Chapter One
One week later …
Jensen walked barefoot along the pier, confused as to how she had gotten there, yet unable to turn back. Every now and then, the wind would pick up, ruffling the hem of her flimsy gown while tangled strands of black and violet hair slapped against her cheek. She shivered, but continued dragging one foot in front of the other, wincing each time the damp wood creaked under her weight.
Something didn’t feel right. A hazy gray film dressed the morning sky and the smell of burnt marshmallows filled her nose instead of salt. But like a zombie, she crept forward until the tips of her toes met the splintered edge of the pier. And slowly, she lowered her gaze.
A girl floated in the water like a lily maid, her arms crossed over her chest and a linen handkerchief draped across her face. Long black hair fanned out around her like spindly seaweed, a startling contrast with the ivory of her pleated gown.
Unable to stop herself, Jensen dropped down, reaching out as far as she could to remove the death veil. In the back of her mind, she knew it was stupid. A smarter person would have turned around and run for help. But she had to know, needed to see it for herself.
As soon as her fingers brushed the scalloped edge of the handkerchief, the material dissolved into tiny pearls, spilling down the girl’s face and into the water like bath beads.
Jensen’s breath hitched in her throat, not because of the strange disappearing act the handkerchief had just pulled, but because of the face it revealed in the process. The girl in the water—the lily maid—was her.
The nixie’s eyes popped open the same time her lips parted.
“There once was a girl of the sea
Who refused to see who she could be.
The strength of a world
In the hands of a girl
Consumed by the curse of the three.”
Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, yet it echoed in the silence, branding the strange message onto Jensen’s soul. Then her mouth stretched wide, becoming a dark chasm of wildly dancing shadows.
A scream ripped through Jensen as she pushed herself back, scrambling to her knees. But it was far too late. Because the swirling shadows of smoke had already leapt from the nixie’s mouth and into her own.
Jensen jerked awake, clutching her throat as if she had swallowed something without chewing it first. Sweat coated her body, tacking her black and white striped bed sheets to the back of her legs and plastering loose strands of frizzy hair to the side of her face.
She’d forgotten to blow out her candle and the jar had shattered, allowing the blue sugar scented wax to drip down her nightstand and onto the carpet below. The brand spanking new carpet.
Dermott would have a fit about it in the morning. They hadn’t even been in the condo three whole days yet, and here she was damaging the property already.
She sighed then stiffened, realizing she’d also left the window open. And not just cracked either. Wide open with the sheer white curtains Dermott insisted on buying, rippling in front of it like a giant tidal wave.
For some strange reason, her mind rushed back to her nightmare and she shivered, deciding it would be best to shut the window before the wind freaked her out more than it already had. But as she pushed the curtain panels out of the way, her gaze lowered to the street and her eyes locked on someone she had hoped to never see again. Brennen.
He stood on the sidewalk in front of the condo, his eyebrows bunching tight while he stared up the street. He could almost pass for human in the twilight, wearing dark blue jeans and a fitted black tee with blood red writing on it that she couldn’t quite make out. His hair was still in its trademark spikes, bringing to mind a crown of gold and black thorns.
Though she hadn’t seen him since the night he tried to read her aura, she knew he would show up sooner or later. She and Liam had thrown his name around trying to save their own asses. It seemed like a smart idea at the time, but not so much now that the crazy siren had managed to track her down.
On that note, Brennen glanced up and their gazes collided. Acting on instinct, Jensen jumped back, flattening against the wall beside the window. Shit! If he wasn’t sure where she lived before, he sure as hell knew it now.
How am I gonna get out of this? She could try to run to Dermott, but Brennen would most likely get to her first, seeing as how faeries moved with inhuman speed. Well, all faeries but her. She may as well have been human when it came down to making a quick exit.
Allowing stupidity to take hold, she pulled back the curtain panel and peeked out of the small crack, finding him staring right at her with his head cocked to the side and a smile stretched across his face.
Her eyes widened and her heart banged in her chest. Running suddenly felt like the thing to do. Trembling, she took a step back, but Brennen raised his hand, shaking his trigger finger as if to say no. Then without sparing her a second glance, he shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled away.
