Chapter 4: Will

“We have proof!” Warren cried out as he practically ran into the house.

Tina, who was halfway down the stairs, paused and looked at him confused. “Proof? Of what? We have a video proving Ozera did it, we don't need any more.”

“Not that kind of proof.” Warren laughed as Brooklyn finally caught up to him and let herself in the house, closing the door gently behind her.

“What's all the shouting about?” Joe asked, walking into the entrance hall.

“Warren has proof.” Tina shrugged to say she didn't know what that meant either.

“Proof of what?” Dallas, who was just a step behind Joe, asked.

“Of! The!” Warren fumbled in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a black and white photograph. “BABY!”

“Oh, wow.” Joe took the sonogram from him and eagerly looked it over.

“Aw, it's got Warren's...whatever that it.” Dallas pointed to some spot on the page.

“That's Brook's uterus.” Tina told him, looking at the picture from over the railing. “Congratulations, you two. This calls for a celebration. Maddie! Break out the champagne!”

“And the sparkling cider!” Brooklyn called out after her. “Alcohol is poisonous to Warren.”

“Oh, right.” Tina nodded. “I forget. Just the cider, Maddie!”

“You don't have to deny yourselves for us.” Brooklyn said to her, smiling. “We don't mind.”

“It's fine.” Tina shrugged. “I don't want to give Ilia an excuse to get drunk anyway.”

“I resent that.” the fairy in question said as she walked out of the front sitting room. “Can I see the picture? I love babies.”

Joe passed the sonogram over as Dallas congratulated Warren who was practically dancing in place he was so excited.

It didn't take long for all of them to gather in the front sitting room, toasting the new baby with glasses of sparkling cider in champagne flutes.

“Wait, someone's missing.” Ilia said just as everyone was about to take a drink.

“I'll take dad a glass in a minute.” Tina rolled her eyes. “Not like he'll drink it anyway.”

“Not him.” Ilia shook her head.

“It's Crispin.” Brooklyn told her, sipping from the flute anyway. “Where is he?”

“Come to think of it, I haven't seen him at all today.” Joe said thoughtfully. “Kai?”

The merman shook his head.

“I'm sure he's fine.” Tina interrupted, raising her glass again. “We'll just have another toast when he gets here.”

They all laughed and agreed and began talking eagerly to each other. Brooklyn and Warren were the focus of the attention but Tina hung back and sipped at the cider.

She hadn't seen Crispin all day either. In fact, she had made it a point to see him as infrequently as possible over the last few days. Crispin, to his credit, didn't seem to mind. He even seemed to be trying to oblige her by staying out of her way.

Tina wished that that accommodating attitude of his could be annoying once more. However, she knew it wouldn't be ever again. Not after he had seared her so completely with a single look. Now that she knew what he was hiding, she felt kind of thankful he kept it so tightly locked away.

Raw power like that could be dangerous.

Furthermore, since it had been aimed so completely at her, she knew exactly who would be the one to suffer if he let it go.

Even now, just thinking about that single look he had given her was enough to make her belly drop. Her heart seemed to skip a beat at the memory and her body started to burn.

She shook her head and forced herself back to the present. He was hiding it again. He was back to the same old submissive Crispin. She would go back to being strong and fearless.

She couldn't stop herself from wondering where he was though.

The congratulatory toast was quickly becoming an impromptu party and Tina excused herself from it quickly. She didn't really do parties.

Instead, she poured a new glass of the cider and went upstairs to take it to her father. Toasting to a new life would be good for him, she decided, pleased with herself.

When she opened the door to her father's room, she thought for a moment she had made a terrible mistake.

Not just because the sight her eyes was taking in couldn't possibly be right, there was no way her father was embracing another man, but because she couldn't believe she had been so completely wrong about what she had thought Crispin had been looking at her with.

Crispin was seated by her father, leaned in close and it appeared, at first glance, that he was kissing his ear while embracing him.

However, as he leaned back and both men looked at her in mild surprise she realized that Crispin had been whispering to him. The siren had been talking to her father but so softly that it didn't risk putting the other members of the house in his thrall.

