Chapter 36 | The Devil of Siren City

Skylar

Don’t drink that.

For the first time, I hear panic in the voice. I hug the mug between my palms and breathe in the hot, citrusy aroma.

Don’t drink that.

I stare into the red tea, the scent soothing, bringing a calmness to my chest I haven’t felt in weeks.

“What’s the matter?” Adrian asks, looking at me over his own mug.

Above the strange sensations wrapping around me from the tea’s seductive scent, I feel my chest pulse with gratefulness. Adrian made pomegranate tea for me. To help me.

“You take care of me, I’ll take care of you.”

A pleasantness curls throughout my stomach, filling all the corners of my body as the voice’s warning echoes between my ears.

Don’t drink that.

“Nothing,” I whisper.

I take a sip. I taste its fruity tartness, licking it off my lips. It rushes through me, tingling down my throat, filling me with a sense of warm comfort.

And in the night, I drift into a dreamless sleep.

A deep and quiet sleep.

It feels so strange, so unusual, that in the night, I wake myself up. No nightmares. No voice.

No sleepwalking.

I nearly cry out in surprise, my eyes light with tears. Rest. Pure rest.

I sit up, something urging me to move. I plant my feet on the floor, enjoying the feeling of cold wood on the soles of my feet.

“Hello?” I whisper into the darkness.

There’s no reply. No voice.

Did the tea really work?

Am I free?

I hop out of bed and quietly exit my room. My feet whisper along the floor as I make my way into the kitchen. Before I even reach the table, I see the orchid’s petals. Bright and white, without a hint of color. As pure and dreamless as my sleep.

An instrument, the woman said.

I realize I’m smiling. It’s gone. She’s really gone!

As I silently approach my door to return to bed, Adrian’s opens across the hall.

“Oh,” I say, flinching in surprise. “Hey.”

“Skylar? Is that you?”

“Uh… yeah. Who else would it be?”

He steps out, his face cloaked in shadow. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “Sorry if I woke you. I just… got up to get some water.”

He nods, the action barely visible. I feel his eyes on me, looking me over. “You couldn’t sleep?” he asks.

“Actually, I could, which was more or less the…” He takes a sudden step forward, and I flinch again. “It felt odd to sleep so well.” I pause, his eyes still on me. “What about you? Are you okay?” I ask, checking his bandaged side.

“I’m okay,” he says. “I woke up alone. It felt odd.”

I chuckle. “We’ve had some odd nights around here, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m sorry again if I woke you.”

“You didn’t.”

I take a step toward my room.

“Come to bed.”

I stop. “What?”

Adrian extends his hand. “Come to bed,” he repeats.

My breath catches. I stare at his hand in the dark, unable to move or think.

Come to bed?

His bed?

But I’m not sleepwalking. I’m just…

Adrian shifts closer, his hand closing the gap toward mine. His cold touch tingles my palm as he takes hold of my fingers.

“Come on,” he whispers.

Chills rush through me, but I don’t fight as he guides me with him through his doorway and along the dark path to his bed.

When we reach it, Adrian pulls me close. He says nothing as his hands graze up my arms, guiding me safely on. I move nervously, unable to see, unable to figure out exactly what is happening. But as I slide beneath his sheets, I feel a sense of belonging. A familiar comfort washes over me as I lie on my side, the corner of his pillow gently nestled beneath my head.

Comfort and safety.

I’m safe here. With Adrian.

Adrian climbs into the bed beside me. Without a word, his arm curls around my waist. He moves closer to me, his coldness fading as my body heat slowly blends with his.

I realize I’m smiling again.

I drift into a dreamless sleep.

A deep and quiet sleep, this time in Adrian’s arms.