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I had no idea how long I had been below the water, or more importantly, how much power the Sirens had drained from me. For few moments, all I could think about was how incapacitating the freezing water felt as it enveloped me, stabbing me to the bone with it's icy fingers.

After those first few moments, I panicked, overcome with fear because I was under water and this meant that I could not breathe. How long had been down here with no supply of oxygen? I flailed uselessly against the iron grips that held me, gaping around myself in horror. The water tasted of salt, and fish as it rushed into my mouth.

I could not breathe. But... My lungs did not burn...

After another few, horrific moments, I realized that this was because I was not human anymore. I was immortal, unable to die due to lack of oxygen. Being unable to breathe would not kill me... But it sure as hell was not comfortable, and every instinct in my body told me it was wrong. I couldn't smell anything without breathing, and being without that sense was a disadvantage.

I didn't like it, but at least I knew I wouldn't drown. This realization, although odd and still so unfamiliar, calmed me enough to think past the shock. My brain moved on to greater threats, and I began pulling desperately at the hands that held me still. They were like steel traps.

Not because they were particularly strong...

But because they had already drained so much of my physical strength.

I blinked, nearly blind in the dark water, trying to see how many enemies there were. There were several of them holding onto me, their teeth attached to whatever area of flesh that they could reach.

I could only see one Siren who was not draining me. The one floating in front of me, the one who smiled as it watched me with cruel amusement. It was the one who had been hypnotizing me, I was sure of it.

Gods, it had overtaken my mind so easily...

Was Dristan right? Was I too weak to do this?

'Of course he was right.' The siren in front of me said pleasantly.

I blinked at the creature, confused. It's lips had not moved, and yet I could hear it speaking to me. I bared my teeth at it, suddenly aware that it was still inside of my mind.

It cocked it's head, studying me. Strings of dark hair floated around it's head, encircling it like a black, ghostly crown. 'Such strong emotions, you have... It is rare, and so much fun to play with.' It said into my head.

A rush of bubbles escaped my mouth as I tried to shout an insult at the vile creature. It's disturbing smile widened in answer.

'Your anger only further proves my point... So weak...' It crooned.

My vision blurred and I shook my head, fighting the waves of fatigue that were growing stronger with each passing minute. The water would not kill me... But the Sirens could. If I did not do something soon, I was going to die here. My heart hammered against my ribs as adrenaline began pulsing through my veins.

I screwed my eyes shut, trying to ignore the frigid temperature of the water and the painful sets of sharp teeth pulling at my skin. Inwardly, I reached into the deep pool of magic that lived inside of me. I could tell right away that it was dangerously low. My teeth gritted in frustration.

I had to locate the rune...

I opened my eyes, sending out a wave of searching power. The water around me pulsated strangely with the force of it and the Siren in front of me bared it's teeth. I heard a low hiss inside of my mind as it stared at me.

'Don't bother,' The siren snarled. 'You are far too weak to-'

But the wave of power I had sent out came rushing back toward me, colliding with me almost violently, and I did not hear the rest of the Siren's sentence. The dark water shuddered around us and I grinned maliciously at the Siren who was now gaping at me in disbelief.

The rune was close. Very close. Somewhere to the left of where we were now. I could feel it, could hear it's silent whispers. It's ancient powers seduced me. I could hear it's unspoken plea with each beat of my heart, as if it were already part of me.

Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart thrummed.

Come find me. Come find me. Come find me. The rune begged.

I reached inward once more, my eyes still locked with the Siren. The source of my power was horribly depleted... But it was not empty. I had been training every single day for months, building up my stores of magic, deepening my supply.

And that training was about to pay off.

It had to.

I would not give up.

The Siren's milky eyes widened as it prodded around my mind, and I was certain that it was aware of everything that I was doing, and feeling, and thinking. The other Siren's seemed oblivious to what was happening as they fed on me, as if they were in some deep trance...

Mentally, I plunged my hands into the deepest pits of my power and clutched my fists around it. ′I will give you one chance, and one chance only...′ I thought, hoping that the Siren could hear me. 'I do not wish to kill you. Give me the rune and stand down now. If you do, I will leave in peace.'

The Siren's face fell for a fraction of a second, as if my words had sparked fear in it's heart. But it was gone in an instant, replaced with a sharp toothed grin. 'You are nothing but a foolish little girl... Even if I knew what rune you speak of, I would not give it to you. I will enjoy watching you die.'

'I am not a foolish little girl.' My grip tightened around my power. 'I am Princess Brenya Avery Alemaund of the Rune and Elemental bloodlines, the last Elemental, and the rightful heir to the throne. And I will not be killed by the likes of you.'

I flexed my fists, ready to unleash hell upon the Sirens, but...

