Siren's Calling

by Alyssa Breck

  Alay shook her head and hugged herself. “Corey is competitive and doesn’t like when others win. Growing up, I wasn’t a strong magic wielder until I received my magic armband. I know I’m different from you. My skin tone is darker, my eyes are narrower, and my mom was an outsider who arrived here from an unknown place. I never felt that I belonged until Corey showed interest in me.”

  “You are pretty, Alay. He likes pretty things.”

  Widening her eyes, she shook her head. “I don’t think I’m pretty.”

  Omin’s lips curled into a smile and his eyes softened. “I think you are. One of the prettiest girls. You are not just pretty, you are courageous, kind, and powerful.”

  Alayah frowned with puckered lips.

  Omin chuckled at her expression. “I promise that I’m not here to ask anything of you.”

  “You are praising me too much today.”

  His face became serious. “I want you to believe in yourself like I believe in you.”

  “I’m here to win. Nana needs me to win, and I want the respect of these people. Even if I’m an outsider, I grew up here, and I love this kingdom as much as anyone else. I want this world to survive and the Titans to disappear.”

  Omin nodded. Standing up, he towered over her figure, only to sit beside her and ask for her hand to hold. “You saved my life. I’m forever in your debt.”

  Alayah gave him her hand and bit her lower lip. “Nana says you love me.”

  Fluttering his eyelashes, Omin frowned and then chuckled. “Nana is wise.”

  The young siren’s face became serious, and she blinked in confusion. “Is it true?”

  “Does it make you uncomfortable? I don’t want to lose your friendship because of that.”

  She swallowed hard. “Omin, you are handsome and strong. A lot of siren maidens would be honored to have you as their husband.”

  “But not you?”

  “I have dreams to become a commander. I’m going to have several husbands. You can have several wives, too. It’s not fair.”

  “What isn’t fair?”

  Alayah nibbled on her lower lip and looked at their hands.

  “Do you like me?” Omin asked.

  She nodded. “Still, we are friends. I’m not going to deny that you are appealing to my eyes.”

  Omin smirked. “You see me for what I am, Alay. Despite my size, you aren’t afraid of me. You don’t treat me as if I’m clumsy and brainless.”

  “You are not,” she protested, leaning closer. “You are kind and help the community. Everybody in our neighborhood loves you, Omin. Not just me.”

  “You love me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Before she could say anything else, Omin narrowed the distance between them and kissed her lips. It was a soft peck.

  “I’m yours if you’ll have me,” he added against her mouth. “Whether we win this or not, I want to be one of your husbands.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Omin nodded. “My heart belongs to you.”

  Alayah breathed deeply to try to stop her heart from leaping from her chest. “I will need to leave if I win this tournament.”

  “I know. I’ll stay here waiting for you,” Omin assured, trailing his fingertips on her cheek. “You are so beautiful that my heart hurts when I look at you.”

  Alayah smirked. “I’m glad you don’t want me to give up on my dreams. I couldn’t marry someone who did that to me.”

  Omin grabbed her chin between his fingers. “May I touch you again?”

  Breathless, she nodded and secured her arms around his neck. Her skin tingled, and her stomach dropped when his lips fell on hers once again. He pressed them harder this time, and her mouth opened to let his tongue play with hers. Moaning, she looked for further contact when his hands caressed her arms and descended to her waist. His kiss was tender, and his touch ignited her body with desire. She dug her fingers into his thick hair and gasped when their chests collided.

  Omin spread kisses on her face and spoke in her ear. “I like how you react to my touch. But I know you haven’t eaten, and you need your strength for tomorrow. So, we’ll eat, and we’ll resume this some other time.”

  Alay giggled. “You are always so kind to me.”

  “I need to take good care of you. Your dreams are my dreams now, and I’ll do everything I can to make them come true.”

  She kissed his lips and rested her forehead against his. “Thank you, Omin, for being so kind to me.”

  Chapter 6

  The second day of the games began. The contestants lined up in the arena. The crowd was reeling with the excitement of the games. The elders observed and rated the contestants.

  Alayah watched her fellow warriors. Corey was jawing around with Palma, and the duo threw furtive glances at her. A few of the other female warriors hung nearby.

  One of them swam up to Alayah, a petite square-shouldered warrior Alay had noticed in the maze. “Is it true what they are saying?”

  “I have no idea what anyone is saying,” Alay muttered. Her eyes followed the umpires as they set the marks and put the barriers for the race.

  Corey gave Alayah a mutinous stare from down the line of contestants, and she held his gaze and sneered at him. He was gravely mistaken if he thought she was afraid of him.

  The female warrior spoke. “They’re saying you had help in the maze. Is that true?”

  Alay frowned at her. “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t?”

  The young siren shrugged.

  “Then you have your answer.”

  The siren held her arm before she left. “The men are teaming up.”

  “Yeah. I can see that.”

  “Name’s Tara.”

  “Alayah.”

  “I know. I'll watch your back,” she said and left.

  Omin took his place beside Alayah. “What was that all about?”

  “I have no idea, but I don’t trust her.”

  “You don’t trust anyone.”

  She raised her eyes to look at his imposing figure and stopped her hand from reaching to touch him. “Only you.”

  He grinned, making her heart flutter. “Remember what we talked about last night. Be selfish today. Don’t stop because of me.”

  Alay gave him a stern nod. Then she noticed Omin’s gaze on Corey. “He’s just trying to intimidate everybody.”

  “I’ll kill him if he tries to hurt you like that again,” Omin muttered and clenched his jaw. “He better watch his back.”

  “Focus on the race. I can take care of myself,” Alayah said, gazing at Corey. Smirking, she added, “But thank you for having my back.”

  Like every year, the race was going to be around the arena. The crowd wasn’t going anywhere, no reeds, no monsters who wanted armbands, and definitely no visiting elder with a secret.

  Alayah looked at the Supreme Leader. He consorted with the other elders in a muted dialogue, then he spread out his arms, requesting silence. The crowd quieted.

  “Here now. Haven’t we had a good time watching our warriors?”

  The crowd shouted their agreement.

  “Indeed, our people are honored to have such brave warriors amongst us. We mourn the loss of the departed ones but now we must move to the next stage of this contest,” he bellowed. “Our warriors will prove to us who is the fastest swimmer among them.”

  The crowd cheered again.

  “Oh, yes, let’s get on with it, shall we?” He waved the Trident. “Let’s see who qualifies to wield this power.”

  An elder rose to his feet and joined the Supreme Leader before shouting, “Let the speed test begin!”

  Arriving first after five laps was all it took to win this race. To make things a little more interesting, the current in the arena was tightened. The degree of difficulty increased. Alayah knew she wasn’t a strong swimmer, but she wasn’t the worst either. She just needed to finish in a good position to qualify for the next game.

  As the race began, Alayah swam
beside Omin, and the girl named Tara joined them. After the third lap, the swimmers started spreading out.

  Up ahead, Corey and Palma were leading.

  The crowd cheered for the two of them. They chanted their name while a portion of the group shouted the names of other swimmers.

  Alayah went by her third lap in the race. She was now in the middle, ahead of Omin. She struggled behind her new acquaintance, Tara, who hedged another swimmer out of the way. Alayah quickly took her space ahead of Tara.

  Alayah made it through the fourth lap of the race just right behind Palma. Corey was now in the lead and moving fast, leaving a huge gap between him and the rest of the swimmers.

  Alayah swam faster, but Corey seemed unbeatable.

  The crowd screamed Corey’s name.

  As much as she pushed herself, Alayah couldn’t get past Palma. He weaved about the track, trying to block Alayah’s way. One more lap to go, and Alayah still lagged behind Palma. As she made another curve, Omin swam past her. She saw him try to run Palma off the track, distracting him. This was the window she needed, and Alayah quickly took it.

  As she swam past Palma, he grabbed for her feet, but Alayah shook him off. She was now only behind Corey. It was the final lap, and the finish line was up ahead. The audience was on the edge of their seats. Alayah swam using her water bending skills by making it rush over her body faster.

  Despite her efforts, Alayah watched the audience jump to their feet as Corey crossed the finish line, and she arrived second.

  Chapter 7

  Alayah had lost the race, though she arrived second and Omin fifth. Tara had managed to swim past Palma, but he still swam faster than Omin.

  She twisted and turned in her bed. At least, Omin was there with her. She would be lonely if he wasn’t. The day had been exhausting, but Omin still found the energy to spar with her in one of the training rooms. After dinner, he had left to take a shower—since the compound was a water-free zone, and they had to use their feet to get around.

  Nevertheless, he had promised he would see her before turning into bed.

  The knock on her door made her sit up. Rubbing her eyes, she dropped her feet to the floor and marched to open the door. Outside, Omin smiled at her.

  His smile faded. “Were you sleeping?”

  “No. I have too much on my mind to sleep.”

  “Can I come in?”

  Alay left the door open and waved him in. He entered, closing it behind him. She lay down on the bed. “You smell nice.”

  “Move aside, so I can lie down beside you.”

  Alayah rolled to the other side and the mattress caved in under Omin’s weight. The bed was too small for the two of them, but she wasn’t going to complain. She was eager to see him again and felt a bit disappointed when he didn’t kiss her upon arrival.

  Omin spread his arm and motioned for her to rest her head on his shoulder. “Now tell me what’s troubling you. I thought you would be happy with finishing second.”

  Alay looked up and grabbed her hand to his shirt. “I knew I couldn’t beat Corey. I tried my best, and I appreciate what you did for me.”

  “Then why the sad face?”

  “I’m not sad. I’m just thinking about the events of these past few days. About the games and what needs to happen tomorrow.”

  He moved slightly to the left and grinned closer to her face. “You overthink.”

  “I know.”

  “I like that you are smart.”

  “You almost died in the first game. Don’t you wonder about what happened and what attacked you?”

  Omin frowned. “Wasn’t that part of the test?”

  “No. Someone powerful doesn’t want the elders to send a team to find the Legacy Stone.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “I was also attacked like you, but I managed to fight off my attacker. Then, the Supreme Leader showed up and had the strangest conversation with me. I think he wants me to win. Which is odd because I was expelled from the academy. I didn’t think anyone would want me to lead a team in this quest.”

  “You were framed. You should have graduated like the rest of us,” Omin said, caressing her chin. “You are here now, and you can prove to everybody that you deserve another chance.”

  Alayah smiled but felt the tears prickle her eyes.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Omin asked with worry reflecting in his eyes.

  “No. You’re just too good to me, that’s all.” She gulped. “Besides Nana, you are the only person who cares about me.”

  “I love you, little one.”

  “I’m not little, you are just huge compared to the rest of us,” she complained, slapping his strong muscled chest.

  He chuckled and grabbed her hand. “Just lie here beside me and rest. Tomorrow, you have a busy day ahead of you. You need to sleep.”

  Alayah puckered her lips. Omin closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

  Trailing her gaze down his body, she shivered at the gorgeous sight. He was breathtakingly hot. No wonder so many sirens in their part of town wanted to have him as their boyfriend.

  Raising her head, she grinded her chest against his. Her nipples felt hard as desire coiled in her lower stomach. “I’m not sleepy.”

  He opened his eyes.

  “The final test will be at night. We can sleep during the day.”

  “What you want to do during this night?” he asked in a husky voice. His expression was severe, and his body tensed with her contact.

  “I could die tomorrow.”

  “I could die too.”

  “I don’t want to die without having done it.”

  “That’s not a good reason to do it,” he retorted.

  “I love you.” She caressed his chest. “Would you deny pleasure to your future wife?”

  Omin blinked. “Are you serious?”

  “You must have heard rumors about me. Why have the fame without the profit?”

  “Alay, I never believed those rumors to be true.”

  She averted her eyes to his chest. “That’s nice of you to say, but you’re my boyfriend now, and I want you. Do you want me?”

  “I do.”

  Grinning, she lowered her head and kissed him. His lips were soft and moist. His strong hands trailed down her back and grabbed her ass, pushing her against his body. He was hard, and she whimpered when she felt him.

  “You are so soft,” he mumbled between kisses. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  She exhaled against this mouth. Her hand glided under his shirt and trailed the shape of his muscles. “You are so strong. I want you naked against me.”

  Chuckling, Omin pushed her away from him and laid her on her back. His head nestled between her breasts, and he spread kisses down her stomach. “You smell good,” he mumbled against her breasts. “I always forget how good it is to be out of water for tiny things like this.”

  Sitting up, he pulled the shirt over his head and showed his perfect, ripped torso. His hair fell messily about his shoulders, and he secured it behind his head with a string he had around his wrist. “I need to lock the door. Don’t move, gorgeous.”

  Biting her lower lip, she watched him move to the door and close it. He stopped mid-way to look at her. Heat spread down her body with the vision of him. She sat up and removed her shirt, showing her breasts covered by the green straps that were meant to keep them in place. Omin’s jaw tensed. She stood up in bed and pushed her sweatpants down her legs, swaying her hips. Omin’s hand fell to his groin where he cupped his aroused member.

  Alay wetted her lower lip, imagining how big Omin was. Too big, maybe.

  “Do you want to change your mind?” he asked.

  Alay shook her head, her ponytail waving around. She smiled at him and threw the pants on the floor. Then, she moved down and sat, motioning him to move closer to her. “I’m game if you are.”

  “I could never say no to you, gorgeous.” Narrowing the distance between them, he leaned down and kissed her.<
br />
  Alay’s breath caught in her throat with his passionate kisses. She moved her mouth on his, playfully biting his lips and sucking his tongue. His beard tickled her when he trailed kisses down her neck and cupped her breasts with his big hands.

  She shivered with pleasure. “That feels so nice.”

  He stopped sucking her neck to unwrap the fabric around her breasts. Then, he used his tongue to swirl around one of her nipples. She gasped with closed eyes as heat twisted and circled the lower parts of her stomach. His hands grabbed her legs and spread them, so he could kneel between them. His mouth engulfed one of her breasts, and he sucked. Desire exploded, and she swayed with need.

  “You are so pretty,” he breathed against her skin.

  “Omin.”

  “I want to kiss you everywhere.”

  She sucked in a breath. “I want that, too. But be gentle, this is my first time.”

  He smiled and trailed more kisses up her neck. “I would be gentle even if this wasn’t your first time, honey.” His lips brushed against her throat. “Just relax. I’ll take good care of you. I promise you’ll feel good.”

  “I already feel good.”

  “You’ll feel better.” He continued to kiss her neck and shoulders. “Much, much better and you’ll sleep like a baby.”

  “Okay.” She grabbed his face between her hands and forced him to look up. “But I want to kiss you, too. Don’t be selfish.”

  He grinned and smashed his lips against hers.

  The last day of the games had arrived.

  Back in the holding alcove, away from the audience and the cheering, the warriors now sequestered, prepared for the final test. Alayah found solace knowing that she had given the race all she could. It was evident to everyone that Corey was a better swimmer than the rest of the contestants.

  Bracing herself against the wall of the alcove, Alayah strategized for the next and final test. But winning the test wasn’t the only thing that worried Alayah. She couldn’t stop thinking about the dangers she would face if she won the games and was chosen to be the commander who led the warriors in search of the Legacy Stone.