We walk down the castle together. Heâs tied a rope between us, connecting our wrists, though Iâm sure my end is far tighter than his. Iâm wearing a dress and a cloak, but in reality, it doesnât matter because I am not me.
I am entirely the creature.
I can feel the arousal and anticipation leeching off the man beside me. He has waited for this for so long that he can barely contain himself.
He sent orders down already and two horses are there, waiting. He doesnât want the guards; he clearly doesnât want any other threats, any other men nearby, who might just try to take me from him.
He lifts me into the saddle, then ties my legs in case I think of jumping from it. He takes my reins and mounts his own horse before leading us both out of the castle.
All around, I can feel eyes watching me.
Soldiers, servants, men from the feast.
There are thousands of them.
I can see their lust, their desire, but I can also see confusion too, because they donât understand whatâs happening. Why this warlord is suddenly taking the siren away.
Once we are clear from the walls, he kicks his horse into a canter and pulls mine with it. I cling to the front of my saddle.
Iâve never been a good rider. Iâm unconfident and unsure of what a horse can do, and the creature can feel my alarm and is channeling it.
The only reason Iâve felt safe when Helos took me out was because it was him. His presence made me feel safe.
But I have none of that with Issar.
We ride for hours. Issar makes comments here and there, and the creature responds with my words. I donât listen. I donât pay attention. Iâm too busy trying to figure out where we are.
Helos must be close. Surely, he is. Iâve been gone so long that thereâs no way he wouldnât have sent his army to come get me.
Unless Issar destroyed them all? No, he couldnât have. I know he hasnât because if he had, he would have told me, taunted me with it. He would have mounted Helosâs head on a stick and displayed it for everyone to see.
~Stop~, says the creature. She needs to focus. She needs me to shut up.
I grit my teeth, feeling myself fading back into the further recesses of my mind.
Sheâs going to give this man what he wants, what he desires above all other things in this world, and I donât have the strength or the control to stop her.
I thought we were friends. I thought we had somehow come to trust one another, but in this moment, all I can feel is the bitterness of her betrayal.
And I curse her over and over, hoping each word cuts just as deeply as what sheâs doing to me right now.
What sheâs doing to us.
***
We reach the coast. Weâve been smelling the sea on the air for a while, and when the cliffs come into view, even I canât help but gasp at the beauty of them.
Issar pulls the horses down to the lower cliffs, where the water still looks so deep below. He unties my legs before pulling me from the saddle.
I stand shakily after so much riding.
This is it. This is the moment where Issar wins. Internally, I wail with despair.
The creature unclasps the robe, letting it fall by the horseâs feet.
Issar sees the action and smirks as he moves to copy.
She steps back toward the edge, and he moves quickly to grab her.
Clearly, he is afraid she will still run.
âYou want a siren? Come and get one,â she murmurs as she pulls the dress from her body and falls backward into the water.
Issar hisses, diving after her even as the rope that connects us pulls him down.
We fall, letting the wind whistle through our hair, and the water crashes up around us.
I let out a gasp. A small cry of joy despite my utter despair because I can taste it, my freedom, my home, everything that makes me what I am.
Issar is on me in an instant. His arms wrap around me, his legs grip mine. He is suffocating me even in this place.
But the creature doesnât care.
She pulls him down, letting him breathe, letting him run his hands all over her. I feel my stomach turn in revulsion. But thereâs nothing I can do to stop it.
He gropes me; he grabs at me. He groans in pleasure.
And then she ~sings~.
Gods, she sings.
His eyes widen as he takes in the sound. He canât believe heâs hearing it. That this is real. That this is happening.
He stares at me, seeing now that this is no trick.
She pulls him further.
We are so far under the water now I can barely make out the surface.
He grabs my face, crashing his lips against mine. The sound of my song is turning him mad, sending him right over the precipice of his need, his lust-filled madness.
One of his hands finds my ass, while the other starts undoing the jeans heâs still wearing.
He wants us. Right here, in this moment, heâs going to claim us.
Finally claim the true siren. The real siren.
His arousal leaks out in the water around us like a poison festering away.
I want to choke, to be sick, but I have no control.
I am only an observer in this.
His dick is out. I see it through the haze, but I am helpless to do anything.
Only the creature pulls away.
She hisses, and he frowns, confused.
She narrows her eyes and suddenly he canât breathe. The air that was in his lungs barely moments before is gone.
He is suffocating.
Drowning.
He snarls, grasping at his throat, grasping at me.
I swim further away, and he yanks on the rope around my wrist, pulling me back.
I see the flash of silver, the movement of it, and then the searing pain as something rips into my side.
He slashes again, wildly with one hand, while the other grasps at his throat.
I scream, trying to get free from his reach, but the rope that ties me to him wonât let me get far.
He is drowning, he is dying, but he is still fighting in these last moments.
The knife falls from his hand. He kicks out again and again.
But he is too far down, too deep.
He will never reach the surface in time.
The creature seizes her moment. She slashes at him, claws at him.
Every tiny bit of rage, anger, pure fury we have felt for this man she now deals back.
She pounds into him, punching him, hitting him so hard that the last of his oxygen escapes him.
And, then, finally heâs dead.
The creature fades back within me. I am once more in control, and I realize Iâm just floating, staring at his body.
I kick away, but the rope pulls me down with him.
I panic, trying to undo the knot, but itâs so tight, and in the end, I have to gnaw the damn rope from my wrist. It takes what feels like hours to do it, but when Iâm finally free, I swim away.
I watch as his body falls into the dark below.
I tremble in the water because she has done it.
She has slain the monster.
My side hurts so bad, and I realize the water around me is crimson with my blood.
Issar has stabbed me too many times for me to not be concerned.
I feel my body weaken. I feel my eyes grow heavy. I have to sleep. I need to.
The sea will heal me enough if I remain here and just let it.