Shipwreck Souls

by Kendra Moreno

  Gently, I uncurled my fingers from Goddard’s, from the human I’d called friend, and I released him into the gentle caress of the ocean. I watched him float into the current, just in time for Orca to chortle at my side. His tentacle gently curled through my fingers, replacing the empty feeling with his own.

  “It’s done,” I choked out, the vibrations of struggles and death around me. “I did it, Orca.”

  His eyes looked at me as if he understood, as if he knew the cost of my success, and then he tugged, urging me to move. We only swam far enough away to stare at the flickering lights, to watch the giant ship sink to the dark depths, and then we turned and swam back the way we came. My rite had been completed, and I wished to return to my sisters. I hoped their stories were better. I hoped I didn’t have the greatest heartbreak.

  A siren cannot cry, because even her tears are a part of the ocean. Her song spells only death, and some special monsters sing madness into the souls of those who listen.

  A siren is always meant to sing, even if she doesn’t want to . . .

  Even if the blood sends a thrill through her soul and makes her realize just how dark she is.

  Above all, a siren should never love, because it only fuels her song when her heart gets broken.

  Leave her, Johnny, leave her.

  Ooo leave her, Johnny, leave her.

  When the darkness comes and the death toll climbs,

  it’s time for you to leave her . . .

  Epilogue

  Mystery POV

  I twined a tentacle around the coral I was hiding behind. Pressing into the sharp edges stung a tiny bit, but I’d long since grown accustomed to being uncomfortable. One of the Jewels of Atlantis swam through the portal, tumbling through with . . . two humans? I nearly laughed out loud, but refrained. I didn’t want either of these young twits catching me. I didn’t want to deal with our father today. That would come later.

  Two humans, that’s a bit selfish, isn’t it? The coral crumbled beneath the tentacle gripping it so tightly, and I sank down farther against the sand, praying to the Seas I hadn’t been noticed. Maybe this siren was even colder than me, bringing these humans all the way to the sunken city just to drown. Her tail was a deep purple, shimmering with pink and green highlights. I glanced down to my dark tentacles, my chest aching. I missed my beautiful form . . .

  “Kamil!” the young girl screamed, pulling the male closer to her. The second human was smaller, a female maybe? Young sirens these days, no sense of tradition.

  “Gia! What’s wrong with him?” The feminine voice sounded scared, worried. I peeked above the coral to gain a closer look, hoping I was hidden enough against the living rock. My eyes widened when the song began. A haunting, but beautiful melody that would stir my heart if it still had love in it.

  “I shared my song with you, heart. He didn’t ask, he should be okay, now.” The young siren—Gia—kissed the human man soundly on the mouth. I glanced away. Even I didn’t want to intrude on the moment. I shook my head, silently cursing the Jewels of Atlantis. I knew who this young siren was. She and her sisters were said to be special somehow. Since their birth, it’d been spread across the seas.

  “My heart,” a male voice murmured into the water.

  I watched in amusement as another siren sister tumbled through the portal, and my eyes widened farther, not only did this one bring humans back but . . . three of them. She headed the same way her sister did and stopped when she reached her side.

  “Gia, help!” she cried, her red hair almost moved around her with her anxiety.

  Gia looked up from her humans, and I watched as she swam closer to her siren sister and the three humans she held.

  “Did you give them your song?” she inquired.

  The sister simply stared, her eyes kept darting down to the three men she held. Their eyes were starting to shut, but even then, they had a smile on their faces.

  “What? Please!” she cried, holding them closer, pressing her head to the man closest to her. “My captain, please.” She whispered it so quietly I barely heard her. I couldn’t seem to look away. The Jewels of Atlantis were defying all of the traditions, and as I sat witnessing them, I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for my plans, or a bad thing.

  “You have to sing to them, we learned this Lor, sing to them,” Gia prompted, her tail thrashing behind her.

  The siren—Lor—looked down at the men before opening her mouth, and another beautiful song of heartbreak and pain poured free, almost visibly wrapping around the men in her grasp. The more she sang, the more alive they seemed to become until, with a gasp, their eyes flew open and her song cut off.

  “Lor?” the man with the material around his head asked, his voice weak.

  “Rory?” the other murmured.

  She nodded, a smile curling her face. It disgusted me; I had hoped they would die. At least it would have been a bit of entertainment.

  “Baby, you saved us,” the one in the middle replied, and I watched, my lips curling up in further disgust as she leaned down and brushed soft kisses on all of them.

  “Where’s Coi?” Gia questioned, looking around the area.

  Almost as if she manifested it, a noise drew my attention behind them to see another whirlpool spinning again, faster than before. The final siren sister tumbled forth, bubbles twirling around her before racing for the surface. She was alone except for an orange octopus wrapped around her middle. He unlatched from her skin and moved aside, but he kept one tentacle wrapped around her fingers.

