欧宝娱乐

“It was like staring at a piece of art or the stars in the sky. I just had to watch him.
-Kahlen, The Siren”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I can text in complete sentences. Oh, yeah, it鈥檚 a skill.鈥� He smiled, proud of his accomplishments. 鈥淎nd, thanks to my mom being a competitive dancer as a teen, I know how to do the Lindy hop and the jitterbug.鈥�
I sat bolt upright, and Akinli rolled his eyes.
鈥淚 swear, if you tell me you can jitterbug, I鈥檓 going to . . . I don鈥檛 even know. Set something on fire. No one can dance like that.鈥�
I pursed my lips and dusted off my shoulder, a thing I鈥檇 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.
鈥淎ll right, we鈥檒l take this slow. Five, six, seven, eight.鈥�
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鈥檛 being mocked; we were being envied.
We stepped on each other鈥檚 toes more than once, and after he accidentally knocked his head into my shoulder, he threw his hands up.
鈥淯nbelievable,鈥� he said, almost as if he was complaining. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to tell my mom this. She鈥檚 gonna think I鈥檓 lying. All those years dancing in the kitchen thinking I was special, and then I run across a master.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“He grinned back at me, and I remembered how normal he鈥檇 made me feel the first time we鈥檇 met. Here, once again, he wasn鈥檛 bothered by my silence. And I suddenly realized what made me feel so uncomfortable about Elizabeth鈥檚 exploits. The people she attracted were drawn to the same thing everyone else was: our glowing skin, dreamy eyes, and air of secrecy. But this boy? He seemed to see more than that. He saw me not just as a mysterious beauty, but as a girl he wanted to know.
He didn鈥檛 stare at me. He spoke to me.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I felt a warm hand touch my forehead. And then my cheek. I held my act steady though Akinli鈥檚 touch made me feel more than awake.
鈥淲here in the world did you come from, you beautiful, silent girl?鈥� he whispered.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I sniffed as a few tears escaped, lifting my hands to wipe them away. It was then that I caught the only clues I鈥檇 been given by whoever had left me here.
On one wrist someone had written You are Kahlen. The other said He is Akinli.
I flipped my hands over and searched up and down my arms, hoping there was more.
鈥淟ook,鈥� I begged, holding out my arms.
鈥淧retty handwriting,鈥� Ben commented.
Julie hit him, but in a way that seemed playful. 鈥淪eriously?鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all you have?鈥� Akinli asked.
鈥淎pparently. So, all I know is who I am and who you are.鈥� I looked into his eyes, the glowing blue, and sensed that was all that mattered.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I don鈥檛 want to make a big deal about this or anything, but I think it鈥檚 kind of cool how you do everything you do.鈥�
I squinted at him.
鈥淚 mean, you use sign language, and it鈥檚 hard to communicate. But you鈥檙e into art and you can seriously cook and, for goodness鈥� sakes, you can even jitterbug. By the way, I told my mom, and she wants a video. Totally doesn鈥檛 believe me. But, yeah, I think it鈥檚 nice that you don鈥檛 let a little hitch in life slow you down. I admire that.鈥�
I smiled. For a minute, I admired myself, too. He didn鈥檛 know how deep my problems ran, but he was right all the same. It was no small thing to try, to find out what you cared about in life. Even this moment, with this wonderful, temporary boy beside me, was a tiny miracle. I ought to give myself some credit.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I cannot explain how two souls join. No man or element or god ever could. But you are tied to each other. Because of that鈥攂ecause of your true, consuming, pure love鈥攜ou will thrive together . . . or you will perish together.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand.鈥� I swallowed, trying to make sense of it all.
If he hadn鈥檛 heard your voice, he鈥檇 be fine. But once he aged, however many years from now that might come, you would have found yourself deteriorating then. Or if you had disobeyed Me so fully that I had to kill you, he鈥檇 have died in the same breath. You are tied through your souls. Now, what happens to one body happens to the other. And since your voice has taken hold of him, killing him slowly, you fall down with him. Slower, of course, as you are still Mine. But it will consume you eventually, all the same.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I finally made eye contact with the boy in the bed. He lay on his side, a tube in his nose and another in his vein. His cheeks were sunken, and his skin was ghostly pale. His hair might have been blond, but it was fading into a gray, making it hard to tell. The only part of this boy that held any life at all were his eyes, which brimmed with tears when he saw me.
鈥淜补丑濒别苍?鈥�
I sat still. These three people all called me by the same name, which sounded sort of like Katlyn and Ellen and made me believe that maybe they actually knew me.
鈥淲here did you go? Where have you been? I thought you were dead.鈥� His chest worked overtime, trying to keep up with his mouth, spilling over with words.
鈥淐an you get her a pen? Please?鈥� He lifted an arm weakly. It was all bone. 鈥淚 just need to know.鈥�
鈥淎 pen?鈥� I asked.
Once again his eyes lit up.
鈥淵ou can talk?鈥�
I stared at this boy, at how he was overjoyed at one of the most basic things a person could do. 鈥淪o it would seem.鈥� I smiled.
He flopped onto his back, laughing from his gut, and based on Julie鈥檚 tears, I was guessing she鈥檇 been waiting a long time for that to come back.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I got the groceries and lugged them all the way to Akinli鈥檚 dorm, running slightly behind because I couldn鈥檛 get into the building on my own. The university required ID cards to get into the dorms after six, and since I wasn鈥檛 an actual student, I had to wait for someone else to come along and scan his so I could piggyback in.
鈥淵ou need some help?鈥� the boy asked, his eyes lingering on my mouth.
