19 AELIA

A thick grove of seaweed wrapped around my limbs, pulling me down into the darkness of the queen’s mind. The smell of muck turned my stomach. I held my breath but remembered I didn’t need air to survive here. Balling my fists, I pulled as hard as I could against the slippery tendrils. Breaking free, I floated to the surface, where water lapped at an entrance to a small cave. Great, another fucking cave.

I hauled myself onto the rocky shore. Darkness loomed before me. Trinity only knew what awaited me inside. Snapping my fingers, I dried myself before summoning a torch to my hand. If Calypso was Calliope’s sister, then she was ancient. Likely as old as the Alder King had been. Possibly even an original. Her mind would be full of traps. However, I’d been surprised more than once at how few precautions those who perceived themselves as deities took when protecting their minds. To most, telepaths were a myth. Why would they need to protect themselves from a ghost?

Damp air seeped into my bones, sending a chill down my spine as I traversed the circuitous tunnel through the cave. Like warm coffee with cream, Calypso’s deep voice echoed through the cavern’s halls.

“Mind Breaker—why have you come?”

I swallowed hard. “I think you know why I am here.”

“Ah, yes, the song— my song. Despite my sister’s royal standing, she has always been jealous of my gift.”

“It’s nothing personal.”

“It never is.”

“I need Calliope to clear the monsters surrounding the Isle of Fate. The song was her price.” And before I could stop myself, the words, “Make a deal with me,” came out of my mouth.

“A deal? What could you possibly give me for my song?”

“Give me the song. Just long enough to complete my bargain with Ursula, er, Calliope. I have also promised it to a sailor who wishes to see his love. Let them each have their moment, and then I will return it. I will also bring back a vision from the Fates.”

Calypso chuckled then stopped abruptly. “The Fates are useless gossip whores. They twist their visions to suit the highest bidder.”

I entered a clearing where the lute sat on a pedestal bathed in sunlight. Vines snaked their way up the walls.

“You underestimate my power, Calypso. You can make this deal with me, and I can leave with the song, or I can take the song and crush your mind as I leave. You decide.” I picked up the lute, and as my fingers touched it, the gold vines wrapped themselves around my legs.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere with my song.” An evil cackle echoed through the chamber.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. The vines sprouted thorns, ripping through my flesh. Breathe, Aelia. This isn’t real.

“You may be a god, but I am the master here.” My fingernails turned to claws, and I ripped the vines from my body before running into the tunnels.

The sound of beating wings followed me. Bats. Giant fucking bats. Their red eyes glowed through the darkness, fangs bared, ready to sink into me.

The mind was my domain, and I could bend it to my will. Calling a ball of fire to my hand, I sent one flying at the giant beasts, sending it hurtling to the ground. It did little to deter the others.

The path twisted and turned, confusing me. Which way had I come in? Was this maze part of the mind’s protection?

The sharp sensation of teeth on flesh pulled me from my thoughts. A bat latched onto my neck, pulling a scream from deep within me. My chest tightened. I hadn’t been afraid in a mind in a long time, but Calypso had been luring men to their deaths for millennia. Perhaps even my powers might not be enough to outwit her.

I slammed my body into the nearest wall, and the bat fell to the ground. Pain radiated through me. Hot blood spewed from the wound. I placed my hand over the gash and summoned the power to close it. My skin grew, knitting together the throbbing tear.

More bats flooded the corridor. It would take all my power to get out of here. I turned another corner. Light streamed in through a crack in the wall. What was going on in the real world? Trinity, Ursula, what are you doing?

The squeaking of bats and flapping wings echoed behind me. Without thinking, I wedged myself through the crack, but the lute wouldn’t fit through. As hard as I tried it refused to leave Calypso’s mind. Seemed the old god had a few tricks left up her sleeve.

A horrifying sight awaited me when I opened my eyes. Ursula perched atop the throne, knife to the queen’s neck.

“Ursula, what are you doing? She will give us the song!” The words scraped against the dryness of my mouth.

“Saving our asses.” She motioned to something behind me.

I turned to see dozens of freshly born siren guppies crawling toward us in their creature form. Half human, half fish, their razor-sharp teeth glinted in the sunlight, and their beady eyes were full of hunger.