'Stop this now, or your mate dies.' The siren in front of me grinned.

I paused reflexively, gritting my bared teeth.

'He has flown all this way to find you... How romantic...' The Siren sneered. 'Two of my people are stalking him right now as he searches the beach for you. If you yield, I will spare him. If you fight, all I have to do is say the word, and he will die.'

'You lie.' I snarled, not buying a single word.

I had been so easily fooled last time. I would not allow this vile creature to make a fool of me again. I was not weak. I would prove Dristan wrong. I was strong enough for this and I would prove it.

'Oh, yes... Yes, I do... I lie quite well... But I am afraid that I am not lying this time.' The Siren said coldly. 'I'll prove it to you, if you wish.'

'I think I'll take my chances.' I hissed, tightening my grip around my power. I was going to blow this monster straight out of the water and burn it alive.

'I feel terribly sorry for Dristan if his mate would so easily gamble with his life.' The Siren tutted, shaking it's head with mock sorrow. Then it smiled at me. 'But if you're certain, then I will not object to devouring the both of you today.'

She turned her face away. 'Drain him.'

My heart dropped as a terrible sound erupted from somewhere far away. I looked up, toward the surface of the water that seemed miles and miles away... Then there was another sound. I could tell that it came from above the water. It was the sound of my name being called out, followed by a scream of pain, and I almost inhaled a mouth full of water as I recognized the voice.

'Dristan!' I called mentally.

'Can't you see that I speak the truth?' The Siren asked sweetly. 'Can't you feel the bond? Couldn't you feel it the moment he set foot on the island? Or were you too preoccupied being a weak, selfish, scared little girl to notice?'

I stared at the Siren in horror. It had to be lying... How could he have followed me? I left no trail, there was no way he would know where I was.

'Dristan?' I whispered down the bond, begging the gods for him not to answer.

'Brenya...' His familiar voice answered. He sounded relieved an terrified all at once. 'I'm so sorry... I tried... I tried...'

I could feel his pain through the bond. I could feel the sets of teeth that were buried in his skin, just as there were sets of teeth buried into me. They were draining both of us, now...

'Dristan... Is it really you?'

I sobbed silently, my head tilted back as I stared helplessly up toward the surface high above. Bubbles steadily escaped my open mouth and floated away, like balloons to the sky.

'It's me... I followed you...' He answered, his words taught with tortured pain.

No, no, no, it couldn't be true... But what if it really was him? They couldn't fake the mate bond, could they? They weren't that powerful?

But if they could get into my head, that meant they could probably imitate the mate bond. I could hear the Siren's voice in my mind just like I could hear Dristan's. How could I know if it was real or not?

Another anguished cry rung out from above the water. I could feel his pain, could feel it as if it were my own... And I suddenly didn't care if it made sense or not.

'Let him go!' I begged, and I knew that the Siren could feel my will to submit as I did. 'I'll do anything, please don't hurt him!"

The Siren cocked it's head at me, it's smile growing. 'Fine... But first, let go of your power.'

Oh, no... Oh, no... War raged inside of my head and my heart. We couldn't both die here... But he would never leave if he knew I was going to die. How could I convince him to listen?

'Dristan... Please... Listen to me.' I begged silently, loosening my grip on what was left of my power. 'You can find another way to defeat the king. I know you can. But if we both die here, there will be no future for our people. They'll let you go if I surrender... So please... Let me go. I need you to go back to our people.'

Silence answered me, though I could feel his pain on the other end.

'They need you!' I begged. 'Please... I love you, Dristan, I will always love you... But you have to let me go.'

I could feel his hesitation, his denial... And then, I could feel his resolve, and it cut me to my core. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for his answer, knowing he would never listen...

'You're right....' He whispered into my head. 'Of course, you're right... I will go, and I will take care of them... You will not die for nothing, Brenya. You can let go... I love you.'

My eyes snapped open, locking onto the Siren's. It's cloudy, white eyes widened with surprise as my fists clutched onto my power, more fiercely than they had before.

All of my doubt was gone. I smiled, and if there had been oxygen, I would've laughed in it's face. It moved backward in fear as I lifted my chin.

'A valiant effort...' I thought wryly. 'But my mate would never leave me to die.'

And I erupted.

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"Dristan, you mustn't go further!" Aella shouted into the winds as I soared past her.

I ignored her, beating my wings harder, pushing my body faster through the air. It wasn't as if I had to outrun her. She couldn't stop me if she tried.

I was more afraid of what she would say. Afraid that she'd give me some sort of logical reason as to why I should not go to the island in the distance. Some reason why I shouldn't go and find my mate...

I didn't want to hear it.

