16 AELIA

Fishermen and sailors alike hurried around the docks, unloading cargo and passengers. The wind swept up from the Atruskan River, bringing with it a fishy musk. Massive ships carrying goods from all over the continent lined the docks. Crewmen spilled from their hulls. Some kissed the filthy cobblestone street, thanking their respective Goddess or God for a safe trip. Many seamen paid homage to both Manannán and a goddess of the Trinity.

The Island of Fate loomed large in the distance, dark and ominous. Ruska was built to serve the Fates. Before their fall from grace, the passage between Ruska and the Island was easy, but now a dark ring, filled with monsters, kept the public at a distance and the Fates imprisoned. So much work to go such a short distance.

I dug my fingers into my palms as we neared the inn.

“Here we are—the Rusty Bucket,” I said, stopping in front of a precarious-looking establishment where two men sat slumped over in front.

“Lovely,” Baylis said, stepping over the men.

“Let me do the talking.” I pushed the door open to find more men and women bent over the dark wood bar. The stench of stale air made my stomach turn. Some hissed at the sensation of the light hitting their pale faces.

I sauntered up to the bar, where a nymph with pearlescent skin and black hair cleaned pints from the night before. She raked her serpent eyes over our pristine skin.

“I don’t want any trouble. If your husband is here, go find him yourself.”

“I’m here for someone else.” I slid a piece of gold onto the bar.

“Go on…” she said, eying the coin.

“Mermaid, white pearlescent skin, blue hair. Sharp teeth.”

The nymph chuckled. “You’ll have to pay me more than one gold piece for me to sell out, Ursula.”

“So, she’s here?”

The nymph didn’t look up from her polishing.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” I flipped the coin between my fingers. “Now, is she upstairs or in the back?”

“She’s not here. I told you.”

“Tell her Aelia is here to see her.”

The bartender scoffed before whispering into one of the guard’s ears. “He’ll tell her you’re here.”

I gave her a shit-eating grin. “Great, and we’ll take three pints of cider while we wait.”

The nymph mumbled some half-breed slur under her breath as she poured us three pints.

“This is a side of you I’ve never seen before,” Baylis said, taking a swig of her drink.

“This is what five years of living in the shadows will do to you.” I drank deeply, savoring the shitty cider.

The man returned, whispering something in the nymph’s ear.

“She’ll see you. Up the stairs to the left. Last door on the right.”

“Thank you.” I returned the gold coin to the bar and signaled Baylis and Amolie to follow me.

The water-warped stairs creaked under our feet.

“Maybe I should have asked this earlier, but who is Ursula?” Baylis asked.

“She’s the queen of the Undersea’s favorite assassin,” I said, wiping my moist palms on my cloak.

“And your former paramour,” Amolie chimed in.

“Yes, we have a history.”

“Ah, I see.” Baylis didn’t ask any further questions.

We stopped in front of the master suite. How predictable of Ursula to stay in the best room in the shittiest dive.

I knocked. “Ursula? It’s Aelia. Can I come in?”

A faint, “Yes,” answered me.

I opened the door to find Ursula in the center of a plush bed, flanked by a nymph and a merman. Feathers and broken glass littered the room. Clothes lay strewn about, and the smell of incense and myrrh hung heavy in the air. A single candle burned low on a desk covered with a half-eaten roast chicken and lines of half-snorted dust.

Anxiety clenched my stomach tight at the sight. I hesitated in the doorway, knuckles white on the knob, bracing myself for the familiar craving. This looked like too many of my rooms in the past. A different version of myself would’ve leapt at the chance to join in on the debauchery. But now, the sight of the dust didn’t make my brain light up like a firecracker. Instead, I felt… numb. Sad. If I was being honest with myself, a little ashamed of the person I had been—so much time wasted drowning in self-pity. And for what? Terrible things happen to people every day. What made me think I was special? My own ego?

Releasing my grip on the door, I strode across the room.

I pulled open the curtains, and light came streaming in. Ursula hissed, shielding her eyes. Her companions groaned with displeasure, pulling the nearest pillow over their faces.

“Ugh. What do you want, Springborn?”

“I need something from your queen.”

She let out a hearty laugh. “Oh yeah? You think the queen of the Undersea just does favors for mercenaries?”

“No, but she would do something for the Alder King who technically is her superior.”

