Sound of Sirens: (Tales of Skylge #1) Read Online Free PDF

the alarm and shield ourselves off.”
    “Yeah. You drown yourselves in electronic beats while pulling away the shutters from the top of your precious tower to blast the seas with Brandan’s Fire,” I say sarcastically. “And you don’t care what happens to us living in the middle and the east.”
    Royce frowns. “The Skylgers are welcome to live closer to Brandaris.”
    “So we can all be your serfs? No, thank you.”
    “You should be grateful that the Baeles-Weards are willing to protect your people,” he points out huffily. “Without them, many more men and women might have been lost.”
    “Grateful?” My voice cracks. “Why? Because you keep all the good stuff to yourselves? Because you took away our gods and our language? Because your priests and their sacred fire failed to protect my mother?”
    That shuts him up. “We’re sharing what we can,” he mumbles at last. “What happened to your mom?”
    I stare at my hands. “The Nixen took her.”
    “Mine too.” His voice is rough.
    My eyes flash to his. “They did?”
    “Yeah.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “She always heard them. She couldn’t shut them out. And by the end, she was addicted to listening to their harmonies. Said it helped her create her paintings.”
    I inhale deeply. “She walked into the sea?”
    “Yes. She left me.” He sounds like a little boy, not like an entitled heir to the Bolton kingdom.
    “And then you stopped listening to the merfolk?” I add gingerly.
    His mouth is set in a grim line now. “Yes. And once I finish college I’m going to design a security system that will keep them away from our island forever. No matter how wonderful they make me feel. No matter how tempting their voices are.”
    Sounds like he’s fighting an addiction. The thought of affluent, pampered Currents getting their fix from the call of dangerous creatures of the sea makes my stomach turn. If they feel so empty inside, maybe they should grow a heart and help their neighbors instead.
    “I suppose you could do that,” I mutter.
    Royce shoots me a puzzled look, as though he expected more encouragement or admiration. Well, I’m not giving him either.
    “So why did your mother listen to them?” he inquires when I don’t volunteer any more comments.
    “Because...” I fall silent. “She was just not very happy. Prone to melancholy. We call it the Sadness. People in coastal towns suffer from it. Our Skelta says it’s because they’re so close to the world of the Nixen. My dad put my mom on a strictly fish-free diet to try and alleviate the symptoms, but it didn’t work in the end.”
    “I didn’t know about your sickness.”
    “I bet there’s an awful lot you don’t know about us,” I snip.
    He sighs. “You’re probably right. I mean, look at me – I haven’t even asked you what your name is.”
    I shrug as though I don’t mind. “Who cares? I’m just the girl with the LP that you want.”
    “Well, I should care. What’s your name?” His face breaks into a friendly, genuine smile, and it trips up my heart. Despite his infuriating superiority, I want him to like me. I want him to smile at me like he cares.
    “Enna,” I say.
    “Nice to meet you, Enna,” he says formally, extending his hand so I can shake it. “I’m Royce.”
    “Yeah, I know that,” I laugh. “Everyone knows that.”
    He grins a bit awkwardly. “Well, I hope they say nice things about me.”
    I blush, suddenly feeling guilty for gossiping about him with Dani and the other girls at school. We always thought he was so arrogant, but we didn’t really know that much about him. “My best friend and I love your music,” I confess. “We never miss your recitals at Oorol.”
    “So you like piano music?”
    I nod mutely. His concerts have always been a joy to the ears. And eyes, admittedly – but I’d rather drop dead than divulge that information. I never even told Dani about ogling Royce on stage.
    “Let’s listen to some more music,”