Page 48 of A Sea So Cruel
“Would you like to be a siren, Princess Asta?” the empress asked.
Asta stilled, unsure if she read her signing correctly. Could she do that? Could she simply become a siren?
Asta cocked her head to the side and noticed how Tova and Liva seemed to freeze in place. “How?”
Queen Arielle’s tail slapped the water and the sea dragons continued their patrol. “Sirens have the ability to turn humans, a scarcely used power. No other merspecies holds such a gift. It is as simple as you enduring my venom when I release it from my fangs into your bloodstream. There is a risk, however. Some humans cannot handle the turn and do not survive it. Only those who truly want it can complete the change. It’s the magic’s way of maintaining balance, creating a failsafe so sirens cannot simply turn any human they encounter.”
Take the empress’s venom into her bloodstream and survive. That was the only way. Asta’s mind whirled. She needed to be sure she wanted this.
“Why would someonenotwant to become a siren?” Asta asked.
The empress looked down toward the waves in front of her and ran her fingers through it, the water responding to her touch and climbing up her arm like ivy. “The bloodlust. It can be irresistible, even more so for newborn and newly turned sirens. We require blood to survive, human being our favorite because of our finfolk heritage. But we can survive so long as we drink any blood, and I have been working diligently during my reign to fully transition my people to fish or land-dwelling prey. We do not need to kill in order to feed, only drink enough to sustain, but sometimes the craving takes over and causes a complete drainage of the donor. That is why I abolished human feedings.”
Great, another piece to add to the list. Make sure she doesn’t eat her family or friends once she’s turned. Well, at least Asta didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing Tova and Liva, since they were already sirens. That comforted her. Sort of.
Queen Arielle tried to offer assuaging words. “I turned my bonded, Aerik, and helped him through the transition. He has never drank an ounce of human blood and he’s been a siren for nearly ninety years. I can help you, too.”
Asta knew there were probably different ways to rescue Kaid. She knew there were likely other people more trained to sneak into enemy territory and retrieve him. But she wanted to be there, wanted to bring him back. So she would do this,coulddo this, to save Kaid.
“Do it. Turn me.”
Chapter 25
Asta paced her room, dropping random bits of clothing into her small pack. Queen Arielle agreed to meet her back on the shore in one day’s time so she could get her affairs in order before making the change. But that day was almost up, and soon, Asta would be a siren.
It was not lost on her how insanely mad this all was. She’d had Linnea—much to her objection—pinch her several times throughout the day to ensure she hadn’t dreamt the entire thing.
Gyrial slid through the door of her suite, his expression grim. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Asta had told her best friend everything. Every last detail her addled brain could churn up. He had taken in the news with a surprising calm, that preternatural stillness he possessed taking over as he listened. She couldn’t tell if Gyrial’s unbothered reaction was his own personal form of shock, but he was still here, ready to help her.
The princess nodded. “Thank you for always being here, for always believing in me. I can never repay you for teaching me what it means to have someone truly care about you. Before I go, I have one more favor to ask of you. I need you to watch over my father. Make sure that bitch of a finfolk queen doesn’t come for him. And if Maren dares to return…”
“I will do what needs to be done,” he said sternly.
Asta closed her eyes and sucked in many deep breaths. She cracked her knuckles while she crossed her bedroom. When she got to her vanity, she stared at her reflection judgingly. She would have a second form soon, this one only being half of her existence. Her torso would become longer, her ears would bear a delicate point, and her legs would be replaced by a fin.
This is crazy. You can’t do this.
No, she couldn’t have those thoughts. She had to be sure she wanted to turn. She needed to survive the change for Kaid.
Asta emerged from her bedroom to find Gyrial lazily lounging on the sofa with Dyri.
Her tone was sharper than she intended as she said, “How are you so okay with all of this madness? How are you not questioning your sanity as I am?”
His gilded eyes swept over her before turning back to the roaring fire in front of him. “I’ve always sensed the presence of the mythical creatures in and around the castle, I just never truly knew what exactly I detected, or that there were so many. And I never expected one of them to be the heir to the savage finfolk line.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘detected?’” Asta sat in the chair opposite Gyrial and folded her shaking hands in her lap.
“I don’t know if you’re ready for more surprises right now,” Gyrial said.
Her eyes narrowed and Dyri perked his head up in curiosity, glancing at his mother. “I think I can decide when and if I am ready for something. Plus, I’m not sure I could feel any more surprised at this point.”
Gyrial held his hands up in surrender. Sighing, he answered, “I am not human, Asta.”
Asta stilled, her blood running cold. If he wasn’t human, what was he? Siren? Finfolk? She stood corrected; she was shocked. Asta felt lightheaded. Just a few months ago, she had been searching for her next great fantasy novel to escape into, and now she was living on the pages.
Gyrial leaned forward to press his palm to Asta’s knee but she turned out of his reach. He let out a long sigh before speaking again. “I am fae.”
