Wake (Watersong Novels)

by Amanda Hocking

  “Well, that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it?” Penn smiled.

  “Why don’t you have a seat?” Lexi patted the ground next to her. “It’s a rather long story.”

  Gemma stayed where she was, standing by the mouth of the cove. The waves from the bay lapped against the shore, and the engines of boats hummed in the distance. She glanced out at the night, already longing to get back into the ocean.

  The last time she’d been out here, Penn had nearly killed her, and it was only a few minutes ago that Penn had pushed her off the top of a cliff. It was hard to juxtapose that with the knowledge that they had given her the most wonderful, exhilarating experience of her life.

  Swimming as a siren had been by far the most glorious feeling she’d ever experienced. Even as she stood there, arms crossed over her chest and seawater dripping off her skin, she wanted to get back in the water.

  It took all Gemma’s energy to force herself to stay on the shore, to hear what they had to tell her. But she couldn’t bring herself to step in closer to move farther away from the water that seemed to sing to her.

  “Suit yourself.” Lexi shrugged when Gemma refused to move.

  “It is actually quite a long story,” Penn said. “It goes back to when the world was young, when gods and goddesses still lived freely among the mortals.”

  “Gods and goddesses?” Gemma raised an eyebrow.

  “You’re skeptical?” Thea laughed, a dry, bitter sound that echoed off the walls. “Your legs just transformed into fins, and you’re skeptical?”

  Gemma lowered her eyes but said nothing. Thea had a point. After everything she’d seen and felt the last couple of days, she would believe anything they told her. She had no choice, really. Any answer would have to be beyond her scope of reasoning to explain the supernatural things that were happening.

  “The gods often lived here on earth, sometimes helping the humans with their lives or merely watching their joys and sorrows for their own amusement,” Penn went on. “Achelous was one such god. He ruled over all the freshwater, nourishing all life on Earth. Gods were the rock stars of their times, and they often had many lovers. Achelous was involved with many of the muses.”

  “Muses?” Gemma asked.

  “Yes, muses,” Penn explained patiently. “They are the daughters of Zeus, born to inspire and enthrall the mortals.”

  “So, what does that mean?” Gemma moved closer to the fire and sat down on a large rock. “What does being a muse entail?”

  “Have you heard of Horace’s Odes?” Penn asked, and Gemma shook her head.

  “I’m not in Honors English, but I have heard of Homer’s Odyssey.”

  “The Odyssey,” Thea scoffed. “Homer is an idiot.”

  “Ignore her. She’s just bitter because she was completely omitted from The Odyssey.” Penn waved her off. “Back to your question, a muse helped Horace write some of his prose. She didn’t write it herself, exactly, but she gave him the inspiration and motivation for his work.”

  “I think I get it.” Gemma’s brow remained furrowed, though, as if she didn’t completely understand it.

  “A muse’s job isn’t important anyway,” Penn said, deciding to move on. “Achelous had a love affair with the muse of song, and together they had two daughters, Thelxiepeia and Aglaope. He then became involved with the muse of dance, and they had a daughter, Peisinoe.”

  “Those are really ridiculous names,” Gemma commented. “Didn’t anybody go by Mary or Judy back then?”

  “I know, right?” Lexi laughed. “Things are so much easier to spell now.”

  “Despite the fact that their father was a god, Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe were the bastard offspring of his affairs with servants, so they grew up without anything,” Penn continued.

  “Wait. Muses were servants?” Gemma asked. “But their father was Zeus. Wasn’t he the most powerful god or whatever? Shouldn’t they be queens?”

  “You would think that, but no.” Penn shook her head. “Muses were created to serve man. Yes, they were beautiful and brilliant, talented beyond all measure. They were revered and worshipped by those they inspired, but in the end, they spent their days working for starving artists and poets. They lived a bohemian lifestyle, feeding into man’s desires. When the poets had finished their sonnets, the artists their paintings, the muses were cast aside and forgotten.”

  “They were glorified prostitutes,” Thea summed up.

