Mira
Chapter seventeen
Flame & Ashes
It’s time to finally go through my mother's and father’s things. Part of me doesn’t want to know the truth. Another part is terrified of what I might find. My parents had their fair share of secrets and enemies. I pray they hadn’t crossed paths with the sirens.
I start with my mother’s belongings. I reach for one of her journals, the cover worn and soft, the pages delicate, so fragile they feel like they might dissolve at my touch.
Her handwriting is beautiful, flowing, like waves etched in ink.
The date at the top reads over twenty-one years ago. Around the time I was born.
I settle onto the bed, the moonlight pouring through the window and over the pages. I slip into the past.
Mira. That’s the name we’ve chosen for our daughter.
It means female ruler, ocean, and admirable.
Fitting, isn’t it? She’s not even born yet, and already we can feel how special she is.
It’s rare, nearly impossible, for a child to exist between someone like Bleu and someone like me.
This is a blessing, a true miracle. I can’t wait to meet her.
To see who she takes after. If she’s anything like Bleu, gods help us.
We’ve agreed not to tell her everything.
Not yet. If she’s like him, she’ll need time to grow into the truth.
We’ll wait until she’s older, and when the time comes, we’ll tell her together. For now, all we can do is protect her.
Taika granted me eighteen years in human form.
Eighteen years to be her mother. When that time is up, I’ll return to the ocean.
If I die before then, my body will be cast back into the sea, and I’ll return to what I truly am.
She gave Mira the same blessing, or perhaps it’s a curse.
My only hope is that she survives. That she becomes strong, strong enough to face what’s coming.
Bleu and I will train her to be a weapon. That much we can do.
My heart stops. I stare at the page, rereading the words over and over, but they don’t change.
“Return to what I truly am.” What the hell does she mean by that?
She can’t be what I think she is. She can’t be.
And if she is… Is she still out there? Is she alive?
After all this time, the heartbreak, the tears, the suffering.
My pulse hammers in my ears, too loud, too fast. I can’t tell if it’s fear or rage crawling beneath my skin.
My chest tightens, every breath shallow, like the world itself is closing in.
The words blur, my vision swimming as I fight to steady myself, but the weight of what they might mean presses harder.
If she’s alive, everything I thought I understood—everything I’ve mourned—shatters.
I remember my father’s face the day she died, haunted and hollow. I remember how carefully and gently he placed her in the ocean like it was some sacred ritual.
But I never asked why. I was so young. And now Taika’s name is here. My blood runs cold. Why was she involved with my mother? And why didn’t either of them ever tell me?
My mother looked so at peace as the ocean carried her away.
But now that I think back, the water wasn’t just red.
It was black. I thought it was just the depth, the blood darkening against the salt.
But no. Not anymore. Sirens bleed black.
Mermaids bleed blue. Mortals bleed red. And my mother… My mother bled black.
The truth hits like a cannonball, tearing through everything I thought I knew. If my mother was a siren, what does that make me? All this talk about my blood being blessed. This isn’t a blessing, this is a curse.
A violent chill snakes down my spine. I feel sick. Like the blood inside me isn’t mine. Everything I’ve believed about myself has been a lie. And worse, Kai. Gods, Kai hates sirens with a fire I’ve felt in his every word, every warning. If he finds out what I am, what happens then?
I swallow hard and turn the page, my fingers trembling. The next entry is written in a different colored ink.
Mira is stunning. She takes after her father in almost every way, his eyes, his fire, his stubbornness.
But there’s something ancient in her too, something I can’t quite explain.
Human life will be difficult for her. The more people who discover who she truly is, the blood that flows through her veins, the more danger she’ll face.
There are those who would hunt her and kill her just for existing.
She is the key to unlocking the fountain.
Bleu will make an excellent protector. A fierce teacher. He’ll show her how to wield her strength, how to fight, and how to survive. But gods, I hope she gets to live first. To laugh. To be soft. To be a child.
I wish she could stay that way forever.
Not long after her birth, the sea came for her.
Mermaids and sirens alike appeared, uninvited yet strangely welcome.
I’d never seen them in harmony before, sirens, who usually hunt mermaids for sport, swimming side by side with them.
It was unsettling. Beautiful. Almost like a dream.
