Still, I knew the cure was out there. Somewhere. I just needed to find it.
Eventually, Catalina and Malisa caught up to me. I had a feeling they’d given me some alone time on purpose. Catalina stayed silent for once, just crossed her arms and stared out into the sea beside me. Malisa wrapped an arm around me and lay her head down on my shoulder for comfort.
“Did you ever think?” I began, unsure if I dared to speak my mind aloud. “That maybe the cure is above the sea?”
Malisa jerked back, just as Catalina turned to stare at me with bugging, goldfish-like eyes.
“No,” Catalina said in a somber tone. “Everyone knows the dry land was cursed first. If the sea is unsafe, then nowhere is safe.”
I shook my head. “It’s been ages since the ice caps melted, and the meteor struck, and the land above went to hell. Maybe, by now, something’s changed?”
“I know you’re desperate for a cure, Liliana,” Catalina said softly, “but you’re grasping at straws. Worse, you’re grasping at the empty salt water around us. To so much as contemplate a journey above would be suicide.”
Malisa sighed and nodded her agreement, her purple hair floating freely in the current. “She’s right. Who knows if the air is even breathable up there anymore?”
I sure as hell didn’t know. But more and more, I was beginning to wonder if it wasn’t worth a shot, anyway. What was a suicidal mission if I succeeded in saving the kingdom? Okay, to be honest, I had zero desire to go on any suicidal missions. But I wanted to help my people more than anything, even if I did sometimes end up destroying things in my quest to do so.
Catalina heaved a heavy sigh and got back to her point. “That said, if you get any crazy ideas to attempt such a journey, count me in. I won’t let you do it alone.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
Malisa glanced between us with a petrified expression, before moving onto one of acceptance, and then finally determination. “Me too. If you two go, I go.”
I tried to swallow back the tears creeping up into my eyes. “You girls are freaking amazing. I love you two so much.”
They giggled and squeezed me into a group hug.
“You’re stuck with us,” Malisa said.
“Whether you like it or not,” Catalina added.
Suddenly a conch-horn sounded, far off in the distance.
We pulled apart and solidified our stances. Catalina pulled out her three-pronged sais. Malisa undid the baton at her waist, expanding it into a full-sized trident with the press of a button. I didn’t have anything but a jeweled dagger that I’d once stabbed a royal guard with by accident. In his defense, he was only trying to protect me. In my defense, he shouldn’t have been standing so close while I was trying to remove a stinging tentacle from an anemone. Another failed attempt to find a cure.
The conch only ever meant something awful had happened or was about to happen. In fact, I’d only ever heard it two times before. First, when I was testing the magnesium and thermite for a potential cure—epically bad idea. And second, when my parents had gone off gallivanting across the seaside, and I got bored and allowed that one siren to start a shark farm—another terrible idea. Though, it was pretty hilarious to see the entire kingdom scatter like guppies.
The sound of the conch drew nearer, and I gripped the hilt of my dagger tighter.
Figures appeared on the horizon, and once they got close enough, I could see they were members of the royal guard. Kayo and his brother Arlo, Fin, Chelle, Zarita, Valentina, and so on...but no royals were amongst them to guard.
I stepped forward, heart pounding like a caged savage, stomach suddenly seasick.
“Where are the king and queen? Have they slain the sea dragons already? Did they take a quick nap before returning home, or something?”
I chuckled, but when no one else followed suit, my laughter quickly died off.
Arlo met me in the middle and removed his helmet. He knelt in the sandy ground near my feet and bowed his head.
My whole body went numb with fear and trepidation. Whatever he was about to say, I did not what to hear it.
“Princess Liliana,” he said, voice cutting me to the bone. “I must mournfully and regretfully inform you that the king and queen are gone. It is now up to you to slay the dragons.”
Chapter 2
If you do not return, I will find the sea dragons and slay them myself. I understand that if I fail, I forfeit the crown. But you two will return victorious in less than an hour, so I don’t see why it even matters.
My automatic response to my parents’ typical death-speech echoed through my mind, and I couldn’t breathe.
My parents had failed? My parents were...dead?
“They’re gone...and yet, you’re all still here?” I didn’t mean for it to sound as accusatory as it came out. I just didn’t understand. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Arlo bowed even lower. “Forgive us, Your Majesty. I swear we did everything we could. King David and Queen Selena led the attack and wounded the alpha, but the beasts were damn near impossible to see and they were fast as lightning. The alpha retaliated before we could so much as blink.”
I froze, momentarily hung up on the horrific wording he chose. “Your Majesty.” A queen’s title. My mother’s title. I’d only just found out they died, and already they were being replaced.
I swallowed, aware that my bottom lip was quivering. “All three of the dragons are still alive?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, and seven of our best sirens are dead. I promise we tried.” He shook his head and chanced a glance up at me. “I’d reorganize the battalions and attack with full force at your command if I could.”
But of course, he couldn’t. It was now up to me, and me alone, to slay the beasts in order to secure my rule—something I was definitely not ready for. I either killed them, or I died trying. Those were my options now.
