Page 151 of A Sea of Fate and Starfire

Maren

“Icall to your blood.”

Walls rose around my mind like spires from the ground, trapping me inside. Outside, every muscle in my body loosened, attuned to Aegir’s command in place of my own.

Aegir sighed. “I told you it wouldn’t be honorable.”

If I’m being honest, Aegir could also cordae with you, Selena had once warned, not long after my first transition. You needed salt water to transition, and you used his waters. He could claim you if he chose.

I’d etched those words into a corner of my head and then left them in the dark, never giving them a second thought. Not until now, standing among the waste of my old apartment, locked inside the cage of my own mind.

“Stand,” he said.

And I stood.

My body lifted me without a second thought, but inside, I almost screamed at the pain. Aegir cut a glance across his fellow sirens, one of them passing along a silver cloak to him. He fit it over my shoulders with gentle hands. Like he was merely dressing me after we’d made love.

Kye! I shouted in my thoughts.

Aegir’s eyes flashed to mine as though he heard the name. “Can he hear you in your mind?”

“Yes,” my traitorous mouth answered.

“How?”

My body lifted my hand, gold dust glinting off my finger. “Our rings.”

Kye! I screamed again, watching Aegir reach for it. Kye! No-no-no-NO! KYE!

It clattered softly to the floor, disappearing into the dark. Aegir pulled the silver hood low over my eyes. “Follow me.” His Domus filtered out the door first, shuffling out into the hall in silence. Aegir paused before we slipped out, turning to Sindri. “Barricade it after we’re out—”

Movement interrupted his words, dark red hair hurling into Aegir’s side. The Videre slammed against the floor, Kazimir rolling him to his side, weaponless, hands like claws tearing at Aegir’s neck. “Leave her here,” the Rivean rasped, eyes wide and voice crazed.

I was a statue unable to move, watching as Aegir batted Kazimir’s curled fingers away. The Rivean lurched forward, clumsy with fury and the poisoned kiss of shield weed, teeth latching over the ridge of Aegir’s neck.

A burst of panic shot through Aegir’s eyes before Sindri stole a fistful of Kazimir’s hair, flinging him head-first into the wall. He slumped back to the floor, unmoving.

“Theia drown this palace under the sea,” Aegir said, sliding a hand over the slope of his neck and holding it away to judge the flow of blood. “Come on.”

And I came.

I’d seen a byssus cloak before. One hung among Selena’s garments like a dark shadow, rippling fabric and a hood made for a giant, something she’d once said belonged to Pheolix. It was the first time I’d worn one, the silk as transparent as woven moonlight. I strained against the hold of my body, begging to look through the clear veil at the room behind me. A final glance at Kye’s tower door or the view from the top of our stairs. But my eyes remained forward, my feet descending one step at a time. Watery thumps and crashes trailed us from above, Sindri catching up a moment later.

We left the palace in a calm group, as though nothing had happened. As though I hadn’t been stolen from my home, forced into a prison with talking mouth and walking feet that didn’t belong to me. The storm I’d almost called swung in a wide arc over the sky, murderous clouds billowing over my head.

“Which route is the less likely that we’ll be seen?” Aegir asked.

“The sky bridge to the west,” I replied.

He looked out over the bridge, scrutinizing my answer. “Lead us.”

And I did.

Open wind struck my face and hair like hands trying to pull me back home. Aegir stopped me once to readjust my hood, then nodded for me to continue. Boots slammed against stone as we neared the staircase, and their bodies swarmed around me, tucking me against the railing just inside the opposite door.

A human blazed past.

It was dark enough to miss our faces, miss the hue of silver in our cloaks, though I’m not sure it made a difference. Kye ran through us like we were invisible, his eyes honed on the tall shadow of our tower ahead as if nothing else mattered. My knees threatened to collapse as I watched him race away from me, the pit of my stomach crumpling to the floor.