But it made my blood boil at the sight of it. It wasn’t right.
Bleu went out to investigate. I remember the way he looked when he came back, ashen, urgent.
“We need to bring Mira,” he said. “Now.” I bundled her close and followed him outside.
The ocean wasn’t reflecting the moonlight, it was glowing from beneath.
A thousand shades of blue and silver shimmered as mermaids and sirens sang in unison, their melody so achingly beautiful it stole the breath from my lungs.
It felt like the entire sea was singing to her. For her.
Sea creatures circled the ship, dolphins, rays, even a whale in the distance, all swaying to the rhythm. And then, through the water’s glow, my sister rose from the sea.
Anya.
“Dear Sirena,” Anya said, “your baby has been chosen. Mira is the Soul of the Ocean, the one the sea has been waiting for, for thousands of years. It glows for her now. Her heart is pure gold, as beautiful as the sea itself. We must perform the ritual. Please… let me take her.”
I looked at Bleu. He nodded. That was all I needed.
With shaking hands, I gave Mira to Anya and followed them into the water.
The ocean began to swirl the moment Mira touched it, like it knew her.
Anya carried her to where the glow was brightest and placed her there.
Then, a beam of light rose straight from the ocean, shooting up into the sky, connecting with the moon.
All of us stood, silent and still, watching in awe as my baby became something more, something the world would treasure, fear, and never understand. Mira, the Soul of the Ocean. The most powerful gift the sea had ever given.
The light slowly faded. Anya swam forward and lifted her gently from the glow, then handed her back to me.
Her voice was soft, but there was weight behind every word.
“She must be protected, Sirena. Her soul is rare. The ocean gave her to restore balance, but it will take her back if she’s left unguarded. Never let her out of your sight.”
I looked down at her. Mira was fast asleep in my arms. My precious, beautiful girl. My treasure. My soul.
I slam my mother’s journal shut, completely and utterly stunned.
Bile creeps up my throat, burning it, making me feel like I might throw up.
“I’m the Soul of the Ocean?” I whisper. And Anya…
she’s my aunt? The weight of it all crashes over me like a tidal wave, my mother’s secrets, the glowing ocean, the ritual, Anya.
My mind spins, trying to piece it together.
That was the memory Kai unlocked in the pub.
“You are.” Startled, I spin around so fast I nearly fall off the bed. Kai stands in the doorway, arms crossed, tattoos glowing faintly in the lantern’s flame and the moonlight pouring through the windows.
“You knew?” I snap.
He steps toward the bed, calm as ever. “Of course I did, Mira. I’ve known since the day you stepped onto my ship. I vowed to protect you.”
Anger surges through me like a rip current. “And you didn’t think to tell me?! Don’t you think that would’ve been helpful? What else are you hiding?” Kai shakes his head and sinks down beside me. Gently, he reaches out, brushing his fingers along the side of my face.
“Your story isn’t mine to tell, treasure,” he says softly, his hazel eyes catching the flicker of lantern light.
“It’s yours to uncover. But I’ll be here, every step of the way.
” He glances past me toward the window, a slow, crooked smile rising to his lips.
“And it looks like someone else is happy you’re finally discovering who you are. ”
I turn, drawn to the glass. The ocean below burns like liquid starlight, glowing so brightly it stings my eyes.
The water pulses with a rhythm that feels impossibly familiar, like a second heartbeat inside my chest. I look down and see my mother’s wedding ring resting against my skin, shining just as fiercely as the sea. Something inside me shatters.
I bolt from the room, bare feet flying across the ship’s wooden boards. Only the night crew is out, frozen at the strange glow rising from the depths. With a single sweep of his hand, Kai dismisses them.
I race to the railing, heart pounding like thunder.
Below, sea creatures spiral through the illuminated water, carving patterns I can’t begin to understand.
My breath catches, too shallow, too tight.
The pull is undeniable. The ocean is calling me home.
I tear at my clothes, desperate to break free, to answer it.
Then, his hand. Gentle, reassuring. Kai.
“I’ll go with you,” he says, his voice steady, low. He’s already pulling off his shirt, moonlight tracing the lines of his skin like a blessing, igniting every single stroke of ink that stains his skin.