Page 57 of Cruel Destinies

“Whatever!” I yelled after her, throwing my hands in the air. “Go and get yourself killed!”

I spun on my heel back to the car where Brett was still sitting in the backseat, gaping at me.

“Fuck ‘em. Let’s go home.” I entered the new destination in the Uber app, and we drove off, neither of us saying a word to each other.

I hated how much I cared, and that I was so angry I wanted to burn this whole city to the ground with my dragon fire. I hated that I’d lost my temper and probably ruined things again. And even worse, I hated how terrified I was that she hadn't come back with me.

Chapter 18

Arya

“What the hell is his problem?” Ashlyn muttered, glancing at Tobias over my shoulder a few tables away as we sat in the dining hall for dinner.

I didn’t turn my head. I knew I would see that brimstone glower on Tobias’s face aimed at my back, and I wasn’t in the mood. I just remained hunched over the tuna sandwich I wasn’t eating.

“Who even does that? We were only out for a few hours, and we even had Caesar’s permission to do so. Talk about major control issues.”

I shrugged. “I mean, I guess I get it. He’s afraid that something bad is going to happen to me out there. But that’s no excuse to go all alpha-hole on me. What does he expect me to do, stay in this fish bowl for the rest of my life?”

“Alpha-hole, nice.” Ashlyn snickered. “I wish he would get over himself, already. He obviously has it bad for you, but rather than confess his feelings for you and makewhatever this thing is”—she waved her hands in the air in front of me—“between you two official, he’s being a bossy, controlling dick wad.”

I dragged my hands down my face. “I so don’t care right now. I have enough to worry about with all my training.”

“How’s that going, by the way?” she asked, and I was immensely grateful for the change of topic.

“Actually, it’s going great. I feel so much more confident with the harpy stuff than my mermaid powers. It just seems to come so much easier.” I frowned. “Sometimes I think maybe I’m not really a mermaid at all, but then I don’t feel more at home anywhere but in the water. It’s...weird.”

“You never know. You might feel differently when you get to fly as a harpy,” she suggested with a shrug. “When are you going to try shifting?”

I snorted. “I’m not ready for that. As a mermaid, I don’t really have a choice. Saltwater gets on my skin, and shifting is automatic. I wouldn’t know the first thing about trying to shift into something totally new at will. Especially something that’s so completely opposite of a mermaid.”

“I know better than anyone else at this school what that feels like. I tried so many times to shift and failed. Little did I know all I had to do was die first.” Ashlyn laughed, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “But it’s what we are. It’ll happen for you eventually. After all, you’re the chosen one.” She winked.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” I hung my head. “I have my first siren lesson after this. Yet another thing that I have no clue how to do.”

“Again, welcome to the club.” She raised her soda can in a mock toast. “As an ex-member, I have faith in you.” She offered an encouraging smile.

“Thanks.” I picked up my sandwich, deciding to eat it quickly so I wouldn’t have to feel the heat of Tobias’s scowl on the back of my neck.

***

My legs wobbled with uncertainty as I entered the music classroom for my first siren lesson with Celeste. The room was empty, of course, but I still felt strange about training for a skill that would assumedly bring about the end of a centuries-old war in the same place where my classmates and I sang choir songs.

Shouldn’t this be done in the gym? Or the mer training room?

Celeste was perched at the base of the theater-style steps, and when I looked her way, she patted the spot beside her. I swallowed nervously and walked toward her, taking a seat.

“Have you been drinking plenty of water today?” Celeste asked.

“Umm, yes?” I answered, unsure as to what that had to do with this lesson. I always drank a ton throughout the day, more than what was considered normal for non-mer.

“Good, that should help.” She laced her fingers and placed her hands in her lap. “Now, before we start, let’s talk about what happened in the alley, when you used your siren voice in front of Hadrian. Can you tell me how it happened? What were you feeling?”

I let out a shaky breath and replayed the incident in my mind. “Well, one of the vampires had gotten hold of Ashlyn and was going to hurt her. I felt so useless, being the only one of my friends who didn’t know how to fight, and when I thought she was going to get hurt, I... I refused to let that happen. So I yelled at the vampire to let her go. And he did.”

Celeste nodded. “I see. And were there any other times in your past that you might have used your siren voice without knowing it? Any time that you voiced what you wanted and the person did exactly what you said?”

Her question was one I’d been debating for several nights. There had been two other times in her life that I remembered hearing that voice come out of my mouth, that I’d felt that strange vibration throughout my core. The time in the Simulation Room with the fake vampire and the last time I ever spoke to my mother.

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