FastSaying

I’m so happy to be back here. You’re nice and quiet.
Her waters stirred in something close to laughter. We don’t have to talk at all if you don’t want to. I’m happy just to hold you.
I sank down, resting on the sandy Ocean floor, legs crossed and arms behind my head. I watched the trails of boats crisscrossing and fading along the surface above me. Fish swam by in schools, not spooked by the girl on the ground.
So, about six months? I asked, my stomach twisting.
Yes, barring some natural disaster or man-made sinking. I can’t predict those things.
I know.
Don’t start worrying about that yet. I can tell you’re still hurting from the last time. She wrapped me in sympathy.
I lifted my arms as if I was stroking Her, though of course my tiny body was unable to truly embrace Hers. I feel like I never have enough time to get over a singing before the next one comes. I have nightmares, and I’m a nervous wreck during the weeks leading up to it. My chest felt hollow with misery. I’m afraid I’ll always remember how it feels.
You won’t. In all My years, I’ve never had a freed siren come back to Me demanding that I fix her memories.
Do You hear from them at all?
Not intentionally. I feel people when they’re in Me. It’s how I find new girls. It’s how I listen for anyone who might suspect the true nature of My needs. Sometimes a former siren will go for a swim or stick her legs off a dock. I can get a peek at their lives, and no one has remembered Me yet.
I’ll remember You, I promised.
I could feel Her embracing me. For all eternity, I’ll never forget you. I love you.
And I love You.
You can rest here tonight, if you like. I’ll make sure no one finds you.
Can I just stay down here forever? I don’t want to worry about hurting people unintentionally. Or disappointing my sisters. Aisling has her cottage, so maybe I could build a little house down here out of driftwood.
She ran a current down my back gently. Sleep. You’ll feel differently in the morning. Your sisters would be lost without you. Trust Me, they think it all the time.
Really?
Really.
Thank You.
Rest. You’re safe.

