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Artus and Terrick and even Polinth covered their ears. Terrick whirled around, trying to pinpoint the source of the Song. But the infinite sapphire ocean appeared empty. It wasn’t, of course. It never was, no matter how much it may’ve looked that way.
Riella pulled Neve to her feet.
“Bind him!” she instructed the acolyte. They had moments before the sorcerer would recover from the surprise and block the Sirensong with magic. “Bind Polinth, now!”
Neve frowned in concentration and moved her hands in circular motions in front of her chest. A black mist appeared between her palms, like a miniature hurricane. She flung it Polinth. The black mist exploded in the center of his robed chest and expanded, like a net, covering his entire body. He roared, stumbling backward. Seraphine dodged him as he lurched into the railing.
The pirates drew their weapons, having shoved candle wax into their ears, and stared around wildly in anticipation.
Thera burst from the ocean, raining water on the men as she soared through the air and landed on the ship. Her powerful pink tail swept the deck, knocking Terrick off his feet.
Lovel lunged, attempting to stab her. The siren picked him up with a scream of fury and threw him against the helm. His bones cracked and his lifeless body fell to the wooden deck.
Artus swung his sword at her while Terrick attacked her from behind. Riella ran at Terrick, slamming him onto the deck. He scrambled to his feet, sword in hand, and aimed a hacking blow at Riella. She dodged the blade and snatched him up by the throat, his boots kicking uselessly in midair. With a twist of her hand, she broke his neck, leaving his eyes to stare blankly at the expansive sky.
Thera fought Artus. He was a tougher opponent for the young siren, who’d never faced off with humans before. The disgraced captain was a veteran of the war and fiercer than his underlings.
Riella went to assist her, but Neve shouted. “Riella, help! The Binding won’t hold much longer!”
Polinth struggled against the spell, grunting and snarling. The black mist flickered and began to fade. In the water behind him, Riella glimpsed dark blue shadows swimming swiftly in wait.
He was backed against the railing and she strode to him. He’d lived for long enough. Ever since he kidnapped her, she’d waited for this chance.
Fear crossed the sorcerer’s wizened features for the first time as she approached, her eyes full of fury and determination.
“Stop!” he shouted, trying in vain to raise his hands against the Binding. “If you kill me, you’ll die. I can save you, I swear it.”
“But if you die,” she replied, balling her fists. “Your hold on Seraphine will break, will it not? She’ll be free.”
“She’s an elf!” spluttered Polinth, his watery eyes bulging. “She’s practically dead already—no good to anyone anymore. But you are a warrior. You can save countless lives, if you survive. That’s why sirens exist, is it not? I understand you, you see?” He jerked his head at Seraphine, who struggled for breath on all fours. “Think of the greater good, my dearest.”
Riella sighed, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky one last time. The stars faded now, the moon setting. Ferrante had been right. She would get to choose her fate. What a gift. And if Jarin had indeed perished, she would be with him again very soon.
She almost felt sorry for Polinth. He believed that power was the most important thing in the world, but he was wrong. It was love, and all of the infinite, colorful, wonderful, messy, big, small, and precious forms it took.
It was Kohara’s calm presence, Berolt’s kindness, Nuri and Ruslo teaching her to dance. It was Yvette’s strength, Sehild’s loyalty, and Odeya’s gentle heart. It was Seraphine returning to save her. Drue teaching her how to sail, and Neve coming to her aid. It was Ferrante’s faith. Galeil and Thera and Mareen searching long and hard for her when she disappeared, and aiding her now, even though she was a land-walker.
It was Jarin. A man, a pirate—who possessed her whole heart.
Her blue stare drifted back to the sorcerer. “You don’t understand sirens at all.”
She held her skirts and kicked Polinth hard in the chest. He flew backward over the railing, still tangled in the flickering Bind. Mareen emerged from the water with her flaming red hair, her icy gaze fixed on him. Something metallic glinted from her neck.
Mareen caught him before he hit the water, sinking her talons into his flesh. She wrapped her tail around his torso and jerked it, breaking his spine. Helpless and immobile, he shrieked as she scalped him with her razor-sharp talons, his bald head turning to red ribbons. The screaming only stopped when Mareen dragged him beneath the surface.
Riella watched from the railing as he disappeared into the sea. Moments later, a dense cloud of blood ballooned to the surface. Mareen had always liked to rip her prey apart completely.
On the deck, Artus locked Thera in battle. He sliced the air with his sword, as she nimbly avoided the blade. But his attacks were furious enough to prevent her from getting a clear shot at him.
Distracted by Artus’s onslaught, Thera had stopped Singing. Riella remembered what it was like, when she first began to fight. She’d be so caught up in combat that she forgot she had a Voice.
“Thera!” called Riella. “Sing to him! Extra loud!”
A smile flashed across Thera’s features as she recognized her oversight.
Then, she opened her mouth and Sang, filling the crystalline pre-dawn air with haunting Sirensong. She increased her volume to penetrate the candle wax in Artus’s ears. He flinched, then buckled in pain. Blood trickled from his ears.
Thera seized the moment and punched him square in the chest. His sternum cracked loudly and he flew backward, skidding across the salt-crusted deck. His dead body came to a halt at Riella’s feet, its chest caved in.
