Siren Song of the Void

Chapter 1

A tortured melody flowed from the grand water fountain at the center of the ballroom. The haunting song of something wild and beautiful, meant to be elsewhere, eternally trapped.

Just like me.

I leaned forward so that the cool curtain of water ran over my fingers and allowed my pasted-on smile to relax into a scowl.

Tonight is the night, Zephra. The night you rip your freedom back and make them pay.

I had baited the hook two days ago. Now, all I had to do was feign innocence, look pretty, and listen for someone to utter the code phrase.

The water had been an enchanting distraction from the crowd of Humans that littered the expanse of the ballroom—men in finely made coats, women who glittered and glowed beneath the candlelit chandelier, all outnumbered by the servants bustling about with trays of food and drink.

There were, of course, armored guards bearing swords and rifles concentrated around the main and side entrances of the mansion.

No doubt instructed to monitor me. I was rarely let out of my glass display.

But when I was brought somewhere outside Nightwhisper Lounge, Ipheri—the owner of the ritzy, magical curiosity parlor—took my “security” seriously.

Not that a blue-skinned Siren would get far if I ever managed to slip away. At least not without help.

A leather-gloved hand landed gently on my bare back, carrying with it a smoky gust of air that overpowered the scent of Humans drenching the ballroom.

“Go along with it.”

My breath caught at the voice, as smooth and deadly as a velvety wine laced with poison. I didn’t even have a moment to catch a glimpse of the person before they wordlessly shoved me forward.

I splashed into the pool at the base of the fountain.

My skin drank in the water, cool and refreshing compared to the desert heat.

It almost felt like home. But it was freshwater, and the lack of salt only served as a reminder of how far away from the ocean I truly was.

My knees slipped on the smooth tile lining the bottom of the pool as I sat up, blinking away the water streaming into my eyes.

A glance at my rippling reflection showed the damage done to my once perfect makeup, now reduced to ugly black rivers that streaked down my face.

The updo I had painstakingly spent hours curling and arranging with pearl pins now hung in wet, heavy strings over my shoulders. Completely ruined.

The young man who had pushed me brought a smoldering cigarette to his lips, a nonchalant smirk twisting his handsome features. His dark eyes mirrored the light caught within the grand windows and glass doors. “Clumsy, aren’t you? And here I thought Sirens were supposed to be graceful.”

My blood simmered until my entire body felt hot. I loved the water, but some Human pushing me and wrecking my polished appearance for no damn reason? Unacceptable. And why in the world did he tell me to go along with it? As if I would ever do that.

The nearby crowd of party-goers twittered, and as Humans were wont to do, they mocked my plight.

Their gazes burned right through my dress, into my skin.

When I was first kidnapped from the Abyssal Deep, I wept at their humiliation and cruelty.

But now I had no more tears left to shed—only enough skin-prickling hatred to fill a hundred oceans.

I stood and glared at the stranger. My nails pierced my palms, but I hardly registered the pain.

“Did you think you were attending a funeral this evening, Human?” I snarled, gesturing at his dark clothing.

Honestly, he was under-dressed in a simple black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Windswept black hair, piercing black eyes—probably a black heart, too. He stood out against the alabaster walls and columns like a shadow looming over pale sand.

He snickered, soft and dangerous. “Funny. You’re pretty impossible to miss, you know.

If you’re trying to be discreet, you’re failing.

” His gaze scorched my skin as he gestured at me in return, at the form-fitting dress that cascaded down my body in a waterfall of ivory.

It showed more than enough of my light blue skin to imply I wasn’t a wealthy attendee. I was there for the Humans’ enjoyment.

That night, the Circle of Gold—the leaders of the Human country of Arvensis—had forked over the hefty sum to have me “entertain” at their annual banquet celebrating the end of the Human-Druinnic war. It was humiliating, but attending this event was a necessary piece of my escape plan.

Interacting with this infuriating man wasn’t, but I couldn’t let him get away with pushing me.

I curled my lip and exhaled all the rage out of my system, freezing an artificial smile on my face—my favorite mask to wear when dealing with men in particular.

“So, you just wanted to get me wet? You could have at least asked my name first. Do you have a name, sir?” One step back and the water flowed over my shoulders.

It ran along my skin, trailing in tantalizing rivers between my breasts and down my legs.