I could already feel Brenya on the other side of the mate bond. Anxiety rippled through me as I realized that her consciousness didn't feel quite right. She was there, but she wasn't. It was a shadow of her.

"Come back!" Aella's voice pleaded, already so far behind me that I coldly hardly hear it.

I breathed in and out steadily with each beat of my wings.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

In, out, in, out, in, out.

I had to keep a level head. I needed to remain calm. I could not show or feel strong emotion. I had to let my mind go blank so that the Sirens would not be able to use it against me.

It was easier to do in my dragon form, but I could not completely erase my more human feelings. My mate was here somewhere, and something was wrong. And no matter how skilled I was at suppressing my emotions in this form, terror still found me.

Details of the island became more obvious as I drew closer. I dared not fly too low for fear of the sirens taking over my mind before I got the chance to feel the place out. I stayed high, circling the island three times.

I called her name down the bond between us and was met with a strange silence. She did not answer me, but I knew that she was here, somehow. It was as if she couldn't hear me. But I could feel her here.

Something was very, very wrong.

I had to find her. Now.

The sharp eyes of my Dragon swept every inch of the island again and again, but we found no trace of our mate. I could feel panic rising in my chest but I grabbed hold of the emotion before it could get out of control and pushed it down, down, down. Until there was nothing left but my dragon's natural instinct to find Brenya.

I was on the eastern side of the island, beginning to feel discouraged and frustrated, when a strange force suddenly rippled through the waters below me. The surface of the water shuttered outward from a point near the northern part of the island. I could tell where it came from by the direction that the water rippled.

With renewed determination, I growled, and pushed my wings even harder, flying toward the direction that the strange force had come from. It had to be her. It had to be.

I was nearly there when the second force hit me. Whatever it was, it was powerful enough to nearly knock me out of the sky. My dragon yelped in surprise as the rush of power exploded out of the water and slammed into his wings.

He immediately tucked his wings into his sides and spiraled to the left, trying to dodge the large waves of energy that we're now steadily shooting out of the water. When we were out of the range of fire, we leveled out.

I stared at the waters below in wonder. My dragons stared with me, now hovering in the wind, both of us to stunned and confused by what we saw to do much more than that.

A mountain of sand had literally risen from the water.

Atop that mountain sat what I could only describe as an ancient ruin. I could tell by looking at it that had once been glorious and beautiful. But now... It was nothing but the ghostly remnants of what used to be a beautiful city. And I knew that it was the Lost City of the Sirens.

The gray, stone buildings were caked with crustaceans and sea moss. Some were so deteriorated that they looked like nothing more than massive rocks, while others still resembled pointed towers. There were many indentations in the stone formations, as if they had once been adorned with intricate carvings and artwork. But time, along with the current of the ocean, had worn the stone down and made the carvings impossible to decipher.

Another explosion from the water snapped my attention away from the massive, ruined city that had emerged from the dark water. My eyes widened as I realized that the sea was literally parting in front of my eyes.

The water parted slowly, forming a path that led from the ruins, down into a large circle of sand about two hundred feet away. Because the ruins had been literally lifted from the water, the path that now stretched before it slanted downward.

My dragon snarled in distress when our eyes fell upon what was at the bottom.

Brenya.

She stood in the center of the circle of sand, dripping with sea water and shivering violently. Her skin was so pale it was nearly translucent. Her lips were a startling shade of blue.

There were about a dozen Sirens surrounding her. Several of them looked as if their teeth were attached to her skin. Blood dribbled down her arms and legs, away from the Siren's mouths.

They were biting her. Draining her...

My muscles tightened. I was coiled and ready to dive down and rip them off of her... But as the seconds passed, the sirens begin to fall away from her, one by one.

I soon realized that it was because of the lack of water.

Sirens needed water to survive. It was their one weakness, aside from silver.

They fell away from her, flailing on the sand around her like fish out of water. They clutched at their necks, their gills flaring, and even from the distance I could hear their screams of distress.

As soon as the last siren fell away from her body, she wasted no time. I watched from the sky as she sprinted up the sandy pathway, the walls of parted ocean looming around her. She bolted toward the resurrected city of ruins, her face awash with determination mixed with pain.

Even after she'd been dragged to the bottom of the ocean and drained for gods knew how long, she had still managed to fight off the hallucinations and use her power to lift the lost city out of the water.

I watched her in awe. If I'd ever had any doubts about her power, they were long gone now.

She moved slower than she normally would, and I soon realized that this was because she had been drained more thoroughly than I'd thought. She had been significantly weakened, but still, she did not give up.

She was nearly halfway up the path when suddenly, a siren exploded out of the wall of water and tackled her to the ground. Brenya went down, wet sand flying around her body as she hit the ground. The siren, though holding her tight, screamed in pain as it was exposed to the dry air.