Siren Song (The Fated #1)

16 | No Escape

As she fell towards the ocean, Iliana did everything in her power to get her hands free. Unfortunately, the makeshift bondage held, her wrists still bound when she plunged beneath the surface. The impact stung, stealing every bit of air from her lungs as pain flooded her body. It took everything she had not to reflexively breathe in. Instead, she kicked, easily pushing herself into the open air despite her predicament. For some reason, floating was easy. Whatever the reason, it gave her the chance to examine the darkness around her without worrying about staying above the surface.

This meant she looked up just in time to see a large figure leap from the cliff. Thankfully, he seemed to have given his jump some thought, as despite the darkness coating the ocean he plunged into the water a good distance from where she was treading water.

Iliana drew in a deep breath, tempted to let herself sink down if she could. The action when combined with the darkness would conceal her from the stranger. At the same time, logic told her he was her only way out of this. With her wrists bound, she was stranded until she could get them free given that even if she managed to slip out of the bindings, it wouldn't make getting back through the entrance of the island any easier. Before she could come up with a plan that didn't involve her being dragged into this man's schemes, but also kept her from being bashed to death between the rocky cliffs, a light in the distance caught her attention.

It was a lantern, she realized, squinting in it's direction. The faint glow outlined the bow of a ship, which until then had blended into the black of the night. The realization sent a shiver down her spine. She'd been right, then. The numerous times she'd spotted a ship beyond the entrance to the island, it'd been real. Her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her like she'd assumed.

How? She wondered.  Where's the fog and the singing? What's different?

"There you are."

The voice drew a startled yelp from her lips. Iliana'd been so focused on the ship, she'd missed the sound of the stranger surfacing next to her. Now, however, she snapped her gaze to his as she did her best to kick away from him. The man simply rolled his eyes and snagged the sleeve of her dress.

"Now, now," he chided. "Why not save that energy, hm? There will be plenty chances to escape later. Right now, all you'd manage to do is drown yourself."

She kicked him. The stranger sighed, but instead of paying the insult any attention, he turned his attention to the ship.

"Over here!" he called out. "Get a move on!"

Figures appeared at the bow, then disappeared just as quickly. Within moments Iliana heard the sound of something crashing into the ocean. Her heart stopped.

The ship was his. Another lie of Aran's, then. The man's crew hadn't died. No doubt, the sound was them dropping a boat so they could fish them out of the water. Once on that ship there'd be no escape. Not until they reached wherever he had planned for them to go. So, she began struggling again. She fought to free her wrists, her legs kicking out at him. The fight to free herself from his steely grip sent her head beneath the surface, but she didn't care.

Something told her that being his prisoner was the worst possible outcome of this situation, perhaps even with drowning itself. It was the same instinct that'd told her not to trust him, that the man was bad news. Her struggling did little, however. The man simply released her shoulder and somehow managed to hook his arm around her stomach, holding her up in the water. His action pressed her bow into her back-- the weapon serving as the only barrier between her and the man's bare chest. Iliana would have at least thought he'd be fighting to stay above the surface given her state, but no. He handled this as easily as he did her.