I narrowed my eyes at Calypso, who smiled deviously at me. “Give me the song, Calypso, and I won’t murder every last one of these infants.”

“Here.” She ripped the sapphire from her neck and tossed it to me. “You can have the song, but I can’t guarantee you’ll make it out of here alive. My children are hungry.” She pulled the still-suckling men from her breasts and tossed them into the sea of guppies. The men’s screams reverberated through the cavern as the infants ripped them apart. Blood stained the once-pristine water.

I latched the sapphire around my neck. Its power radiated through me.

A boisterous melody echoed through the chamber, making my limbs rubbery. Focus, Aelia, block out the song.

“They are singing for you. They need to harmonize with their queen, or else their vocal cords will be useless,” the queen said, squirming beneath Ursula’s blade.

“Good,” I said. “Let’s get out of here, Ursula.”

Ursula nodded, sliding off the throne with ease.

The queen seized on the moment, “Attack, my children! Feed on the blood of your kind.” Calypso called to the ravenous infants. Their claws dragged on the edge of the balcony where the throne perched.

I backed away, my boots slipping on the wet stone.

Two guards came running up the path. Ursula slit the first one’s throat before he knew what was happening.

Chest heaving, I charged toward the other. His spear clashed with my dagger. Going into Calypso’s mind left me exhausted. I didn’t know how much strength I had left to fight off an angry horde of sirens.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed the soldier back, feet slipping on the wet rock.

“Not so fast, Mind Breaker,” Calypso wrapped a tentacle around my ankle. “If my children get a taste of your blood, they’ll inherit your gift. I can’t let you walk out.”

Yanking my feet out from under me, my head hit the wet stone, blurring my vision. Calypso tugged me toward her hungry children.

Ursula thrust her sword through the soldier’s chest. Blood gushed from the wound. His lifeless body slumped to the ground.

“Help me, Ursula!” I reached out a desperate hand.

“Toss me the song!” she called.

“What?” I asked frantically.

Calypso wrapped another tentacle around my limbs and pulled me upright so that my eyes locked with Ursula’s. I squirmed against the restraints.

“You stole from my queen, and now you’ll pay for what you did.” She cut the gem off my neck.

“Fuck you. I’ll make you pay for this,” I spat at her. I knew Ursula would betray me; I just didn’t know she wanted me dead.

A sly smile cut across her face, sharp teeth gleamed in the eerie light revealing her for what she truly was—a monster.

“Doubtful,” she said before diving into the water below. Her legs became an iridescent fin.

“Get her!” Calypso cried. Sirens dove into the water after Ursula, leaving only me, the queen, and dozens of starving hatchlings in the cavern.

My heart beat wildly. How was I going to get out of this? Think, Aelia, think.

The queen tightened her grip on me. Her tentacles sucked tightly to my skin. I gasped for air. There had to be something I could say to make her rethink this. My ending would not be written by this sea witch.

“Don’t do this. My blood isn’t powerful enough to feed all these children. It’s not a gift. It’s a curse. They will never know silence. Never know rest.”

“Maybe so, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Please, please, please, I beg you. Please don’t do this.”

She lifted me high in the air. Her children jumped, scratching at my feet with their little clawed hands.

“Feast, my children. Let her blood nourish you.”

I focused on the nearest hatchling and called my dagger to my hand.

Calypso dropped me.

I buried my dagger in the guppie’s skull. Blood splattered across my face.

The other children quickly moved to devour the dead siren.

“No… you monster!” Calypso cried.

“We are all monsters here.” I launched myself at her distracted and dismayed form, burying my dagger in her neck. Blood poured down her naked body to the waiting mouths of the hatchlings. “Feast.”

Calypso let out a guttural scream as I dragged Little Death through the thick flesh of her neck. Her tentacles clawed at me, sucking at my skin, but still I sawed through her flesh. Blood gurgled in her throat.

The life faded from her eyes and with her dying breath she said, “You’ll pay for this Mind Breaker.”

I set my jaw and with one final tear I severed her head from her neck. The body went limp beneath me.

Fisting her hair in my hand, I leapt from the throne onto the slick dais while the hungry hoard of hatchlings devoured the corpse of their queen. The sounds of their teeth ripping through flesh made my skin crawl. I didn’t stay to witness the carnage. I had to get the song back from Ursula.

