Chapter 38 #3
Lily went very still. I felt her emotions through the bond—rage and grief and something that felt like a door slamming shut on a part of her that had still hoped, somehow, that there had been a reason.
An explanation. Something that would make it hurt less.
There wasn't. They'd sold her for gold, and they'd used that gold to build a comfortable life. That was all.
"Marcus?" I asked, my voice cutting through the heavy silence that had fallen.
"Arriving in Saltmere tomorrow. He'll be attending the auction in three days.
" Coral's smile turned predatory, showing teeth that were sharper than any human's, her dark eyes glittering with anticipation.
Her tail swished behind her with barely contained excitement.
"I can get you inside. The estate has shoreline access—an underground passage that leads from the sea caves directly into the mansion's cellar.
It's how they bring in the merchandise without being seen. "
"We'll need to walk among them." I kept my voice level, though my mind was already racing through plans and contingencies.
"To get close enough to do what needs to be done.
" Coral's dark eyes moved to Lily, assessing her with new interest, her gaze traveling over Lily's siren form with clinical precision.
"You've transformed her. She'll need to learn the shift back to human form—it's different than it was before she changed.
More painful. Her body will fight it." Her voice was matter-of-fact, but not unkind, and she tilted her head as she studied Lily.
"The rest of you know the transformation already, yes? "
"We do." I glanced at my packmates—at Riven's scarred face set with determination, at Vale's silver eyes glinting with anticipation, at Thane's gentle features tight with concern.
We'd all walked among humans before, for various reasons over the centuries.
The transformation was unpleasant but familiar.
"It's only Lily who hasn't done it since she became one of us. "
"I can handle pain." Lily's voice was steady despite the flicker of uncertainty I felt through the bond, her jaw set with stubborn determination. She straightened her spine, lifting her chin with defiance. "I've handled worse."
Coral nodded slowly, her dark eyes thoughtful, her tail swishing gently behind her.
"We'll see. The shift back to human is always harder for those who've fully embraced their siren nature. Your body knows what it is now. It won't want to change." She gestured for us to follow her. "Come. We'll do it in the cove where I teach all my students."
We moved to a secluded cove where the water was shallow and warm, hidden from the harbor by a tumble of massive boulders.
The four of us shifted first, letting Lily watch, letting her see what to expect.
The transformation was never pleasant, even after centuries of practice.
I felt my tail split and reshape, felt the burning sensation of scales receding into skin, felt my gills seal shut as my lungs expanded to take their place.
The process took only minutes, but each second stretched like an hour, my body fighting against the change even as I forced it to comply.
When it was over, I stood on two legs in the shallow water, my body pale and human and achingly vulnerable.
Beside me, Riven rolled his shoulders, testing his human form, his scarred face looking even more brutal without the softening effect of his crimson scales.
His golden eyes swept over his new body with familiar distaste, and he flexed his hands, studying the blunt human fingers.
Vale pushed wet silver hair from his face, his beauty somehow even more striking in human form, his features carved with an almost painful perfection.
He moved experimentally, testing muscles and joints, his silver eyes taking in everything with cool assessment.
Thane flexed his hands, studying his blunt human fingers with familiar distaste, his gentle features creased with discomfort.
His amber eyes found Lily immediately, watching her with concern.
"Your turn, little flower." Riven's voice was rougher in this form, lacking the resonance of a siren's speech, but it was still warm as he held out a hand to Lily.
His golden eyes—unchanged even in human form—were soft with encouragement, his scarred face gentle despite its brutality. "We're right here."
Lily nodded, her jaw tight with determination, her dark eyes fixed on some internal focus. She closed her eyes and reached for the transformation the way Coral had described—not fighting her siren nature, but coaxing it to step aside, to let the human she'd once been rise to the surface.
The change hit her harder than it had hit any of us.
She screamed as her tail began to split, her back arching, her hands clawing at the sandy bottom.
The sound tore from her throat raw and desperate, echoing off the rocks surrounding the cove.
I was at her side in an instant, gathering her against me, holding her through the agony as her body reshaped itself into something it hadn't been for months.
"I've got you," I murmured against her hair, feeling her shudder in my arms, feeling the tremors that wracked her small frame. Her fingers dug into my shoulders, her nails breaking skin as she fought through the pain. "I've got you, Lily. It's almost over. Just breathe."
The transformation seemed to last forever, though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.
When it finally ended, Lily lay gasping in my arms, her body pale and trembling and unmistakably human.
Two legs where her tail had been. Smooth skin where scales had glittered.
Lungs heaving with air instead of water.
"That was..." She swallowed hard, her voice hoarse from screaming, her throat raw. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes were glassy with residual pain. "That was worse than the first transformation. When I became a siren."
"The body remembers what it was." Coral's voice was quiet, matter-of-fact, as she watched from nearby, her dark eyes sympathetic but unsurprised. She crouched at the water's edge, her coral-pink tail still submerged. "It doesn't want to go back. But you did it. You're stronger than you look."
Lily pushed herself up on shaky arms, looking down at her human body with an expression I couldn't quite read. Her hands trembled as she examined them—the blunt nails, the smooth skin. Wonder, maybe. Or grief. Or something between the two.
"I forgot how vulnerable this feels," she whispered, her voice small and uncertain in a way I hadn't heard from her in months. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly seeming so much smaller. "How... small."
"You're not small." I helped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her waist when her new legs threatened to buckle, feeling the way she leaned into me for support.
My hand spread across her lower back, steady and grounding.
"You're the same person you were five minutes ago.
The same person you've been since we claimed you. The form doesn't change who you are."
She looked up at me, her dark eyes searching my face, and I saw the fear lurking beneath her determination—the fear of being human again, of being weak again, of being the prey she'd been before we found her. Her lower lip trembled slightly before she caught it between her teeth.
"I know." She nodded, squaring her shoulders, forcing steel into her spine. Her jaw tightened with resolve. "I know that. It's just..." She trailed off, shaking her head, dismissing her own fears. "Let's do this. Before I lose my nerve."
Coral provided us with clothes and reminded us how to blend in with the crowds that filled Thornhaven's busy streets. And then, on the third day, she led us through the city to the road that would take us to Saltmere—and to Marcus.
The estate outside Saltmere was everything I expected and worse.
We approached from the sea, swimming through the underwater caves Coral had described until we emerged in a cellar that smelled of salt and fear and old blood.
Cages lined the walls—empty now, but the scratches on the bars and the stains on the floor told their own story.
How many omegas had been held here, waiting to be sold?
After tonight, there would be no more.
We transformed in the shallows of the cave, our bodies shifting from siren to human with practiced ease—though Lily's change was slower, more painful, her face contorting with agony she refused to voice.
Her hands gripped the rocky edge until her knuckles went white, and she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood.
When it was over, she stood pale and trembling but resolute, her jaw set with determination, her dark eyes burning with cold fire.
We moved through the underground passages in silence, our bare feet making no sound on the cold stone.
The transformation had left us weaker than we were in the water—slower, more vulnerable—but we were still predators.
Still sirens beneath the human skin. And the humans above had no idea what was coming for them.
The sounds of the auction reached us before we found the main hall—laughter, conversation, the clink of glasses and the murmur of bids. Rich voices discussing prices and qualities and yields, as if they were buying livestock rather than people.