Chapter 2
Elva
Our trio traveled swiftly on the path before veering into the woods to hide from any of the Raunheim people we expected would pursue us.
We walked a suitable distance, weaving the horses through the old growth bushes and birch trees, deeper into the Forest of Endilaus, until we found a secluded clearing where we could settle down for the night.
I set up our cloth tents while Leifur disappeared into the woods to gather firewood.
Sindri finished preparing the horses for the night before he slunk over to me.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
“For what?” I asked, driving the final tent stake into the ground with a rock.
“That you weren’t able to take care of things before I got into trouble. I know it’s been three weeks—”
“Not three weeks,” I said sharply, tossing the rock aside. “Twenty-four days, Sindri. I haven’t been with a man in twenty-four days.” I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “Do you remember the last time I went twenty-nine days and my siren came out to take care of the situation?”
“Yes, Elva, of course I—”
“Because you are acting like you don’t. I killed those men.”
“They were robbers.”
“They were still people! They didn’t deserve to be ripped apart by my siren because I failed to find a man to bed in time.”
Sindri raised his hands in surrender and stepped closer.
“I understand it’s frustrating for you.” I opened my mouth to reply, but Sindri put his finger to my lips to shush me.
“I understand the things you need to do to keep your siren in check. It's much harder for you than it is for me and Leifur. It may not be fair, but we can’t change it. We’ll just have to find you someone in the next town. ”
I pushed his hand away and dropped to the ground to set up the fire pit. “Honestly, you probably did me a favor.”
“How so?”
Branches snapped behind us as Leifur arrived carrying a massive armload of wood. “Because that fool she found was as green as your right eye,” he said. “He was in there for ten minutes with her, and they were still fully clothed.”
Sindri burst into laughter as he took the wood from Leifur, and they worked to start a fire.
“Did you at least find any information from the others at the bar?” my brother asked.
I sighed and shook my head, pulling out our rations.
“We’re two days away from Tyndorf Castle.
When we get there, we’ll stop at one of the rougher looking inns near the edge of town.
Hopefully, I’ll find someone to take care of my needs there, and then we’ll get some information to help me hunt down that asshole who turned me into this monster.
Preferably someone who knows what they’re doing. ”
Sindri smirked at Leifur. “My sister likes it rough.”
Leifur chuckled, poking at the wood as the fire crackled to life. “I’m well aware, both from experience and sleeping in rooms next to hers .”
“We can’t all be delicate flowers like you, Sindri,” I teased, and threw his bread rations over the fire at him.
Leifur chuckled and went back to tending the fire.
My handsome brother-in-law had been assigned to me when I turned twenty-three and hadn’t produced a child yet.
While I was his first failure at producing an offspring with a female siren, I was the first one who truly cared about him as more than a donor.
Our friendship blossomed so quickly that even when it was clear he wouldn’t be able to help me produce the child that was required for me to stay in the Siren territory, he refused to abandon me.
And once he met my brother, I knew Leifur would never leave us.
He had craved a loving family, only to have the sirens he was assigned to leave the moment they were pregnant, but it was then that he found his perfect family in a pair of unwanted low-born siren twins.
So if humans came, I would deal with them however I had to.
But the idea that the sirens might come to take them back kept me up at night.
Sindri turned the bread over in his fingers, sniffed it, and made a face as if he’d gag before tossing it behind him.
“Sindri.” Leifur shoved his shoulder.
The siren just laughed, pulled three fresh loaves from his bag, and tossed them to us. “Fresh bread and dried boar, courtesy of the widow.” He grinned and took a large bite.
“As much as I hate the situations you get us into,” I said. “I won’t complain about what your siren charms get us.”
“That’s the advantage of having a sultry siren brother, my dear warrior sister. You protect us, and I provide for us. And my husband—he just looks handsome with all those muscles from working so hard.”
I giggled as Leifur pulled up his sleeve and flexed his bulky biceps. His grayish-hued skin that would camouflage in the water went iridescent in the firelight, and his blue hair and eyes sparkled with the light.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I said softly.
“Stop thanking us.” Leifur directed, tossing an apple at me. “You were only exiled because you turned twenty-four and couldn’t become pregnant, as if our only value as a siren is our ability to procreate.” He opened a bottle of ale and took a swig.
“That’s because it is,” I said, grabbing his ale and taking a swig. “Your prowess is why you were so treasured. You didn’t have to come with me.”
“If they exiled you, that included me.” Sindri grabbed the bottle from my grasp. “With so few of us males, and my refusal to ever touch a female siren, I was useless to them. And then I corrupted Leifur, too. Clearly, I was a menace!”
“Being half selkie certainly didn’t help things,” Leifur said.
“You love my selkie half,” Sindri said and kissed his husband.
“Of course I do. Both of you.” He winked at me and ran his hand through his blue locks. “I love your luscious blue and green hair, and that you have an eye of each color. You’re both beautiful.”
“I am, aren’t I?” Sindri smirked. “Though I think it’s unfair that our little warrior got the gorgeous scales during her cycle while I got the gills. Why do I need gills? Sirens can breathe underwater without them.”
I raised my eyebrow at my brother and pursed my lips. “I’d rather have the gills than have scales appear at random times. I know you think they’re beautiful, but at least your gills have a use.”
“The scales track how close you are to losing control and letting your monster out.”
“That makes it worse, Sindri.”
“Your scales are part of who you are, Elva,” Leifur said. “They made all the other sirens jealous of you.”
I glared at my overly kind brother-in-law. “They also helped to get me exiled.” I looked down at my side for the telltale glistening against my white, iridescent skin. “Can you see them yet?”
“Not yet,” Sindri said. “Even if today was a monumental failure with your little drunk friend, it seems to have silenced the siren for the moment.”
“Thank Poseidon!”
“When we arrive at Tyndorf, mask your hair,” Leifur said. “I know you hate doing it, but it makes things easier for you.”
“I only hate doing it because it won’t last. We spend hours coloring it with walnut shells only to have it be blue and green again in the morning.”
“That’s why I shave my head,” Sindri said.
I laughed. “You know that doesn’t work for me either.”
“I know,” he said. “But it’s not my fault your hair grows back overnight.”
“We should get some sleep,” Leifur interjected before Sindri and I could get into a proper argument. “I know Elva’s going to want to leave before the sun comes up so we can put more distance between us and Raunheim.”
“How well you know me.” I smiled at them. Leifur stood and held his hand out to Sindri, and helped him up. The two men walked around the fire and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek, heading to their tent.
Watching the fire crackle, I pulled both knees up to my chin.
I'll find the last of the ones who broke me. Kill him, and then we’ll find a home away from it all.
There has to be a town somewhere in Torian that isn’t terrified of the Sirens and will let us stay there.
We just want a place to live out our lives in peace.