Page 41 of Lured By the Siren

I pull her into my side, bending to place a kiss atop her beautiful golden head. “Well, now you do, and we can change it. Help these men find their way back to themselves, and maybe with all of us working together, we can find a way through the storms and off this Island.”

She looks up to me, and there is a determination on her features that sends a wave of pride through me.

“First, we destroy every drop of that Elixir and burn the flower fields.” She pushes away from my chest but grabs my hand, leading me back toward the Elder's hut and the party that is still raging beyond. “Then we will find out what the Elders have been hiding from us all these years—the way off Kafigda.”

“Wait,” I say, pulling back and halting her steps. “What’s the plan? I can’t go into this blind.”

She bites her lip, “Well, the plan was to just go inside and destroy the Elixir.”

“And how exactly are we just going to sneak by an entire hut full of sirens undetected, and how are we going to destroy it?”

She shrugs. “I hadn’t really thought that far. I figured we would just figure it out as we go.”

I drop her hand, running my fingers through my hair with a huff. “I think we should destroy the flowers first. Then come back for the Elixir.”

“Why?”

“Because if we get caught, at least they won’t be able to make more. They will be down to their final supply.”

Her lips quirk into a smile, and there is a glint of mischief in her eyes, “You know you’re really smart, right?”

I snort. “I’ve been told that a time or two. Dru used to say…” I trail off, memories of home and Dru so close at hand, yet so far away.

“It will work, Kai.” She says, “Dru will come back after we’ve destroyed it all. They all will.”

I close my eyes and clench my fists, “Alright, let's go. Grab one of those torches.” I point to one of the large fire torches that line the Elder's hut, at the same time grabbing another from a neighboring hut.

The climb through the forest and up to the cliffs is harder this time around, with only the torches to light our way, but as we crest the top, I gasp at what was laid out before us.

The Elder flowers glow beneath the silvery moonlight in an array of purples, greens, pinks, and blues. It is stunning. The air feels thick around me, making it hard to breathe, as if the island wants me to turn around and leave this place.

“Are you sure about this?” I hear myself ask Evie.

Her entire body looks poised, ready to flee, but she resists and nods, “We have to. Let's start at the far end and make our way back here so we don’t get trapped by the flames.”

I swallow the sudden lump that forms in my throat. These are probably the most extraordinary plants I will ever see in my life. Nothing will ever compare. I bend to the closest flower, it glowswith a deep purple hue, and pluck it from the stem, placing it cautiously in my pocket. “Just one. To take home with me.”

Evie only gives me an understanding smile. “We have to be quick. As soon as they see the fire, they will know what we’ve done and come here. We have to make sure they won’t grow back.”

“Pull them all out from the roots first. Make sure to get all of it out of the soil, and then we burn the field.”

She squeezes my hand once before trekking across the field, the flowers' light causing her skin to sparkle as she goes. This is it—the moment we won’t be able to come back from. This has to save Dru, Mathius, and everyone on this Island.

A clap of thunder rings out overhead, an ominous warning for us to stop what we’re doing.

“Hurry!” Evelyn says, “We have to destroy it all before the storm comes for us.”

I look up to the once clear night sky above us to find a group of grey clouds hovering there. “How is that possible?” I yell back to her. “The storms never come here. I thought they only stayed out in the ocean.”

“It’s the Island! Kafigda wants to stop us,” she yells back.

“Shit,” I say and grab the base of the Elder flowers in front of me pulling them from the ground.

Evelyn and I race across the field, yanking every single flower by the roots from the rich earth, and then we set it all aflame.

We step back and watch as smoke billows from the growing flames, sparks floating up toward the dark clouds overhead. Evelyn looks up at me, eyes wet with unshed tears. We have just ruined some precious, beautiful piece of life here. But it isn’t just about destroying this field. We are cutting off the source of the sirens' power, destroying what has allowed them to steal the lives of countless men.

A rustling in the trees beside us pulls us both from our haze.

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