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Chapter Forty-Seven: Aria

The next chunk of our journey is uneventful, a fact I am grateful for. Mashaka keeps to his habit of swimming a few yards ahead of me—though I think it’s more to avoid my company than it is to warn me of any danger. With the memory of the Tula Ledge monster still fresh in my mind, I appreciate his presence either way.

We should be getting close to Eersten, the first siren outpost beyond the capital. It is southwest of the Continent, partially between the Shifter Isle and the Mortal Kingdom’s beaches. The sirens that still reside there do so not out of banishment but because they have been there for generations, long before my mother started her reign.

When I was younger, I would dream about escaping to a place like Eersten, hoping it would be far enough away from the cruelty of my mother and sisters. Now I’m certain no distance would ever be great enough.

Mashaka lets out a high-pitched squeak, my attention going to him as he waits for me to catch up. The sun is swallowed up by the thick gray clouds in the sky, leaving the outline of the floating white structures in the distance to blend in with the shadows of the darkened ocean.

“Have you been here before, Mashaka?” I ask once we reach them, looking over to him. He squeaks in response, and though I’m not entirely sure, I’m assuming that means he has.

We move cautiously between the looming buildings, and I marvel at their construction. Lumen is built on a part of the seabed that is not, comparatively speaking, very deep beneath the surface. But Eersten’s ocean floor seems to drop here, the depths beneath the town black with the lack of sunlight. Yet, somehow, the town floats.

“There are no sirens out,” I note, Mashaka squeaking quietly in response.

The outsides of the structures are pearlescent, and oddly shaped cutouts dot around them. Some are small, as if their only intention is to allow a single pair of eyes to peek out. Other holes are large enough for a siren to pass through.

Mashaka heads towards a building with a clamshell bed carved into it. When he’s close enough, his nose softly taps the dark blue sea glass door that is surrounded by embedded crystals of different colors. I follow up with a harsher knock of my own, earning a glare from him.

“What? We want them to actually hear us out here.” He snaps his teeth together and pokes me in the arm. “Ouch, Mashaka!”

Letting out another squeak of defiance, he turns to face the door as we wait. And wait.

I click my talons together nervously at my sides, gazing in both directions at the hauntingly empty town. Suppressing a chill, I knock on the door again before crossing my arms over my chest. Hairs rise on the back of my neck, the sensation of being watched from the shadows cresting over me. Even Mashaka tenses, his beady gaze narrowing. I strain my ears to try and detect any sound, but I only hear the gentle current of the water moving around us.

“Perhaps—”

“Don’t move,” a female says as something sharp pokes my back. Mashaka lets out a low-pitched noise and attempts to turn around, only to be halted with a glistening silver spear at his side.

“Please don’t hurt him,” I plead, my hands rising up in front of me in surrender. “We are looking for somewhere to rest for the evening. I’m on a mission on behalf of the queen.”

“We know who you are, Princess Aria,” she snarls. “We have already had a visit from the legionaries this month. The numbers haven’t changed since then.”

What? I try to turn around and face her, but she jabs me again with her weapon, actually breaking through the skin. I yelp, my pulse quickening as the presence of a larger entourage bears down on me. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I reply, my voice shaking.

Tense silence descends, the water nearly chilling from the icy stares I can feel at my back. “How do we know that is the truth? You could be here—”

“She is telling the truth, Ryn,” a deeper voice says. I relax my shoulders, grateful to have someone standing up for me until she continues speaking. “Princess Aria’s reputation is one of disappointment to the queen.”

When Mashaka squeaks at my side, I have the distinct impression he is laughing at me.

“Turn around.”

I wait until the weapon is pulled away before I turn, keeping my hands up in front of me. A crowd of sirens surrounds Mashaka and I, all of them with weapons that look handmade. Nothing like what the Queen’s Legion carries.

“Repeat to us what your mission is,” one commands; I think she’s the one who spoke to the siren named Ryn. Her teal braids are sectioned down the middle and tied back on either side, gently brushing her shoulders and matching her scales in color.

“The queen has sent me on a mission to retrieve something from the Northern Island. Mashaka is my companion for the journey. I promise, we are only here to rest. I don’t know of anything else you spoke of.”

She studies me, the cunning glint in her eyes not giving away any clue as to if she believes me or not. Finally, she dips her chin. “You may stay one evening, provided you keep Allegra’s delphinidae with you at all times. He is not welcome to wander alo—”

Already moving in protest, Mashaka pushes between the sirens and swims until he’s hidden in the shadows of two buildings.

I offer a rueful smile. “I’m sorry. He only listens to Allegra.”

“Izel, you can’t be serious.” A flash of bright pink catches my attention as a female pushes forward and bares her canines at me, her lighter pink eyes brimming with unease—and anger.

