Daughter of the Siren Queen - Tricia Levenseller Page 0,96

watches me while I turn my attention to the bed. Kill him first. Then free her.

Kalligan lies on his stomach, his head twisted so it faces the door. And me. But his eyes are shut in slumber. One arm is tucked under his pillow. I know it grips a large dagger. He never sleeps without one near. Like a dangerous child with his doll.

I can give him no more thought. There is no time or room for guilt and indecision to set in. No emotion. Just action.

I tiptoe to the bed.

One quick swipe.

Now.

My wrist flicks outward. I force my eyes to remain open the whole time. No chance for error.

I tense just before the metal sinks into flesh—

Except it doesn’t.

It meets metal.

The hand under the pillow arcs outward, catching the blow on the blade it holds.

“You should have gone with a pistol,” he says.

That much is clear now.

He pushes back against my blade and rises in the same motion. Somehow, him standing makes everything easier. It’s not difficult to fight someone who is also trying to take my life.

This changes everything. It’s not about stealth anymore. It’s about beating an opponent I lose to at swordplay as often as I win. Kalligan is immune to my song. We’re matched in strength. I have him beat in speed, but he’s trained me all my life. No one can anticipate my moves like he can.

“Put down your weapon, Alosa,” he says. “Beg for my forgiveness. I might give it. After I’m satisfied with your punishment.”

“I am not the one who needs forgiving.”

“You would judge me? Because you’re so pure? You’re just like me. There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to get what I have.”

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t hurt innocents. I wouldn’t…”

“Kill your own father?”

I switch the dagger to my left hand and draw my sword. “What we’re about to do has nothing to do with power. It’s about making things right.” I have lost crew members because of this man.

He reaches for his own cutlass, a look of indifference upon his face. “You will accomplish nothing. I can assure you of that.”

The ship rocks at the same time the boom of a cannon ignites on the air. The motion is slight, not enough to knock over either of us.

But it’s surely enough to wake everyone on the ship.

Someone in his crew must have spotted the girls and fired a cannon to wake the rest.

“You’re not as careful as you think,” Kalligan says. “Everything you do, I am always one step ahead.”

I realize then that we’re conversing, which means he doesn’t have his ears covered. Not like the rest of his men. He must have heard the dying call of the man Sorinda killed. It would have been slight in here, but enough to wake my father.

“The sirens will have you,” I tell him, trying to hide my rage. I’ve doomed my whole crew. They can’t have killed enough of Kalligan’s sleeping men. If they even made it that far.

He grins, something born of triumph and greed. “The sirens can’t touch me. I am immune.”

I blink. I’ve always known my song doesn’t affect him because of the blood we share, but he can’t be immune to all sirens. But what does he gain by lying?

Nothing.

Shouts interrupt the quiet outside. Night is over. I can see the sun rising out the window now.

Our final battle has begun.

He makes the first move, a swipe meant to take off my head. I duck it and thrust at his gut. He tries to dodge it, but my sword catches him in the side. The tip of my sword comes back bloodied, like a spotted dog’s tail.

I know better than to relish over the victory. My father does not weaken like a normal man after being struck. Pain fuels him, makes him stronger.

Makes him charge me.

I’ve already begun backing up, slamming the door to his bedroom in front of me. I do not turn my back to him. Never give your back to an opponent. Even now his training directs my movements.

BAM!

My arms barely shield my face in time. Wood splinters dig into my skin as the shattered door explodes in my direction. The blood lust is upon my father. His battle rage makes him forget pain. Forget reason. Rather than opening his door, he punched his weight through it.

It’s a move meant to scare, intimidate.

And it works.

I falter a step, but manage to get the door to the deck open. I don’t want to be enclosed