“Tina?” Jack said looking down at the glass in her hands. “Is that champagne?”

“Uh, sparkling cider.” Tina shook her head to clear the strange mental image that had been burned into her brain. “We were celebrating and-Crispin, what are you doing up here?”

Crispin's brow raised at the sudden question but it was Jack who answered.

“He was helping me.” he smiled slightly at Crispin who beamed back. “I find it hard to sleep sometimes.”

“You sleep all day.” Tina reminded him, striding into the room and trying not to slam the flute down onto the bedside table. She didn't recognize the emotion that was running through her veins but it was making her angry. “Why would you possibly want to do it any more?”

“I meant dreamless sleep.” Jack sighed. “Sleep without the memories; without the nightmares.”

Tina blinked, surprised.

“I'll be done in a moment.” Crispin told her happily. “You can wait in the hall. He'll be tired but you can still speak to him for a minute before he goes to sleep.”

“It wasn't anything that important.” Tina shook her head. “We were just toasting because Warren got his first sonogram picture of the baby.

“Oh, but that is important.” Jack smiled, truly smiled for the first time since Tina had been home. “I'll have a drink then. I wouldn't want to deny them a toast on such a happy day.”

Before Tina could grab it, Crispin had already taken hold of the flute and passed it to Jack.

“To Brook and Warren.” Jack said, lifting the glass. Crispin nodded happily and Jack drank alone.

To Tina and Crispin's delight, he drained the entire glass. He lowered it with a sigh of contentment. “That's good. An excellent year for cider.”

Tina snatched the empty glass away before Crispin could. He didn't seem to care or even notice but Jack did and he sent her a strange look.

“I'll just finish up here, shall I?” he asked Tina.

“Alright.” Tina nodded but didn't move. Both men stared at her for a moment. “What? You want me to leave?”

Jack smiled sheepishly but Crispin nodded. “I wouldn't want you to hear me by accident.”

Tina was about to snap a remark about him being so certain she would fall into his thrall but she stopped herself. Who was she kidding? She still hadn't recovered from that one smoldering look he had given her. Of course she would fall into his thrall.

“Sure.” she said. “I'll be outside.”

Before she even reached the door, Crispin was leaned over Jack again, whispering into his ear. Her father's eyes were closed, just taking in the words.

Shaking her head at the strangeness of the scene, she let herself out into the hallway. Instead of standing around waiting for him, she took the champagne glass back down stairs. As she passed the sitting room, she heard music that was playing around the laughter of those celebrating.

Feeling strangely like a ghost in her own house, Tina skirted around their excitement and into the empty kitchen. Maddie was in the sitting room with the others.

Because she had nothing else to do, Tina started washing the glass.

As promised, it only took about a minute for Crispin to walk into the kitchen, the same old smile on his face.

“I thought you would go in there with the others.” Tina said as she dried her glass.

He shrugged carelessly. “I'm not one for big gatherings. And I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Tina set the glass on the counter, confused. “For what?”

“For not getting angry at what you saw.” he signed with a contented smile. “Most people wouldn't react so well to seeing a siren talking to their family.”

Tina shrugged and looked away. She didn't really want to tell him what she thought she had seen. For some reason, it seemed kind of embarrassing. Also, she couldn't forget that strange anger that had flowed through her at seeing it. “Forget it. I know you. I'm actually kind of surprised.”

“About what?” he asked.

“Well,” Tine turned to put the glass away as she spoke, “there were rumors when you were appointed dad's assistant that you couldn't control him with your voice. Some people only accepted you because of that. I didn't even really question it. It seemed natural that he wouldn't fall into your thrall.”

“He didn't.” Crispin told her. “Before, Jack was the only person I've ever been able to speak to normally.”

“Then, why...?” Tina asked, leaning against the counter. She didn't have many dealings with sirens, they were among the rare mythic species. It would be a good opportunity to learn about them.

“A person's will is what determines whether or not they can fall to a siren.” he explained. “If their will is stronger than the siren's, they can speak to the siren normally. If not, the siren, depending on how powerful that siren is, can make the person do almost anything they want.”