Where was the third option? The option where I picked a substitute queen to fight the sea dragons for me, one who was far more capable of both surviving and ruling. Then I’d get to remain a princess, one whose only responsibility was trying to find a cure while simultaneously trying not to fuck things up?
Or the fourth option, where I woke up from this ridiculous dream knowing full well my parents couldn’t possibly be dead because, even in a dream, nothing so nonsensical would ever happen.
The fear swimming through my veins wouldn’t allow me to force a smile. “Rise, Arlo. Gather my weapons and take me to the dragons.”
Catalina finally interfered.
Honestly, I was surprised she’d held off that long.
“We can’t expect Liliana to single-handedly defeat a trio of beasts, least of all ones the king, the queen, and the entire royal guard couldn’t defeat. Surely, this one time, we can make an exception?”
One of the guards stepped forward and removed her helm. Valentina Torre.
Great.
She smiled, a smug tug of the lips. “This has been the law for hundreds of years. Who are we to bend or break it now? If the princess fails, too, then it’s clearly a sign that our kingdom needs new leadership.”
I honestly couldn’t disagree with her on that one. I was certainly not the best choice of leadership the kingdom of Seabella had to offer. I didn’t even want to be queen, for fuck’s sake. Unfortunately, the Torres were an even less savory choice.
Son of a bitch. How had I ended up between such a rocky shore and pounding waves?
It was all my parents’ fault. They were supposed to live until I got old and gray. Now, I was stuck risking my life to become something I never wanted to be in the first place. I wanted to protect my people, yes, but I wanted to do it by finding the cure. Not by becoming queen just to keep the Torres off the throne. Their idea of enduring this plague was by survival of the fittest. Letting the weak die off, while the strong forged ahead. Not an ineffective tactic, but certainly not even remotely acceptable.
Arlo’s cheeks turned red and he got right
up in Valentina’s face. “Get back in line, you spineless jelly! And don’t you dare speak to the princess out of turn again!”
Her nostrils flared, and I knew she wanted to argue with him, but she spun around and did as ordered.
Malisa caught my attention and whispered, “Please reconsider, Liliana. You won’t have a reign to speak of if you’re in the belly of a dragon.”
I wrapped my hand around Malisa’s and squeezed. “Valentina is right. I’ll uphold the old traditions. I’ll kick some sea dragon ass. But if I die, one of you assholes better make sure a Torre doesn’t take the throne. Oh, and try a lionfish needle for the cure; it’s the next item on my list.”
Catalina pulled me into an uncharacteristic hug. It confused me for a moment until I realized it must’ve been a goodbye. I squeezed her back tightly.
“Go and avenge your parents,” she whispered low. “And when you return, no one will doubt the legitimacy of your rule.”
Of course, they wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t return. And no one would ever question my ability to rule because everyone already knew I was lacking in that department. My parents had done their job perfectly, but I was nothing like them. It was now time to pay for my incompetence.
I took a steadying breath, squared my shoulders, and nodded to Arlo.
He ordered a handful of sirens to retrieve my weapons and armor from the palace. And less than an hour later, we were off.
///
When we reached the site of the battle, the blood in the water made my head spin.
Blood.
My parents’ life-force, haphazardly strewn into the salty sea.
It coated me, inside and out, leaving me simultaneously sick and terrified.
I might’ve believed the sea dragons deserved to live, but I happened to think I deserved to live as well. Maybe that should be the fifth option? Where everyone just says screw the old traditions, and we all live happily ever after. At least, until the plague kills us because I couldn’t manage to find a goddamn cure.
I lifted the visor on my helmet and scanned the seas for any signs of the beasts. A thin blood trail, different from the crimson cloud hovering around me, floated on the current, and I knew it must lead to the alpha. Arlo said my parents had wounded him. Gripping my trident in one hand, and my dagger in the other, I started swimming—alone—into the blue.
The longer I swam, the more I panicked. Fear raced through my blood like a shark on the hunt. Countless minutes—or maybe hours?—passed, as I conjured up all the myriad ways I might die.
Knowing my luck, I’d get swallowed whole and die a slow, agonizing death decomposing in a pit of sea dragon stomach acid. Or maybe they’d attack me from behind, so quickly I’d never even see it coming.
I spun around to make sure no one was following me and was surprised to find undersea mountains dotting the hazy horizon. Deep valleys lined their bases from below, stretching into darkness so absolute there appeared to be no bottom. Clearly, I’d traveled farther than I realized. Even if I somehow managed to survive the sea dragons—which, let’s be honest, was a laughable possibility—I would likely never find my way back home. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if I somehow stumbled upon the cure out there in the middle of nowhere, and had absolutely no way of using the damn thing.
I spun back around, nervously anticipating any hint of movement. My lungs pumped fast, and I had a bad feeling I was about to hyperventilate. My heart raced wildly. In fact, I might’ve been on the verge of a heart attack.
Ooh. Now there’s a nice sixth option. Die of a heart attack before I even have to glimpse their terrifying faces.
Suddenly a silver-blue dragon rushed past me, spinning me in a circle. A pale green one darted in the opposite direction, jerking me the other way.
Too late. I’d seen them, and I hadn’t yet keeled over. That must’ve meant I was now back to option two—die a horrible, gruesome death in a pathetic attempt at vengeance.