  “Exactly,” Penn agreed. “Achelous all but disavowed his daughters, and their mothers were busy servicing men. Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe were forced to fend for themselves.”

  “Thelxiepeia tried to take care of her younger sisters,” Thea interjected. She gave Penn a hard look, the light from the fire dancing and casting shadows over her lovely features, making her appear almost demonic. “But Peisinoe was never satisfied.”

  “One cannot be satisfied living on the streets.” Penn turned her attention from Gemma to Thea, meeting her gaze evenly. “Thelxiepeia did the best she could, but starvation isn’t good enough.”

  “They weren’t starving!” Thea snapped. “They had work! They could’ve made a life for themselves!”

  “Work.” Penn rolled her eyes. “They were servants!”

  Both Lexi and Gemma watched the exchange between Penn and Thea with fascination. The two girls stared each other down across the fire, and for a moment neither of them said anything. The tension in the air was so thick, Gemma was too afraid to break the silence.

  “That was a very long time ago,” Lexi said quietly. She stayed close to Penn and gazed up at her, almost adoringly.

  “Yes, it was,” Penn agreed, finally pulling her death stare from Thea and looking back at Gemma. “They were starving on the streets. Even Thelxiepeia knew it. That’s why she went to her father, begging him to find them work.

  “They were old enough then that they had started getting the attention of men,” Penn went on. “The three sisters had inherited many gifts from their mothers, including their beauty and talent for song and dance.”

  “Thelxiepeia thought honest work would be the best way to get out of the life,” Thea said, joining the conversation in a much more reasonable tone. The anger had gone from her voice, and she was simply telling the same tale as Penn. “Peisinoe, on the other hand, thought marriage was the way to escape.”

  “It was a different time then,” Penn explained. “Women didn’t have the choices and the rights they have now. Getting a man to take care of you was the only way out.”

  “That was only part of it. Thelxiepeia was the oldest, most experienced. But Peisinoe was only fourteen. She was still a romantic and a dreamer. She believed if she fell in love, a prince would sweep her off her feet.”

  “She was young and stupid,” Penn said, almost to herself, then she shook her head quickly. “The job Achelous found for his daughters was working as handmaidens for Persephone. A handmaiden is just a servant, helping to dress and clean up for a spoiled brat.”

  “Oh, she was not a spoiled brat,” Thea chastised her.

  “She was, too,” Penn insisted. “She was horrible, constantly entertaining suitors, and Achelous’s daughters should’ve had handmaidens of their own. It was an abomination, and Persephone never cared. She just ordered them around like she was married to Zeus.”

  “Tell Gemma about Ligeia,” Lexi suggested, reminding Gemma of a small child who asked to be read the same story every night even though she knew all the words.

  “Ligeia was working as a handmaiden for Persephone when Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe started,” Penn said, and Lexi smiled at her. “Ligeia wasn’t their sister, but they loved her like she was. And Ligeia had the most beautiful singing voice. It truly was the loveliest sound anyone had ever heard.

  “As a servant, Ligeia actually did very little work,” Penn said. “She spent most of her days singing for Persephone, but nobody minded because her singing was so enchanting. It made everything seem better.


  “But it wasn’t all work,” Penn went on. “The four girls were only teenagers and needed to have fun. As often as they could, they would escape from their servitude and go out to the ocean to swim and sing.”

  “It was Ligeia’s songs that commanded an audience,” Thea said. “She and Aglaope would sit perched in the trees on the shore, singing in perfect harmony, while Thelxiepeia and Peisinoe would swim.”

  “But it wasn’t just swimming,” Penn clarified. “It was entrancing, underwater dancing. They put on a show just as much as Ligeia and Aglaope did.”

  “They did, and travelers would come to see it,” Thea agreed. “They even attracted the attention of gods like Poseidon.”

  “Poseidon was the god of the ocean,” Penn explained. “In her naïveté, Peisinoe thought she could entice him with her swimming, and he would fall in love with her and take her away.

