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“Boss, it’s time.”
A voice echoed down the stairs. I recognized it as one of Adrian’s men and hushed him.
“Silence,” I commanded. “Not until my signal.”
“Boss, huh?” the leader of the prisoners chuckled, long and deep. “I see you haven’t wasted time in using your gifts. I hope that pleases the king.”
“Boss?” the man asked again.
“Just a moment,” I sang. “The games will begin soon.”
I stepped away from the cell to attend to my scheduled mutiny, the pirate leader’s voice echoing behind me.
“So they will, little siren. So they will.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
“Escort Adrian back to his room,” the king ordered two sirens in the throne room. “And you, Rhys, shall remain here.”
I caught the stern look in his eye before bowing my head.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I answered.
I didn’t lift my eyes as Adrian left. I had only intended to confront him—to ask him why his heart had changed so much in such a short time—but as soon as I saw his face, I lost control. My hatred for him had consumed all logic, and I hadn’t noticed until it was too late, until the king had to force himself between us.
When Adrian left and the doors shut behind him, the king stood to step away from his throne.
“Be careful not to return to your own habits,” he said. “The consequences may be worse than the first time.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I’ve given you the gift of another chance,” he continued. “Do not allow your heart to return to its former darkness and ruin that gift.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Silence.
“You cared for the humans in the beginning,” he said when some time had passed. “You even saved them from those who would destroy them without a second thought.”
I caught his eye, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
I could still remember the blood of the child and its mother on Renaldo’s hands. I barely made it to the second child in time. But I had only been able to save one of the three. There was plenty more innocent blood before and plenty more innocent blood after that I couldn’t save.
But I had never told the king. I had never told anyone.
It was foolish, however, to think the king didn’t already know.
He continued. “And in their pain, and your own, you tried to give and take pleasure. But that was also against my rules.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You loved the humans, and then you lost what real love was. So I had to teach you.”
Maria’s eyes flashed in my mind for a brief moment. I knew I could never see her again. The siren world and the world of the dead didn’t cross. Our mission was to judge humans on Earth. Nothing else.
But from that pain, and a few other tragically lost loves in my other lives, I understood what the king was trying to teach me. I understood how I saw love incorrectly. Selfishly. Possessively. And emptied.
“Love isn’t destructive,” he said, stepping closer to me. “Did you learn it?”
