He had other loyalties.
He paused at the old iron door, half-concealed behind a rusted suit of armor. He touched the stone beside it. Once clockwise, once counter. It groaned open.
The air changed instantly.
Warmer. Wetter. Electric.
A siren's prison always reeked of salt and sorrow.
Ceto stepped into the long-forbidden corridor, breath catching slightly in his throat. He hadn’t seen her in months. Not since the deal. Not since he’d agreed to watch Wisteria… to get close… to prove himself.
To earn this one thing.
To keep Bella alive.
He descended the spiral stairs into the holding chambers, lit only by bio-luminescent moss. The walls pulsed faintly with magic containment wards designed to trap ocean-born creatures.
And at the very bottom?
A glowing tank. Half-water, half-magic. The containment field shimmered like heat off glass.
Inside, floating near the surface, lay Bella.
Long black hair drifted around her shoulders. Her skin was pale, bluish, her tail curled like an exhausted serpent. Her lips were parted, her eyes closed, and for a split second, Ceto’s heart seized in fear—
Then she stirred.