Give me your name so I can curse you properly, asshole.

A cloud of gray drifted from his lips. His obsidian eyes darted about like he was marking dangers I couldn’t see in the crowd around, though the attendees had already grown tired of our minor spectacle.

Preferring to remain nameless, eh?

Nameless Asshole it is.

“You should let me take you somewhere you can…dry off, Siren.” He lowered his voice. “Quickly.”

Of course, he wasn’t just a prick looking to get my attention. He was a prick looking for the blissful thrill I could give him.

I glided through the pool towards him. My heels didn’t make it easy, but I managed not to slip on the stone or trip over my water-laden skirt.

At the raised lip of the pool, I paused to twirl a piece of my soaked, navy-blue hair around my finger, looking up at him as if he had captured my heart.

Like I was definitely not plotting my revenge.

“I get it. You must be interested in my services. I have a room assigned upstairs to—”

“Trust me, I have no desire to sleep with a Siren.”

Oh, fuck this guy, and fuck the way he called me Siren, like I had some kind of disease.

Most Humans were fascinated by me; I was the only Siren any surface-dweller had ever captured.

Six of my twenty-four years of life were spent being stared at in a glass cage in Nightwhisper Lounge’s lobby.

They always seemed to enjoy my tale of woe, of being ripped away from my home in the Abyssal Deep.

But if anything like what happened to me happened to a Human girl, they would call it a tragedy.

I bared my teeth at him in a forced half-smile. “What, don't you know Siren kisses are intoxicating?”

That was thanks to a light helping of spellbinding venom on our lips. Venom that was not only pleasurable but also bestowed a temporary gift—the ability to breathe underwater, should any living thing be lucky enough to get a taste. This Human probably couldn’t remotely afford a kiss of mine.

Ipheri was a shrewd businesswoman, and the exorbitant fee she charged for my lips alone nearly kept her lounge’s magnificent golden doors open.

After my echoing songs and the glittery cocktails lured in and enchanted Nightwhisper’s wealthy clientèle, one of Ipheri’s lounge attendants would present them with the expensive chance for a brush with mesmeric magic—a Siren’s kiss. Or my touch, if they were rich enough.

“I’ve heard they’re an addiction worth dying for,” Nameless Asshole admitted. “But I can’t imagine they’re anything that special.”

“Would you care to try?”

Kiss me so I can bite your damn tongue off.

Nameless Asshole stepped up to me with a dimpled smirk that anyone would have probably found swoon-worthy. Not me, though. Never.

I nearly fell over in surprise when he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and leaned closer to wipe away the eye makeup running in thick lines down my cheeks.

The scent on his breath wasn’t tobacco or those pungent herbs most Humans smoked.

It was a combination of peppery spices and bittersweet, burned wood—almost like a medicinal incense.

While I lost myself trying to pinpoint the exact aromatic notes, he whispered, “As long as we can go somewhere private. Perhaps you’ll sing the Song of the Void for me, then? ”

The code phrase. Blood turned into sludge in my veins.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Did Jereq betray me?

I wouldn’t put it past a Human, especially a sleazy one like Jereq, to take the precious information I gave him and gamble it away.

Unfortunately, he was the only non-client male allowed near me, and that was because he was Ipheri’s cousin.

After he moved in with her a few months ago, all it took was a few kisses and a little sweet-talking to get him to go along with my plan.

Well, and knowing it would piss Ipheri off if it was successful.

The location and means to retrieve one of the lost relics of the Spirits—the Voidtome—was my only bargaining chip aside from my kisses.

Even the surface-dwellers knew it was an artifact of pure destruction, and who wouldn’t help a Siren escape captivity in exchange for knowledge that led to such power?

I gave Jereq specific instructions to seed my call for assistance to only a handful of individuals.

Ones I thought may be sympathetic to my plight and interested in the Tome.

This man—he wasn’t one of them. Pretty enough to be a noble but too rough around the edges to be a scholar. A treasure hunter, perhaps, or a mercenary. Or, Spirits forbid, a fucking pirate.

“How do you know that phrase?” I hissed.

The intelligent glint in his eyes gave nothing away. “You’re being awfully difficult for someone in need of my assistance. Can we move this along now?”

He certainly lived up to the name I had given him.