Ursula rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Eh, maybe. But she would have use for a telepath.”

“I’m not in the mercenary business anymore, Ursula.”

Sitting up in the bed, she picked at her nails lazily.

“What is the favor anyway?”

“I need her to call off the creatures protecting the Isle of Fate so we can enter.”

“Going home to see Mommy?”

“That’s not our home. That is a prison where our mother is kept.”

She huffed, pulling herself from the bed, her naked body on display for all of us to see. “I guess I could speak to my queen.” She poured herself a glass of wine, the morning sun illuminated her curves.

“Thank you, Ursula,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “You can find us at the Alder Townhome when you have an answer.”

Her eyes brightened. “Aren’t you going to invite me over for a drink? Dinner perhaps? I am doing you a favor, and I’d love to see what the Alder Townhome is like.”

“As soon as you have information for me, you are welcome to dine at my table.”

She clicked her tongue and moved closer before pulling my hands to her hips. “Remember how much fun we had at the Yule Revelry? We could have more.”

I couldn’t deny my quickening pulse at her touch. A hazy memory of our time together at the Yule Revelry streaked through my mind. The taste of salt and brine fizzled on my tongue and goosebumps rose on my arms at the memory of Caiden and Ursula’s lips on my skin.

I swallowed hard.

“I can’t. I’m with Tharan now.”

“I don’t think he would mind,” she whispered in my ear.

“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, Ursula.” I let my arms fall slack.

She pouted her lower lip in protest. “You were so fun before you settled down and, you know, became important. However, your curves look delicious. What’s Alder King feeding you?”

“Stability. You should try it.”

“Ha! I am stable as can be. I have my little nest here.” She pointed at her two lovers hiding beneath the thick blankets. “And a bank vault full of gold at the Free Cities Trust. What more could I need?”

I shook my head, trying to conceal my smile. “Nothing.”

She downed her glass of wine. “Exactly.”

“I’ll see you in a few days, Ursula. Don’t dally. I know where to find you, and I have ways of getting the information I need,” I huffed. The memories of my past indiscretions unnerved me.

“Is that a threat?” She narrowed her sea green eyes at me.

“Consider it motivation.” I turned and motioned for Amolie and Baylis to follow. “Come on, we have other matters to attend to.”

We headed out into the cold, briny streets once more.

“Well, that went as about as well as could be expected,” Amolie said.

“She can be prickly, but she’ll come through. She owes me for Oakton.”

Amolie touched my wrist. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I shrugged then straightened my cloak.

“Well, you just threatened an emissary of a friendly court?—”

I interrupted her, “Ursula knows how to conduct herself accordingly.”

Amolie backed away.

Baylis picked at her nails aimlessly.

“What’s your backup plan?”

“Get her drunk, have her take me to bed, and plant the idea in her head,” I said.

“Couldn’t we have just done that from the get-go?” Baylis asked. Her voice dripped with a condescension I’d not heard before. Was this a development from her time with Gideon?

I eyed my sister suspiciously. The Baylis I knew would have never wanted me to invade someone’s private thoughts, or perhaps she would have. My memories were just as cloudy as hers. Guilt and shame bit at my heart like two dogs pulling on a rope.

“Four years ago, I would have done it and not thought twice about it, but I am not that person anymore.”

She nodded with indifference.

“Now, we need to find someone named Conrad Teeling. Tharan said the Harbor Master would know where to find him.”

We headed to a large brick building where a massive gold clock kept time. Our boots clacked on black and white marble floors as we entered.

“Hello,” I said to a human woman wearing reading spectacles with her silver hair tied neatly in a tight bun.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

“I need to speak to the Harbor Master. I’m looking for a man named Conrad Teeling.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, my dear. The Harbor Master has left for a meeting at the governor’s residence. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. “Can we make an appointment for tomorrow?”

She gave a little chuckle. “Oh no, the Harbor Master is booked for the next month. But I can pencil you in for the spring.”

“Ah, no, thank you. We need something a little sooner than that.”

“Suit yourself.” She returned to her work.

I resisted groaning. Could one thing, just one thing, go the way I had hoped?

“But…” the woman piped up.

“Yes?”

“If you want to find Conrad, I’d look at the Kissing Guppy.”

I stared blankly at her.

“Down the path to the left after you exit.”