  The third siren sister was a spot of darkness against the brightness of the others, her tail and hair black. Every so often, a shimmer of blue would shine from her tail, but besides that, she lacked the bright colors of a siren.

  “Coi?” Lor moved forward, but didn’t close the distance between her and her sister, not yet, at least. “What happened?”

  Coi didn’t respond, but even I could see the agony written across her face. Her sisters had brought back pets, humans they couldn’t bear to part with, but she had come alone. Why had she come alone?

  “I have the Siren’s Lament.” I almost didn’t hear her whisper, the pain in the words so thick they nearly choked me. I gasped at the same time as her sisters did. The Siren’s Lament was a legend, nothing more. She couldn’t be serious.

  And then the sisters rushed forward, and they became a mess of fins and words of kindness. It was a little sickening. The Jewels of Atlantis never seemed to be broken, even when one of them was broken in two. Soon, they wouldn’t need to worry about such small things.

  The sirens had been tied to tradition for far too long. And I had finally found the ones who could put my plans into motion. The Jewels were far laxer in their judgment, and that dark little siren, well, she already knew heartbreak. It would be so easy to turn her to my side. Where one sister went, the others would follow.

  My tentacles curled around in my excitement, and sand churned from my movements. When the sisters turned their eyes in my direction, I shot away into the darkness. It wasn’t time, not yet. There was work to be done. If I could sing, I would have sung a battle cry, and brought Atlantis down around me.

  Revolution was coming, and I would be at its helm . . .

  Acknowledgments From Kendra Moreno

  This time I know exactly who I need to thank for bringing this story to life. Poppy and Katie, without either of y’all, my inspiration would have dried up a long time ago. Throughout all the things that life keeps throwing at me, y’all manage to encourage me and brainstorm ideas, and when I said, “Kill them all!”, y’all smiled and nodded and said, “Yas! Sacrifice them!”

  Y’all are my heart sisters, and I couldn’t ask for better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  May our bonds always be strong enough to weather every single storm.

  Acknowledgments From Katie Knight

  I’m usually rubbish at these bits, but this one has come easy. Like Kendra said, I need to thank Poppy and Kendra. Without these
I would be ranting and raving about characters to a random wall somewhere in my house. They keep me sane and don’t judge me for my murdery ways. Thank you for sticking with me through the hard and the easy.

  Our sisterhood really is the ones you read about in stories, maybe that is why it made this one so easy?

  Also thanks to my beta readers, and Jess for taking this story and all its bad bits and making it as beautiful as our cover.

  Acknowledgments From Poppy Woods

  Obviously, this story is for my three-way. I love Katie and Kendra more than I can even begin to express in a flawed medium like text. They’re the most supportive, genuine people that I know.

  When I’m having a terrible, no good day and the words won’t come, or life is being lifey, they are the rocks who I can turn to. Supportive isn’t even an adequate word to describe our friendship—our sisterhood. They’re the sisters that I never had growing up and I couldn’t be happier that I’ve finally found them.

  A special thank you goes out to my friend Iso for taking the time out of her schedule to alpha-read Blow Them All Down for me. This story touches on some dark, hurtful topics and I wanted it to be done correctly. Thank you for helping me do that.

  And thank you to the beta, arc readers, and readers who spend their hard-earned money on our imaginary friends. Without you, I couldn’t do this. Thank you!

  About The Authors

  Kendra, Katie and Poppy met online and soon become fast friends. The friendship turned into a sisterhood and so the Three-Way began! With stories still left to tell, make sure to keep your eye on our triad!

  Kendra lives in Texas where the summers are scorching, and the iced tea is straight sugar. When she isn't writing, she likes to go on real life adventures with her husband and son and hopes to one day scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef.

  Find out more on Kendra’s website or join her Facebook Reader Group to stay up to date on all things Kendra.

  K.A Knight is an indie author trying to get all of the stories and characters out of her head. She loves reading and devours every book she can get her hands on, she also has a worrying caffeine addiction.

  She leads her double life in a sleepy English town, where she spends her days writing with her fur babies.

  Read more at K.A Knight’s website or join her Facebook Reader Group.

  When Poppy Woods isn't arguing with fictional characters, she can be found chasing her three-year-old around their Georgia home or working at one of her evil day jobs. On the off occasion that she isn't working, writing, or momming, Poppy is usually reading.

  If you catch a Poppy in the wild just remember: Cocktails and chocolate are a valid form of bribery.

  Join her Facebook Reader Group or sign up for her newsletter to stay up to date on all things Poppy.