My foot was bouncing uncontrollably, rocking the pinnace we were forced to wait in.
“Brother,” Gage said quietly. “They will be alright.”
“I can’t feel her, Gage! I can’t feel Lia down our bond,” I snapped.
He gave me an awkward smile. “I can’t pretend I know what that’s like, but you know our girls. They’re tough.” A laugh left him. “A hell of a lot tougher than us sometimes.”
I gave him a knowing look as he chuckled at his own joke.
“How much longer do we need to wait? It’s been hours. And as the minutes pass, I’m contemplating stepping foot on the land and taking my gods-damn chances.”
“I’m all for bravery, but even you know that would be a stupid thing to do. Mating-bond rage or not,” Gage joked.
I scoffed. “Mating-bond rage.”
“Do you have another word for your territorial behavior?” He raised a brow at me.
My shoulders relaxed as I looked up into the foggy air, taking my time to answer. “Perhaps not.”
Silence cloaked the area aside from the occasional buzz of an insect or croak of a frog. Suddenly, my ears picked up a call in the distance. As I looked beyond the marshes, my eyes narrowed and strained, attempting to trace the source of the alluring whisper that seemed to drift from the sea.
My back stiffened, and my stare whirled to Gage. “Do you hear that?”
He sat up straight and surveyed our surroundings through narrowed eyes, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword as he gave a slow, small nod.
The distant hum grew louder, evolving into a haunting, feminine melody that seemed to wrap around everything, filling the air with its presence.
The notes turned into a blend of voices that dripped with an alluring honeyed sweetness—a symphony of temptation. I instantly reached down the tether, latching onto it as I searched for any sign of Lia.
The salty breeze carried the song in from the sea that awaited us beyond the bending marsh, and my body suddenly begged to succumb to it.
A splash echoed only feet away from our boat, breaking my trance. My eyes shot to it, and all I could see was a ripple in the murky water beneath us.
“Gage, something isn’t right,” I whispered.
When I went unanswered, I looked at my best friend and nearly gasped as I noticed his eyes had glazed over and turned a milky hue, seeming to have fallen into a trance-like state.
“Gage?”
When he didn’t respond, I leapt across the boat, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him vigorously.
“Gage, snap out of it!” Panic overtook me as his eyes remained glazed, but a menacing smirk crept up his face.
“Brother, the sirens call to us.” His voice was unrecognizable.
“Sirens?!” My gaze shot back out and whipped in every direction.
The thick water we floated above remained steady, but the calls continued.
His hand dangled over the side of the boat, reaching for the water from where the monsters called to us.
“Gage, no!” I shouted as I reached for him and shoved his body to the center of our small boat.
I smacked his face, but it was no use. There was no reaching him.
Unsheathing my sword, I stood on the benches of the pinnace; my blade held out and ready to strike as I tried to block out the sirens’ song.
“Show yourselves!” I bellowed, my voice booming through the twisted trees. “I know you’re here. Reveal yourselves, now!”
