Leo sat there waiting for whatever they were doing when Zia tugged on his hand. Leo turned to her, and she smiled, putting her free hand to her mouth to signal to him to be quiet. Leo nodded as she then motioned for him to follow her. Dropping his hand, she crawled off the chair to the other side that couldn’t be seen from the open doorway. Leo followed, keeping low to the ground as Zia led him back to her corner.
The silence washed over him, which made Leo finally realize why he hadn’t noticed the conversations around him. There had been a constant buzz since he had entered the place that he just had been ignoring. Now he remembered what it was like to not hear all the additional noise.
“I come here often. He won’t check on us again,” Zia told Leo.
“Who is he?”
“Chris’ older brother, Lan. His job is to follow me around today, and probably the rest of the time you’re here.”
That wasn’t what Leo was expecting, and she went back to cryptic talk.
“Why?”
“I can’t answer that,” Zia replied sadly.
And that was enough for Leo to realize that there might just be something going on after all. There was something Zia wasn’t explaining, and Leo could feel it was big. Unfortunately, it included Zia. Leo would have much rather that Sam found it with Chris’ sister instead of Leo with Zia, but it was something that was giving him hope. Leo didn’t want to have hope, but being next to Zia made him desire a future he was trying to convince himself he didn’t need.
“You and Sam need to leave this place as soon as you can,” Zia told him in a foreboding tone.
Turning, Leo gazed into her eyes. She was pleading with him, but he was hooked. He couldn’t just walk away from her.
6
Cate was beyond clingy. Sam wasn’t the least bit afraid to use that to his advantage, and now that he had access into Min’s home, he wanted to go snoop. The only problem was that she was still clingy and now that was stopping Sam from getting any clues. Sam didn’t make any moves toward her, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“Tell me again about the concerts. They sound like so much fun,” Cate begged, stroking Sam’s arm as she stared at him. Sam had a feeling that she wasn’t as much into him as she pretended, either. He had seen it a couple times, but there was something behind her words.
Sam had already told her about life on land, including the concerts he performed at. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate the girls in the audience throwing themselves at the band, so he left that detail out. Getting frustrated by her constant need for his attention, Sam leaned down lower to her ear.
“We stayed out way too late last night. I think it’s time that you take a nap,” he suggested, putting Siren power behind it and making it a command. It was dangerous to use his Siren voice where people might overhear him, but he was beyond done with her.
He had spent all morning listening to her and answering her questions, and he still hadn’t gotten a chance to slip away. And it had been perfect timing. Her father and brothers, in fact, her whole family, seemed to be off doing something else. He had a feeling that was Cate’s whole intention when she invited him back to her place, but he wasn’t going to go for what she intended. He had his own agenda.
Cate stretched her arms. “I’m feeling really tired all of a sudden.”
Grabbing his arm, she pulled him farther into the sleeping area and off to her own room. Had he not just suggested she sleep, he would have refused. But he knew that she would have no choice but to follow his command.
“Just a short nap would be good for both of us,” she suggested as she pulled Sam to the floor. He nodded as her eyes drooped, and she leaned against him. It wasn’t even that forceful of a suggestion, but that was the key to using small amounts of Siren power. Just a little bit of a suggestion of something that was partially true could go a long way.
Sam gently untangled himself from her and placed her on the ground covered up. If she woke, he could always use the excuse that he wasn’t tired. Cate didn’t flinch as he positioned her. She wasn’t going to wake soon, hopefully.
Walking back to the main room, Sam paused to listen around him. When he identified where Min’s office was, he could tell no one was around. He was getting better at seeing through the magic walls of the place, but he still wanted to be sure. Sam heard Cate sleeping and people down the hallway. It was still pretty clear in the area. He had a slight idea that most people didn’t frequent the area where Min lived, but Sam had to be safe.
Once he was completely sure no one was around, Sam silently made his way into the Mavkas leader’s office. After three days of being in the underwater world, it was strange to see the table on one side of the room and the desk on the other. They seemed out of place.
Keeping tabs on the clear wall, Sam ducked down and made his way over to the desk. That way if someone did pass close enough, he’d be hidden well enough that they wouldn’t notice him unless they came into the room. He hoped for his safety and Leo’s that no one came into the room.
Kneeling by the desk, Sam lifted the few papers that were messily thrown around. He only had to glance at each one to know it wasn’t what he was searching for. His father had no need for the knowledge of what animals the Mavkas were hunting or what agreements they had with their neighbors. Each mer clan butted up against another’s territories, and agreements were made and broken all the time. Longray stopped caring years ago since they changed often.
Sam ducked down and went over to the table. No one had passed the room yet, and he had a little time to find something that might help him figure out what was going on. Sam sifted through the papers on the table and was still drawing a blank. There were maps of the oceans but nothing that said they had some great, big evil in the plans. All the clans kept track of the ocean and knew the general area where each clan called home. This was nothing incriminating, and Sam was certain he was out of time.
Hurrying out of the room, Sam made it back to Cate’s in time for someone to enter their sleeping area. Sam lay down beside Cate and tucked her into his arm as he closed his eyes. Cate snuggled closer and whoever had entered stopped in the open doorway to the room. They paused only briefly before walking away.
