Bluff
I sit up straighter as they drag Whitley across the ship, heart racing. I beg for her to look at me, to smile. Something. Anything. But then again, I know, even if she is still there, still willing to fight with me—she can’t show it.
And I also know it’s impossible for her to have withstood whatever power they threw at her, at the bottom of the sea where my mother’s power is strongest. I shake my head.
We still have at least twenty-four hours before the full moon. That’s when our real test will come—as I scramble to connect with her while she simultaneously fights my ridiculously powerful father. Whom I’ve never met.
Perfect.
Then, several someone’s come up from below deck. Two pirates I don’t know, holding onto a small figure. My stomach clenches.
Here we go. Here is her test.
One day until the full moon. One day until we attack. And they’re going to use whatever prisoner they’ve kept secret to test her loyalty before they call the Sea King into battle.
If she doesn’t pass this test, we’ll be stuck in this torment another month, if not longer.
The body being dragged onto the main deck is tiny but I can’t tell much more than that. I force myself to my feet to see who it is they’re going to force her to kill.
When I finally see enough to recognize him for certain, my stomach sinks and I close my eyes.
The little nine-year-old homeless boy who followed her around like a puppy but talked to her like a human being. A boy who believed in her when even I didn’t.
I’m still selfishly relieved it’s not Rosemera. But I realize this is worse for her.
I take a few tentative steps forward, my back still burning, still throbbing but better than the previous few days. My binds still free, thanks to Jasper. I approach all the way to the helm and look down over the scene.
“Whit?” Bingo says, his voice small as a mouse. His chest heaves up and down in panic. “Whit?” he says again. “That’s you right?” He looks around at all the men near him, the sirens holding tight to Whitley, and the Siren Queen’s massive form standing over her.
His breathing quickens, until it’s audible to even me. “Help me,” he whispers pathetically. I wince.
They place a knife in her hand, but she doesn’t look up.
Siren Whitley will kill him. Siren Whitley will obey. But when she remembers again—if she remembers—this will destroy her. It will kill her. Killing her father was awful, but he’d done so many bad things. He’d made his bed. He’d lived his life and drove it into the ground.
This little boy has not had a life yet. He’s only known suffering and pain and hunger. And yet he loved her. He believed in her like no one else. She can’t kill him.
Her eyes stay glued to the floor. I notice the knife shaking in her hand, matching my own trembling.
“Do it,” my mother hisses, but still she doesn’t move.
I PANIC, UNCERTAINTY filling my whole body. I can barely move, I couldn’t fight. If I could, maybe I could do it. Maybe... I wince. At least then she’d hate me instead of her herself. But I know before I even finish the thought that I’m not capable.
“Whitley,” I say, part whisper, part shout.
Her eyes dart to mine, and I suck in a breath. The width of emotion in her eyes is unmistakable. That is not a siren.
That is Whitley.
I let out the breath I was holding and look back to Bingo, who’s crying now, trying to fall to his knees but the pirates won’t let him. She can’t do it. She won’t.
Relief floods me at the same moment as panic.
We’re going to fail the test. Which means we must fight. I close my eyes, feeling my broken body.
Shit, this is going to be awful.
“What is he doing free?” my mother screeches, eyes pinned to me. “Shackle him, you fool!”
Stede stands there with arms crossed. “We shackle him, and we can’t use him.”
She sighs. “Use regular shackles, then.”
I look back to Whitley, determination filling my expression.
“Do it,” she hisses. Stede nods to a pirate, who rushes off to fetch the iron shackles. “Better than the risk that he breaks my power over her again. That’s twice now. You want to make a third?”
“If you’d follow through, that wouldn’t be a concern,” he mumbles.
Her eyes grow wide. “What did you say?” she says low and slow. I shiver and the words aren’t even directed at me. Whitley’s eyes are back on me now, searching mine.
I give her a sad smile that I hope is reassuring but place my index finger over my lips and turn my attention to the argument. Perhaps if they fight each other, we can avoid the whole murdering-a-child test that we certainly cannot pass.
Stede—wisely—cowers before her. The first taste of fear he’s shown these last few weeks. His upper hand is almost gone. Once the battle takes place, he must submit to her. And hope she doesn’t change her mind and kill him on the spot.
She turns back, rage in her eyes as she approaches Whitley again. “Kill him.”
Whitley
“Kill him.”
My teeth chatter, but anger fills my veins. I can feel his magic wash over my skin, only this time it’s not calming me. It’s not protecting me like at the bottom of the sea.
It’s fueling me. Challenging me.
Fight, Bluff’s magic tells me.
I look up into the Siren Queen’s eyes. “No.”
There’s a pause as she reacts. Her face is frozen, but she pulls in a breath so large, it’s almost like she’ll release a roaring tornado. And I just smile in return.
The moment lingers as she stares at me, shock filling her. She doesn’t understand. And I’m honestly not sure what to do next.
She spent days suffocating me in her power, but she never realized that he was with me too. Shielding me. Protecting me. His little jolts of life pulled me back every time she dragged me under.