I fled, head in hand, as the cavern descended into madness. Sirens fled the flesh-eating frenzied guppies. The sound of their bodies hitting the water mixed with the sounds of screams as the hatchlings devoured their mothers.

Blood stained the once-pristine water, snaking its way out of the cavern and into the river.

Guards ducked out of the way as I passed, holding their queen’s head—her mouth still agape, frozen in fear for an eternity.

Once a safe distance away from the cave, I sank the head into the snow and fell to my knees in exhaustion. I had to tell Tharan. Word would spread of the queen’s death at the hands of a Woodland emissary.

Twisting the whisper stone, I waited for the reassuring sound of Tharan’s voice, but no answer came. He must be busy in the elven court.

I sighed, burying my face in my hands. I needed to find Ursula and get the song back. But first, I needed to get a bag to cover this head. I buried the monstrous thing in snow. Wiping the blood from my face, I headed toward the outskirts of Ruska.

The streets bustled with midday foot traffic while vendors sold their wares. Pulling my hood over my head, I approached the stall of a fishmonger. With a sleight of hand even Lucius would find impressive, I nabbed the nearest burlap sack, tucking it under my arm, before walking cooly out of the bazaar.

A rush of adrenaline dissipated any exhaustion I felt. I learned to be quick and quiet with my hands if I wanted to survive out in the world. Escaping Gideon meant leaving every possession behind. I sold the very dress off my back to put food in my belly. It was desperation that made me turn to mercenary work, and I didn’t relish the memories that came with it, but I will say there was a thrill in stealing and not getting caught. Although the adrenaline from chopping off a queen’s head was nothing to scoff at.

With the bag secured, I headed back to where I hid the head and quickly concealed it. Now, I needed to find Ursula and get the song back.

Catching a ride on the back of a cart, I made my way to the docks. The bagged head shook as the cart rumbled over the cobblestones. I hoped Ursula would go back to her lair at the Rusty Bucket before making the arduous trip to the Undersea Palace.

I burst through the door to the dive. Blood seeped through the burlap sack, dripping on the grimy floor.

“Is she here?” I said to the bartender, whose eyes went wide at the sight of what remained of the blood still smeared across my face and the bag in my hand.

He nodded frantically and pointed up the stairs.

Flinging her door open. I found Ursula frantically trying to wake one of her paramours.

“Come on, get up. We have to go,” she said, tugging at the man’s limp body. I recognized the signs of overdose. This man had likely mixed too much alcohol with dust and choked on his own vomit. The other woman sat crumbled in the corner, hiding her face.

I didn’t have time for empathy. In an instant I was on top of her, fist clenched around her delicate neck. Her eyes went wide.

“Is this how you saw your little plan going?” I squeezed tighter.

She gasped for air, clawing at my hand. A strength I had never experienced before radiated through me, fueled by my rage.

“Please, Aelia, it’s just business.”

I gritted my teeth, wondering if I should crush her windpipe and be done with it. I tried to be cordial—tried to be her friend. This was our end.

I shook my head. I was no longer the mercenary. I was the Hand to the Alder King. I couldn’t just go around killing whoever. I’d already fucked up by beheading Calypso. Another dead body wouldn’t do me any good.

I released Ursula.

She leaned against the bed, clutching her throat, gasping for air.

“What… the… fuck… Aelia?”

I laid my head on the table beside the bed, examining the body lying face down beside her.

“He’s dead, Ursula.”

“What?” She turned to the body. The sapphire necklace sparkled around her long neck. “No, he’s… just asleep.”

Pulling my dagger from its bandolier, I stabbed it into the man’s back.

He didn’t move—didn’t even flinch.

“He’s dead, Ursula.”

I grabbed her shoulders, turning her face me before yanking the necklace from her collarbone.

“You’re heartless. You know that?” She narrowed her sea-glass eyes at me, and I felt nothing.

“Yeah, well, forgive me if I don’t feel anything for a man I didn’t know.” I leaned in so close our noses nearly touched. “You left me for dead back there. You’re lucky I don’t break your mind right now.”

There was a part of me that wanted to—wanted to see the consciousness slip from her eyes. A great assassin reduced to a vegetable. I could do it. Could wipe every memory she had. Her parents, her lovers, all gone.

