Page 47 of A Reckless Indulgence

But what would she have if she lost?

It’s a traitorous thought. Her head jerks like that will shake it away, but it’s still there. What is her fantasy? Nothing Cav can offer her is worth losing this game, but there is something she’s always wondered. Something she could only pretend at. Something she’ll never be able to experience.

It’s impossible. There is no scene Cav could weave to fool her, no way that he could fuck her to make her feel a scrap of whatever he believes in…but she does wonder what it would be like, being loved by someone.

It has always eluded her. For most of her life, she never thought more of it. It never crossed her mind. She didn’t want it, and she still doesn’t, but she is curious. What would he say? How would he look at her? Would it feel different than every other time she’s been touched?

It’s a pointless notion, so puerile that it brings a smile to her lips. He’s not capable of convincing her, and she’s not capable of understanding it. It’s trivial and inconsequential.

With a steadying breath, she throws the final dart. It sails to the board and lands directly next to Cav’s – but hers is just outside the double ring.

Her arm falls back to her side. It can’t be right. She crosses all the way to the tree before she’s forced to admit it. Her dart has landed a centimeter off. She’s outside the bounds of the board.

The throw doesn’t score. She loses.

Her chest tightens. She hadn’t meant to lose. It was a fleeting thought, an inane contemplation, not something she’d actually considered.

When she turns, Cav looks equally surprised, but he clamps his mouth shut when he sees her face. “Hey, it’s not so bad.” His expression is encouraging, like he can sense her devastation. “You still get something out of it, right?”

Without a word, she brushes past him, flexing her wrist until it aches.

In the Grotto

Lyx

Quit playing with your food. Kill him.

That thought chases Lyx all the way back to the sirens’ nest. She darts through coral and plants and hovers on the outskirts of the sunken ship.

It’s the sirens’ most impressive trophy, a massive hull covered in barnacles and lichens, tipping precariously on the continental shelf. Another prized possession bobs overhead; a metal buoy stolen from the nearest island, now stained with blood and rust.

Sirens do enjoy their toys.

Shrieks rise in the distance. Two of the other sirens are fighting. Lyx could sense it long before she could hear them, but their voices grow louder now, carried through the water until it’s suffocating. She can’t deal with them. Not today. Not when a pirate who should be long dead is hijacking her thoughts.

Ducking low, she follows the edge of the chasm. A jagged hole in the shipwreck serves as the main entrance, but she searches instead for the crack that runs from bow to stern. There’s barely enough room for her to squeeze through, but she does, fingers scraping moss as she wiggles her hips and pushes inside.

The ship blots out most of the sound. Lyx exhales and swims deeper, enveloped by groaning boards and slanting beams. When she reaches her room, she stops short. Something is off. The netting hanging from her walls are empty. Beneath it, her box of hooks has been strewn open. On the floor, a beam of sunlight glints off mutilated metal and broken glass.

Her collections have been tampered with. One of her siblings was here.

Rage boils inside her. The destruction is no surprise; it is the way of sirens, creating discord wherever they can. This disruption feeds her. Already, she can feel it in her throat, clogging her gills until she can do nothing but gasp. She should indulge in it, but instead, she gags.

Returning here was a mistake. She’s felt the ominous churning for days: schools of fish fleeing, whales falling silent, pandemonium waiting to be unleashed. All of the sirens can sense it. It draws them together, conducting chaos like electricity. It’s a vicious cycle; the more of them that gather, the quicker they combust. Sirens may share this transitory dwelling, but they share no affection or blood. The only thing they share is hunger.

A lone pirate in this territory won’t stay alone for long. Once one siren gets a whiff of him, the others will be sure to follow. Lyx’s tongue presses to her fangs to keep her mind sharp. That’s why she’s keeping Cav a secret. She’s territorial. She doesn’t want to share. That is the only reason.

Outside the wreckage, the feud has died away. It won’t be long before it kicks up again. Lyx should seize the chance to flee — but not before swimming the length of the ship and smashing any trinkets she comes across.

Revenge is good. She’s practically glowing when she wedges through the crack in the ship. It’s freeing to escape this place. She’s not the only one who thinks so. Below her, creatures scuttle toward the open ocean and disappear into its depths. She could be like them. She could dive deeper and vanish, away from her siblings. Away from this mess.

“If it isn’t my favorite little sea jelly.”

Lyx’s head jerks toward the edge of the reef. There lies Sinoe, blue hair swaying as she lounges across a rock.

Her silver eyes glint. “What was all that racket in the ship? Surely you weren’t getting into trouble all on your own.”

Lyx doesn’t speak, but she’s not fool enough to think Sinoe doesn’t know the answer. Sinoe always knows.