I look past her to Bingo, whose eyes are wide as he stares at me. I wink in his direction, but truth is, I don’t know how he survives this regardless of what I do.
I pull at Bluff’s magic, twisting it with mine so that I’ll be stronger than she is. I’m ready to fight her. Even though I know it’s too soon. Even though we don’t know how to use our power well enough to win this. We’re evenly matched—at the height of our power.
I turn to Bluff’s body and wince. He is not strong enough for this.
And now that they know we’ve fought back again; they won’t call the King of the Sea—our only hope at actually defeating them for good.
We’re going to lose, I realize.
Suddenly, the Siren Queen’s hand is at my neck. She pushes me back against the mast, magic flooding me. I sputter and choke, but Bluff’s magic pushes it back.
For the first time, I fight back against my master’s influence. My clawed hand swipes at her face, digging into her skin. Satisfaction fills me as I see the blood on my nails.
I’ve so been longing for the moment when it’s her blood that spills, and now I want more. My siren is excited too. Perhaps just now realizing this is possible.
We can fight her.
We may not win—not without the Sea King’s help—but we’re sure as hell going to try.
Bluff
I stand in shock as Whitley strikes my mother. I hold back a cheer at the sight of her blood because in an instant the fight turns violent. My mother roars, the sirens around her hissing as she leaps at Whitley.
“Pssst,” a voice calls to me, I look down between the railings next to the helm to a set of dark blue eyes. The handle of a sword peeks through the railing and onto the floor beside my feet. I smirk at Jasper, finally believing in his loyalty. He wants us to win, if nothing else.
I grip the sword, feeling my own power—ready to use it for the first time. Even if this is a pointless battle. There are no other options. We must fight.
We must hope we can hold her off long en
ough to contact the Sea King—which I still have no idea how to do.
I hop over the railing and swipe at the ropes holding the longboat in place. Pain roars through my body as I try to lift it over the side, but then two sets of hands join me. One large and hairy—Jasper. One webbed with black glistening scales. Together, we shove the longboat over.
I turn back and swing at the pirates holding Bingo, still ignoring the love of my life fighting my mother behind us. I can feel her magic in me. Mine in her. She’s not losing. Not yet.
One large pirate parries my strike and it sends another wave of pain through my body. Every muscle clenches. He swipes again and I dodge it, ducking beneath his blade and countering with a swift uppercut, slicing into the soft spot beneath is jaw. His body falls limp, but then another, even large man stands between me and Bingo.
Stede.
He swings at me with power that surprises me. Black spots scatter across my vision as I block a massive blow. Then another. I cry out with the pain of every movement. Blood tickles down my back as scabs slowly crack with my exertion.
I blink and realize I can’t win this way. I can’t win by physical strength or wit. Not this time.
My bluff has been called, and all that’s left is to put everything on the table. I’m all in.
I suck in a breath and as I release, a rush of the magic I’ve been fighting since the day I was born explodes from my chest, knocking over all the men before me. Stede stumbles into his crew, and into Bingo.
I rush forward, grabbing the boy’s foot in the pile of limbs and pull with everything I have. He scrambles out from under the bodies and into my arms. I swing him around, as sirens leap at me. “We’re going to destroy this ship,” I shout at Jasper, and practically toss Bingo at him. He searches the ship frantically for one short moment, then leaps onto the longboat with the little boy.
I strike the ropes, one after the other. With a few jerks, the boat comes free and plummets to the crashing waves below.
I don’t pause to make sure it stays up right. I turn to the battle.
“Whitley!” I shout as I swing my sword at the mass of sirens and shove my magic at them. She meets my eye and then I turn around, jump over the ship railing, and dive into the sea.
Whitley
The Siren Queen is panicked. Her rage is uncontrollable. It gives me an advantage. But my power is not at its fullest, I realize. And as the sirens fight Bluff, I’m distracted.
He calls my name and then leaps into the water.
A retreat. I blink, sucking in breaths and then I duck under the Siren Queen’s arm and follow him into the waves below.
I crash into the water violently and twist to orient myself in the pulling currents. Bluff is just up ahead, and I follow him through the waters as fast as I can manage, knowing a horde of sirens will be after us in moments.
“Where are we going?” I shout at him as we torpedo through the water.
“No idea,” he says breathlessly.
Great.
“We must fight, but at least we can do it away from the ship.”
“What about Bingo,” I ask as sorrow grips my chest.
“In a longboat with an ally.”
My heart leaps. What kind of ally does he have? Not a siren, I hope, thinking of the girl who helped us meet that night. It doesn’t matter if she’s kind or good or cares for us, she can’t resist a command from the Siren Queen. I know that the hard way. The only way I can resist it is with Bluff’s magic fueling me.
“We can’t win this, can we?” I ask, still fleeing.
“We must try.”
“The entire point in this magic system is that one cannot defeat the other alone. We need the Sea King.”
“Then call him,” he calls. “I’ve tried already.”
“Mr. Sea King!” I yell through the waves. “We need your help to defeat our mutual enemy!”
Nothing.
“Now what?”
“We fight and hope we survive.”
