Trust Issues

Chapter 19

It felt like someone had sucked all the water from my lungs. Though fear, confusion, and shock filled Leena's eyes, her voice was cool, calm, and controlled—the same as when she'd appeared years ago in that vision or hallucination or memory, whatever it had been. As I looked back on it now, I realized there had been some element of truth in it. Carla had recognized Leena and vice versa.

Had they met before? A snippet of their conversation floated through my head, bringing more confusion than clarity. Carla's words were biting and filled with venom. "'Leena. How dare you corrupt my daughter?'"

Leena's response was equally as vicious. "'Oh, Carla. I'm not trying to corrupt her. It's her destiny. Just as it was yours, long ago.'"

What had she meant by that? I glanced from Leena to my family, helplessness in my eyes. How had she even found me? "H-how did you find me?" I breathed, my voice shaking.

She grinned, the sight filling me with dread. "I'd been hiding in Aegrem for years, staying off the grid in abandoned houses. My parents died when I was thirteen from coral poisoning. I had no siblings or relatives to take me in, so I've been alone ever since.

"I first heard the Siren Song when I was twelve. I met Carla a year later. When I learned that she was a Siren, I immediately knew that if she decided to have children—if one or more of them were a mermaid—she would eventually hear the song at some point in her life. It's not hereditary, but if the mother is a Siren, the odds of a daughter becoming one increase exponentially."

She rubbed a hand over her face, blowing out a heavy breath. "I'd heard rumors that the king and queen of Pelathas adopted children, but I never in a million years thought that one could be Carla's daughter." The scorn and hatred she infused into our birth mother's name had me biting back a growl.

Taken aback, I gaped at her, horrified at how bluntly she spoke about Mom, Dad, and Carla. "Did Zander tell you about me?" That was the only reason I could think of her knowing where to find me. However, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they could have possibly crossed paths.

She nodded. "By sheer chance, we ran into each other on the outskirts of Pelathas. I'd heard that you and his daughter knew each other, so it wasn't hard to connect the dots. We started talking, and he mentioned that his daughter had made friends with a Siren. Of course, this was before her sister revealed her true heritage. After that, I started tracking you myself.

"It wasn't long before I started asking around, trying to figure out if anyone knew the king and queen's daughter personally. That's when I encountered Zander. He was discouraged and bitter, unable to connect with his youngest daughter." Sympathy laced Leena's words, sending bolts of shock through me.

How in the world could she sympathize with someone so cruel? "So... what? After talking with him, you decided to come after his daughter and me?" I didn't mention our fight and subsequently rekindled friendship, fearful it would only give her more ammunition.

Her eyes twinkled cruelly. My heart stopped as all the water left my lungs in a rush. "No. I decided to come after you and make her watch."

I choked as I heard a petrified wail. I whipped my head around, eyes widening in terror and horror as a frantic Waverly was dragged forward, her hands bound behind her back. Her face, streaked with tears, was red and blotchy; her eyes, wide with terror, darted around wildly before finally settling on my face. And began pleading. Babbling.

I'd never heard her sound so... Broken. It was the only word that came to mind as I stared at my friend. "Faye, please! You have to believe me. H-he tricked me! He told me that you wouldn't be here—that it would just be me and him and Leena."