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I dug deep for words, but they failed to come right away. How long had my heart yearned for her without even knowing it? Before I met her in 1989, did I know her before? What did it matter? I had her here in front of me now and that was enough. “What is she protecting you from? You don’t have to hide anymore. Come with me and we can be together.”
“I want to do that more than anything,” Serena looked down. “But without my power, I cannot risk it. The one who took my crown still seeks to kill me once and for all. And without my power, I cannot stop him. Once an ordinary man, but now he draws power from the dark lord of the seas, so he has the ability to kill a goddess. He’s been long jealous of you, my lover, because I refused him and chose you—so he killed you.
“I thought the legend says that Atargatis accidentally killed her lover herself. So…if you’re her…and I’m your lover…then it wasn’t you who killed me. It was him?”
“Yes, he killed you.” Serena bowed her head. “And when I tried to follow you in death, Poseidon was moved to turn me into a sea goddess so that my beauty would never die. Bastian lied to deceive you, as he always does. I didn’t kill you, my love. He did.”
“How did Bastian…?” I rubbed my temple. “He wasn’t always immortal. He was just a man. That’s why he wanted a siren heart. How has he been part of this all this time?”
“Yours, mine, and Bastian’s destinies are intertwined. When Poseidon realized what he had done, he sentenced him to an eternity of lifetime after lifetime, rebirth after rebirth, until his wrong could be made right. But Bastian has been dark-hearted in every lifetime, and it was during one lifetime soon after he finally found a way to end his own cycle of death and rebirth—he bound himself to Davy Jones for shadow power and immortality—a way to cheat himself out of the curse. But soon enough he realized that with Jones’ power came a duty to the souls of those lost at sea. So he sought another source of eternal life—a way to keep his dark power, but no longer be indebted to Jones. Potions, spells, the Fountain of Youth, siren hearts—he’s tried them all to no avail. And since I have still refused to love him all this time…and since he knows I want my revenge…he wants me dead.”
It all made sense. That’s why Bastian wanted the Kraken gone so badly. He knew it was guarding her. And with it out of the way, he could finally kill her.
Well done. A snake-like voice in my mind hissed. What a mystery-solver you are.
I feared Bastian would know I was here with her. He would know we didn’t kill the Kraken. He would come for all of us…and he would come fast.
I glanced over at Katrina, suddenly remembering she was here, too. She watched us both, her eyes wide, glancing between the two of us. The Kraken groaned behind her in the shadows, waiting to restrain us again at a moment’s notice.
“Bellamy, are you okay?” Katrina asked. “What’s happening?”
I hesitated, trying to find a response that could encapsulate everything that I’d just learned. But there was no time. I couldn’t reiterate it all here.
“Who is your friend?” Serena asked, her eyes shifting. “I thought all sirens were dead.”
“My mom and I are the only ones left,” Katrina said boldly, her tail straightening as she puffed out her chest and shoulders.
“Then I’m sorry that you are no longer blessed with my protection,” Serena said softly, but without emotion. “I created sirens and when I have full reign of my power, none can harm you.”
“But you’ve lost your power, right?” Katrina asked, swimming toward us. “I heard you tell Bellamy you’re the goddess we’ve been looking for. We need your help.”
“I’ll help you if I can, but without my power, I’m limited. And if I leave this cove and the protection of the Kraken, Bastian will hunt me.”
“We’ll protect you,” Katrina said. “We won’t let him hurt you, right Bellamy?” The way she glanced at me almost made me sick. I couldn’t promise Serena protection like that. I couldn’t even protect her from my father, much less a man channeling Davy Jones’ power. But I did want to restore her.
“You sound just as confident as you did about killing the Kraken,” I uttered, “And we see how that turned out.”
Katrina glared at me with a look I’d forgotten she was capable of. “Then we go back and get that crown and bring it here.”
“We’ll never get that crown if we didn’t fulfill our end of the bargain. We’ll have to find another way.” I shifted, only just then noticing how I somehow didn’t produce bubbles when I spoke. I still was still partially sure this was a dream of some kind.
Serena stepped forward, the sand swirling like flowing glitter at her feet with each step. She moved gracefully to Katrina, touching her on the arm. “Dear young siren,” she said. “What is it that you so desperately came seeking help for?”
“It’s a long story, but someone I love was sent back in time by the Trident’s power, and you’re the only thing strong enough to bring him back. Can you even do that? Can you alter time?”
Serena’s eyes softened, and she tilted her head as if trying to find a way to relay bad news in the gentlest way possible. “I can’t do that, even in my full form, I don’t hold power over time.”
Katrina’s face twisted and her forehead creased. She blinked several times with a look of bewilderment before speaking again. “Wh—what? No…Then why…why would Milo tell us to find you?” She looked past Serena’s shoulder, meeting her eyes with mine with disappointment. “Why would he tell us…?”
I hesitated, just as lost for an answer as she was. But regardless of what she could or couldn’t do for Milo, there was no way in hell I was going to leave Serena down here. Even though it seemed impossible, I had to find a way to get that crown back for her.
“It doesn’t matter,” I stepped up to Serena, taking her hand with a bit of trepidation. I’d be lying to say it wasn’t a bit nerve-racking to take a goddess’ hand in mine. “I’m going to save you this time. Whatever it takes.”
“You’d have to kill Bastian to get that crown back. And you can’t kill him.”
“Already found that out the hard way,” I grunted.
“He’s probably grown so powerful by now,” Serena’s eyes flicked sideways with worry.