I swallow. Bluff is greatly injured. I can see the wounds on his back from here. I can feel his exhaustion. They made sure he was as weak as he could be, physically. He can’t keep swimming for much longer. We’re just stalling the inevitable.
“We’re going to lose, aren’t we?” I whisper.
He doesn’t respond.
I give one last burst of speed to catch up to him, and I grab his arm, pulling him to a stop. A mighty wave of power is soaring towards us, full of screeching sirens. They roar so loud I can barely hear. Bluff and I rise to the surface, pausing in the middle of the ocean with the queen and her army approaching.
We draw close, nose to nose, breathing heavily but soaking each other in.
“I love you,” I tell him.
He sucks in a breath and closes his eyes, an expression of pure bliss on his face. “I can’t believe you even know me.”
“You saved me,” I whisper.
“The magic worked?” he asks, opening his eyes.
I nod.
“I’m so sorry for everything,” he says breathlessly. We only have moments before the siren army reaches us. My heartrate rises. “I don’t care what you are,” he says. “I don’t care what happens. I love you with everything I have.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing to apologize for.
He presses his lips to mine in desperation. “I love you,” he says again, through choking breaths. “Siren or not. I swear it.”
I smile. “I know.”
He’s shown me, time and again, over the last few weeks, that his love is true. His love is real and raw and imperfect. And we will fight together. Win or lose.
The water swells around us as the monstrous wave crests over us, roaring with its power.
His power rushes into me, and mine into him. Just as the first siren reaches us, I send a roaring wave to block it, and another pulls itself over us, surrounding us in a swirling spiral so much larger than anything the Siren Queen has ever created. We reach the surface, still in each other’s arms as our power combines seamlessly.
He’s accepted me. Tail, and scales, and fangs, and magic. His memories flood me, filling me where I lack. His love and devotion cascades over me. There is no barrier between us as our power merges and explodes, mixing with the wind above. Clouds form over our heads. Lightning strikes sending sirens flying.
A second cyclone forms in the water, the sirens matching our power, beat for beat. They don’t have a storm above, but soon their whirlpool is larger than ours, the Siren Queen sitting at the edge, unmoving as the waves rush around her, seeking something to devour.
“You can’t win!” she calls. “We’ll fight for weeks if we must. Until your protective magic slips, just once, and I take her back. We’ll keep doing this dance for eternity—until I win.”
We ignore her words, despite their truth. We’ll fight, together, as long as we can manage.
And at some point, after hours, or days, or weeks, or months—we will lose.
Bluff
Our fight begins as the two power surges collide. Tails and scales and teeth fly, but it doesn’t seem to affect the Siren Queen’s magic. She commands them, and they obey. Her power is divided, but by controlling each siren, she’s created an army. The scorch of their power is dimmed but she has the strength of shear mass. They surround us for miles and miles.
She hadn’t trained for this though.
Whitley and I build a wall of water, rising, rushing. The Siren Queen matches our move. Two massive forms of water rise from the depths, blocking out the sun with their immense size.
Then, all at once the two powers crash in a boom of crackling thunder. They twist and push against one another, neither giving, until it’s a column of water rising into the sky.
Whitley and I hold on to each other, doing everything we can to match the Siren Queen’s strength, but my limbs tremble, pain clenching every muscle until it’s hard to focus. Blood seeps over her hands as she holds me.
My strength is slippin
g.
Sirens leap past the wall of water, but Whitley sends lightning strikes to knock them back. More come, and soon she is breathless. My mother is gaining ground. Our rush of water recedes ever so slightly. One inch at a time—we’re losing.
“Do you remember any of her plans?” I ask between heavy breaths, pulling my eyes from the battle before us. “She trained using you. What did she plan to do once the Sea King came? Did she ever talk about how he’d be called?”
Whitley shakes her head, power radiating from her body. “She never talked about the Sea King. She simply mentioned a powerful enemy that would attack us.”
I purse my lips as I send a rush of magic to block another siren. “She’s most powerful on the sea. We may have an upper hand if we move closer to shore?” I say, desperately grasping for any possible way for us to win this.
“Where is shore?” Whitley calls out over a crash of water flying at us.
“That way!” I holler, pointing over my shoulder, using my natural instincts for navigation. I neglect to mention that it’s at least fifty miles away and I have no idea of its size. Do we want a small island or is a large land mass better? I have no clue, to be honest.
Again, I’m just grasping at any hope at all.
We inch back, still pushing our power but allowing my mother and her army to push us backwards.
“You can move towards land all you want,” a cool voice moves through the wall of waves. A face pops though, smiling “But it will do you no real good.”
I tense to attack the new enemy, but I blink as the face registers. Aunt Emil ducks and slips all the way through, shoving her weight into our wall, supporting it. Or least it appears she’s trying.
She’s helping us? Or she wants us to think that.
“You know the real way to end this. It’s the only way.”
I pause, holding my breath. “I already tried to call him. It didn’t work.” I keep pushing, but I’m already tired. I am not physically prepared for battle after weeks of emotional and physical torment, literal torture and very little food. “The stupid King of the Sea doesn’t want to help. If he exists at all.”
Treacherous Love Page 22
