Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The sun was rising brightly over the horizon, casting the sea in delicious hues of orange and yellow. For some reason, Theo couldn't stop picturing some of the popsicles he’d eaten as a child. Brightly colored confections in similar shades.
He wondered if Lyra had ever had one. Part of him thought that was a dumb question. She was maighann-mara, not a hermit, but when was the last time you saw a siren eating an ice cream cone?
Theo made himself an errant promise that when they got out of this alive—he and Lyra both—they'd enjoy that and a million other little pleasures together.
He was naive, but no fool. Lyra's life had been solitary and isolated.
It reflected his own, kept separate from people, family, and the general hair-pulling, delightful chaos that loved ones brought to any occasion.
They would have this. Together, all of it.
Or Theo would die trying. He watched the sun rising higher, his eyes dry with a lack of sleep, and buried his fear away in a box inside his chest. He wouldn't, or couldn't, get rid of it entirely, but it had no place in his heart this morning.
Theo turned around and found Wyn where he'd left him all night, staring at Niamh, flying above the boat.
They had crossed out of Scottish waters, and every league they put behind them put them further into Cliodhna's territory.
Without warning, Niamh stopped. She growled, sounding like thunder, snapping her jaws together. Theo let out a low whistle in amazement as sparks flew from her teeth.
“She could just about eat you in one bite, eh?” Theo clapped his hand on Wyn's shoulder, trying to break the ominous mood. Typically, that was Wyn's job, but seeing as he'd been obsessing over the backside of a dragon for six hours, Theo didn't think he was up for it.
Wyn made a noncommittal noise, but Theo could see the corner of his mouth turn up in the barest hint of a smirk.
“You know how much trouble I'm going to be in if we make it back to Edinburgh in one piece? Hell, even if I make it back in two pieces. Your older brother is going to break my nose.”
“Come on now.” Theo shook Wyn's shoulders. “It's going to be fine! I'm still not entirely sure what your plan was, besides calling a dragon, but you know…” he trailed off, failing to summon more positivity.
“The plan is this.” Niamh's voice called out from the other side of the deck, causing Theo to jump and nearly trip over himself as he turned around.
Niamh was back in her human form, walking towards them on two legs from the bow. Opaque smoke curled around her body, preserving her modesty in place of clothes.
“Now, this is my mission, and I have a—”
“Your mission?” Niamh raised an eyebrow, dissolving into boisterous laughter as she cut Wyn off. “No, the minute you called me, you put me in charge,” she insisted.
“I do not remember that ever being part of the bargain.” Wyn’s lip curled. Theo knew they were about to get into it again. “In fact,” Wyn continued, “I seem to remember a certain shifter who loves when she gets to give up control—”
“That's enough out of you!” Niamh growled, her canines extending.
Theo had had enough. Lyra was somewhere under the surface, perhaps somewhere under their very boat, and he'd had enough of their arguing.
“Both of you, stop it.” Theo raised his voice, pointing his finger between Wyn and Niamh. He spoke with a newfound confidence, and Wyn and Niamh had matching awestruck expressions.
“I begged you once,” he turned to Wyn, “and I'll do it again. I'll do it every minute, every hour of the day if I have to, because Lyra is gone. Cliodhna has her somewhere, along with her sister, all because of me.”
Niamh shook her head. “That's not your fault.”
“Not now.” Theo held up a hand, silencing her. He immediately felt bad about it. “Okay, I'm sorry, that was rude. But, yes, that's a nice statement, and I will unpack all of this later with an expensive therapist that Calum will pay for. Happy?”
Wyn and Niamh nodded, their shocked expressions turning to ones of fondness and even a bit of admiration, on Niamh's side.
“Wyn,” Theo's tone of voice left no room for argument, “what did you have in mind when you called Niamh?”
Wyn waited for a breath, waiting to see if Niamh would interrupt, and proceeded at Theo's urging.
“My magic and tactical skills aren't enough to take on Cliodhna. Not a goddess, and especially not a sea goddess. Theo, your tactical skills wouldn't be enough either. Niamh, however, has a fighting chance.”
Theo filed this away for later, not realizing the extent of Niamh’s power, if Wyn thought she was able to take down a goddess.
“Cliodhna is probably already on her way to us,” Wyn continued. “There is no way she isn't aware we're in her territory. I was going to suggest Niamh hide. When Cliodhna approaches, we propose a trade. We'll act like we're going along with Cliodhna, handing over Theo for Lyra and her sister.”
Wyn bristled slightly at this, his shoulders inching closer towards his ears. Theo was touched by it, knowing Wyn was still not a huge fan of Lyra and hated even mentioning the idea of turning Theo over to Cliodhna.
“The moment Lyra and her sister and Theo cross paths, assuming we're doing this prisoner exchange style, both being released at the same time, Niamh, this is where you come in.” Wyn chewed his lip, slightly less certain.
“Cliodhna will be distracted. She is notably vain.
She'll be focused on Theo. Niamh, that's when you can ambush her.
She's a creature of the depths. She hates fire more than anything.
If you go for her face and hair, it'll distract her long enough that you can likely scoop up Theo, Lyra, and her sister. And fly them to safety.”
