The Siren's fate

Capítulo 7

When a hybrid is brought into the world, their true nature lies dormant, concealed from the eyes of both men and merfolk alike. It is said that their essence remains hidden, veiled by the guise of humanity, until the fates themselves intervene. Only when their life hangs by a thread, when the shadow of death lingers near, does the dormant power within stir.

In the ancient scrolls, it is written that an attempt upon their life while they walk the earth as human will awaken the sleeping tide within, triggering their transformation into their merfolk form. Thus, their true heritage is revealed, and the sea claims them as its own. The mortal coil is shed, and the ocean's power surges through their veins, marking the moment when they transcend the boundaries of both worlds.

* * *

Adrian

I awoke with a start, gasping for air as though I had been dragged from the depths of an abyss. My chest ached, each breath a battle, as if the weight of the entire ocean had settled there. The taste of brine still clung to my lips, a cruel reminder of what had just happened. For a moment, everything was chaos. Disoriented, I struggled to remember where I was—how I had survived.

The pond.

The siren.

Cold, unyielding hands like iron shackles yanked me under. Darkness, the weight of water crushing in from all sides, the terror of limbs gone slack, useless as my body surrendered to the inevitable. I had known, in those final moments, that death was closing in. There had been no escaping it.

But I wasn't dead.

The rough feel of rock beneath me—the coarse, gritty texture digging into my skin—told me I had made it back to land. I blinked, dazed, struggling to adjust to the dim light, my lungs burning as they filled with the unfamiliar but welcome air. My head spun, still clouded with the remnants of panic, but there was something else. A warmth. Familiar. Reassuring.

Iryen.

Her name flashed through my mind, grounding me, bringing me fully into the present. Slowly, I turned my head, my muscles protesting with every movement, and there she was—kneeling beside me, her face pale, her breath shallow, her skin luminous even in the soft glow of the moonlight. The sight of her—the sheer relief etched into her features—hit me harder than the cold hands of the siren ever had. Her expression was fierce, yet underneath, there was a vulnerability I hadn't expected to see. Her cheeks were streaked with the faint remnants of tears, and her hands... her hands trembled slightly where they rested on my chest, as if she was afraid I might slip away if she let go.

I swallowed against the dryness in my throat, my voice a raw whisper. "You—" I croaked, barely able to form the words. "You saved me... again."

Iryen's eyes, those deep emerald pools I had come to know, flickered with a storm of emotions—anger, fear, relief, all fighting for dominance. Her lips pressed into a thin line, her nod sharp, almost too controlled. "You're damn right I did."

There it was—the fire in her voice that matched the blaze in her eyes. It cut through the haze in my mind, sharp and clear, reminding me of who she was, of who we were. But beneath that fire, I could hear something else—something far more vulnerable. Fear. Fear she was trying so hard to mask but failing to hide from me. She had been afraid for me. I could see it—feel it— in the way her hands refused to stay still, the way her breath caught ever so slightly when she exhaled.

I tried to sit up, desperate to shake off the helplessness gnawing at my insides, but pain shot through my chest like lightning, and I collapsed back onto the sand with a strangled gasp. Her hand was on my shoulder instantly, steadying me, firm but gentle. "Don't move yet," she murmured, her voice softening, though it still carried an edge of command. "You need to rest. You almost—" She faltered, her gaze dropping as she swallowed hard, clearly unable to finish the sentence.