The Sea Siren

Chapter Twenty-One

Vivian

"Go! Run!"

Leona's scream sends me off before I even understand the urgency.

The danger is apparent once I'm knee-deep in shrubbery, leaping through the rough terrain. The men chasing me. Not soldiers—maybe pirates. Maybe bounty hunters.

It's far worse than if the soldiers of the Vale were on my heels.

If that were the case, I'd at least have a long sailing before they tried to behead me.

Hunters will bring back my corpse in pieces.

It's been years since I've seen the south shore, since Leona showed me their only means of escape from this small isle in case I should ever need it. The trees are blurring together but I can't stop. If I stop, they'll be right on me.

The screams coming from the village die out the further I get, but my fear for what's happening there intensifies as I sprint further and further away from the damage.

"We'll get you, bitch!"

"You won't get far!"

The sun is nearly gone. That has it's advantages. I rush across a stream, boots sinking into the water. The rocks topple under them as I climb uphill, heaving myself over the edge, trying to throw them off. Through the dim light, my eyes scan the weeds for a sufficient dip. When I find one, I stop, pulling a small dagger from the tip of my boot. Dirt lodges under my nails as I create a nook for the handle of the blade, lodging it upwards. Once it's secure, I tear off branches from a bush, laying it over the hole.

I'm already running when I hear a scream and begin to grin.

I throw myself past the tall, ancient trees, relieved to find sand mixing with the soil.

I'm almost there. I'm can see—

A man appears from behind one of the sequoia trunks, so swift there's no chance to react. One minute, I'm sprinting as fast as my feet can carry me and the next, my shoulder is crushed against another trunk. Tall and reeking of potent mead, he pushes me into the bark so hard that I begin to hear the bone in my shoulder twisting. I shake my head, grunting as his hand covers the side of my face, digging it into the tree.

"You are a quick one, that's for sure," he taunts.

"Fuck you!" I spit out, blindly reaching for my hip. I wince, feeling splinters seep through my flesh as he pins me immobile but he hasn't caught my arms. I tear my long dagger from my hip, slamming it into the side of him. Not a great place—it doesn't sink deep but it loosens his grip.

The second time I plunge my dagger into him, I'm relieved I don't miss his heart.

The rest are close. My shoulder feels crushed and I can't feel my right cheek but I can't stop. There's too many and I'm not armed for battle. My ship is too far, maybe too far to have seen the chaos happening in the village.

Even then, Bastian and Aggie know of my rules.

They won't return until they can confirm they aren't sailing into a trap. The lives of many are worth more than one. I'm on my own. My one consolation is knowing whoever is attacking will have probably already been stopped by Antony, who is the only one who could stop them from burning this place to the ground.

He can convince them that Leona helped him—that I am the only one they should be hunting.

The sand slows me down. The pain in my shoulder doesn't help much either.

I know by the time I'm halfway down the beach that I need to gear myself to fight. I hear them getting closer and closer until they're almost breathing down my neck. I spin, growling as my blade meets his just as my eyes do.