“Thanks.”

We headed down the steep path where the water lapped against an old wooden shack. Seaweed snaked its way around a rickety dock, and algae floated aimlessly in the water. A sign twisting on rusted hooks read The Kissing Guppy.

“And I thought the Rusted Bucket was bad,” Amolie said.

The inside was just as bleak as the outside. Light trickled in through green glass windows, casting everything in a verdant hue. The smell of sour ale and vomit wafted through the air. Men sat slumped over water-logged tables and in benches engraved with slurs of every kind.

A merman with long white hair, a pointed nose, and tattoos covering his bare chest nodded to us as we entered. For the second time in one day, I felt the pull of my past. It was in places like this I learned how to read people—how to manipulate them without breaking their mind.

“Can I help you ladies?” the barman asked, raking his eyes over us.

“We’re looking for Conrad Teeling.”

He leaned over the bar, narrowing his blue eyes at me. “And wha’ would you be wantin’ with Conrad?”

“The Alder King has need of his services.”

“And yet, he sent three ladies to do his job…”

“He sent one better… his Hand.”

His fishlike eyes widened. “He’s in the back.”

Two sailors watched us with guarded gazes as we made our way through a dust-covered velvet curtain into the back room. Three sylph men sat with courtesans on their laps, breasts bare and cheeks rosy. Piles of gold sat on the table between them, and each man held a hand of cards. Cigarettes rested in brass ashtrays. Smoke billowed into the air, filling the room with the distinct scent of clove and tobacco.

“Who rang for more women?” one of the men said, tossing his hand down. “These ones look expensive.” He tossed the woman on his lap to the side and sauntered up to Baylis.

His dirty fingers reached for her pristine hair. I stepped between them, holding my dagger to his throat.

“I will not hesitate to slit your throat if you come any closer.”

The mercenary I’d once been rattled the bars of the cage I trapped her in. Maybe it was seeing the dust, maybe it was seeing Ursula living the life I’d come accustomed to, but I couldn’t help but slip back into the mask I’d worn for so long. Was this who I really was? The thought sent a chill down my spine. I pushed it away and focused on the task at hand.

The man’s eyes widened—red from lack of sleep. Ale hung heavy on his breath. I could take him if I needed to. He was in no state to fight me. A bar brawler would be no match for Little Death.

“And who do you think you are, little missy?”

The men at the table laughed as though I was some trollop on the street who’d never held a knife before.

“I am Aelia Springborn, Hand of the Alder King, but in these circles, they call me the Traitorous Queen.”

The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Mind Breaker.”

I pushed the dagger into his skin, drawing blood. I’d played this part for years, and I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of me who missed it.

“Yes, that is what I am. Would you like me to show you what I can do?”

He raised his hands and took a step backward.

“What do you want?”

“I’m looking for Conrad Teeling.”

He pointed to a curved door at the back of the room.

“Thank you.” I sheathed my dagger before knocking on the door.

“No!” a voice sounded from the other side.

“Conrad! Tharan Greenblade sent me to find you.”

“Oh, in that case, come in!” The tone lightened.

The rusty hinges creaked as I pushed open the door to find a sylph man, shirtless, hanging upside down from his ankles. Tattoos of sea creatures covered his muscled body. Long black hair pooled on the floor.

“I can come back if this isn’t a good time.” I couldn’t hide the shock on my face.

“Nonsense,” Conrad said.

He untied his ankles and swung to his feet. It was then I noticed his missing eye.

“Conrad, I presume?”

“The one and only.” He took a drink of some green concoction.

I grimaced, watching him down the potion.

“Helps with the sea sickness,” he said, wiping the excess from his mouth.

“I’m not here to judge.” Although, I wasn’t sure if the potion or the hanging upside down helped with the sea sickness.

“And what are you here for, Lady…” He brushed his long hair to one side, revealing slightly sloped ears full of hooped earrings and a shaved side of his head. He placed an eye patch over the hole where his eye had once been.

“Aelia Springborn. Tharan said you might be able to help us get to the Isle of Fate.”

Conrad lit a cigarette, holding it between his lips while slipping on a button-up shirt over his toned torso.

“And what would the three of you need from the Isle of Fate?” He let smoke billow into the air. I followed its trail over the peeling wallpaper to the single porthole window.