“I knew that much.” Tina told him.

“However, the strength of your will is subject to change.” he continued as if she hadn't spoken. “Being tired or sad or stressed decreases your will. Happiness, anger, even things like love and hate make your will stronger. Before, Jack could resist me without trying. These days, his spirit is broken and it doesn't take much effort at all for me to capture him.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Tina sighed. “He certainly doesn't seem like the kind who could overpower your will with his own right now. Can't you just order him to get better?”

“I could.” Crispin nodded. “But it wouldn't really work. He would get up and move around but his spirit would still be broken.”

“Fixing the symptoms but not the disease.” Tina sighed. “Damn. I have no patience for stuff like this.”

“You're doing very well considering.” Crispin praised her.

“Don't patronize me.” she told him.

“I was doing nothing of the sort.” he promised but his smile was mischievous making her question him.

She frowned suddenly, catching him off guard. “Damn, you're good at this.”

“At what?” he asked, confused.

“This!” Tina pointed between them only confusing him more. “You just have this skill for putting people at ease. Is that a siren trait?”

“Might be.” Crispin shrugged like it didn't matter. It probably didn't to him.

“It's like you're two different people!” Tina cried out, finding herself frustrated again. “Who's the real you? Don't answer that. I don't want to know.”

Crispin's only response was a raised eyebrow.

“And don't look at me like that either.” she ordered him. What was she doing, she mentally screamed at herself. She was poking a sleeping dragon! She was going to be caught by the flames if she kept this up. So why couldn't she stop? “You know exactly what I'm talking about.”

“I thought we were going to act like that moment never happened.” he signed, his eyes guarded.

“As if I could.” Tina threw her hands into the air. “Every time I think about it I get chills.”

“I apologize.” Crispin signed immediately looking genuinely regretful. “I swear, it was not my intention to frighten you.”

“I wasn't scared.” Tina snapped. Which was a total lie. That was the first time she could ever remember feeling genuine fear. And it had been exciting. That was why she was poking the sleeping dragon, she realized. She wanted to see those flames again. Even if they did threaten to burn her alive, there had been beauty in them, in the dragon. That alone was worth seeing. “You caught me by surprise, that's all.”

Crispin's eyebrow raised again, this time in amused disbelief.

“Wipe that look off of your face, too.” Tina ordered with more bravado than she felt. “In fact, just stop with the faces. Your faces are entirely too expressive.”

He smiled inoffensively.

“Somehow, that's not much better.” Tina grumbled.

“How would you like me to react?” he asked her. She caught a teasing sparkle in his eyes at the words. “There is only so much I can do if I'm not allowed to have faces.”

“Don't make it sound ridiculous.” Tina told him unhappily.

The look he sent her needed no translation: You're the one making it sound ridiculous.

Tina sighed. “What is it about you?”

Crispin's look turned curious.

“It's just...” Tina shook her head. “I don't know how to say it. I'm not all that great with words. You're just so...” she groaned because she didn't know the word she wanted to say.

“I do so admire your specificity.” Crispin told her mockingly.

“You know, I don't think you're as nice a guy as people say.” Tina crossed her arms. “I think that just because you're quiet all the time, people don't realize you're being an ass.”

Crispin shrugged. “It's a possibility.”

“What were you telling my dad?” she asked, changing the topics so quickly it confused him.

“Merely suggesting that he have sweet dreams or no dreams at all.” he told her.

“It wasn't an outright order?” she asked.

Crispin shook his head. “An outright order would have put him to sleep. I would have ended up having to go wake him up or he might never wake up at all.”

“That's sounds exhausting.” Tina said.

Crispin shrugged. “It's not that hard. Just a few words and time and he would be free from my thrall.”

“I didn't mean talking to him.” she shook her head. “I meant always having to watch what you say. You can't say the wrong thing, you have to be careful how you phrase things, you have to be able to guess the consequences for each word. It sounds tiring and boring.”