A chill ran up my spine and I shook the urge away. I was not that person anymore.

“What about our bargain?”

“It was complete when you pulled the stone from my neck.”

Her mouth fell agape. “How…”

“That’s how magical bargains work, Ursula. I made the bargain to secure the song with you, not your queen. And the second your hand pulled the necklace from my neck, it was complete.”

“That’s not fair.” She put her hands on her hips.

“Take it up with your queen. She’s the one who had you make the bargain, so if something went wrong or neither of us fulfilled our end, you’d suffer the consequences and not her.” I shrugged.

“She would never.” Her nostrils flared.

“She would, and she did.” I clasped the song around my neck. “You can take Calypso’s head back to your queen. Tell her I will give her the song as soon as I return safely from the Isle of Fate.”

For a brief moment, I again considered snapping Ursula’s neck, to steal the whisper stone from her ear and communicate directly with her queen, but I stopped myself.

Ursula nodded; her eyes fixed on the corpse splayed out across the bed. “She will not be pleased.”

“I don’t really care as long as she clears the waters.”

I left the room, leaving Ursula with her dead lover and the head of her queen’s sister, a stark reminder that Aelia Springborn, Traitorous Queen, Mind Breaker, Commander of the Army of the Dead, and now Slayer of Sirens, was not to be trifled with.

I hailed a petty cab. Sinking into the seat, my body relaxed, and soreness set in. I knew getting the song wouldn’t be easy, but I hadn’t expected having to kill the queen. I closed my eyes and let the rhythm of the carriage lull me to sleep. When I awoke, the cab was parked out front of the Alder Townhome.

Finneas opened the door, and a rush of cold air swooped into the cab. I pulled my cloak tighter around my neck. The siren sapphire weighed heavy on my chest.

“Welcome back, my Lady,” he said, extending a hand to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a swath of baby blue. Baylis strolled up the circle drive, two of the Hunt in tow.

“What are you doing?” I sounded like our mother, but I didn’t care.

Her cheeks flushed.

“I just wanted to see the city. I haven’t been here before, and you were gone. I took the Hunt with me.”

Her face paled as she noticed the blood strewn across my face.

“Are you alright? What happened?”

I waved her off. “I’m fine. Now get inside”

Amolie greeted us when we walked in. “Hi?—”

“I need you to look at my wounds,” I said before she could finish.

Taking the hint, she set down her needle work.

“Of course, I’ll meet you in your chambers. Just let me grab my things.” She turned and headed up the stairs.

“Do you want me to help you to your room?” Baylis asked, gently touching my arm.

I sighed. “No, it’s fine. I’m just exhausted.” I motioned for Finneas. “Go with Finn and have the cooks make you something sweet. I just need to rest for a little bit.”

Her gray eyes flicked between the satyr and me suspiciously, but she did not protest.

I quickly climbed the stairs to my room where Amolie waited for me. Jars of herbs and salves adorned the side table.

“Sit,” she said, and I did as she commanded. “I assume this is more than just the usual mending.”

She took a cloth and cleaned my face.

“Mmhmm. I don’t know if I can trust Baylis, but I know I can trust you, Amolie.”

“What happened?” She scooped salve onto her fingers, dabbing it into my cuts.

“Well, I killed the siren queen, for starters, but I also got this.” I pulled the sapphire from my neck and dangled it from my fingers.

Her hazel eyes went wide.

“Is this… the song?”

“Yes.”

She set down the salve, wiped her hands on a cloth, and took the jewel from me.

“It’s stunning. I want to open it…”

“Don’t. They say it only works at sea but who knows. Calliope thinks she can make it work on land.”

Amolie clicked her tongue at me.

“I may have a penchant for shiny things, but I’m not dumb enough to open this.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

“I know. I’m just tired and paranoid.

She handed me the necklace and I clasped it around my neck. It was the safest place I could think of to keep it.

A breath slipped between my lips.

“What am I going to tell Tharan? I killed a member of his court—a royal.”

Amolie grimaced.

“I don’t know, but you better do it soon. You know how magus love to gossip.”

I leaned back on the bed, scrunching the pillow under my head.

“I’m too tired for this right now.” My heavy-lidded eyes closed. “I’ll deal with this later.”

Amolie pulled the blankets over me before sneaking out of the room.