“Ryn, do you or do you not trust me?”

Ryn turns her head to the side, cursing low. “I do.”

“Good.” Teal eyes move back to me. “My name is Izel.” She reaches behind me and knocks twice, pausing for a few seconds before knocking four more times. The door immediately opens, a female with tangerine braids wrapped around her head backing up to let us in. “This is Princess Aria; she is in need of a bed for the night. And I assume a meal?” I nod my head as I clasp my bag, reaching around the dagger within to grab some coins. “No. Anyone who comes from the royal family is permitted to stay here free of charge.”

“Oh, I’m happy to pay—”

“Unless you want your mother to take our heads in retribution if she ever finds out, it’s better that you don’t,” Izel bites out, stilling my hand. She doesn’t say anything else as she glares at me for a moment longer before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

“Come on, then. I’ll show you to a room.”

I follow the orange-haired siren up a winding lustrous ramp made of crushed seashell. Sky blue and golden yellow crystals no bigger than my thumbnail line the middle, glowing softly to guide the way. White, shimmering walls reflect the light back as we go higher until we reach the fourth level.

“We have no other sirens staying here right now, so you’ll have the place to yourself for the night, unless a new guest shows up.”

“Thank you.” I chew on my lip a moment before I ask, “What were they talking about? About legionaries already visiting?”

The female snorts as she stops before a green sea glass door. “You’re either bold or stupid to assume that you can just ask that,” she reprimands, looking over her shoulder at me before opening the door. Swimming past the threshold, I take in the small room with a moderately sized clamshell bed stuffed with thin-bladed dark blue grass and silky yellow-green kelp. “We have a fresh catch of salmon I can bring you as well as a loofah to wash up.”

“That would be great, thank you.” She closes the door behind her, and I immediately collapse onto the bed. My thoughts swirl in circles as I stare up at the glistening crushed-seashell ceiling. Voices rise from outside the inn, the murmuring of the females catching my attention. I move to a small cutout in the wall to my right, the space only large enough for my eyes to peer through.

“What if she is here to spy on us for the queen? We cannot trust her!” Someone, Ryn perhaps, warns, her voice carrying.

“I highly doubt that is the case. Aria is not known for anything other than being a hindrance to the queen,” Izel replies. Her words bring a stinging heat to my cheeks as their voices drop to a murmur.

I know that I am nothing but a pawn for my mother—worthless unless I do the things she asks of me. But to hear that my reputation as such has reached the ears of those outside of the capital ravages my heart in an entirely new way.

Tears come, despite knowing better than to be upset by this. I choke on them, the rush of our journey the past few weeks and the biting unhappiness I feel finally catching up with me. Night grows outside, the crystals in the room flaring a pretty pink, but I close my eyes and wish for a peace that I don’t think exists.

After Talla, the owner of the inn, brought me dinner, which Mashaka conveniently showed up just in time for, I tried to sleep. But Izel’s and Ryn’s words nag at me until I find myself completely restless, the itch to get out of this room forcing me to quietly swim off the bed and to the door. My talons scratch at the knob, and I cringe, hoping not to have woken Mashaka. When he doesn’t stir, I slowly pull the door open and peek my head out.

The inn is dark and quiet, and an uncanny fear rolls over me with the water’s current as I follow the lit ramp back down to the main floor. Pausing at the bottom, I make sure no one is there before darting towards the exit. I move cautiously, hiding between the shadows cast by the floating buildings. Like when we first arrived, I find it odd that the town looks all but empty, and feels it too. Except for the voices I can just faintly make out in the distance. Voices and music .

I near what looks like a tavern, its front framed by three white pillars. Sirens dance inside to a mixture of string and conch horn instruments as others gather around tables and talk. Ducking behind a cluster of coral, I reach for my braids and gather them into a knot at the base of my neck to get them out of the way as I watch. I spot Izel’s teal hair next to Ryn’s bright pink, both females engaged in conversation with each other. Despite seeing hardly any sirens earlier, the tavern is filled with them now.

“Snooping, are we, Your Highness?”

I jolt back at the voice, catching only a glimpse of bright blue hair before I’m forced to face forward. “No, I—”

She squeezes my arm tightly in her grasp, forcing a whimper from me. “And they said you wouldn’t be a problem. Let’s go.”

Pushing me forward, she forces me across the waterway and into the tavern, the sirens occupying it turning towards me as the music rapidly fades. The small smile Ryn had as she talked with Izel falls completely when her light pink eyes meet mine.

“I caught her hiding around the corner, Iz, like she was trying to listen in on your conversation,” the female holding me announces.

I tense under her hold, the others around me hardening their gazes as they study me. There is no point denying what I’ve been caught doing, so I nod my head. “I couldn’t sleep and needed to burn off some energy. I followed the sound of voices and music here, but I didn’t think you would welcome me in.”

