skepticism.
“Not at all,” Kayden beamed, the smile reminding me of a squirrel on speed. “It gets much, much worse.”
I rolled my eyes before I could help myself. “Kayden, lead us to the center of this place,” I growled, eyes locked on the green creature in front of me with distaste. “So we can get this over with.”
“Gladly, m’dear,” he said with flourish, tipping himself forward in a bow with Zeevna still in his arms. Leading the way, I kept close behind him, Ari bringing up the rear. His fire had reassembled to the makeshift, blazing armor around his chest and arms. I clutched the golden spear tighter in my hands, paused, then unleashed my own inner fire. It exploded from my hands, swirling up and long the spear. Interestingly, it didn’t melt the weapon, but only made it deadlier for me to use. Absolutely, freaking awesome.
We took several turns, Kayden practically skipping ahead of us, as if the unconscious girl in his arms weighed nothing. Bystanders, both young and old, stopped to stare, some yanking their young inside, screaming in fright as they saw Kayden. Apparently, he’d done more than stop by for tea and biscuits the last time he had come around.
The short turns widened to an opening ahead, houses turning scarce before finally vanishing altogether. Honey-swirled marble spaced out to a series of steps, ascending nearly as high as the glass dome above. Golden torches blazed their purple flames, lining the stairs like double-sided bannisters. Sirens of all shapes and sizes slowly gathered, leering behind us, but whether it was fear of Kayden, or of all three of us, I wasn’t sure.
“Let me guess,” I offered when no one made to move further. I gave the spear a jab skyward. “She’s up there.”
“No, she is coming,” someone said from the crowd. Their voice acted like a switch; a rush of voices collided in my ears, the effect like multiple cascading waterfalls, washing out all other sound. It was a language I didn’t know, guttural and lyrical in the same breath, like a melody of harsh chanting on repeat. Within seconds it swelled to a loud roar, pounding against my head with a force strong enough to nearly knock me unconscious.
Turning around, I stared in confusion. Every Siren in the crowd was chanting, mouthing the words, their voices chanting in the same haunting, shatteringly grim tone. The ground began to shake around us, sprouts of seaweed shooting through the ground near the base of the stairs. It fashioned into what first looked like a chair, a weak throne at best.
Jewels, some as big as my fist, pushed out from the seaweed, creating a gleaming outline of the makeshift seat. Gold began to bubble from the cracks, spreading over the green like an artist drawing a fresh paintbrush over a nude canvas. The gold hardened within seconds, creating a rough throne of jeweled glory shaped like an open clamshell.
At once, the room hushed, heads swinging up to the tip of the stairs. A figure descended, slithering down on a tail that reminded me more of a serpent than a fish.
She was tall, standing higher than any Siren in the room. Long, blood orange hair fell freely down her shoulders and past her hips, a startling contrast to her pale green skin, reminding me
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