Page 2 of The Siren & the Sea

"Yes, I heard that too. You're speaking into my mind."

Well…good, now we understand one another. I assume you're one of these fearsome sirens I was warned about?

This otter—human—was extremely confident. It was an unexpected, if enjoyable, turn. "I am," he answered simply, wanting to hear what else she would say. "My name is Anatolius."

You don't seem that vicious. I need to get back to the beach by my cottage. I think I know the way, so I'll be going now, if it's all the same to you.With that, she dipped back beneath the waves and began to swim away.

Anatolius followed, not wanting to let this fascinating human get away so soon. He'd spent weeks watching her, the least he could do was try to have a conversation.

"You're a shifter, then? I've heard of your kind—from Beitar, if I'm not mistaken?" She ignored him and kept swimming. He was about to ask her another question, or tell her more about himself, or something, when he heard the lilting song of his kin in the distance. If there were other sirens headed this way, this human's life was in grave danger. She would not find them so curious—they would kill her on sight.

"Wait! There are other sirens approaching. They will kill you if they find you here."

Again, the otter whirled toward him.

What do you propose I do?she asked, with a bite to her voice.

"Just…play along with me. I'll handle it." Anatolius' mind raced through possible solutions, but only one completely ridiculous and slightly terrifying option would be certain to save her life. "Just stay close to me," Anatolius whispered to her, drifting closer.

After a long moment, two other sirens materialized from the deep green of the sea—Yiorgos and Lugana, two of Vathós' most ruthless guards. Anatolius' pulse kicked up. He didn't know why he was so determined to protect this human, but for some reason he didn't want her to die.

"Anatolius, my prince? Why are you not at your post? We grew worried when we passed it and did not find you there as usual." Lugana's dreamy soprano voice glided across the waves as the two sirens closed the distance. The sirens’ tails were long, and covered with opalescent scales. The delicate, frilly fins on theirforearms moved with the subtle currents around them, and their bluegreen skin blended eerily into the water. Anatolius knew the exact moment they noticed the human shifter, could sense the slight tensing of their bodies at the foreign presence. No siren would think twice about ending her. Except him, apparently.

"I am sorry to have alarmed you both. I seem to have been too distracted spending time with my Chosen and have been negligent today. I offer my most sincere apologies." Anatolius put every ounce of his will into sounding calm and sure, as if there was nothing the least bit odd about having a human otter fiancée.

"Your Chosen?" Yiorgos did nothing to disguise the shock and disgust in his voice.

"Yes. My Chosen. We were just about to make our way back to Vathós to begin the proceedings. If you don't mind taking over my post a bit early? I know it's outside of protocol, but," Anatolius glanced over at the otter, still floating next to him.

"Of course, your Chosen is an exception to protocol, we'll handle things here," Lugana interrupted, taking in the otter shifter with even more interest now.

"I know you both likely have many questions, but for now, you must excuse us." Anatolius scooped the otter into his arms as he spoke, and every nerve ending in his entire body lit with a flash of heat. It was a palpable, visceralrightnessthat was all at once exhilarating and peaceful. The shifter tensed in his arms for a split second before he gathered himself enough to flex his tail and begin swimming. He'd never felt anything like that, and his mind raced with the possibilities of what had just happened.

He took them in the direction of the shifter's seaside cottage, swimming slowly, surely, hoping beyond hopes that the two sirens would be so surprised at his news that they wouldn't notice which direction he went.

"My prince?" Anatolius froze and turned to look back at Lugana and Yiorgos.

"Yes?"

"Why are you not heading toward Vathós?"

Anatolius' mind clambered for some reason why he would be swimming in the opposite direction. "We need to stop and get some of my Chosen's things for her stay with us."

The two sirens exchanged a confused look. "Anatolius, you know very well that your family has had everything prepared for the day you find your Chosen for nearly a decade. She will want for nothing in our city," Lugana said, genuine confusion lacing her voice.

"I suppose it wouldn't be the most practical detour," Anatolius said, trying desperately to think of some other reason not to take this human to the very place most dangerous for her in this whole vast sea. After a beat of silence, he couldn't think of anything compelling enough to go against what was expected without raising suspicions. The traditions surrounding finding one’s Chosen were ancient. It would be highly unusual for a Chosen to bring their own things to the siren court. So he reluctantly turned to swim deeper, away from the shore and toward the siren city of Vathós. The other two sirens continued their patrol, drifting toward the edge of their territory, singing as they went. The human's claws dug into his arm as he carried her into the depths.

Chapter 3

Maura was, frankly, stilladjusting to the fact that she wasn't dead, and the startling fact that she had shifted, as this massive blue fish man cradled her in his arms. She dug her claws into his arm, tensing to flee—but flee where? She could never out-swim this creature.

In addition to the absolutely bizarre situation she now found herself in, she was…an otter? The people of Beitar almost all had an animal form, but their magic had been dying slowly for so long that most never knew what their animal was. Her fall from the cliff must have caused her to shift intuitively. She was a Tuanadair–a wielder of Beitar’s ancient shifter magic.

She glanced down at herself as the siren glided through the water and admired the rich brown of her fur. It wasn't so different from the color of her hair in her human form. Maura had always longed to be near water; now it made even more sense.

As they went deeper and deeper into the sea, the cold light of the sun far above became dimmer and dimmer. This was far deeper than any human would normally swim. How was she not holding her breath? She didn’t know all that much about otters, but she knew they spent a good amount of time underwater. She would have to breathe at some point, though, and she began to panic.

She realized with a start that the siren had been able to hear her thoughts before. She wasn't sure how that was possible, or if she could control it.

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