Bri
Bri’s shoes pounded against the wooden bridge.
“Bri!”
She stopped when Sloane’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Are you okay?”
Sloane didn’t respond. Bri listened to the silence around her. It was too quiet for the circumstances they were in. Sloane was in trouble. She never should have left her. She turned away for a second and lost her balance, crashing into someone.
Strong hands wrapped around her arms and she screamed. One hand pressed against her lips. “Bri, it’s me.” Kael spoke into her ear.
She stopped screaming and relaxed against him. His hand lifted from her mouth, leaving her lips moist.
He was soaked from head to toe. “We need to go.”
“Not without Sloane.”
Kael chewed on his lower lip. “Let me get you safe first.”
She stood her ground. “No.”
“How are you standing on your own right now?”
“Something happened—”
He cursed. “The blood bond.”
How had he guessed?
He let out a sigh, put the headphones back on, and took Bri’s hand. His was much larger than hers, wrapping around hers like a protective glove.
She tried to ignore the vibration streaking over her skin.“How do you plan on stopping her?”
Kael pulled her against him, blocking her body with his. “She can only die in her true form.”
Bri swallowed the lump in her throat. “You have to kill her?”
“It’s what we do.”
Bri pondered that. It’s what her mom did. She was a murderer by trade. How had Bri been so blind? In her defense, it wasn’t as if she’d ever imagined there were paranormal anomalies out there.
“What else is she hiding?”
Kael cleared his throat, but said nothing.
He exhaled sharply. “I can’t really talk about this with you.”
“I’m not weak, you know,” Bri said sharply. “I don’t need to be protected.”
Kael turned so quickly Bri stumbled back. His hands wrapped firmly around her arms; his fingers pulsed over her skin. “I don’t think you’re weak. If I could tell you the truth, I would. This is something between Abbey, you, and Sloane.”
Bri stared at Kael’s chest. “Okay.” His mask fell once again, closing off the person who had been more open to her than anyone since Sloane came into her life.
She held on to his shirt, keeping him close while they walked across the bridge. She lowered her voice. “Do you know what Coach wants? She said something about her mate.”
“Sirens mate for life,” he explained. “She can’t find him and the only way she could locate him is through Sarah.”
“Who’s Sarah?”
“The witch who created you.” He paused before continuing. “Little does the Siren know that her mate is dead.”
“How do you know that?”
He didn’t elaborate. “If we can keep you and Sloane separated then we have our best shot at delaying her.”
They reached the other side of the bridge and stepped onto the grass. “She’s going to use Sloane to draw you out. And under no circumstances should you listen to her.”
Bri knew she’d do anything to save Sloane.
“Me too, sister.”
The voice was so close, Bri jumped back. A shadow shot out in front of her and Kael fell to the ground. A ringing sounded in her ears. Was the connection with Sloane petering out?
Kael jumped up from the ground and Bri came to his side. “Are you—” Her words and breathing were cut off as something squeezed her neck. Kael stared blankly at her as he held Bri by the throat. His headphones were on the ground next to them. Black spots filled her vision. A few of them came together to create a new shape. Soon she realized it wasn’t just any shape. It was the Siren. Coach Kendra was gone.
“No more games.” The Siren’s voice was deeper, slicker, and almost snake-like.
Kael loosened his grip on Bri’s neck and used his other hand to guide her closer to the shore.
Her whole body wanted to fight back, though she knew she couldn’t. Not when she saw Sloane. Her twin waded waist-deep in the lake.
“A great sorceress created Two from one life. And someone that powerful is the only one who can bring me together with my own destiny. My mate.”
“How would we be able to do anything about finding your mate?” Sloane said.
“You won’t find him,” Kendra snapped. “You are the key to awakening her.” She grinned; her teeth were worse than Bri expected. They were almost like tiny shark teeth, sharp and way more than any human should have. How was she ever going to get them out of there? “I made a mistake with Cara. She disposed of her twin. That’s not the survivor blood I need. I need the blood of the one who is sacrificed.”
Sloane struggled in the grip of Kendra’s tentacles. “Can you stop speaking in code? It’s really annoying.”
“I’ll speak in simpler terms. One of you must take the other’s life.”
Kael had wanted them to distract her. Since he was under the same control as Jake and Tucker had been, Bri knew she had to continue his plan until she could figure out what to do. She wondered what had happened to Abbey and Chloe. As much as she was pissed at Abbey, she would die if anything happened to her.
“Don’t joke about that.”
She ignored Sloane’s voice in her head. “Why would we do that?”
The Siren neared the shore, bringing Sloane with her. “I’m sure by this time you can already feel the other. The power that the other possesses.”
Bri felt Sloane, just like she was able to hear her thoughts. The strength she felt from Sloane was strong. What would killing her do for anyone?
“The curse was meant to make you always search for the other. And now you’ve found each other, thanks to me, it’s only a matter of time before you won’t be able to be apart for more than a short while. The blood sharing that you executed solidified this connection. And it’s only going to get stronger.” Kendra smiled, a strange and terrifying expression. “Soon enough it will consume you and make you want to destroy the other. I’m only easing the process.”
“How are you easing the process?” Sloane asked.
“Don’t piss her off.”
“I’m saving you a lot of pain in the future. It’s a win-win.”
“And as much as I’ve grown to admire Bri’s persistence in the pool—” Kendra winked at her “—I think that Sloane has the potential to help me.”
Bri’s cheeks warmed. “She’s trying to turn us against each other.”
“Duh,” Sloane sent Bri. “You think I would kill her? You obviously have no clue about who I am.”
In the blink of an eye, Kael pushed Bri to the edge of the water, close enough that her feet slipped on the muddy shore. One hand wrapped tightly around her body and the other pointed something sharp against her throat. Bri gasped lightly, feeling the blade pressing against her skin. She imagined her life ending right there at Willows Lake and willed herself to hold on to some form of hope.
