Siren // Orm Marius

Chapter 2: Exit Music

Chapter 2: Exit Music

Years ago

Somewhere in the Atlantic

It was cold. Freezing. Every cell in Cora's body felt like it was going to chip away and stick to her skin. The weather was fluctuating insanely recently. She was just a teen, yet she felt like she was living in her own personal hell. But, in her own little corner of the ocean, she was happy.

But then they came.

The shattering of the glass around her alerted her first. Then she heard her mother screaming. She could barely move, she didn't know what was happening. She stood up from the spot she was sitting in, and she could see the burning buildings outside. She grabbed the closest object, a knife, and she swam to the outside as fast as she could.

"Mother?" She screamed, her voice barely projecting through the salty water around her, "Father?"

The screams of her people rose around her, and she could feel a lump rising in her throat. She tried calling out more, but her voice was hoarse. She settled on the sea floor and stood as she watched her home crumble to ruins around her. She blinked away the debris, and squinted through the muddy water. Her eyes widened, and she sprinted forward, pushing off and swimming quickly over to the scene in front of her.

"Mama," she cried out, "Papa?"

Her parents kneeled on the ground in front of the king who tore her home apart. Her mother's blood slowly ebbed away with each pulse of the water, surely attracting sharks. Cora was getting so close to them, gaining distance quickly. She reached her hand out, her fingertips just barely brushing her mother's shoulder before she was yanked back. She landed hard on the floor below her, the gravel digging into her skin. She dug her nails in, clawing forward, splitting her fingers. She started screaming at the man standing in front of them, cursing and spitting. The soldiers around her clamped a muzzle around her mouth, chaining her down by her neck. Her salty brown hair was getting in her eyes, but she saw the glow. The glow of the trident the man held. Its golden shimmer illuminated the water around them, rippling a light on the rocks. In one quick, precise swing her parents no longer kneeled. They laid on the floor, slumped over like bait.

"Put a hook in that girl." The man said, swimming towards her, removing her muzzle.

She was heaving, breath fading from her. Her lungs felt like they were squeezing in her chest, as her fingertips burned. She felt a fire spreading through her body, itching her skin, and she let out the most bloodcurdling shriek she ever had. As she did, the fire in her pulsed out, turning those around her to ash. The once golden rocks were sprayed with their blood as the green light enveloped them all. It left as quickly as it came, and suddenly the ocean was silent. She kneeled in the middle of the broken, charred ground, and she finally felt the tears bubbling up from her chest. She let out a soft sob, her chest heavy from the pain she carried.

What have I done.

Her words echoed around her mind as she looked around the scene she caused. She stumbled to her feet, feeling heavy, like bricks were holding her down. She took a step forward, collapsing on her parents, sobbing harshly into their now-cold bodies.

The blonde king twitched across from her, and she peered over their bodies towards him. Her brows furrowed, as she felt the anger arising in her again. Her irises started glowing a faint emerald, and she could see the fear in his eyes as she reached a shaking hand towards him.

"Please...no.." he begged, kneeling down, "My son—"

He never finished as she let a pulse of energy flow out from her outstretched fingers. It enveloped him, and charred his body to an unrecognizable state, leaving nothing but bones and his golden crown. She stood over his body, picking his crown from the ground.