“That’s our business and our business alone. I just need to know if you can get us there.”

“Oh, I can get you there, alright, but it’ll cost you.” He plopped onto the sagging bed.

“I have gold. Name your price.”

A smirk crossed his handsome face. Two dimples marked his cheeks. “What I want can’t be bought with gold. Only someone with your talent, Mind Breaker, can get it for me.”

“And what’s that?”

“The siren’s song.”

My mouth fell open. “You want me to steal a song from the temptresses of the sea? How exactly am I supposed to do that?”

He reached for an apple on the side of the bed. “The sirens have a queen who lives in the caves just south of Ruska. Without her, their songs are useless against seamen. They all harmonize to her tune. Use your abilities to convince her to give it to you. It shouldn’t be hard if you’re as good as they say.”

I took a deep breath, contemplating my options.

“It’s suicide to enter the siren’s lair,” Amolie chimed in. “You’re sending us to our deaths.”

Conrad got to his feet, straightening himself to his full height. His blue eye locked on Amolie’s. “I am the only one who can get you to the Isle of Fate, and even then, the odds of dying are high. If I get you there and back, I want a reward and I need the song…for personal reasons. The exchange only seems fair. One suicidal mission for another.”

“What if I could guarantee our safe passage?” I asked.

“Ha! Only the queen of the Undersea could do that, and I wouldn’t make a deal with her.” He sliced his apple, lifting a piece to his lips.

“She will make one with me. And she will honor it.”

He shrugged. “Whatever you say, Mind Breaker. Just get me the song.” He leaned back on the bed and shut his eyes. “You’re lucky Tharan saved my life. I wouldn’t do this for anyone but him.”

I went to speak, but he waved us away.

“Come back when you have the song, or don’t come back at all.”

The Tower of Fate loomed ominously across the bay, perched upon its unapproachable island. Did my mother know Baylis and I were so close? I pushed the thought out of my mind. This would all be for naught if I couldn’t get the siren song and if Ursula couldn’t make a deal with her queen.

I lit a cigarette, letting it burn in my lungs. Fucking sirens, why did it have to be sirens of all people? My fingers itched to turn the whisper stone in my ear and tell Tharan about what a ridiculous ask his friend posed. Had Tharan sent word ahead of me? Had he promised him things I couldn’t deliver? Was I being paranoid? Tharan hadn’t shown me any indication he was manipulating me. I shook my head. I’d only been sober for a few months. My mind was still healing from years of abuse. Was I putting too much faith in Tharan?

Amolie touched my arm, bringing me back to reality.

“What are you going to do?”

I exhaled smoke into the cool afternoon air.

“I guess I’m going to have to break the siren queen’s mind. The very thing I didn’t want to do anymore. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.”

“I thought you weren’t going to do that anymore,” Baylis chimed in.

I eyed my sister sharply. She was fine with me breaking Ursula’s mind but now that I needed to go into the siren queen’s, she had an issue with it? What was going on here? I took another drag off my cigarette. I needed to calm down. Surely Baylis only wanted what was best for me. I was letting the ghost of my past control me and I needed to put them in the grave once and for all.

“We all have to do things we don’t want to do,” I said firmly.

She nodded before taking my hand in hers. “I know, I just don’t want you to fall into your old ways.”

How would she know about my old ways?

I shook my head. Stop looking for reasons to suspect Baylis—that would be falling back into your old ways.

“Well, if anyone can do it, you can,” Amolie said, breaking the tension growing between and my sister.

I took another drag off my cigarette. “Yeah, well, I was hoping not to make any more enemies on this trip, but here we are.”

“Can someone fill me in on sirens? I mean, I’ve heard the stories,” Baylis asked.

“They’re sea creatures who lure sailors to their lairs and… well, I suppose eat them. I’m not really sure. All I know is the men never come back.”

“So you can see why Aelia would be nervous,” Amolie said.

“Maybe I can help,” Baylis chimed in. “Maybe I can try to use my gift to see the outcome?”

My chest tightened at the thought of making Baylis use her powers, but I was willing to try anything if it could help me with the siren queen.

“I don’t think that will be necessary yet. But thank you.”

As we walked back to the townhome, the sky darkened—clouds heavy with snow. Would I be so lucky as to be snowed in for a few days? To stave off my visit to the sirens? Only the Trinity knew.