The Siren pressed her cheek against Sloane’s. “You cling on to things so easily. Your mother has been dead for years. You saw her body. Yet you still hold on to something else. That is why you’re going to help me. You won’t be able to stand the guilt of Bri dying, so you’re going to take your own life.”
Kendra moved and Sloane cried out. Bri couldn’t see what the creature was doing to Sloane but she felt it in her mind.
“I have her now!” Kendra yelled. Her voice faltered, her plan wasn’t going her way. “Either way she’s going to die. It can either be by your hand or mine. And I guarantee she will feel it through my hand. I’m going to enjoy killing you. I wonder how Two blood compares to the rest.”
Bri thought about the reports of dead animals in the lake, the poor Richardsons, and the man in the motel. Bile rose in her throat. It made her sick to think that she’d been so close to her the whole time.
“If I never came to Willows Lake, neither of our lives would be in danger.”
A shadow moved in the distance. She followed the shadow to the bridge and realized she’d been mistaken in thinking Abbey and Chloe had found them. A man crossed the bridge. His footfalls were silent and no one else noticed him. His form came into view and Bri gasped. Mr. Theron stood halfway across the bridge, his eyes burning into hers. Bri’s mouth opened. How was he out here? He’d been unconscious when she’d seen him last.
“Take the knife.” His voice was barely above a whisper but she understood him. “He will let you.”
And as if a breeze ripped through the air, his form moved with it, disintegrating until Bri wasn’t sure she’d seen him at all.
She moved against Kael and his grip tightened. A trickle of blood made a warm trail down her neck. Whatever message she’d received had not been correct. Even though she knew the Siren wouldn’t hurt her until she got what she wanted, Bri wasn’t sure maiming herself in the process was a good idea.
She had to make him loosen his grip on the knife first. “Kael,” Bri whispered. “Your dad was here. He’s not sick anymore.”
Kael’s breathing shifted. It became quicker, almost as he was fighting off whatever spell the Siren had him under.
Bri smiled to herself. “I have a plan.”
“I’ll do it!” Bri said to Kendra.
Kendra glided to the shore.
Kael moved away from Bri, probably on Kendra’s command. Kendra was almost on top of Bri when she turned and knocked the knife from Kael’s hand. She ducked out of his grasp and lunged forward. She only had one chance to fool the Siren and she couldn’t make a mistake.
Kendra locked eyes with Bri then the knife in her hand.
This was her only shot.
Bri ran forward, lifting the knife above her head before striking it down. She was inches from plunging the knife into the creature before Kael’s arms wrapped around her waist, shoving her to the ground. She tried to shimmy out of his grasp but he was much stronger than her.
He cried out and Bri glanced over her shoulder. Sloane brought her hand up from his still head.
“Did you kill him?”
Sloane’s eyes widened at the rock in her hand before she grabbed the knife and brandished it in front of her and Bri.
One of Kendra’s tentacles wrapped around Sloane’s leg. Bri thought about when Kendra had dragged her into the pool earlier. The thought made her leg ache even though she knew the wound was healed. Bri grabbed Sloane’s arms and fought against the Siren’s strength.
“You shouldn’t fight this,” Kendra said. “It’s inevitable. The longer you wait the more agonizing it will be until you finally end it. I’ve seen it before.”
Bri struggled to hold on to Sloane’s slippery arms. “Your mate is dead! This is all for nothing.”
The Siren hesitated.
“Now!”
Bri reached back and grabbed the knife. A hand wrapped around Bri’s and before she could react, both her and Sloane’s hands moved together, plunging the knife into the tentacle. Kendra let go of Sloane and Sloane scrambled away, helping Bri to her feet.
The air moved around Bri and a thwack sound caught her attention. The Siren tipped forward and fell onto the shore, her body half in and half out of the water. The creature let out another bellowing scream, the same one she’d heard in the natatorium. This time Bri wouldn’t let her survive.
Tears blurred her vision as she approached Kendra; she wasn’t sure why. This person who she’d trusted had wanted to kill her. And even though it hurt that Abbey had lied to her as well, she knew her mom—or whoever she was—had fought to keep her safe. Sloane touched Bri’s hand. She tightened her grip around the hilt and knelt down beside Kendra.
Bri closed her eyes and plunged the knife into her gut, and Kendra’s dying scream filled the night. The Siren’s body curled in on itself as she died. Bri let go of the knife and stepped away from the creature, knowing that she’d never get the sound of its last dying breaths out of her head.
Abbey and Chloe ran down the hill in front of them, Abbey’s bow at the ready.
Chloe knelt beside Kael. “What happened?”
Sloane took Bri’s hand. The warmth they’d felt before was gone, replaced with a sense of peace. If Bri had her way she’d never let go. “Is this the feeling Kendra was talking about?” She couldn’t imagine ever being without Sloane. Why did the Siren think she would want to kill her?
“I don’t know,” Sloane said aloud.
“You don’t know?” Chloe snapped.
Kael stirred on the ground and relief spread through Bri.
Sloane nudged her. “You didn’t think I would kill the guy helping us out, did you?”
“Where were you?” Bri asked Abbey and Chloe. The realization of how much worse their situation could have been if Abbey hadn’t shown up made her stomach heave.
Abbey sighed and inspected the body. “She sent a decoy. I should have known better.” She said the last part to herself. “I can’t imagine what you went through.”
Abbey reached out to touch Bri. The night washed over her and she embraced the only mom she’d ever known. Abbey extended her arm to Sloane and pulled the girls against her. “I’m so sorry I lied to you. I hope you can forgive me someday.”
Sloane looked up at Abbey. “As long as we can hear your side of the story.”