Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
She didn’t see what they did, but suddenly she and Killian were no longer in the water, but on the opposite side of the river, where their destination was meant to be.
Leah gasped for breath, taking big lungfuls into her mouth, sinking it right down to her chest. She was so thankful.
Killian wrapped his arms around her, and Leah opened her eyes, turning toward the river, where a single siren was perched on the edge. She had gems outlining her eyes, and a smile on her lips.
“Hello, Leah,” she said.
“Rachel.” She breathed out a sigh of relief.
The siren chuckled.
“You took your time.” Leah sat up and pushed her hair off her face.
“For that, I am sorry,” Rachel said. “I was surprised to hear your call.”
“Sirens and mermaids, living together in one river?” Leah asked.
“Yes, it is unusual, but they must be hunting together. Next time find a safer way to journey. I have told you many times, rivers and lakes are no place for humans, or little witches.” Rachel winked at her and then disappeared.
“What was that?” Killian asked.
“That was a siren. Her name is Rachel.”
“And you’re on first-name terms with a siren now?” he asked.
“I’ve known her for years. Rachel and I kind of met when we were kids. The coven had to do work with the sirens and mermaids several times. We trade magic for obscure gifts from the ocean that they can locate. Rachel was a young siren, and we hit it off. We see each other from time to time, but to hang out, I have to go to the beach or take a boat out to the ocean. She was the one that warned me about the banished sirens and mermaids, and where to locate them.”
“How did she know to come?” Killian asked.
“When we were kids, she told me how to use the signal under the ocean, to send out a locator distress call. That’s what I did, and she responded.” She breathed out a sigh of relief. “Can we go now? The mermaids and sirens are still in that water, and, well, I don’t want to run the risk of them figuring out how to walk on land.”
“They can do that?”
“Not yet, but I won’t put anything past them. They’re murderers. It’s how they became banished.”
“You are a surprise, Leah.”
She winked at him. “I’m full of many different surprises.” She was exhausted.
Getting to her feet, Killian grabbed her hand, and they left the river, keeping it far behind. Leah couldn’t help but look backward and as she did, she saw the head of either the siren or the mermaid bobbing in the water.
Fucking freaky.
****
The forest floor was not the ideal place to make camp, but it was already dark and cold. They’d been walking for the past two days, and he’d hoped to find a human hotel or even a rundown cabin. Something that could have provided them shelter. Instead, he only had his body heat and some food scraps to keep them fed. He pulled Leah into his sleeping bag, placing hers over the two of them. She shivered a lot.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
“It’s so cold.” She rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. You don’t feel it,” she groaned.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m not going to leave.”
“You better not,” she groaned. “I’m so cold.”
He chuckled.
“Why is this funny?”
“Because I’m hot.” He winked at her.
“That was a bad joke. A very bad joke.”
He chuckled again. He couldn’t help it. “So, tell me more about what you did growing up. Did you work with your coven?”
He heard Leah sigh. “My parents didn’t like it, but to be part of the coven, you have to accept the work. They wanted me to grow up, to have a normal life, but that wasn’t going to happen without all the trouble my pesky magic caused.”
“Did you want a normal life?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I have nothing to compare my life to.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m pretty sure normal doesn’t involve becoming friends with sirens.”
“And mermaids. I have a couple of those as well.”
He smiled.
“Tell me about your life as a kid,” she said. “I’ll try to see if my life was so different.”
“My life wasn’t exactly normal as I had to train to take over as an alpha. My father knew his time was ending, and he didn’t want to spend all of it away from my mother.”
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re part of the elders now.”
“They passed?”
“Yes, they did. It was their time, and they had been around for a couple of hundred years, so they were ready to cross over.” That was what they did in his world. They aged slowly and had the ability to live forever, but some, like his parents, full of wisdom, chose the path to offer guidance to the young.
“Do you miss them?”