Then the blue dragon swooped again, effectively knocking the trident from my hand and dropping it at least twenty feet away. I glanced down at the dagger in my grasp and promptly sheathed it. Now that I’d seen the immensity of the dragons—at least twenty times my size—I had zero desire to face them with a weapon so small.
I quickly grabbed a baton from my belt and clicked a button, extending it into a new full-sized trident. This time, the green dragon darted by and took the long handle in its razor sharp teeth and literally bit the damn thing in half.
There was nothing I could do. I absolutely could not win this fight. I’d been training long enough to know when I was outmatched in battle. I mean, they’d even bested my parents! What chance did I—or anyone else for that matter—have of defeating them?
So, I dropped to my knees, hung my head, and waited. Maybe they’d have mercy on my pitiful soul and get the slaughter over with quickly. Knowing I was seconds away from death caused a stream of thoughts and images to flash through my mind, and eventually, they settled on the most painful memory of all.
My mother and father are dead. Eaten. Gone forever.
I had to tell myself over and over again because I wasn’t sure if the truth had ever properly sunken in. My heart throbbed, spreading sorrow through my veins. My head pounded, pushing pain into every limb. Finally, I sank forward, buried my face into the sand, and cried. Each sob came faster and harder than the last, wracking my body like a tidal wave of grief.
My mother and father are gone. They’re dead. And I’m about to join them.
The royal guards back at the battle site probably figured I would never return. The Torres were probably planning their coronation ceremony. Hopefully, Catalina jabbed a trident through one of their throats. Despite that satisfying image, I really didn’t want to die.
Speaking of which... Why hadn’t I been eaten already?
I sniffed, and slowly lifted my face, peering through the floating strands of my brown hair at the sea dragons beyond. There were three of them laying in the sand. The blue and the green ones from earlier were curled tightly against the body of a massive white one in the middle. A cloud of semi-transparent blood hovered in the water above them, leaking from a giant gash in the white one’s side. It was no longer breathing.
I dragged my eyes back to the two smaller sea dragons. They watched me with lost, fearful eyes. They clung to the lifeless white heap beside them, and it finally clicked. The bigger one wasn’t the alpha. It was their mother. She’d died protecting them from my parents.
And now they, like me, were orphaned. The blood muddying the water around us belonged to our parents, theirs and mine.
How could I possibly hate what were, giving their relative size to their mother, two children?
Sniffling, I rose to my feet and put my palms out to them. “I’m sorry. I truly am. I know exactly what you’re going through.”
Their eyes widened, almost as if they could understand me somehow.
“My parents killed your mother. But your mother also killed my parents. We all lost someone we cared about today.”
I moved closer to them, feeling my feet sink gently into the soft sand of the ocean floor. I don’t know what sort of stupidity overcame me, making me think approaching two wild sea dragons was a good idea, but it didn’t change the fact that I was drawn to them. Their loss and vulnerability mirrored my own. We were connected through a line of pain and uncertainty, and if I had to guess, total freaking ineptitude now that our parents were gone. It was nice to not be alone in those feelings.
They seemed nervous, and rightfully so—they’d literally just witnessed two sirens slaying their mother. But I had no intentions of harming them. I couldn’t expect them to understand, but I could at least try to communicate what I meant.
“I won’t hurt you. I swear.” I snatched a lonely fish from the sea and offered it to them as a gift.
Their eyes lit up, and they seemed suddenly torn between fear and hunger. One measly fish wasn’t going to do much for their
bellies, but hopefully, the gesture at least proved that I meant them no harm.
They approached slowly, cautiously glancing between my eyes and the fish dancing between my pinched fingertips. When they got close enough, I carefully reached out to touch the blue one’s massive head, then the green’s. They were young, only half the size of their late mother, but still at least forty feet from head to tail. Their hardened scales were thicker than any I’d ever seen, but were smooth and sleek, and layered in a collage of shimmering colors.
Maybe if we teamed up, we could help fill each other’s voids?
“Would you like to stay with me?” I asked them. “We could be a team. Kind of a ‘you watch my back, I’ll watch yours’ sort of thing?”
Another little fish skittered by, lost from its school which was probably eaten by these very dragons. I snatched it with my other hand and offered both fishes to them.
They opened their jaws and I took a deep breath. I didn’t want them to think I feared them, but at the same time, I didn’t really want to blindly put my hand into a dragon’s mouth. That sounded like a good way to get my arm bitten off. Regardless, I steeled my resolve and placed each fish down on their tongues. The fish, though still alive, appeared to be stuck there like glue, with immobile bodies. Next thing I knew, the dragons had closed their mouths and swallowed without so much as chewing.
Thank Poseidon it wasn’t me getting swallowed—not like my parents had been. Pain swelled within, filling me with guilt and sorrow until I might burst. My skin itched, and I wanted to claw it off.
“You might be young,” I said to them, trying to ignore my thoughts and emotions. “But you are fierce and brave. That’s what I’ll call you, okay? Feroz and Bravo.”
Siren Awakened (The Cursed Seas Collection) Page 2
