The first thing I noticed about her was her eyes. They lit up like a bright amber moon. I could tell right away that she was different. A creature of the sea.

She was quiet, and I doubted that she'd understand my language. Neither of them. I was blessed to speak two fluently. Well, I knew English of which people of her kind understood, but I needed the beautiful creature to stay silent. Death by Siren or Mer or whatever she was wasn't the way I wanted to go out. I was born of warrior's blood, and eventually, I would die in battle.

I don’t know how long we walked, but I needed to get as far away from the carnage as possible. All I had I wanted to do tonight was send a message to Haugar, the Zaqwarian leader. The Zaqwarian I killed on the shore was Haugar’s cousin, the man responsible for two of my fellow warriors’ deaths. Haugar would take note.

I looked back at the woman as we walked through the Quag. She didn’t try to run or defy me, which was odd.

As soon as I saw that her eyes swirled with her magical lure, I turned back around swiftly.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out that she was being traded by her people to the Zaqwar. I had seen the funny looking old man poking a stick at her back and then the grizzly-looking Zaqwar tugging at her arm.

I had waited specifically for this night—the night of the full moon. I executed the attack knowing that Haugar would send his men out to collect another sacrifice from the sea king. As long as they held my brother in chains, they wouldn’t get what they wanted. When I recognized the prince from the night of the deadly attack, I couldn’t contain my anger. I wanted him dead.

I came to a halt by a stream and surveyed the area cautiously. I was covered in blood. I didn't mind it so much, but predators were lurking about that could smell the scent of death from a mile away. Before seeking shelter for the night, I needed to rid myself of the stench.

Wounding the woman's rope around my arm three or four times so she wouldn't get away, I kneeled by the stream and began cleaning the blood and gore from my skin.

My captive remained silent, but she seemed to have eyes that bored into the back of me. Perhaps I was a dead man walking. This beautiful female wasn’t like me. She wasn’t even human even though she appeared to me in that form.

To my surprise, she knelt beside me and began cupping clean water to her lips. While she drank, I secretly observed her.

She was the most enchanting creature I had ever seen. Her hair was long and fiery red, flowing down past her round bottom. Her strands were still wet, clinging to her curvaceous body like a glove. Her skin was olive in tone and astoundingly flawless under the moonlight. She wore handmade sandals on her dainty little feet and very little clothing on her body. Just a strap of stretchy fabric to conceal her breasts and some cloth of the same type of fabric wrapped around her waist. She wore seashells and jewels around her neck, arms, wrists, legs, and ankles—jewels that were rumored to exist in treasure troves at the bottom of the deep blue sea. But if that were true, what was she really? A Mer or a Siren?

Suddenly she stood and turned to face me. I thought to look away, to shield my gaze away from her magic, but it was too late. I couldn’t. She commanded my attention without even speaking.

Her lips parted, and she placed an open palm to her chest. "Celeste."

At the sound of her voice, a dizzying sensation took over me.

This little vixen was a spellsinger for sure.

“Don’t talk,” I warned.

At first, she looked surprised that I could speak English. She looked like she wanted to say more. Instead of disobeying my request, she pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze to the ground.

I filled two canteens with water before grabbing her rope and taking her deeper into the forest.

If Haugar wanted this spell-singing breeder, he was going to have to release my brother.