Sam wasn’t sure who had checked on them, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing in Min’s office, and he wasn’t sure where else to look. They were running out of time to find whatever his father was searching for, and that wasn’t good news.
Leo stared at the ocean wall in front of him. Zia had asked him to leave, but he couldn’t. Unfortunately, he also couldn’t get answers out of her. Leo needed something to go on. If the Mavkas were up to something, he wanted to know what. It was possible it could save his life, but then again, it was possible it wouldn’t. Either way, Zia needed to know the truth.
“If I go back to the Siren, I will be killed,” Leo finally told her. Zia sucked in her breath. “Sam and I’ve been talking about leaving the Siren when we turn eighteen rather than joining the clan. Neither one of us want to be forced to mate against our will, and more often now that’s what Longray is doing. We want to be free of the Siren and live a normal life on land. King Longray found out and told us that if we didn’t come back with something we will be punished. For me that means death.”
“He can’t do that,” Zia exclaimed, reaching out and taking Leo’s hand in her own. “He can’t kill you for something you haven’t done.” Her touch was distracting, and Leo had to concentrate to understand what she was saying.
“He can for trying to take away his son,” Leo replied. He knew all along it was dangerous to include Sam in his plans, but they both agreed. They didn’t want to live the Siren life forced on them.
“But—” Zia tried to disagree.
Leo reached up, placing a finger on her lips to keep her from talking further.
“My fate was sealed the moment I was sent here. I know what waits for me at home, and I’ve made peace with that.”
Okay, he hadn’t made pe
ace with it, but he was sure there was no reason to dwell on it any longer. The girl of his dreams was sitting here, her side pressed against him. She was scared for some reason, and he wanted nothing more than to protect her. If he only had a few days left, then that was what he would do with them.
“So don’t worry about me. There’s nothing the Mavkas can do that will be worse than Longray’s plans for me.”
Zia didn’t seem to have an argument for that.
“But it isn’t safe for you here either,” she finally said, still not elaborating.
Leo laughed. “It isn’t safe for me anywhere.”
She smiled at that, and it warmed his heart. Her smile was much better than the fear he saw in her eyes.
“So you can’t tell me why it isn’t safe?” Leo continued to prod.
“Yes. I’ve been forbidden from telling you the truth.” Zia went back to pouting.
“But have you been forbidden from talking to me?”
“No. They want me to talk with you, but they’re listening to everything we say as we walk around this place.”
Leo looked at the back of the chairs they had been sitting in. “Hence the reason we’re sitting here now.”
“Yes.”
“So someone is out there waiting for us to talk again. What do they think we’re doing now?”
Zia blushed in their dark corner, and it just made Leo want to embarrass her more. In reality, it made him want to see every side of her. Only days wasn’t going to be long enough for him. Zia opened her mouth and then shut it again.
“That bad?” Leo asked when she didn’t answer.
“No. Well, yeah, but no. I can’t seem to get the words out. Guess it’s another thing I’m not supposed to tell you.” Zia shrugged, but her cheeks remained red.
“So they didn’t specifically tell you what you can and can’t say?” Leo needed to figure it all out. She had a secret that she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t. How else could he figure it out? Because he was pretty sure there wasn’t anything that would scare him away.
“No. Basically when I want to tell you something, sometimes I can’t get the words out. That’s how I know I can’t say it.”
Getting information would be hard if she just couldn’t answer. Whatever power they were using on her was good if she didn’t know what she could and couldn’t say. When Leo used his Siren powers on people, he had to be specific. It was like her order was more non-specific, more magical.
“Was this done by mer magic?” Leo really couldn’t figure it out. He drew a blank at every type of way he could command someone.
Zia opened her mouth and stopped. “No,” she replied quickly before Leo could ask something else, and then smiled. “It seems I can say no. I wonder if I could say yes.”
That was at least something. It would be hard to know what to even ask, but Leo was happy with something over nothing.
“Then let me ask you an easy yes question,” Leo suggested. Zia smiled at that.
“Is your real name Zia?”
Zia scrunched up her face like she had eaten something sour. “No.”
Leo couldn’t help the smile fading from his face. Whatever type of spell she was under, it wasn’t going to do any good if all she could answer was no.
Zia touched Leo’s arm to bring his attention back to her. Her mouth was open again but with no sound coming out. She blew out a breath in frustration.
“Ask me again,” she told him.
“Is your name Zia?”
“Yes,” she replied, but then shook her head. “No. Ask me the question you just asked me.”
How did that make any sense? She could answer yes it seemed, but she didn’t like that answer. He had asked her the same question.
“You forgot a word in your question,” she prompted him as he stared at her still in confusion.
Leo finally remembered exactly what he had asked. “Is your real name Zia?”
“No,” she replied, and then smiled at him as he made the connection.
Her name was Zia, but it wasn’t her real name. Leo had no idea what that meant, but the game of question and answer was going to take a long time.
“We have to move back now,” Zia told Leo as she took his hand and pulled him back to the seats.
