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I press my palms deeper into my skull, the tune getting louder, and watch in horror as Taryn slowly gathers herself to her feet. All of the tension and panic is gone as she walks toward the water’s edge instead of trying to rush away from it.
“What is she doing?” I gasp, even though no one can hear me, and a hand clamps down on me from behind.
Whipping my gaze behind me, I frown when I notice Brax isn’t covering his ears. They’re a stone gray color, just like his hand was the other day. What is that about? I need to ask, but I focus on what he’s saying instead.
“Don’t look.”
Why wouldn’t I look? He raises his eyebrow, demanding I listen to him, but it’s too hard to refrain from knowing what comes next.
I turn at the exact same time a gut-wrenching scream burns from Taryn’s lips. The siren’s beauty is gone, in its place are rows and rows of sharp teeth covering her face as it takes bite after bite out of Taryn’s flesh.
Gaping in horror, I lean back, desperately wanting to escape the awful sight. I should have listened to Brax. Holy shit.
Taryn’s body goes lax as the siren drags her around like a doll before plunging back into the depths of the water with her. The water level drops all at once until only a small pool remains in the left corner again. I take three breaths before I realize the melody has stopped and chaos breaks out around me.
“What the fuck, Raven? I told you not to look,” Brax snarls, and I turn to him.
That’s not…
I’m not…
“I’m going to die,” I choke, fear coating every inch of me.
I can hear everyone else gasping and screaming with shock around me, but my gaze remains locked on Brax’s, praying for him to give me some kind of answer.
“You’re not going to die, Little Bird,” Eldon states. I hear his voice but it doesn’t penetrate through the fog clouding my judgment.
I walked in here thinking I could take on the world, just like I had in Shadowmoor, but nothing like that existed there. How can I save myself in the pit with no magical abilities against a fucking siren?
“I’m going to die,” I repeat, wondering how I ever thought I was a strong person to begin with.
A hand grips my chin, tilting my head until I face Creed. “You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die. We won’t let that happen, Raven.”
At a loss for words, I nod, despite not believing him one bit.
“Thank you, Taryn. Next up, we have Sebastian Hendrix.”
My eyes widen at the mention of my brother’s name and I spin to face the pit. Creed’s hand drops from my face as I watch my smug sibling saunter down the steps where the third-years are seated.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you all how it’s done,” he hollers, earning a few giggles from some of the third-year girls while the rest of us gape at him.
Is it wrong to want to watch him meet his demise so that he can eat his fucking words?
“I hate your brother,” Zane mutters, and I nod.
“Same.”
He barely speaks to the Professor waiting at the pit, entering immediately. Instead of climbing straight to the top of the peak like Taryn did, he keeps low, eyes fixed on the water level.
I hate how much you can tell he knows what he’s doing. I hate that he’s skilled at this. I hate that he’s still the asshole he always has been instead of a caring and supportive brother who could guide me through this mess.
He’s the enemy. That’s not going to change.
I notice the water level rise instantly, but so does he. The water doesn’t immediately rise high like it did when Taryn was in there, it stops about knee-deep, and he seems to take that as his cue to sneak closer. He’s hiding behind a boulder when a flash of blonde hair peeks out above the water, revealing the siren, and her melody quickly floats through the air once more.
Before I can plant my hands over my ears, Brax does it for me. This time saying nothing as I watch everything unfold. Sebastian presses his back against the rock, holding his arms out before him. His palms are turned inward, aimed at each other, and a bolt dances from one hand to the other.
My heart lurches, my chest aching as I try to breathe.
