The Song of Ruin

Men in black tactical gear rappelled through the shattered glass. They wore masks emblazoned with the lightning bolt of Zeus.

The Corporate Council.

"Secure the target!" a voice shouted. "Liquidate the traitor!"

They weren't here for me. They were here for Julian.

"Julian!" I screamed—a strangled, raspy sound.

Klio went down in the first volley, a dart in her neck.

Julian spun, roaring, his dagger flashing. He deflected bullets with supernatural speed, but there were too many of them. A concussion grenade rolled to his feet.

* BANG.*

Julian was thrown backward into the wall. He slumped to the floor, dazed, blood pouring from his ears.

The Council agents surrounded him.

"Ares Security is compromised," the leader said, aiming a rifle at Julian’s head. "Zeus sends his regards."

I was crouching behind the sofa.

I looked at Julian. He was groggy, reaching for his weapon, fighting to stay awake. He was going to die.

I could run. In the chaos, I could slip out the service exit. I could disappear into the river.

But the bond tugged at my chest. It wasn't a chain anymore. It was a lifeline.

He had spared me. Even believing I was a monster, he couldn't kill me.

* My turn.*

I stood up.

"Hey!" I shouted.

My voice was rusty, unused for centuries. It sounded like grinding stones.

The agents turned.

"The girl," the leader sneered. "Witness. Kill her."

I closed my eyes. I reached down into the pit of my stomach, where the ocean lived. I found the song that had sunk the Roman fleet. I found the scream that had shattered the pillars of Atlantis.

I didn't hum.

I opened my mouth and let the monster out.

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM.**

It wasn't music. It was a sonic lance.

The air in the penthouse rippled. The remaining glass windows shattered instantly into dust.

The Council agents didn't stand a chance. The sound hit them like a physical wall. Their helmets cracked. Their visors exploded. They dropped their weapons, clutching their heads, screaming silently as the frequency liquefied their equilibrium.

I didn't stop. I poured three thousand years of silence into that scream.

My skin shifted. Feathers erupted along my arms. My fingers lengthened into talons. My eyes turned entirely black. The glamour fell away, revealing the true form of the Siren—a creature of wind and hunger and death.

The agents fell. One by one, they collapsed, lifeless.

Silence returned to the room.

I stood there, panting, my chest heaving. My wings—great, grey appendages—twitched on my back.

I turned to Julian.

He was the only one left alive. The bond protected him. My song couldn't hurt my mate.

He was pushing himself up, staring at me.

He looked at the wings. The talons. The black eyes.

He didn't look angry anymore. He looked horrified.

"Cassia?" he whispered.

I looked at myself. I was a nightmare.

I had saved him, but I had proven him right. I was a monster.

I couldn't bear to see the rejection in his eyes. I couldn't bear to hear him say it.

I didn't wait.

I turned and sprinted toward the shattered balcony.

"Cassia, wait!" Julian shouted, staggering to his feet.

I spread my wings. I launched myself into the cold night air of New Olympus.

I flew. I flew until the city was a blur of lights below me. I flew until I couldn't hear his voice anymore.