They were barely there a moment when someone entered the room. Leo tried to pretend he was just looking at the fish, but when Zia curled under his arm and laid her head on his chest, Leo forgot the ocean in front of him. At least now he had a better idea what they thought he was doing with her and why she had red cheeks. She cuddled into his arms, and he was content to simply sit with her. The question session would just have to wait.
Zia was happy to be in Leo’s arms. It was as perfect as she thought it would be, but the reason why kind of stunk. She wanted to be sitting with him and holding his hand because he wanted to, not because she was forcing him to pretend to like her.
Not being able to say what was on her mind was frustrating. She stared at the fish in the sea as she listened to Leo’s heart beat erratically. Either he was scared or excited. She was going to go with excited, because that’s what she felt.
Lan only checked on them before leaving. He was doing his job, and she could feel his suspicions across the bond she shared with his family. As she snuggled into Leo’s arms, she was sorry she had ever bonded herself to Lan and his family in the first place. The magic keeping her bonded to them was regretful, and she was sad she would never be able to undo what she stupidly did.
After the Mavkas left the room, Zia was surprised that there was no jealousy from Lan. He acted like their bond was an actual mating bond and he often referred to it that way, but either he didn’t want to see, or was too dense to realize it wasn’t. Zia had always felt that it wasn’t a real bond, but it wasn’t until Leo showed up that her thoughts were confirmed. What she felt the moment she saw Leo wouldn’t be possible if she was truly bonded to Lan.
“Don’t you have anywhere you need to be?” Leo asked, not letting go of her.
“Not me. My only job in this place is singing. If they don’t need a performance, then I’m free to do anything,” she replied. Well, anything but leave. That was still very much part of the magical bond on her. Lan knew perfectly well where she was at all times.
Zia felt Lan right outside the door. He wasn’t taking any chances, and they weren’t going to get another moment alone until he backed off.
Leo bobbed his head directionally behind them, and she nodded at what he was asking.
Zia searched for a safe subject. “How long have you been friends with Sam?”
“Pretty much my whole life,” Leo replied, easing back into his chair. He didn’t seem to like being listened to either as he didn’t elaborate.
Zia decided it was best to just sit tucked into his arms. There was nothing she could do to make Lan leave them alone. And they needed time alone. She wanted to help Leo guess what was going on. She needed him to. He had to know how much danger he was in.
Sighing, Leo pulled Zia closer. It made her heart beat fast enough she was sure she was going to have a heart attack. Just being in his arms felt perfect and she was committing every feeling to memory for when he was gone. She was certain she was going to get him out of the Mavkas territory and free to go home. Once they were able to talk.
Leo began to hum one of his songs from the band he was in with Sam. He didn’t sing the words as that would worry every single person who could hear him. With just music, no one cared.
Zia closed her eyes as he hummed and tried to picture how her life with him should have been. She could imagine the crystal clear shores of the Siren island, and could even picture walking on the beach with Leo. He would be dressed the same as now, but without his shirt. No one wore shirts on the island. It was a tropical paradise. It was all bathing suits and sun dresses. Zia had peeked at his blue tail when he went swimming before, and she was certain it would look perfect in the beautiful shores of the island. They would be free t
o come and go. She could even go to land with him and attend school if she wanted. Life would be perfect. If only she wasn’t stuck in with the Mavkas. There was no perfect life for them here under the sea, and she was going to make sure Leo didn’t stay.
By the time lunch was done and most of the people went back to their day, Leo didn’t have much time left before it would be bedtime. Zia had pulled him off to their corner, and she reassured him that they were safe again.
“And how can you be sure?” Leo asked, wanting to stand up and look around the corner. He was pretty certain there was a guy following them around, and it was a little creepy.
“I can feel the people that are watching me,” she told him, “and he’s not right now.”
Leo lifted an eyebrow at that to show his dismay. In the night human world, when you picked a mate and bonded to them, you could feel them. She made it sound exactly like she was already taken. Leo hadn’t asked, and now was feeling a bit foolish that he was feeling so much for a girl who already had someone else.
“Who is he? Lan or Chris?” Leo asked, trying not to let the jealousy seep into his voice. Of course, a girl as beautiful as Zia was already taken.
“Who is who?” she replied, looking at him with confused eyes.
At least her mate didn’t mean much to her. That still didn’t help Leo any, but it was nice to know. Unfortunately, mating bonds were for life, and it was likely his life would be much shorter than anyone else’s. Maybe that was why Leo found himself caring so much. He had a few last days before he had to face Longray, and he had hoped he could just spend them with Zia, forgetting about his coming punishment. Mate or not, she was there with him now. He needed to just put it aside and enjoy the little bit of happiness he had left.
Leo didn’t want to talk more about it, but Zia glared at him, waiting for an answer.
“Your mate,” Leo finally told her.
“My mate?” she asked in shock, her eyes going large. “I don’t have a mate!” she exclaimed and then quickly looked around the corner to see if the person following them had heard. Once satisfied they were still alone and not being eavesdropped upon she turned back to Leo. “I don’t have a mate. Why would you think that?”
Sirens and Scales Page 261