I shook my head no.
鈥淎ww, come on. That鈥檚 way too heavy for you.鈥�
He came closer, and again I cursed our natural appeal. I wasn鈥檛 in danger exactly, and I knew that, but it didn鈥檛 make these encounters any less uncomfortable. I shook my head again.
鈥淣o, really, which floor are you on? I can鈥斺€�
鈥淗ey, Kahlen!鈥� I looked up to see Akinli walking down the hall. His button-up was open over the gray shirt beneath it, but I was thrilled to see that he鈥檇 at least put one on. 鈥淚 was starting to worry. Hey, Sam.鈥�
鈥淗ey.鈥� The boy gave Akinli a look and headed toward the stairwell, his displeasure at Akinli鈥檚 arrival clear. In the meantime, I felt my mood lift significantly. I was now officially on my first date.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“When we鈥檇 all settled down from that first night, Julie found a bag on the porch, which we thought must have been left by the same three girls who had brought me to them. Just like the clues on my skin, I鈥檇 only been left with two worldly possessions. The first was a wad of cash that I immediately handed to Ben and Julie as compensation for giving me a home. Most of it went to pay for Akinli鈥檚 medical bills, which was fine with me. I didn鈥檛 know if there was a word bigger than soul mates, something that meant the feeling of being so connected that it was hard to tell where one person ended and the other began. If there was, that word belonged to Akinli and me.
The second thing was a bottle of water. It was so peculiar, this water, a blue that was both dark and brilliant, too thick to see through but still carrying light. No matter the season, it was always cold, and there were tiny shells in it that never settled.
Sometimes I slept with it, even though it was cold enough to wake me up if I rolled on it the wrong way. It was the only clue I had to tell me who I had been before the night I was left on the porch, and I loved it second only to Akinli.
Somehow, I knew that this love was important, as if treasuring the water meant I treasured myself. And I did. I loved my recovering body, I loved my blue-eyed soul mate, I loved my adopted family.
I held the water to my chest, and I loved.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I looked at him and the other two people whose names I鈥檇 just learned. 鈥淪o . . . so this is home then?鈥�
Akinli looked at me, perplexed, then turned to Ben and Julie.
鈥淪he said some girls left her here and told her it was home. That鈥檚 all she knows. She doesn鈥檛 even know you.鈥� Julie wiped at her tears, trying to calm herself.
He moved his eyes back to me as quickly as he could manage. 鈥淜ahlen? You remember me, right?鈥�
I stared into this face, searching for something familiar. I didn鈥檛 recognize the angle of his chin, the length of his fingers. I didn鈥檛 know the slope of his shoulder or the shape of his lips.
鈥淎kinli, right?鈥� I asked. This poor boy. I pitied him in the depths of my heart. Clearly, he鈥檇 already been going through something, and I could see the last scrap of fight he had in him dying with those words.
鈥渊别蝉.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 remember ever seeing you before in my life. I鈥檓 sorry.鈥�
He pressed his lips together as if he was swallowing the urge to cry.
鈥淏ut,鈥� I said, 鈥淚 know your voice. I know it as if it were my own.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“Akinli, this strange boy whose life at the moment seemed to be hanging on this, pushed himself from the bed.
Julie gasped, watching as his arms trembled under his weight, even as thin as he was. He crushed his eyes together in concentration, willing himself up.
I heard Ben whisper to himself, 鈥淐ome on, come on, come on.鈥�
When Akinli, breathing as if he truly had just run a marathon, was fairly close to upright, he held out an arm for me.
I fell into it fearlessly.
We leaned into each other, neither of us strong enough to stay up on our own.
鈥淚 thought I鈥檇 never see you sit up again,鈥� Julie cried.
We both turned to her, smiling at the happy tears on her face.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“When we were in New York, you cried for two days and passed out. You said a word in your sleep, over and over. Akinli.鈥� Elizabeth stared down at the drawing.
鈥淎t first I thought it was gibberish. And then I thought it was the name of a town or a building. . . . I didn鈥檛 figure out it belonged to a person until you made that.鈥� Elizabeth pointed down to the paper, worn from being folded and unfolded who knew how many times.
鈥淲hen Elizabeth came to me, I had to tell her the truth, and we decided to find him. You gave us the name of the town. We went there looking for someone answering to that name, fitting this image.鈥� Miaka smiled ruefully. 鈥淰ery small town. It wasn鈥檛 hard.鈥�
Tears pooled in my eyes. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e really seen him?鈥�
They both nodded. I thought about all those trips they had taken, making up ridiculous stories so they could get to him without me knowing.
鈥淗ow is he?鈥� I asked, unable to contain my curiosity. 鈥淚s he okay? Has he gone back to school? Is he still with Ben and Julie? Is he happy? Could you tell? Is he happy?鈥�
The questions tumbled out without me being able to hold them in. I was desperate to know. I felt a single word would put my soul at ease.
Elizabeth swallowed hard. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing, Kahlen. We鈥檙e afraid he鈥檚 dying.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“Elizabeth nodded, looking too dejected to do much more. 鈥淐an she just go back to him?鈥� she pleaded. 鈥淗e鈥檚 dying. She鈥檚 dying. They can鈥檛 have a life together, but at least they could have this.鈥�
No, Kahlen is Mine. We鈥檒l fix her.
鈥淲ith what?鈥� Elizabeth demanded through tears. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing left.鈥�
鈥淧lease,鈥� I said, letting all the dams burst, exposing every last drop of love I had for Akinli. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen how I feel now. I鈥檝e shared everything . . .”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren