Siren's Calling

by Alyssa Breck

  Silver was talking with his source, the apothecary’s owner, while Alay browsed all of the interesting vials and pots with strange animals and medicines. Xavier was beside her, indulging her curiosity and being friendly. Silver might mistrust him, but Alayah couldn’t help but succumb to his charm and easy-going personality. He was also crazy attractive.

  Xavier peeked over her shoulder at the label on the vial she was looking at. “Treats erectile dysfunction. Does Silver need this?”

  “What?” She glanced at him, feeling her cheeks burn.

  “The vial you are reading. He does look like a monk. Maybe he’s a eunuch. His kind likes to chop men’s penises off.”

  She stepped aside. “I wouldn’t know. He and I aren’t that close. I’m just surprised by the amount of medicine they have here. How is that possible?”

  “Maybe he hasn’t made his move yet. Yesterday, he seemed possessive of you.” He leaned closer to her, his breath caressed her face. “Or are you leading him on, so he helps you?”

  “I have no idea of what you are talking about.”

  He grinned. “Do you like him? He clearly likes you.”

  Alayah looked at the counter where some shelves shadowed Silver. “That’s none of your business, but Silver and I are just friends.”

  “You are pretty,” Xavier claimed.

  Alayah frowned and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing. I was stating a fact.”

  “You are strange.”

  “And it’s cute that you are shy. Just remember that I bumped into you first.”

  Alayah moved back and resumed her task of reading labels.

  “Are you looking for something specific?” Xavier followed behind her.

  “I’m curious to see what diseases there are on dry land.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Do you want to see something cool?”

  “Do I have another choice?” she asked, looking at their hands.

  “Come, I don’t bite.”

  Xavier took Alayah farther down the corridor and turned right, stopping in front of a shelf that had small vials with colored liquid from the ground to the ceiling.

  “What are these?” Alayah asked, lifting her head.

  “Perfumes. These are samples. Let’s try some, and I’ll buy you the one you like best.”

  “What are perfumes for? Are they medicine?”

  “No.” He smiled widely. “You probably never used them because underwater the perfume doesn’t last, and it’s impossible to make them. But here, it’s popular among the women.” He grabbed a few strips of paper and wetted them with the contents of a pink vial. “Try this.” He placed the strip closer to her nose. “Do you like it?”

  Wrinkling her nose, Alayah cleared her throat. “It’s rather strong. What’s it called?”

  “It’s made of blueberries, musk, and vanilla.”

  “What do people use this for? To scare away the animals?”

  Xavier chuckled. “No. People use it on their skin to smell good. Wait, let’s try other perfumes. Maybe this is too strong for you.”

  For a few minutes, Xavier and Alayah tested more samples.

  “What are you doing?” Silver arrived at the back of the store and folded his arms.

  Smiling, Alayah showed him one strip of paper. “We are testing perfumes. Xavier wants to buy me one.”

  Silver arched his eyebrow. “Does he?”

  “We’re just having fun,” Xavier claimed, pouring perfume on another strip of paper and smelling it.

  Alayah moved closer to Silver and sniffed him. “I want to smell like Silver. He smells really good. What perfume do you use?”

  “Men use cologne,” Silver explained. “I don’t use it, though. What you are smelling is the soap I use to wash myself. It’s made of orchid fragrance, lemon, and waterlilies.”

  “It smells really nice.”

  He grinned. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t you like the way I smell?” Xavier asked Alay.

  She looked at him. “I haven’t been close enough to you to know how you smell. But you don’t smell bad if that’s what’s bothering you.”

  With a raised brow, Xavier asked, “Have you been that close to Silver to know how he smells?”

  “W-well, we rode a motorcycle together,” she mumbled, glancing at Silver.

  “What Alay and I do isn’t your concern,” Silver said with a serious expression. “Let’s go.” He grabbed Alay’s hand and headed to the exit.

  “Did you find out anything? Why are you in a hurry?” Alayah asked almost out of breath.

  Looking back, she noticed Xavier walking behind them with his lips curled into a smile. She frowned at him, and he shrugged.

  “I have some leads that might be helpful, but we’ll talk about this at home.”

  “Just don’t forget that I’m now part of the team,” Xavier said.

  Silver tensed his jaw. “Just try to keep up.”

  “I’m not the one dragging a young lady down the road without caring about her well-being.”

  Silver stopped and looked at Alay, who was running out of breath, trying to keep up with his long strides.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll walk slower.”

  Alayah nodded and laced her arm with his. “I hope you have some good news.”

  He smiled tenderly at her. “I have a lead. We finally have a place to go and look for the Legacy Stone.”

  “Great.” Xavier put his hands on Silver and Alayah’s shoulders. “I can’t wait for the road trip.”

  Silver breathed deeply and pushed him back. “I really don’t like you.”

  “You don’t have to,” he said with his eternal grin.

  Alayah wondered if Xavier was doing it on purpose to annoy Silver. She had no idea why he would do that, but it seemed like Xavier enjoyed teasing him.