  “And maybe he did fall in love with her.” Penn brushed the sand away from her legs and stared into the fire. “Many men and a few gods have fallen for her over the years. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t enough.”

  “Persephone was engaged to be wed,” Thea said, taking back the story. “She had much to do, but instead of helping her, all four of her handmaidens went out to the ocean to swim and sing. Poseidon had invited them out, and Peisinoe was certain that this would be the day he would ask her to marry him. If she could just impress him enough.”

  “Unfortunately, that also happened to be the day when someone decided to abduct and rape Persephone,” Penn said. “The handmaidens were supposed to watch over her, but they weren’t even close enough to hear her screams.”

  “Her mother, Demeter, was a goddess, and she was furious,” Thea said. “She told Achelous of his daughters’ failure to protect Persephone. But since Achelous was more powerful than Demeter, she had to ask for his permission before she could inflict a punishment on Thelxiepeia, Aglaope, and Peisinoe.”

  “Peisinoe knew their father wouldn’t protect them, as he hadn’t cared about them their entire life, so she went to Poseidon, begging him to intervene,” Penn said. “She pleaded with him, offering him every part of herself unconditionally if he would only help her and her sisters.”

  There was a long pause during which nobody said anything. Gemma had leaned forward, her arms resting on her knees as she hung on every word.

  “But he didn’t,” Penn said, so quietly Gemma could barely hear her over the lapping of waves. “Nobody saved them. They only had each other to rely on, the way they always had, the way they always would.”

  “Demeter cursed them to the life they had chosen instead of protecting her daughter,” Thea explained. “She made them immortal, so they would have to live with their folly every day without end. The things they loved would become the things they despised.”

  “What things?” Gemma asked.

  “They had been too busy flirting, swimming, and singing when Persephone was kidnapped,” Thea said. “So that’s what they were cursed to become.”

  “She made them part bird, with a voice so hypnotic no man could deny it,” Penn said. “Men would be completely enraptured by it and have to follow it.

  “But Demeter also made the girls part fish, so they could never be far from the water. When their suitors came for them, following the sound of their voices, their ships would crash into the shore and they would die.”

  “That, of course, isn’t the worst part of the curse,” Thea explained with a wry smile. “Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. They’d never really know the girls for who they actually were, never really love them. It would be impossible for any of the four girls to ever really fall in love and be genuinely loved in return.”

  FIFTEEN

  Remember Me

  Penn and Thea were silent for a time, letting Gemma absorb it all. But it was fairly obvious what the story was about.

  “You’re the three sisters?” Gemma pointed to them one by one. “Peisinoe, Thelxiepeia, and Aglaope.”

  “Not exactly.” Penn shook her head. “It’s true that I was once Peisinoe, and Thea was once Thelxiepeia. But Lexi is a replacement for Ligeia, who died many, many years ago.”

  “Wait. Lexi replaced one of you?” Gemma asked. “Why do you have replacements? And where’s your other sister, Aglaope?”

  “It’s part of Demeter’s curse,” Thea answered. “We chose our friend and sisters over her daughter, then we must always be with our friends and sisters. There must always be four of us, together. We can never leave or be apart for more than a few weeks at a time.”

  “If one of us leaves, she will die, and we have to replace her,” Penn explained. “We only have until the current moon is full to fill her role.”

  “I’m Aglaope’s replacement.” Gemma swallowed hard as the realization struck her. “What if I don’t want to be?”

  “You have no choice. You are already a siren. If you try to leave instead of joining us, you will die, and we will simply replace you.”

  “How?” Gemma asked. “How did I turn? That flask?”

  “Yes. It was a … mixture of a few things.” Penn chose her words carefully.

  “A mixture of what?” Gemma asked.

  Penn shook her head. “It’s nothing to concern yourself with now. You wouldn’t even understand what they were. In time, it’ll all be explained to you.”

