Page 31 of The Scent of Salt & Sand

The tension in Melody’s chest unraveled, and she took a full breath for the first time since opening the door.

“I’m impressed.” Rhapsody pursed her lips as if the compliment left a bitter trail across her tongue. “That should only make it easier for you to find a suitable sperm donor.” She tossed back her wet hair, catching her reflection in the mirror. Sauntering to the glass, she said, “Oh, I wish this beauty would last. How we would rule this realm as we did so many centuries ago—our species free again.” She cleared her throat. “And, Melody, I want proof you’re completing your true task. Bring me a finger, or a toe.” Slick white teeth cut through her smile. “Maybe even the human’s head. And I want it today.”

“Today? But I can’t today. I have to—”

“You have to do only what I say you must do. You have no other purpose here. Your life is simple, really.”

Again, Melody averted her eyes to the floor.

“Just do what you came here to do.” Desperation rested in Harmony’s voice.

“Okay,” Melody whispered.

Harmony’s shadow floated closer, until it mixed with her own. “I wouldn’t tell you to do something you weren’t capable of. It’s in your nature. It’s part of who you are.” She lowered her voice, and Melody had to strain to hear her. “This will bring you more joy than you think you have now. You’ll see.”

Laughter like barking seals invaded the room. “To Mel. This past month has been pure magic. I hope it never ends. Human men are such imbeciles.” Rhapsody continued to chortle as she pinched the note between her fingers and tore it down the middle.

“Wait, you can’t…” Melody’s words faded as bits of paper drifted to the floor.

“You like him?” Rhapsody’s damp black bangs cut across her forehead, shielding her bushy eyebrows with every questioning glance.

Melody nodded.

Rhapsody rested her hands on her hips. “He doesn’t want you. Not the real you. He’s only interested in the pieces he can invade.”

Melody remained silent as Rhapsody repeated lines from the same speech she’d given countless times. But Dean wanted her. And not in the way guys wanted girls in the thoughtless college movies she’d watched with her sisters. She knew he wanted her in a sweet, slow-motion, all-consuming, Nicholas- Sparks-movie sort of way. At least, she was pretty sure that was how he wanted her.

“And you’re naïve if you think anything different.” Rhapsody’s famous final line snapped Melody back to attention.

“I know it might be hard to hear after how nice he’s been, but it’s true,” Harmony said.

“So, today you will go out on the tour boat, find a human, and make him yours. Do it, or I’ll make your boy toy mine.” Rhapsody snatched up her coat and threw open the door. “Have fun.”

Harmony offered an apologetic smile as she followed Rhapsody into the hall.

Melody bent down, collected the torn bits of Dean’s note, and placed them in her pocket. Defeated, she walked on autopilot to her bedroom closet. “Okay. I can do this.” She breathed and began pawing through her uniforms for the tiny outfit she had to wear while on boat duty. “It’s just one person. One life. A life for the possibility of a new life. It’s not that big of a deal.” Her throat tightened with the lie. She sighed, held the sailor outfit in front of her, and turned to the full-length mirror resting in the corner. She still looked like herself, but she’d changed during the journey between realms. So much so that she wondered if the part of her capable of taking life still existed. Through the tension in her jaw, she forced a wide, fake, Siren Tours smile.

Chapter Twelve

“This isn’t me. It’s not right. I can’t do it.” Melody sank down behind the main bar of the packed cruise ship.

“Can’t do what?” Aria asked, unloading a sleeve of plastic cups and stacking them behind the bar.

“This.” Melody gestured toward the mass of tourists. “Choose a man, and, you know.”

Aria nodded. “Oh, yeah. I know exactly how you’re feeling.”

“You do?”

“Definitely. My first trip up here, I was scared to death. I mean, completely terrified.”

“You were? Oh, Aria, that makes me feel so much better. I was starting to think there was something really wrong with me.”

“No, not at all.” She waved dismissively. “We all feel that way. I mean, human men seem so macho, so intimidating. But once you realize they’re just sacks of dough begging to be shaped into whatever you want, they completely lose all their power.”

Confusion pinched Melody’s brow. “That’s not really what’s bothering me.”

Aria continued, unfazed. “I’m already on my fourth trip up. Haven’t gotten pregnant yet.” She sank down next to Melody and whispered, “Just between us, I hope I never do. The sun. The men. The delicious way their bones crunch between your teeth.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shivering slightly. “I’d miss it.”