Chapter 58
CHAPTER 58
Dayton
A s someone who has turned into a wolf almost every night for the last twenty-five years, you’d think a little change wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But there is just something incredibly wondrous about being transformed into a siren.
It didn’t even take that long to get the feel for swimming like this. Rosalina took a little longer to adjust to her tail than I did, but I didn’t mind being close to her and helping her out one bit. As amazing as she made me look with a twinkling teal tail, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of her since we dove beneath the sea.
Rosalina gleams like a jewel. Her tail is golden, each scale casting a shimmer upon the ocean floor, and her chestnut hair flows around her face like a crown of Autumn leaves. Across her torso is a top of iridescent pearls and seashells, gifted by one of the sirens that have joined us on our journey.
More and more sirens have felt our presence in the ocean as we travel to Hadria. They’ve flocked to see the High Prince of Summer and the Golden Rose.
“We’ll be passing Aerantheis soon,” Nereida says, her voice clear despite being underwater. “The other sirens will return home, and we will continue on to Hadria.”
“Amazing.” I smile, still in awe of being able to breathe and communicate below the surface.
Rosalina is up ahead, surrounded by Callistia and a dozen other sirens. Not only was she gifted the top, but also a crown of shells and pearls, and a bracelet of shark teeth. I can tell by her smile and the cadence of her voice that what Rosalina treasures most is not the gifts but getting to know these people. She’s soaking up their stories, their friendship, the way plants soak up the sun. As always, her smile is infectious to those around her.
“There it is.” Nereida points. “Aerantheis.”
Far below us, the city of the sirens rises from the ocean floor. The spires and domes are adorned with coral and sea flowers that sway gently in the currents. The buildings seem to dance in the dappled light from the surface.
“Dayton, look!” Rosalina barrels into me, and we spin, twirling together, bubbles billowing around us.
She clings to my neck as I try to steady us by flapping my tail, but I only brush against her. We end up horizontal, her below me.
“Sorry,” she says, flushing. “I’m not quite used to this tail yet. I wanted to make sure you saw the city.”
“I see it,” I say, guiding the hair from her face as the current gently pushes us upright.
“It’s so beautiful,” Rosalina says wistfully. “I wish we had time to visit.”
The lost city is a kaleidoscope of color and movement. Schools of vibrant fish dart between the coral buildings, their scales catching the light. Illumination shines from the depths. Magic? Deep sea plants? I’m not sure, but an ache of longing pangs in my chest. I wish to see it up close, to explore and learn the stories.
I pull Rosie tight to me, our tails entwining. “We’ll come back. We’ll explore all the sunken ships and the city and attend a siren ball.”
“You promise?”
“I promise,” I say. “If for no other reason than to figure out how to access my siren cock. Surely, it must be here somewhere.”
“Dayton!” she chides, laughing.
“I’m serious, Rosie.” I gesture to the smooth surface of my tail. “What did you do with it?”
“Ask a siren—”
I tug her close, bodies pressed together. “Maybe this will help.”
She doesn’t push me away, instead letting her hands hang loose over my shoulders, her lips pressed close to my skin. I can feel the smoothness of her pearl top against my bare chest, her delicate curves, the silky feel of her tail against mine.
That’s new, and not entirely unwelcome.
“There’s so many dangers on the surface,” she whispers. “It feels safe down here.”
“I know, love. I will never let anything happen to you.”
She pulls away slightly, brown eyes reflecting all the ripples of the ocean. “Because of the vow you made to Ezryn?”
That should be the reason, shouldn’t it?
But the truth is, I wasn’t even thinking of the vow I made to Ezryn when I jumped in after her instead of my mate. Wasn’t even thinking of her being the Queen’s daughter and what that meant for the Vale. I was thinking of the woman I first saw in the hot springs, who blushed when I introduced myself. The woman who looked so at home in the Summer Realm and conned me into buying her anything she wanted at an overpriced market. The woman who saved the man I love from his own darkness. The woman who took the haunted stories of my heart and held them like a treasure. The woman I know I can’t exist in this world without, even if it means living a separate life.
All those things flash through my mind, but I pull away from her and smile.
“It’s only fair, after all. Ez is looking after my sister.” Then, because I can’t bear to see her reaction, I turn and follow one of our siren guides. “Come on, we aren’t far from Hadria, and the games await.”