The Degenerate (Mythics Book One)

24

Maybe Mystique could run around naked and kick butt, but there was no way I was attempting it.

I'd read my own considerable amount of mythology, despite what Theo might have said. Sirens were creatures of seduction and beauty. They lured fishermen and sailors to their embrace and---well, that was where the accounts conflicted. Some said the sirens let them drown, while others claimed it was an accident, that the creatures were only lonely and in love. Once, I'd read several takes where the fishermen weren't killed, but rather transformed and adopted as their own. Siren mythology was honestly all over the place, from their victims to their biological forms. I didn't look into it a whole lot--- if only because sharing DNA with these creatures often made me sick. However, I couldn't help but wonder if there were other types of sirens, like the winged creatures from Greek myth, more like birds than anything else, and the mermaids with seashell bras.

Okay, maybe they didn't really wear seashell bras. Thanks, Disney.

But regardless, the point was, these women were always depicted as stark naked. As in, bare-as-the-day-you-were-born naked. Apparently ancient peoples rather liked the naked stuff.

I almost laughed out loud. Surely there was some dormant body-confidence gene in me that would magically improve my self-esteem? The original sirens would probably waltz right on out of the water and greet everyone with a smile.

Seductress, my butt. I didn't have it in me.

Footsteps sounded through the brush nearby, and I had mere seconds before they cleared the trees and got an eyeful of my, er, distress. My heart climbed up my throat, and I debated between diving so deep I never returned or making a run for it. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling ridiculous. I pressed my body against one of the large black rocks.

Before I could act, the person revealed themselves. Daphne. She was all long legs and sunlight-colored curls. I was beginning to suspect that this form was actually her favorite--- she wore it more than any other.

She didn't notice me at first. She even looked like an experienced beachgoer with her honey-hued skin and wavy locks. Perfectly at ease, she stopped by the bank and proceeded to pull off her clothes and neatly set them in a pile. More of a siren than I was, she even took off her underwear.

Awkward. What had I expected anyway? It was a bathing ground. I politely averted my eyes. Strictly shoulders-up.

I didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable, so I made a noise and she immediately snapped her sky-blue gaze to me.

As I expected, she wasn't even fazed. Not by the situation. Not by my scaly, alien appearance. Daphne simply smiled and strode into the water, letting the blue depths cascade over her skin. The motion made small waves crash against the sand. She dunked her head and flicked it up, spraying water so far it managed to smack me in the face.

"Ivory, how are you?" she asked me. Already, she was working on rinsing her hair and scrubbing her skin.

Embarrassed didn't even begin to cover what I was feeling. The blush was profuse. It was easy to pretend I was nothing different when no one else was around. It was simple to act like I wasn't strange or malformed, disturbing and horrific. Floating next to a modelesque girl like Daphne made me feel downright hideous. My stomach churned.

I cleared my throat. "Ah, um, I'm fine. I'll get out now, so I don't take up unnecessary space." I decided right there that it was worth putting my dirty clothes back on, if only to cover up as much skin as possible.

I couldn't remember the last time someone had seen me completely in my true form. Not even Theo had. I tried to swim back to shore, feeling childish, but Daphne blocked me.