I must sound pathetic because Izel’s gaze turns softer for a moment, her shoulders relaxing as she leans her elbows on the tall table in front of her, her tail swishing beneath it to keep her afloat.

“And did you hear anything?” Ryn asks with a sneer as Izel shoots her a warning glance.

“No.”

I fear what Izel is thinking when she tilts her head to the side, her full lips pulling up to the right. “How about an exchange of information, Princess Aria?”

“What?”

Murmuring grows loud from everyone around us, but Izel lifts her hand to silence them. “I want information about what your mother is doing.”

My eyes widen as fear takes root in my stomach. “I don’t know anything about her plans.”

“You can tell us what kind of mission you’re on, and in return, I will tell you what I know you asked Talla about.” A few disgruntled females hiss, but Izel shakes her head. “It is clear that she is not close with her mother. I won’t tell her anything that we can’t easily disprove should the queen be made aware,” she says with a pointed stare in my direction.

I scan the tavern warily, finding no allies or friendly expressions. I don’t even know what my mother is planning with the rings, only that they exist and she wants them. Surely there is no harm in telling them that? “The queen asked me to retrieve some spelled rings that are being stored on the Northern Island.”

“Siren magic can’t spell items,” someone from my left shouts out. “You’re lying.”

“You remember the tales passed down from our elders, don’t you?” Izel questions, looking around at the sirens. “The stories of the first queen transferring parts of her magic into items in exchange for favors from her subjects.”

“Where are all these spelled items, then? Surely, they can’t all be held on the Northern Island?” Ryn asks at her side.

“It’s been many millennia, Ryn. Who knows. They could be anywhere.” Her eyes go to mine again. “I assume you know nothing of what these rings can do or why your mother might want them?” I shake my head. “I figured.”

Shame once more curdles my blood. Should I have questioned my mother more? Would it have even mattered?

“Long before Queen Amari began her rule, we had a sense of sovereignty ourselves. Yes, we still answered to whoever called herself queen, but we were never expected to give more than our pledge of allegiance. That changed about a year ago when a legionary sent by your mother showed up and demanded to know how many of our sirens were with child.”

The crowd growls in unison, some of them looking at me like I issued the order myself.

“We gave them a number, and the legionary left. The next month came and so did another from the Queen’s Legion. This time, they were not satisfied with the number given and, despite our protests, they forced a siren of only eighteen to leave with them. Each month, a legionary returns, and if we have not met whatever the expressed quota is from your mother, they steal one of our sirens to place into the Queen’s Legion.” I blink. And blink again, sure I must have misheard. “You look surprised,” Izel muses.

“I am. That is so young . I knew she was forcing sirens out to hunt at younger ages but to join the legion too? Can you not tell her no?” I know the words are a mistake as soon as I say them, but the angry hissing that reverberates in the tavern confirms it. There is no such thing as telling my mother no . I know that better than anyone.

“She’s already threatened the wrath of her legion against us if we disobey. For now, we have no choice but to bend to her will, for the good of all of those that reside here.”

“There is another choice, Iz. We have her daughter. Perhaps we can bargain with her. Try to get ours back,” the siren behind me says, her voice vibrating over my shoulder. “How many lives is one princess worth?”

“We’d have to have a princess of value, Nisha. And we don’t. But even then, the queen would make the exchange and then raze the town down. If we are no longer obedient, she will destroy us.”

Nausea churns in my stomach as I try to understand this information in a way that makes sense. The legion has always been something that sirens have the option of joining. It’s never been something forced upon them, at least for those in the capital. Maybe that is not the case for those outside of it.

“Get some sleep, Princess Aria. When the sun rises, you will have to go. Though I believe that you have no ill will towards us, the same cannot be said of your mother. We do not want any more unwanted attention than we already have.”

The siren behind me—Nisha—begins to pull me out of the tavern. I fight against her, shouting, “Wait!” She pauses, and I drop my gaze at garnering the attention of every siren. “I’m sorry. That she is doing this. I—I wish I could do more.”

There are some noises of disdain, but Izel speaks above them. “Despite what you may think, Your Highness, you could do more,” she says quietly, pushing away from the table to approach until she is right in front of me. “You choose not to.”

Her words ring in my ears hours later as I still try and fail to fall asleep. It’s so similar to what Nia said when she confronted me at the seamounts before telling me to never return. I don’t understand what they think I can do though. They themselves know that I’m barely considered one of the queen’s daughters as it is.

One person cannot inspire a movement. One person of no power cannot take on the most powerful. I am not strong or clever or fierce like my other sisters. I am a pawn better suited to being molded for the plans of others than trying to stand on my own.

I am nothing and no one.