“I need to see my sister,” I said. I didn’t want to admit what the spider told me, not yet anyway. My sister is the sun, and she is set to be queen if she isn’t killed first.
“Mmmm… Well it’s definitely as she said,” Maggie went on. “Gaia said the water draws and talks to me. The sun will guide me, and the moon will always find me. The moon is bound to me for reasons that are completely her fault. You are definitely the sun in my eyes. I think we were destined to meet and go through this together.”
I stared at her, feeling my eyes swell with tears before raising my chin in the air. She had no idea it was really my sister, and not me.
“Right,” I agreed. “What is our plan when we go to the games? The spider said witches are planning on opening another door… How are we supposed to stop it?”
“This is why I needed my phone… I could call Souxie and warn her. They’re all going to be in danger of being exposed. I could warn her and maybe she could come up with a plan. I can tell Namir who is basically the face of the games…I…How am I going to try and save anybody when I don’t even know how it’s going to happen?”
“You are going to need a distraction,” I told her. “Something that can get everyone’s attention to warn them. Maybe people will react to your warning.”
“Maybe…”
We continued walking together. I squeezed my hand shut to relax before using my other hand to produce a small flame that grew with each breath. The cat was still in front of us with its tail swishing about, balancing on the rail beam when it glanced over its shoulder to look at us. Slowly, the cat focused forward as Maggie leaned in.
“How do we know this cat isn’t part of some witch plan?” She whispered. My eyes widened, curious as to why she would say something like that.
“What do you mean?”
“How do we know we’re not walking into a trap? Cats are usually familiars to a witch family or witches… The only cat I have ever liked is Quan and he talks shit for a living. This cat hasn’t said a word to us.”
“Maybe he cannot talk,” I argued but I felt my face fall with fear. My cat talks to me, to everyone in the palace. As a matter of fact, cats talking wasn’t all that uncommon. They usually belonged to a local priestess in the area. Most mythical beings I’ve met in their animal form, spoke. Taking a deep swallow, I looked at Maggie who was already anxious when she grabbed my hand with the flame and immediately put it out.
We stopped walking.
“There is a door just a few steps back on our right,” she whispered. “Run to it. NOW!”
“What?!” I cried before stumbling over the railing to get to the thin walking path that lined the tunnel. I used my hands tocoat with blue flames to provide some sort of light before seeing the door that said MAINTENANCE on the front. Maggie hurried up towards the leveled path before banging three times on the door. As soon as we opened it, our bodies were shoved inside of the darkness before the door closed shut behind us.
We were thrown into a bright room that looked more like the opposite of the train tunnel. The arched ceilings and the long benches filled with men and women in different colored shirts and shorts sat on the bench staring at us, dumbfounded. I looked back at the door that was sealed shut before looking at least 20 people in a room. Everyone’s expressions began to gawk in utter shock at the realization of who we are.
“What is this?” Maggie asked as she looked around the dome-like structure.
“You’re…you’re…Maggie Grey,” a man pointed as he stood up. “It’s really you.”
The man standing in the center with a piece of paper suddenly leaned into his shirt with his startled eyes on the two of us.
“We have to stop the games,” he muttered. “Maggie Grey and the missing Princess just–––”
“WELCOMMMMME TO THE ELEMENTAL GAMES OF THE UNDERGROUNNNNNND! LET’S MEET OUR ATHLETES!”
I looked back at Maggie just as the doors opened onto the field and bright lights. You could hear the audience screaming and stomping their feet. It felt like millions of people were here, the worst possible scenario for what was about to happen.Nobody moved at first before someone shouted for everyone to run out onto the field.
“Go! Go! Now! Run out!”
“Somebody get security here! Now! It’s the fucking First Family here inside of the damn games!”
Chapter Nineteen
Asha Avery
The music bumped loud in the salon as every spot was taken with girls getting their hair done and men getting shapeups, braids, and retwists. My man sat down in the chair going through his phone as I scooped up a glob of gel to pinch at the base of a single lock where the roots began. The rest of the sirens were busy making decorative signs for their social club and sorority. Some were stretched out on the other side of the salon where the beauty supply store is, managing inventory. The lights had a blue glow as ripples and waves reflected off the walls. It felt like we were submerged under water, and I wouldn’t say it to my crew, but this shit was a vibe. I loved coming here.
I strangely felt at home here and I don’t know if it was because Silas was here and clearly fit right in, despite having nymph features, it was obvious he was part siren. I can’t even believe I’m saying this shit like I wasn’t just calling them fish mouth to their face a year ago. Now here I am, bobbing my head to my man’s playlist as he sat like a king amongst our people. I picked up his locs to push to one side as the conversation turned to laughter. Even one of the guys that walked in came up and greeted Silas and I first. I wondered if they could sense he was Solo’s half-brother, and ironically the one that should be in his place. They had to because Silas’s aura was just… I inhaled his locs. Smelling the mint before coming down to obsessively kiss the side of his face. I knew the other sirens watched and alwaysstudied every intimate display of affection I had for him, but I wasn’t dumb.
They wanted him because I wanted him. Their eyes watched him everywhere from when he got up to throw something away to the way his legs spread apart in the chair when he sat back down. The sexual tension in this space alone was directed towards him. I wasn’t worried though. Silas was only part siren. That sexual need to fuck any and everything wasn’t built in him like it was Solo and the rest of these sirens. They would fuck a hole in the wall or get fucked by a random hole in the wall if given the chance.
“How much time do you have?” I whispered, reading his screen to see him texting.