“What about you?” Niamh demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. A flurry of sparks sizzled down the length of her hair. “And we're supposed to leave you here to die?”
“I’m not okay with that,” Theo agreed. No part of him would allow it. Enough people had sacrificed for him.
“No,” Wyn sighed, sounding exasperated, “I’m much too pretty to die. Obviously. Niamh, you should be able to pull the ship with your back claws if everyone else gets on your back.”
Niamh stiffened, her eyes narrowing. “You really didn't have any other plan without me, did you?”
Theo thought this was obvious, but apparently, she just needed to hear Wyn admit it.
“Yes.” Wyn nodded. Theo was surprised to hear it. For all of their bickering, Wyn seemed to nearly always cave to Niamh's demands when the pressure was on.
Niamh said nothing. For a brief minute, Theo thought their entire plan was going to collapse. All Niamh had to do was say no, and they were back to square one.
“Fine,” Niamh agreed through gritted teeth. “But now you owe me.”
Wyn sputtered slightly, his eyebrows going up in confusion.
“You were the one who owed me a favor! I don't owe you anything by cashing that in.” He crossed his arms across his chest, widening his stance ever so slightly. Theo knew a man trying to posture when he saw one.
“Ha,” Niamh scoffed, walking towards the rear of the boat, more smoke spilling off her body. “Saving you is one favor. If I need to save you, Theo, Lyra, and her sister…” Niamh turned around, ticking each name off on her fingertips. “You are firmly in my debt, prince.”
Niamh smirked, long canines nearly pricking her bottom lip. Any previous frustration she had concerning her oversized role in this rescue mission now seemed diminished when she counted out how many favors Wyn now owed her.
“Fine,” he grunted, barely responding, turning his back on Niamh as he moved towards the ship's wheel.
Niamh cackled and exploded in another plume of fire, causing Theo to yelp in surprise and nearly fall to the deck again.
Niamh disappeared up into the sky in a barrage of smoke and flames, the outline of her dragon's body quickly hidden among the clouds.
They were lucky the sea weather was reliably overcast.
“Do you ever get used to that?” Theo shook off the surprise, pulling his shoulders back as they settled in to wait.
“Get used to Niamh?” Wyn repeated the words slowly, as if there was an obvious answer Theo was missing. He maneuvered the ship’s wheel with practiced ease, keeping it barely moving on the waves, making it appear guileless.
“No.” Wyn shook his head, the smallest hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “No, Theo, you never do.”
Lyra thought there had been no greater torment than knowing her sister was somewhere in Cliodhna's clutches, held captive and waiting for her to save her.
Lyra was wrong. It was even worse being Cliodhna's prisoner alongside her sister.
They were bound in seaweed, bewitched and stronger than chains, shackled to opposite walls of the cave, tucked into the underwater cliff.
No matter how much Lyra pulled and tugged, she couldn't get any closer to her sister.
Even underwater, she could see that her sister’s eyes were bloodshot and tired.
She shook her head, muffled sounds coming through the kelp gag in her mouth, trying to get Lyra to stop.
But Lyra’s rage needed an outlet. It would be infinitely smarter to try to save her strength, but she struggled against the bindings.
Finally, Lyra collapsed to the ground in a tired heap, the slick, wet ropes cutting into her wrists as they pulled taut. She made a satisfied noise, happy to see at least that Lyra had stopped struggling in the meantime.
Lyra burst into tears. She was embarrassed to cry on a normal day. Crying in front of her sister was inexcusable, in Lyra's mind, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever actually done it.
“I’m sorry,” Lyra choked out a word, taking the opportunity to speak with her sister without interruption. Cliodhna had forgotten to gag one of the siblings.
The ghouls, however, spun around and descended on Lyra, remembering their mistress's words to keep the pair from talking. Lyra let out an anguished scream and jumped up from the floor, watching in frustration as the ghostly guards formed a line down the center of the cavern.
They blocked Lyra’s view of her sister, and she panicked. She knew it was better not to antagonize them this time, and she slowly sat back down without another word or reaction.
Theo and Wyn will work something out, Lyra tried to remind herself. They know Cliodhna has us. They'll do something to stop her.
Lyra was beginning to understand why most sirens were solitary creatures, why they chose to forego any family bonds or relationships.
It was horribly painful caring for somebody, worrying about what happened to them, or how you could keep them safe.
It preoccupied most of Lyra's waking thoughts, even before meeting Theo.
After all, her sister was in this mess because she'd been flirting with a human, something Lyra had warned her off doing several times.
She arguably had even more evidence now that a solitary lifestyle was superior, less stressful, and safer.
Yet, despite the situation Lyra currently found herself in…
she realized she wouldn't trade it for the world.
She loved her sister. She loved Theo. Their presence in her life was worth any of the pain or anxiety it might cause, because their love made it all worth it.
Fresh tears started rising in Lyra's eyes and cursed herself under her breath.
It's only been a matter of days, and the fae prince has turned you into a total sap. She tried to reprimand herself, to bring out the sharper edges of her personality that would push back against any sentimentality, but she didn't have the energy to.
Now, they only needed to wait for Theo and Wyn. Lyra could do that.
She trusted him.