The Siren Song

I ate cake. I danced. I opened presents. By all accounts, it should've been one of the best birthdays I'd ever had. Nearly every moment was spent wrapped in Kieran's arms. We were done with hiding. For him, it was because he believed it wouldn't matter after tonight. Lorelei would be no threat. And for the most part, he was right.

It was the part he was wrong about that tarnished my enjoyment of the evening.

By nine forty-five, we gathered in one of the curtained grottos to go over the plan. Niko handed me a package, and when I peeked inside, I found all the items we'd discussed. Kieran gave me a tight lipped grin and squeezed my hand.

"Once you've changed, you'll leave the cove and go the opposite direction we came in. I've got my bike hidden about a mile away. The cottage Tara found is up in the mountains on the west side of the Island. No one goes up there because it makes them uncomfortable to be so far from the water."

"Then how did a cottage end up there?"

Niko chimed in. "Humans have come and gone from the Island over the years. It probably belonged to a pirate or maybe even some poor soul who was part of a shipwreck. I only know about it because my mom was a tourist, and she found them while she was here. No one around here even remembers them."

"They're going to look everywhere," I insisted.

"Isla," Kieran said, taking my hands and looking into my eyes. I studied every shimmer and fleck, trying to perfect my memory. When I closed my eyes for the final time, I wanted his to be the last I saw. "The biggest thing is to get you away from the sea. It's nearly an hour into the mountains, which means even if they find us, it'll take too long to get you to the sea to perform the ritual. Once you have a tail, you're no use to Lorelei."

I nodded. It was the only thing I could do. Protesting would only make them suspicious. With the package in my arms, as well as a few gifts to look less conspicuous, I wandered over to the area we'd set aside for this purpose. Once inside, I dropped everything and drew in a shuddering breath.

"It's about time. I've been waiting forever." Leslie's voice drifted through the dark, and I bit back a curse. She stepped forward and regarded me those strange eyes. "I almost didn't come. I know what yer doing, and I'm not sure I approve."

"It doesn't matter, Leslie. You said you'd help, and this is what I want."

We helped each other peel off our dresses, and I handed her the package my friends had given me. She pulled out the gown, sighing as she ran her finger along the silver beading. The mask that went over her face was of the same material, and it covered just enough to conceal her identity.

"No one is going to be fooled for long," she snapped as I offered my back to her so she could zip me up. Her mermaid style gown was a bit too tight around my hips and bust, but in the night, it wouldn't be noticeable. "We look nothing alike. My hair is far redder than yers, my skin far paler. Not to mention, I'm a walking twig and yer all curves."

Tired of her complaining, I spun around as I snapped her old mask over my face. Is this what I sounded like to my friends? Trying to poke holes in every single one of their ideas?

I rubbed my eyebrows and replied, "The cave is filled with candlelight. Half the kids out there are drunk because we spiked the punch. The other half are dancing or making out. They're not looking closely. Not to mention, I'm not really trying to escape. I just need my friends to see you walking out so they get out of here."

"Kieran Murphy would be able to find you if he was blind. But why does all this matter if yer going to give yerself up, just go home like yer supposed to."

She was right. My father was waiting for me to return home in order to escort me to Lorelei. Ewan was lurking in the shadows of the party, watching me and reporting back to Lorelei. I could just go over to him and tell him I was ready to go. He'd be happy to assist me.

But then I'd have to see Kieran's face. He would see my actions as a betrayal when I was just trying to save his life. If I went about it this way, he would be far away when I drew my last breath, and I would never have to see the pain etched across his beautiful features. Maybe that was selfish, but I was giving up my life for theirs. Surely, I deserved to do this on my terms.

"Leslie, just make sure they follow you."

"Fine," she snapped, putting the tips of her finger on her face mask and adjusting it. "Do you still have the potion?"

"Yes."

"Good. You'll know when to use it."

"Thank you Leslie." I didn't know what else to say. I didn't think I'd be using the potion tonight. I kept it for comfort, but it was too little, too late.

"Luck be with you, Isla," the girl whispered before slipping out of the crevice we'd changed behind.