“It gets much easier when you just say nothing at all.” he signed with a wink.

“I will admit,” she said softly, “I'm a bit curious.”

“About what?” he asked.

“Your voice.” she looked away from him then forced herself to look back so she could see his response. “I...kind of want to hear it.”

Crispin shook his head. “If I have my way, you never will.”

“Why not?” Tina asked unhappily feeling very much like a child denied a treat from their parent. She finally identified the unknown emotion she had felt upon walking into her father's room. Jealousy. “It should be my choice shouldn't it?”

“It is mine.” he told her firmly, leaving no room for doubts. “And I don't want to ever say a word, especially not to you.”

“Not that I want to be in your power,” Tina's eyes narrowed, “but that seems a bit selfish of you. I want to know if I stand up to you; will to will. I want to see where I rank.”

“You should be able to determine that without hearing me speak.” he signed. Tina caught a glint of the steel in his eyes and her heart fluttered in excitement. It wasn't jealousy that her father got to hear Crispin speak she had felt. For an insane moment, she had been jealous that her father was embracing Crispin.

“I thought we were acting like that moment never happened.” she threw his words back into his face with a smirk.

“You're the one who brought it up.” he reminded her. “You're the one making ridiculous requests.”

“You're the only one who thinks they're ridiculous.” Tina told him. “Trust me, there isn't a single person in this house who doesn't want to hear you speak in some perverse way because they want to know how it feels and if they can stand up to you. I'm just the only one who's actually saying it.”

“Maybe you should take a page from their books.” he told her.

He turned to leave and Tina cast her mind around desperately for something to say to keep him there. He hadn't shown her the fire yet, she wanted to see it again. She wanted to make sure it was as strong as it had been the other day, to see if she had grown stronger since then.

“Are you scared?” she blurted out, catching his attention.

He turned back and nodded once, surprising her.

“You're not supposed to admit when you're scared.” Tina scoffed. “Do you have no pride?”

“I don't.” he shrugged as if it weren't important. “At least, not when it concerns things like this.”

“Things like what?” she asked.

She was ready for an answer, but Crispin didn't sign one. He merely looked at her, that expressive face of his trying to tell her something but she was unable to read it.

“Let's just put all of this behind us.” he signed when it became clear she didn't understand.

“I don't want to.” Tina rushed forward and snagged his arm. “Let's bring it all out here in the open.”

Crispin shook his head and tried to pull away from her.

“I'm not letting go.” she said stubbornly.

“You'll regret it.” he signed. “You did the other day.”

“I told you, you caught me by surprise. That's all.” she insisted. “I can take anything you dish out. Bring it on!”

“Tina...” he sighed exasperatedly.

“Don't you sigh at me either.” Tina glared. “Stop holding back so much. I can take it!”

He shook his head. “It's better this way.”

“Say's who?” Tina demanded to know. “Says you? I believe this one does qualify as my choice. You certainly can't make it for me. So, come on. Do your worst!”

The words made Crispin snap his head to look down at her.

The fire burst into life in his eyes so suddenly, Tina gasped. She was prepared this time, by they still overwhelmed her. She stood her ground however and refused to back down.

Crispin didn't give her any time to recover.

He twisted his arm so she was forced to release him and he grabbed her arms instead. So quickly, Tina wasn't sure how it happened, he had yanked her around and slammed her against the door.

As her back hit, a tiny gasp of surprise escaped her.

It was quickly swallowed by Crispin's mouth closing over hers.

Tina had no time to react, she didn't even have a chance to respond. He didn't give her one. All Tina could do was hold on as he ravaged her.

The fire was unleashed and she had been right; it was consuming her alive.

He slipped a hand into her hair, grabbed the soft strands, and yanked back giving him better access to her mouth. He wasn't being gentle at all, he didn't even seem to care if she enjoyed it.

The kiss was harsh, overpowering and Tina could do nothing about it. She had brought this on herself. All she could do was try not to let to fire destroy her. She could only keep a very tenuous hold on her sanity as the fire that poured between them threatened to burn every spark of intelligence and reason she had to ashes.