Kiera Cass

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I hit my chest with my fist, accusing my body of failing. I’ve had eighty years to adjust and never have. Am I broken?
We’ll start there. No. You’re not broken. You are possibly the most loyal and faithful siren I’ve ever had.
So, one of the best? Is it bad to tell You that I don’t really want to be good at this job?
She swirled around my face and hair, trying to console me. No one with a beating heart could enjoy killing their own.
I’m not human, I argued. I’m less than that.
Kahlen, my sweet girl, you are still human. Your body may be unchanging, but your soul still bends and sways. I assure you, in the deepest part of yourself, you are still connected to humanity.
I kept crying, my tears joining Her waves. Then why can’t I cope with any human contact? Elizabeth has had her lovers.
As have many a siren before her. It’s not surprising, considering how beautiful you are.
If it’s so typical, then why can’t I do that?
She laughed, a motherly sound in my head, as if She knew me better than I knew myself. Because you and Elizabeth are very different people. She’s looking for passion and excitement. In her dark world, those interludes are like fireworks. You long for relationships, for love. It’s why you protect your sisters so fiercely, why you always return to Me even when I don’t call, and why you mourn so heavily at taking lives.
— Kiera Cass
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I can text in complete sentences. Oh, yeah, it’s a skill.” He smiled, proud of his accomplishments. “And, thanks to my mom being a competitive dancer as a teen, I know how to do the Lindy hop and the jitterbug.”
I sat bolt upright, and Akinli rolled his eyes.
“I swear, if you tell me you can jitterbug, I’m going to . . . I don’t even know. Set something on fire. No one can dance like that.”
I pursed my lips and dusted off my shoulder, a thing I’d seen Elizabeth do when she was bragging.
As if he was accepting a challenge, he shrugged off his backpack and stood, holding out a hand for me.
I took it and positioned myself in front of him as he shook his head, grinning.
“All right, we’ll take this slow. Five, six, seven, eight.”
In unison, we rock stepped and triple stepped, falling into the rhythm in our head. After a minute, he got brave and swung me around, lining me up for those peppy kicks I loved so much.
People walked by, pointing and laughing, but it was one of those moments when I knew we weren’t being mocked; we were being envied.
We stepped on each other’s toes more than once, and after he accidentally knocked his head into my shoulder, he threw his hands up.
“Unbelievable,” he said, almost as if he was complaining. “I can’t wait to tell my mom this. She’s gonna think I’m lying. All those years dancing in the kitchen thinking I was special, and then I run across a master.
— Kiera Cass
akinlidancingjitterbug
They got under each of my shoulders and pulled me up, Padma walking in front of me and holding her arms out for good measure. I walked on my own, but I knew that if they hadn’t been there, I might have fallen more than once. Side by side, we marched into the Ocean, all of us crying for help.
What? I felt the swirling waves of Her worry as we floated just beneath the surface.
Something’s wrong with Kahlen, Miaka said.
In the water, they could let me go, and I floated there, the Ocean holding me like a child.
I’m so tired.
Look at her skin, Elizabeth said. She’s so pale. And she keeps sleeping. Like she needs it.
She has a fever, too, Miaka added. I was acutely aware that my temperature was off; I could feel the water around me warming from my touch....She fretted. This has never happened before. I don’t know what to do.
Maybe if she stays in You for a while, it would help, Elizabeth suggested.
What, Miaka? the Ocean asked suddenly.
Nothing. But she did look like she was hiding something.
What were you thinking?
Nothing, Miaka insisted. Flipping through ideas, it’s all nothing. I think Elizabeth is onto something. She swam up to me. We’ll come and check on you every hour until you feel like coming back to bed.
I didn’t want to say how much it bothered me that she said “back to bed” instead of “back to the house.” It was like she knew I wasn’t going to be standing again.
Okay.
They fled, off to make arrangements for their broken sister.
I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happening.
How long have you been feeling like this? She sounded uneasy, as if She suspected something She didn’t want to say.
I squinted, trying to remember. It’s been coming on so slowly, it’s hard to say.
She snuggled me into Herself. Just rest. I’m here.
And I was so tired, I did exactly that. It was so unreal, how loved I felt. Right there, balanced with Her rigidity, Her absolute need to maintain order, I heard Her thinking of what She might sacrifice so long as She could keep me. It was such an encompassing feeling, and that alone was enough to make me sleep.
— Kiera Cass
careelizabethfever
I know the consequences of what I’ve done. Kill me if You must.
There was a long silence, and I could sense Her softening, that strange affection She shared with me above the others.
Do you think I rejoice in death?
I raised my head. What?
There is no joy for Me in punishing you or in taking lives. I do what I must to survive. And not only would I not delight in your death, I would mourn it. You must know by now how dear you are to Me.
I swallowed. Why me? Why do I have Your favor more so than the others?
She was so tender with me, lifting me up from the sand as if She were cradling a baby. Considering her timelessness and my temporariness, I practically was a newborn in Her eyes.
Throughout My many, many years and all the sirens I’ve carried in My hands, none of them has considered Me as you do. There’s been a detachment, a deliberate isolation between them and Me.
But you? You come to Me with a sweetness, an attempt to understand. You come to Me even when you are not called. I feel for you what a mother feels for her daughter. To end your life would be to end Mine.
I cried again. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt You.
— Kiera Cass
consequencesdaughterdeath
Elizabeth nodded, looking too dejected to do much more. “Can she just go back to him?” she pleaded. “He’s dying. She’s dying. They can’t have a life together, but at least they could have this.”
No, Kahlen is Mine. We’ll fix her.
“With what?” Elizabeth demanded through tears. “There’s nothing left.”
“Please,” I said, letting all the dams burst, exposing every last drop of love I had for Akinli. “You’ve seen how I feel now. I’ve shared everything . . .
— Kiera Cass
akinlielizabethfix