THIRTY-ONE
Defiance
Sawyer had one arm around Gemma’s waist as he pulled her away from the crowd and toward the docks. Her legs flailed wildly, and she knocked off one of her flip-flops. His hand was pressed so tightly against her mouth that she could hardly breathe, and she clawed viciously at his arm.
As strong as she was, Gemma felt powerless against him. His arms were like granite around her, and he dragged her away with the singular determination of a man on a mission. The sirens had told him to get Gemma, and he wouldn’t be able to stop until he fulfilled their orders.
That explained his insane strength. When under the spell of a siren, Sawyer could tap into every ounce of strength to carry out their bidding. He could act like an uncontrollable speed freak if he needed to.
He was pulling Gemma down an embankment, toward the docks where her father worked. The docks would be deserted right now, and there Sawyer and the sirens could do whatever they wanted with Gemma. Or Alex, if they found him.
As a new panic took over, Gemma felt a change slowly wash over her. It reminded her of the familiar transformation when her legs shifted into a tail, but this was different. Her vision changed first. At first it blurred, then the night became clearer than it ever had before.
Her mouth trembled and tingled, like her teeth were beginning to itch. Her hands felt like they were stretching out, and the fingernails she’d been scratching Sawyer’s arms with were turning into full-on talons.
She was turning into a bird-monster, and she couldn’t let it happen. The last time she had, she hadn’t been able to control it. She couldn’t even remember what she’d done, but somebody had ended up dead. She couldn’t risk it this time.
And even though Sawyer was basically kidnapping her, she didn’t want to hurt him. Not really. He couldn’t control what he was doing, and in the few moments of clarity he’d had around her, he’d been a nice guy. He didn’t deserve to get hurt, and she didn’t want to tear him apart.
Gemma closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could to stop the change. She’d never tried to prevent herself from shifting into a mermaid before, or vice versa, so she didn’t completely understand how it worked.
One thing she knew for sure was that she had to get away from Sawyer. He’d gotten her down to an isolated dock, and her fear of being trapped was triggering the transformation. The siren part of her was instinctively trying to protect her by turning into a monster.
Using her talons, she clawed more forcefully at his arm, and finally his grip slipped and Gemma pulled away from him. They were on the docks, and she only ran a few steps down from him. She was in mid-transformation and had no idea what she looked like, but she knew she couldn’t be seen by the public.
She crouched down, putting her hands over her head, and concentrated as hard as she could. Her back had begun to itch, and she was afraid wings might unfurl from it. But then the itching stopped, and slowly the tingling began to fade as her body went back to normal.
“What are you doing?” Sawyer asked, and Gemma lifted her head to see him standing beside her, looking down at her. His arms were scratched up from her fighting him off, but none of his wounds looked particularly awful.
“I’m trying not to kill you,” Gemma admitted, and stood up. “So I suggest you let me go.”
“I can’t let you go,” Sawyer said, like it hadn’t even occurred to him. “We have to wait at the docks until the sirens come.”
“Listen to me, Sawyer,” Gemma said. “If you try to stop me from leaving, I will hurt you. I don’t want to, but I will. Just let me go, and everything will be okay.”
“No, Gemma, you can’t go.” His eyes were glassy, but his voice was firm. He grabbed Gemma’s wrist with the same iron grip he’d had before. “You must wait here until Penn tells me otherwise. I can’t let you go.”
“Sawyer, please,” Gemma begged him. “You’re enchanted right now, but you just need to clear your head and remember that you don’t have to do everything the sirens say. You don’t even like them that much.”
She started pulling her wrist, trying to get away from him, but Sawyer wouldn’t let go. The damn sirens had him trained too well, and her only hope of escape might be turning into a monster.
“Gemma!” Alex shouted from behind her, and she turned to see him running down the embankment toward the docks. He must’ve seen her struggling with Sawyer, so he was charging at them.
The sky above them suddenly exploded in bright red and blue lights as the fireworks began. The booming sound of them seemed to startle Sawyer for a second, but his grip on her never wavered.
