Chapter 35 #2
“They’re staying in the woods on the other side of the town. There's a clearing I like to use when it’s too dangerous to stay in Eldenwood. I’ll take you to them in the morning. You can’t be too careful in these woods.”
“Why not now?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Coral fiddled with the worn threads of her cloak, then wrapped it in a bundle and dropped it on the ground. “As I already said, you have to be careful in these woods. There are many things here to be feared beyond us.” She cocked her head toward Elva.
I narrowed my gaze at her, but Elva spoke up. “That’s enough of your pissing match.” She ran her hands through her thick hair before sitting down beside the fire to warm her hands. “You’re both big, powerful warriors. You don't need to prove it to me.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Coral rasped with her sultry voice.
“I know how big my dick is.” She smiled, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and it took everything in me not to flinch.
She sat beside Elva and whispered something to her, making the half-selkie roll her eyes and playfully shove her friend.
I stood there, waiting. I knew she’d crack.
“Fine. A compromise,” Coral finally said. “We’ll wait until it’s first light and go. We’ll arrive in time for breakfast.”
Elva's chest rose quickly. I could tell she wanted to go now, but she wasn't willing to speak up against her friend. The ridiculousness of it wasn’t lost on me. Elva would stand up to anyone with her daggers out, but not against this siren. Could this Coral be a former commander? Someone ranked above her that the warrior in Elva still felt the need to obey? I wanted to know more, but knew I wouldn’t get any intel while she was sitting beside Elva.
So I volunteered to fetch even more wood.
I fetched us wood three times throughout the night, while the sirens sat beside the fire wrapped in Elva’s blanket.
They ate the quail stew, chatted, reminisced, and debated which species of male made the best lover.
Coral brought up the topic repeatedly, smirking at me every time she coaxed Elva into discussing her favorite partners.
The siren was perceptive—she'd figured me out within minutes, while Elva either remained unaware of my feelings or ignored them.
Eventually, we settled on shifts for the night. I offered to take the first watch, but Elva, hesitant after already napping earlier, finally relented when Coral volunteered to stay up instead—a task I had no intention of letting her handle alone.
When Elva settled down to rest, I took the opposite side of the fire and got comfortable for my faux slumber.
It only took minutes for Elva’s chest movements to slow to a standstill.
How she could sleep in the middle of the woods with a sort of prisoner and an old friend staring daggers at one another was beyond me.
She must have been drained from her injury, yet she hid it well during the day.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to make it look like I was falling asleep.
The challenge, now, was to remain awake.
I couldn't move without giving myself away, so I tried to focus on the wind rushing through the branches and the night creatures coming out to investigate us.
The more intently I focused, the duller my focus seemed to become.
A branch snapped near my head, sending me upright in an instant. Despite my efforts, I’d fallen asleep, but before I could focus on my failure, Coral’s face was in front of mine.
“Rise and shine. Figured you could keep me company.”
A sharp pain exploded from my side, and when I glanced down, Coral had one of Elva’s daggers pressed into my stomach hard enough for the tip to have vanished in my shirt and flesh, and a small trickle of blood gathered on my shirt around it.
“If you scream or do anything to wake Elva,” she whispered, “I’ll bury the blade in her pretty little neck. Understood?”
I nodded as much as I dared, and she moved the dagger to a safer distance so I could slowly stand.
I considered whether I had the speed and agility to overtake her.
I was nearly a head taller, but I’d seen Elva’s reflexes, and if Coral’s were the same, I couldn’t be certain of the outcome, especially in the pitch black woods surrounding me.
The siren stayed near me, focused on my face.
“None of that,” she said, shaking her head at me.
Grinning with those horrible teeth, she brought her free hand up to show me her fingernails had grown as long as the dagger she held in her other hand.
She waved one lethal fingertip close to my neck and whispered.
“Don’t even think of trying to run off, because I’ll find you, and then I’ll kill you, and I need you alive to collect the reward money.
So be a good little boy and pick a branch from the fire to light our way. ”
I did as she asked. Pain shot through my entire back and chest again.
Anytime I stepped on a branch, Coral pressed the dagger sharply into my side.
She somehow expected me to be completely silent in an old-growth forest, never mind all the twigs and sticks from the storm.
I clenched my teeth to hold back a wince of pain and trudged on.
The burning stick I’d grabbed illuminated a few steps away from my feet, but not enough to be useful.
Trying not to be obvious about it, I darted my eyes through the shadows, looking for any opening large enough for me to get away from this crazed siren.
It was clear she didn't know where Elva’s brothers were, and that she just wanted to hand me over for the gold.
But with Elva's bounty being so much more, it didn't make sense—unless she'd made another deal.
She jabbed me again with the blade. “Don’t get any ideas, Your Highness. You’re worth more alive, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make money off you dead.”
Without a word, I continued on, nearly stumbling as I shuffled my feet to avoid snapping any branches and the inevitable jabs into my flesh of her dagger.
“Finally.” The siren muttered and pushed me from behind toward a flickering light ahead. I stumbled between two trees and found myself at a camp with a pair of sirens, but not the two I was expecting.
“River. Talia. Tie him up.”
Wait until the time is right. I held my hands out, and the taller siren came over with some rope. Her hair and eyes were so dark, they were nearly navy blue. The cord was bristly, and she bound my hands tightly enough to pinch my skin.
The other siren looked me over and laughed. “This is the human we made a deal for?” She had cyan hair, and I later learned she was named River.
“Like most men, he’s not much to look at,” Coral replied.
Talia tugged on the waist of my trousers. “I wonder if he has it where it counts.”
I stepped away from her and growled, baring my teeth at them.
The trio laughed before River shoved me to the ground and tilted my chin up at her. “Now be a good boy while River and I play with you. Coral promised us.”
“Just keep him quiet,” Coral said. “We don’t need the guards or villagers overhearing you.”
River looked down at me like a wolf hungrily examining its prey. “No promises,” she said, and before I could say anything, her mouth was on mine.