  The trip to the Sacred Monastery was long and weary. The road to the North was in good shape but there were a lot of dangers from thieves and wild animals. The motorcycles helped with turning the distance shorter between kingdoms. Though it couldn’t hide the numerous caravans of refugees trying to find a new place to build their home. Women and children running with their belongings was the familiar sight along the way. It broke Alayah’s heart, but there wasn’t anything she could do. If she found the stone, the world would regenerate, and the wars would stop if there were viable crops and more animals to feed the population.

  The first night, the inns they stopped at were packed. Therefore, they had to set up camp in the forest, close to the main road.

  Xavier had been riding with one of Silver’s men, so Alayah didn’t see him unless they stopped to rest and eat. He was fun, and everybody seemed to like him. Everyone but Silver. Alayah didn’t know how to deal with that. She didn’t want to upset Silver by being too friendly to Xavier. But she didn’t want to shun Xavier by ignoring him just because of Silver.

  The night was unusually cold when they gathered around the fire to eat.

  “Then my father grabbed his staff and conjured fire to burn the beast. The other creatures ran away in fear,” Xavier said to the eager sirens who liked a good story before going to bed.

  “Why didn’t you help him if there were that many beasts?” Silver asked him. He had been quiet until then, letting Xavier entertain the crowd.

  “I was eight and hiding behind a rock. I didn’t have any powers and was too weak to swing a sword.”

  “It seems that you have great respect for your father even if he hasn’t done anything lately to deserve the respect of anyone.”

  Xavier arched an eyebrow.

  “Who wants wine?” Marina asked, getting up. “I’m going to get us more drink. It’s cold, and it will help us stay warm.”

  Lyra got up and rushed after her. “I’ll help you.”

  “My father did a lot for our region. He’s old and tired now. He deserves a break. Don’t you respect your father?” Xavier asked.

&nbs
p; All eyes were on Silver.

  “I respect him for what he is, but I can also see what he isn’t. Still, he hasn’t turned his back on others.”

  “My father has lost more than you’ll ever know. My mother was one of those losses. Have you ever lost anything in your life, little prince?”

  Silver stood, and before he did something stupid, Alayah put her hand in front of his chest and motioned for him to sit down.

  Through hooded eyes, he lowered his body. Alayah circled his arm and dropped her head on his shoulder.

  “Let him tell his story,” she whispered in a sleepy voice.

  Silver waved at Xavier. “Carry on. What else did your father do to help the ones in need and scare the titans away?”

  The fire danced in Xavier’s dark eyes, and Alayah smiled at him. His smile faded when he looked at her and focused on her arms around Silver’s arm.

  Rubbing his hands against his pants, he got up. “I’m tired. I’m going to call it a night.”

  As if on cue, Rose and Dawes disappeared into Dawes’s tent while Marina and Lyra were nowhere to be found.

  Kiera smiled from across the fire, the flames casting shadows on her face. “I’m going to bed, too.”

  “Are you sleepy?”

  Alayah looked up and saw Silver’s handsome face. He smiled at her and caressed the hair away from her eyes.

  “A bit,” she confessed.

  “I was hoping we could chat a bit more now that we are finally alone.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “About us or about the fact that I don’t trust Xavier White. We are following this new lead about a magical stone that was found and sent to the Sacred Monastery, but it doesn’t change the fact that we stopped looking for Glenn once Xavier got here. We still don’t know why someone put a bounty on you and wanted to steal your necklace. And Xavier stole your necklace when we first met.”

  “You are right, but the stone is more important. We need to follow this lead.”

  “Do you believe that Glenn is dead? And if that’s true, do you suspect that Xavier killed him?”

  “Let’s talk about something else.” She yawned and closed her eyes, taking in his scent. “You really do smell good.”

  “I should have bought you perfume back at the apothecary. Xavier annoys me, and I left in a hurry. But I saw how happy you were when you were experimenting with scents. Do you want me to give you some of my soap?”

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Do I smell bad?”

  “No. Of course not.” He grinned. “I only wanted to give you something. It’s a pity that we don’t have a spring tonight where we could go and … play.”

  “It’s been a long trip. I don’t think I have it in me to do anything else but sleep.”

  He caressed her head. “That’s okay, too. We can do that.”

  Alayah smiled and closed her eyes again. “You are always so nice. You remind me of someone I know and miss a lot.”

  “Hmm.”

  Alayah didn’t dare to open her eyes to watch Silver’s expression, but she wondered what that sound meant.

  Silver said, “I think Rose and Dawes are … a couple.”

  “They are just having sex. Rose likes buff men.”

  “What about you? What do you like?”

  Smirking, Alayah replied, “Omin is tall and strong. Really handsome, too. All the girls in my village have a crush on him. I liked Corey, but he turned out to be a jerk.”

  “Is Omin your boyfriend?”

  “Future husband.”

  Silence.

  Alayah opened her eyes and watched Silver’s conflicted face. “It’s okay. He doesn’t mind sharing as long as I love the other one as much as I love him.”