“Please, Sawyer, you need to let me go!” Gemma shouted at him, but he ignored her.
“Let her go!” Alex yelled, appearing at her side.
“I can’t,” Sawyer insisted, his words barely audible over the crackle of fireworks.
That was all Alex needed to hear. He hauled off and punched Sawyer, hitting him so hard in the face that Sawyer let go of Gemma and fell backward to the dock.
“Thank you,” Gemma said, unsure how else to respond as she watched Sawyer hold his bleeding lip.
“What?” Alex turned toward her. Between his earplugs and the fireworks, he must not have been able to hear anything.
She kissed him once quickly on the mouth, since she knew he could understand that. But she didn’t have any time for more, even though, honestly, she thought it was pretty hot the way Alex had just come over and hit Sawyer.
But she did feel bad for Sawyer. She wanted to run off with Alex and find Harper, but she paused and turned back to Sawyer.
“Go,” Sawyer said. He sat up and wiped the blood off his lip with his arm. “Get out of here before the sirens find you.”
“What?” Gemma stepped back, surprised to hear him thinking for himself.
“The sirens will be here soon,” Sawyer said. “They knew I had you.”
“Wait. Are you you?” Gemma asked. “Can you think for yourself?”
“I think so.” He stood up slowly and rubbed his head.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked, but Gemma held up her hand to silence him. She couldn’t explain now, when he couldn’t hear.
Besides, Gemma didn’t know how to explain this anyway. Something about Alex hitting Sawyer must’ve cleared his head, but Gemma wasn’t sure if it was temporary or not. But his eyes had lost their glassy quality, looking a clear, brilliant blue.
“I can’t remember the last few days very well, but I know…” Sawyer furrowed his brow. “I don’t want to listen to the sirens anymore.”
“Then come with us.” Gemma beckoned him. “You don’t need to stay with them. You can escape with me.”
“No, if I leave…” Sawyer shook his head, his smooth features looking pained. “Penn will kill me. I can’t ever get away from her.”
“She’ll kill you if you stay,” Gemma warned him. “You need to leave with us, right now. We’re going to find my sister, and we’ll find a way to break free from the sirens. But you have to come with us.”
Gemma held out her hand to his, meaning to grab it so she could drag him along with her. She didn’t really have time to stand here and argue with him anymore, but she wanted to help him. Taking him with her would really piss off Penn, but he knew Penn better than Gemma. He might know some of her weaknesses and could help fight against her.
Sawyer reached out and just about took her hand, when Lexi surfaced in the water nearby. Her golden hair shimmered under the sparkling lights of the fireworks above them, and she pulled herself out of the water in one graceful move.
“That can’t be good,” Alex said.
Her sundress clung to her body as she walked up behind Sawyer, and he dropped his outstretched arm back to his side.
“You weren’t thinking about leaving us, were you, Sawyer?” Lexi asked, her voice flirty and playful.
“No, of course not,” Sawyer said. She was still behind him, rubbing up against his back, and he turned to Gemma, mouthing the word Go.
“Lexi, where’s Penn?” Gemma asked, trying to distract her. Gemma still hoped to get Sawyer away from the sirens, but she had to do it before Lexi put a spell on him again.
“Around,” Lexi replied absently. She rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered in Sawyer’s ear, “You’d never leave us, would you?”
“No, I’d never leave you,” Sawyer said, but he stammered a bit. He was still thinking for himself. Even though Lexi was whispering to him, she wasn’t enchanting him.
“I know you wouldn’t.” Lexi smiled. “Do you know how I know?”
Sawyer shook his head. “No. I don’t.”
“Because your heart belongs to us.” Lexi smiled wider at that.
Then her hand burst through his chest.
She was standing behind him, and her human hand had shifted into the awful monster hand, the long, powerful fingers with curved talons at the end. It had torn through Sawyer’s chest easily, spraying a bit of blood as it did, and she now cradled his heart in her hand.