Page 7 of Ensnaring the Siren
The more she knew—how they moved, how they spoke, what they thought—the better she could blend in, and the better she could defend her people from the ones who meant them harm.
“I’m sorry this is happening. The pod doesn’t deserve this.”
“Just when we started to rebuild,” Nireed grumbled. “Surface Dwellers.”
Even though she’d said the last bit like a curse, Lorelei smiled. “Surface Dwellers, is it now?”
Not so long ago, the pod called humans “Two-Leggers,” but with how often her kin had been using their shifting abilities to take a more human form on land, it was time for a new name.
“Why the change?”
“Sometimes I have two.” Nireed gestured to her legs, all traces of her silvery tail hidden. “And sometimes you don’t have two. Undine agreed it’s not the distinction it once was.” And what the leader of their pod said or did, the rest followed suit.
“I like it.”
Lorelei’s smile reminded Nireed of brightening bioluminescence, or when the sun hits the water’s surface, making it glitter. While her friend’s life on shore often kept her away from the pod, it also made her feel like she didn’t fully belong, which was the furthest from the truth, not after everything she’d done to help their community. She never seemed to like the name “Two-Leggers,” probably because it was once said in the same breath as “food,” so if this small change made her at least feel thought of and considered, it was a change well made.
“Killian’s next offshore run is at the end of this week.” Lorelei tucked a windblown strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “Anything he can bring?”
“We need food, but the usual has been used as bait.”
While The Lovely Lorelei was a safe vessel to approach, under the current circumstances, they couldn’t get close enough to tell their friends and foes apart, not when the latter was using purse seine nets.
“If I came along, I could swim down and guide you,” Lorelei suggested.
“It’d be risky, but if you come, I’ll follow.”
A Surface Dweller might’ve protested the offer, something Nireed had observed among Lorelei and her friends, but that was not the merfolk way. If you said you could do something, you’d have every right to try. Insinuating someone couldn’t handle the danger was an insult.
“You’ve risked so much for me. It’s the least I can do.”
“That debt has been long paid.” Bracing the back of the bench, Nireed rose to her feet. While her walking had gotten better, getting up and down still left her wobbly. “If you do this, do it because you’re my friend.”
“Fine then. I want to help, because you’re my friend, and I’m overdue for a visit.”
Nireed nodded approvingly. “That’s much better, Shorewalker.”
“Such a stickler for phrasing.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I’m going to guess and say you’re a stickler for guilt.”
“Ouch.” Lorelei grabbed her neck. “Went right for my jugular with that one.”
“Someone needs to keep you honest and guilt-free.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.”
The wind shifted, carrying with it a strangely familiar scent. Surprised, Nireed glanced back, but Lorelei was busy rooting for something in her purse and didn’t seem to notice. Nireed had only come across it once before, and recently, in the open ocean.
The Coast Warrior.
Surprise turned to panic but she took a deep, steadying breath, this form’s lungs filling with air. She was more vulnerable on land when she traded a graceful tail for wobbly legs, but she was still a mermaid and a siren, no matter what form she took. She could rip out a man’s throat with a single swipe. And she could sing him into submission before he could even think to draw a weapon or shout a warning.
Tension eased.
Maybe he wouldn’t recognize her out of context. But she had to know for sure.
Nireed followed the scent down the grassy slope to the ocean walk, where she found a man with dark auburn hair leaning against a railing, staring out over the harbor. She’d made allies before from little—first with Shorewalker, then with Cure Creator. If she played this right, maybe she could do so again.