Siren Song (The Fated #1)

Prologue

There were days when Callias wished that he could abandon everything.

They were rare, but they did exist. Usually, they were predated by Melitta doing something particularly aggravating. He could recall all of these moments on one hand. The first, and the haziest, was back when they were human. Melitta had come to him late in the night with a rag and a bucket. As she'd washed the blood from his back, she'd murmured a sentence that would change the course of their lives.

"I'm going to accept the marriage."

He could recall the fear for her life, but also the fear for his own that had followed. He'd dreamt of running away, of leaving Melitta with no one to worry about. If he had disappeared, then they would not have had a way to force the marriage upon her.

But she would have been alone.

The second time resulted in the old bullet scar on his shoulder. He remembered the pain as it bit into his skin, as well as the regret. If he hadn't chased after his sister, he would not have died. Then, after he woke, there had been the pain that came with the realization that Melitta would throw away one of her two possible futures to stay with him. If he had found the courage to swim away, she might have gained a new family and a peaceful life among those who understood her story. Again, he'd refused to leave.

The third, and final day came with the arrival of the Airlea. For once, it wasn't for Melitta's benefit that he wished he could run away. No, in that single moment it had been because of her, as he'd known it would result in situations such as the one he now found himself in.

"You left that boy with Inna's people?" Umae demanded.

Callias shook his head, his expression carefully schooled into a calm nothing. Thankfully, he had two decades of practice, so he doubted even the god of sea, moon, and storms could pick up on his hidden irritation.

"We are holding him in a cave on the island," he explained. "Away from the sirens."

"Why wasn't he brought here?"

Because my sister has a bleeding heart.

"Melitta thought you would prefer he lived," Callias said.

Umae frowned. His tanned, weathered hand rubbed the scruff of his chin, blue-gray eyes narrowed thoughtfully. The way the god studied Callias rose the hair on the back of his neck. He'd known keeping the boy was a bad idea. Umae did not bless random sailors without reason, and even he had heard the story of the young babe that the sea god had taken an interest in. It hadn't taken much thought to realize that the babe and the boy were most likely one and the same.

"She would be right," Umae muttered, then sighed. "You did well. I will think on this. Is anyone else aware of him? Were you discovered by any of the sirens?"

Callias hesitated. Apparently the pause was notable, because Umae's frown deepened.

"Who?"

A strange sailor. A very unladylike, soon-to-be siren. Another symptom of Melitta's bleeding heart. Take your pick.

"A crew mate of his," he said, carefully keeping his thoughts from his face. "She's qualified, and most likely soon-to-be, a siren, but happens to be fond of him. I assumed we'd use her to take the boy back to the mainland."

Umae's brow knitted, then his entire expression smoothed over into what must have been a mixture of irritation and resignation. "What is the girl's name?"

"Sire?"

"Her name, Callias," he prompted.

"Iliana Katkrakis."