  “Why?” Gemma asked, a new tremor to her voice. “Why me? Why did you want me to join you?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Penn asked. “You’re beautiful, you love the water, and you’re fearless. Aglaope was too afraid, and we needed someone different.”

  “She wasn’t afraid,” Thea countered. “She was considerate.”

  “It doesn’t matter what she was,” Penn said sharply. “She’s gone, and we have Gemma now.”

  “So … you expect me to just join you, leave everything I’ve ever known, and spend my life singing and swimming?” Gemma asked.

  “That doesn’t sound so terrible, does it?” Penn asked.

  “It really is wonderful,” Lexi chimed in. “Once you get used to it. It’s a million times better than anything a mortal life could give you.”

  “But what if I…” Gemma trailed off and lowered her eyes, thinking of Harper, her parents, Alex. She lifted her head, meeting Penn’s eyes. “I don’t want this.”

  “Then you will die,” Penn said. She shrugged as if she couldn’t care less, but her voice was hard and her eyes burned. “If that’s what you wish, then so be it.”

  “Penn.” Lexi sighed and gave Gemma a softer smile. “It’s a lot to take in, I know, and you don’t have to decide today. Once you have some time to think, you’ll realize that this is the best thing that could have ever happened to you.”

  “But it’s a curse,” Gemma said. “Demeter turned you into sirens to punish you.”

  “Did it really feel like a punishment?” Penn asked slyly. “When you were out in the water, wasn’t that the best you ever felt?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Demeter was an idiot, and she failed.” Abruptly, Penn stood up. “She thought she was giving a penalty, but she set us free. Now her daughter is long since dead, Demeter’s all but forgotten, and here we are—as beautiful and powerful as ever, thriving under her ‘curse.’

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve made my point,” Penn said. “Join us or don’t. Live or die. It’s up to you, and frankly, I don’t care which.”

  “Wait.” Gemma stood up, her mind racing, but Penn ignored her. “Penn, wait. I still have so many questions.”

  Penn pulled her dress up over head and dove into the water. Thea followed a few steps behind and jumped into the waves after her.

  Lexi stayed behind a moment. She went over to Gemma and placed a hand on her arm.

  “Go see your friends and family,” Lexi told her. “Put your life in order. Say good-bye to the things you need to say good-bye to. Then
come join us. You’ll never regret it.”

  After Lexi went into the cove, swimming off into the night with the other two sirens, Gemma considered chasing after them. As fast as she was now, she could probably catch up to them. But to what end? Penn hadn’t answered all her questions yet, but Gemma had enough to think about.

  She knew Penn and Thea had told the truth, but she didn’t necessarily believe it was the whole truth. They’d definitely left something out, and they hadn’t told her what became of Aglaope, just that Gemma was needed to replace her.

  The curse of the siren that Demeter had supposedly bestowed upon them—it didn’t make any sense. Nothing she’d done to them sounded that bad. They were granted immortality, eternal beauty, and they could swim and breathe as fish whenever they wanted.

  That sounded like a dream come true for Gemma.

  She went to the mouth of the cove and sat down at the water’s edge, her legs in the water up to her knees. Her skin fluttered, tingling as scales sprang intermittently from her flesh. Her toes spread out, becoming sheer fins that glided through the water.

  Her body wasn’t submerged enough in the bay, so she didn’t completely transform. Her legs remained legs, only with a few scales, but her feet were more flippers than feet. Gemma swung her legs back and forth, relishing the way the cold water felt running over her scales and flippers.

  She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, and her heart swelled with the pure joy of the moment.

  But as amazing as this felt, as unbelievable and impossibly perfect as it all seemed, would it still be worth it? Giving up everything she knew and loved? Leaving behind her sister, her father, Alex?

  With her eyes still closed, Gemma slid into the water, still wearing the dress the sirens had given her. She didn’t try swimming at all—she just allowed herself to sink, floating down toward the bottom of the bay.

  Gemma felt her legs changing, her appendages fusing to form a single tail. It wasn’t until she could breathe in the water that she opened her eyes, staring out at the darkness around her.