Page 83 of Seas the Reckoning

“Stop!” Pain hits my head like a hammer, but rage dampens it. “You will stay away from my friends, and you will not harm us.”

All five of them have gone wide-eyed, their mouths open but no sound coming out.

My voice weaves through the water, and I can practically envision it wrapping around the naiads and mermaids. The necklace is hot against my chest as I use my siren abilities so close to where my curse could end.

Thomas closes his mouth tight.

I let the song fall away, but my stomach drops when I see a whirlpool of water rushing towards us like an underwater tornado.

The chaos I predicted.

“Dodge!” I yell.

The mermaids and naiads dart out of the way, but Thomas can’t maneuver so fast. The whirlpool strikes his tail, tugging him sideways and undoubtedly sending my friends careening inside his mouth. The only good thing is that the water cyclone isn’t big enough to haul the whale away entirely, and he’s able to right himself once it dissipates.

My vision is blurry, and I feel as if I’m the one who’s been tossed about. There’s blood in the water, and I have no doubt I’m the source. As the five supernaturals swim back to face me, I prepare myself. If I have to, I’ll send Thomas swimming away to safety while I hold them off.

The five of them stop in front of me, and bow their heads.

“You are who you said you were,” the short-haired mermaid admits.

“We will take you to the place you seek,” adds the hazel-eyed naiad.

“This way,” adds the naiad with brown eyes.

They swim underneath me, and then north.

I look at Thomas, but can’t read a whale expression to save my life.

I turn and follow the supernaturals, with the massive whale following behind me.

31

HIDDEN SONG

The mermaids and sirens lead Thomas and me to a large, cavernous entrance under the waves.

“What is this?” I ask.

“We’re here,” the three naiads say in unison.

“Some of the island used to be above the waves, but over time it has sunk lower,” one mermaid explains.

“We go through this tunnel, and it will take us to the place you seek,” says the second.

Thomas pauses, looking directly at me.

“He can’t fit through that entrance, and we are all going to go.”

I need Starla to break the curse. She can’t do it from inside a whale, and she can’t do it deep under the water, either.

“When we come out on the other side of the tunnel, there is a cave with air for anyone who requires it,” one of the mermaids volunteers.

“How long of a swim is the tunnel?”

They each give different answers, mostly measured in time instead of distance. I gather it will depend on how strongly and quickly my friends can swim.

“Would you please excuse me for a moment?” I say to the group, not waiting for a response before I swim up to Thomas’s mouth. I point up, and he surfaces once more.