I counted to ten before stepping out, and as I'd hoped, Kieran, Tara, and Niko were making moves to leave. Kieran's gaze never shifted from Leslie's hurrying figure, and though I'd told her no one would be wiser to our switch, I prayed he would follow through. He would trust me over what his instincts were telling him.

When they were gone, I rushed out of the cove. No one gave me a second glance, and for one desperate moment, I considered rushing off in the night. Toward the bike Kieran had stashed. Their plan had worked. I could escape.

But then the moonlight pulled my eyes to the sea, and I followed its pale path across the inky waves and up into the starry expanse. Feet sifting through the sand, I walked to the shore. There was a song in my ears, so sweet and beautiful it was almost painful. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

"You hear it?"

I looked over my shoulder. Ewan stood a whisper away, his blonde hair almost white in heaven's radiance.

"Yes."

"You couldn't hear it before because you were more human than Merrow. The time is coming for yer first shift, and then, it will call to you always."

"C-can Kieran hear it? Since he's never shifted?"

Ewan cocked his head sideways, staring at me with a blank expression before walking past me. "Most people on the Island will tell you our men die from the pain of the shift- because they're not strong enough to survive it, but that's not true. The pain is no less or greater because of the Curse. We survived for thousands of years before it."

He took my hand and drew me into the water. The silk of the dress grew heavy around my thighs, pressing against my skin with each wave and flaring out as the water retreated. I was entranced by the movement, my mouth growing dry as the material molded to my skin. It almost looked as if I had a tail. And then I noticed the shimmer about my ankles. It matched the one growing brighter around Ewan's bottom half.

"Then what kills them?" The question was almost robotic. The words were hard to form. Something was happening to me. Making my thoughts scatter  like leaves on the wind.

"The sorrow. Can you imagine hearing that song and never being able to answer? I was nearly mad within the first few seconds, and so I called for Lorelei. Just because Kieran survived his seventeenth birthday, it doesn't mean he won't eventually succumb."

"N-no," I argued, shaking my head to remove the fog settling in my thoughts. "He would've told me that. He wants us to be together."

Ewan sank lower into the waves, his torso dotted with onyx scales that swallowed the light around us. My hands remained in his, and I had no choice but to sink with him. But the water wasn't freezing as it should've been; instead, it was growing warmer with every passing second. He let go of one hand so he could remove the flimsy mask from my face. It floated on the surface until a wave crashed into it and dragged it out of sight.

"He's lying to you," Ewan said, swimming to my side. His tail coiled around my legs, his scales rough and cutting against my skin. "He knew if he told you the truth, you'd choose Lorelei. But if you go with him, eventually, he will die from the torture of living with that song every day. Especially because he'll have to watch you be free in a way he can never be."

My head was just barely above the surface now, and the water was so hot, I wondered how my flesh hadn't been seared from my bones. He'd pinned my arms against my side, but I managed to pull one free. Without thinking, I pulled the vial from my bodice and ripped the cork out with my teeth.

"What are you taking?" Ewan hissed.

He pressed his chest against my back, and grabbed my chin with his fingers, jerking my head around so hard I felt as though my neck had been snapped. Pain blossomed everywhere he touched me. Somehow, I managed to get the contents of the potion in my mouth and down my throat.

Nothing happened. It was like drinking water. And it was all I could to keep from screaming.

"Just something to help with the pain," I lied, hoping he couldn't hear the hysteria I was feeling in the words I was saying.

He narrowed his eyes. "Nothing is going to save you, but I don't know why you're fighting it. Once this is over, I'm never leaving the water. We could be together."

His biting grip loosened, and he moved his hand from my chin and down my throat. Ewan meant it to be seductive. A caress. All I felt was a threat.

My vision flickered, the edges moving inward until I felt as if I was looking down a tube. Ewan frowned. I smiled.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Ask Lorelei."

I spat in his face and watched as he wiped away the spittle. All the desire in his expression was gone, replaced by an ire so fierce it made me want to slip below the waves to hide. My legs sprang free as his tail dropped from around them. Grabbing me by the wrist, he dragged me out to sea.