Siren Song (The Fated #1)

02 | Alone

Kain hated bloodshed.

Still, it mattered little. Every time he'd stepped ashore, he'd had to deal with the way blood made his stomach churn. He had no idea why he'd thought this time would be any different. Logically, he'd expected it. He'd even warned the merpeople about the matter. It'd been one of the many reasons that Callias seemed unable to look at him without the even-faced merman's version of scowling.

Well, at least, Kain figured he was scowling. It was hard to tell when Callias's expressions seemed to range from relaxed to irritated. None of that mattered, now, however. Rather, the fact he hated blood should've been the last thing he was thinking about given there was a snarling beast crouched before him, and an unknown number of them littering the forest around him.

The kottai, as if reading his mind, bared its fangs and lunged.

Then, it flew to the side. Kain watched, slack-jawed, as the creature slammed into a tree with a sickeningly loud crunch. The arrow that'd buried itself through the nightmare's skull almost seemed to shimmer in the moonlight.

The arrow, Kain realized. The archer...

He spun towards the direction it'd been fired from. The sight that met his eyes stole all thoughts of nightmares from his head. All that remained was the realization that the archer had to be the most beautiful woman Kain had ever seen.

Midnight colored hair tumbled down her back, her tawny hand pulling another shimmery arrow from her quiver. The sight of her nocking the arrow, then offering him an amused curl of her lips snapped Kain to attention. Well, that and the sight of another woman stumbling into the clearing, bow in her hands. Like the first, she had an arrow nocked.

She said something, at least, Kain thought she did. Her lips moved, but nothing reached his ears. The sight sparked a memory of Callias handing Kain a charm he'd put on, then shoved beneath his shirt collar. They're sirens. That's why I can't hear her speak.

Before he could panic over the realization, the situation demanded his attention once again. The rest of the kottai pack-- seeming to number seven in all-- drew into the clearing from all sides. The sole exclusion seemed to be the direction the sirens had come from. Which, he knew, probably meant the pack had originally been bigger. Kain tightened his grip on his sword, preparing to launch into action alongside the sirens, when the nightmares suddenly stopped growling. A quick check revealed that he almost seemed forgotten by them-- all eyes now focused on the sirens.

Then, there were a few whimpers, and the submissive bowing of kottai heads. Kain could only watch in amazement as the first woman offered the kottai a smile, and in response, they turned tail and fled into the forest.

What was that?

Frozen in place, he only stared as the woman turned her attention back to him. Even as she approached, he couldn't seem to remember how to move, or even speak. She giggled, openly ignoring what seemed to be flustered hand waves and silent words from her companion as she tapped just below the base of her neck. For a moment, he was confused.

"My necklace?" Kain realized. "You want me to take it off?"

She nodded.

Kain hesitated, then shook his head with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

The woman frowned for a moment, still ignoring her companion. Which turned out to be bad for Kain's health, given that while the woman studied him like he was a puzzle, the second one pointed her bow in his direction. Kain put his hands up, offering the siren the same apologetic smile.

"Hey... let's not point lethal weapons, yeah?" he suggested.

The first stepped closer, and Kain was torn. Logic told him not to let the siren too close, but his instincts said that if he moved, the second one would shoot him. So, hoping to trust the seemingly friendly nature of the first, Kain stayed still. The woman hooked a finger around the string of the charm and pulled. Kain fought to suppress his panic as she drew it out from beneath his shirt, then traced her fingers over the surface.