  Silver blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “Sirens are mostly polyamorous. Do you know what that means?”

  “You are allowed to have more than one partner.”

  She nodded. “You probably are allowed, too. Doesn’t your culture allow a king to have more than one wife?”

  “He can have several concubines. My mom is a concubine, that’s why I’ll never be the next king. That post is for one of the king and queen’s sons.”

  “Do you want to be king?”

  He shook his head. “I’d rather be free from royal duties and roam the lands, helping the ones in need and fighting monsters.”

  Alayah giggled. “That’s really noble of you. If it makes you feel any better, I see you. The real you. You don’t need to feel threatened by Xavier.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You are. You are afraid that I like him better. That isn’t going to happen. I like you …” She bit her lower lip and pondered what to say next. “Almost as much as I love Omin. But I’ve known Omin longer than I’ve known you.”

  “I’m not sure if I want to share you with anyone else.” Silver gulped. “Can’t you just be mine?”

  Alayah raised her head and looked at the dancing flames. Despite the heat, shivers ran down her arms.

  “I had someone else asking me that. I was too naïve and believed that I could commit to it. Later, I found out that I wasn’t the only one in his heart. It’s not an excuse to want more than one husband or to think that all men are scum. I have a valid reason for wanting more than one partner.”

  “What is that?”

  Alayah looked at him. “I can’t love just one person. Looking at you, I understand that better than before. Before it was just a probability. I had no idea that I would want anyone else but Omin, though I made it clear that I could choose more than one husband.”

  Silver nodded. “Okay.”

  “I want more than one husband because I don’t want my child to lose her parents. Even if something happens to me, they will still have their fathers. Not like me who grew up alone … It’s silly, I know.”

  “We live in dangerous times. It’s not silly. Children are precious. My kingdom has a lot of families with three spouses or four. My father has five concubines and one wife. I have more than twenty siblings.” He moved closer to her. “But I don’t want a big family. I don’t want my children having to compete for their parents’ attention. I had enough of that growing up.”

  Alayah caressed his face. “Then having one wife and several males to take care of them would be the best deal for you.”

  Silver laughed and shook his head. “Are you selling me a ticket to your harem, Alayah?”

  She wetted her lower lip. “Maybe. You would be a great addition.”

  He moved his face closer to hers. “I don’t know if I’m capable of sharing my wife with others.”

  “You’ll never know until you try,” Alayah dared him.

  He looked at her lips. “Maybe you are right, and I need to try to find out if I want something.”

  “Maybe you do.”

  “I like you. A lot. But you didn’t seem to be on the same page as me. What changed?”

  “I didn’t want to make a move without telling you where I stand. It wouldn’t be fair to you. You need to understand that I might like you, but I won’t change everything because of you.”

  “Do you expect me to change everything because of you?” he asked, cupping her face in his hands.

  Her voice came out husky. “I expect you to follow your heart and do what you feel is right for you.”

  “My heart wants you.”

  “I’m here.”

  He leaned back instead of kissing her. “Did you mean what you said?”

  Frowning, Alayah asked, “About what?”

  “That you would come back here after returning the stone? That you would come to see me?”

  “Of course, I would.” She moved her face closer to his. “I wouldn’t abandon you if you were mine.”

  Silver crushed his soft lips against hers and heat exploded in her lower stomach. His hands guided her into his embrace, and his arms surrounded her waist. His lips kept moving against hers, intensifying the need for his touch and his body aga
inst hers.

  “Your skin is so soft,” she gasped against his mouth as her hands caressed his face and neck. “I want to feel you all over me.”

  “We should go inside my tent. This isn’t the place to continue this,” Silver mumbled between kisses.

  Alayah giggled and nodded. Biting his lower lip, she opened her eyes over his closed ones. “You are so beautiful. So delicate and strong. I didn’t know someone could be as beautiful as you.”

  He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Do you always say what you think?”

  “Most of the time. Do you feel uncomfortable about it?”

  “No. I like it. A lot.” He got up with her in his arms. “I don’t think there’s anything I don’t like about you.”

  Her feet touched the ground, and she followed behind him to his tent. From afar, she noticed someone moving. A shadow walked towards Xavier’s tent.

  Alayah stopped and focused her vision.

  “What’s wrong?” Silver looked back.

  “Nothing. Let’s not lose track of what we are about to do.”

  “Unless there’s a monster attack, nothing is going to stop us from doing what we are about to do,” Silver joked as he opened his tent and showed her in.

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Alayah entered and pulled him inside. He fell over her, and they giggled.

  Her lips searched for his, and she tried to erase the image of Kiera entering Xavier’s tent. Kiera could have fun with Xavier. That night and the next, Silver was all hers.

  Silver’s kisses were tender and slow. He didn’t seem to be in a rush, and her body enjoyed the attention of his hands and lips.

  The beasts better stay away because she would raise hell if anything or anyone stopped what they were doing. She didn’t even want the night to end after the three times they made love. Seconds before she fell asleep, she was wrapped up in his arms and listening to his heartbeat.