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CHAPTER TWELVE

A clang jolted Celeste awake. She hadn’t been sleeping exactly. In fact, she hadn’t slept at all that night. Not when the human who had attacked her paced through the room every hour or so, bringing in more criminals for incarceration. And certainly not when another human, girl or no, sat in the cell with her. While Kiyami slept like the dead, Celeste practiced walking, holding on to the walls of the cell and putting one foot before the other. She circled the room over and over until, after several hours, she hardly needed support. But somehow, just before dawn, Celeste’s body had tired enough to doze off. When she woke, there was a new guard who looked unsettlingly similar to the other. As he opened the barred door, she pressed her body into the corner of the cell to get as far away from him as possible.

“All right, food and water.” He dropped a metal bowl and cup on the floor.

Kiyami stirred as the man closed and locked the door. “Breakfast,” she said.

The human food looked hard—a theme lately—and spongelike with a crust. Beside it was a cup filled with what looked like water, but not nearly enough to clean the grime from themselves. Kiyami ripped the food in half and offered some to Celeste.

Celeste jerked away, afraid the human would touch her.

Kiyami frowned. “It’s only bread,” she said. But when Celeste did not come forward to take it, she set the food in the bowl and slid it toward the center of the room. Despite her hunger, Celeste did not reach for it. Instead, she curled her body further in, wishing she could disappear. “Do you mind if I have some first? I’m awful dehydrated. It was a—long night. I normally am not much of a drinker.”

Drink? Was this the substance that made people drunk? Why give them the same substance they’d just been punished for? Human logic was becoming more questionable by the second. Celeste shook her head, indicating she did not want it, and Kiyami shrugged. Celeste watched in horror as the human swallowed the stuff in strange gulps. She had never seen liquid being consumed before. Kiyami set down the cup, now half full, and slid it toward Celeste.

The siren ignored it. Instead, she stood to inspect the small, barred window above their heads. Outside, she could just glimpse the street. The town bustled with activity. Humans of all sorts went about their morning business. Some walked. Others ran. While some teetered back and forth. In fact, there were a surprising number of ways to move, given their restriction to the ground. A clopping noise sounded along the stone streets as many great four-legged creatures carried humans and goods. They reminded Celeste of the Sea Goddess’s mythical Hippokamp. Why did they need help to get around? Was it because the air made everything so heavy? One animal drew close, and Celeste’s eyes widened as she looked upon the beautiful fall of coarse black hair along its neck and soft puffing nose. She wished to reach out and touch its shining brown fur. But even if she could, she wouldn’t have. The hard-learned lesson that she did not understand the rules of this strange new world still marked her with its purple-black bruises. And yet she couldn’t help but marvel at the strangeness of it all.

No one would call the town beautiful. Half the windows were covered in rotting wooden boards, and the streets were narrow and winding. Everything was colored in shades of brown and gray. There were a few plants, mainly green with only a few exceptions. But the exceptions were rather pretty. Little clumps of color among the monotony.

“New to town?”

Celeste jumped, her feet scrambling to catch her. She had forgotten Kiyami.

“Sorry! I couldn’t help but notice. No one from here would give this place a second look. I’m new to Port Romsey too.”

Port Romsey . How would she get to Port Velluno? Was the prince even still there, or was he already back at his castle? And where would that be? What was his kingdom called? She had been so worried about how she would bring herself to kill the prince that she hadn’t considered how difficult it would be to find him. Any semblance of calm she had found in the busy town quickly turned sour.

Kiyami continued, as if sensing Celeste’s discomfort. “One job led to another, and eventually I made port here. But since my last job, nothing’s come up. I’ve been stuck here for a month now, and I really need to find work soon. I thought I had a job yesterday, but it fell through and...” Kiyami fell silent, staring at her hands.

Celeste’s brow furrowed, and she lowered herself back to the floor. The idea that someone could be jobless, left behind by their own people without purpose, was startling. Worry clouded Kiyami’s face, letting on a little more about the girl’s situation than perhaps she had intended. Celeste’s shoulders loosened. Apparently, they were both adrift. Kiyami must have noticed this too, for she offered Celeste a warm smile. And Celeste, in spite of herself, returned it.

“I must admit—I feel terrible not knowing your name,” Kiyami said, taking a bite of her bread and chewing. “What if I tried to guess it?”

Celeste shrugged.

“All right,” Kiyami said, turning to face her. “Is it a common Ethorian name? Like Jayne? Or Abagail? You are Ethorian, aren’t you?”

The siren laughed.

“Right, sorry. One question at a time. Is it a common Ethorian name?”

Celeste shook her head.

“Ah, I see. That could make things more challenging. How long is your name? How many letters?”

Although Celeste had never learned to write, she had been taught the letters of her name. She counted each letter before lifting seven fingers.

Kiyami laughed. “Seven! Okay! We’re getting somewhere. Is the first letter... A ?”

Celeste shook her head.

“ B ?”

Another shake.

“ C ?”

At this, Celeste nodded, practically jumping up in excitement.

Kiyami beamed. “Yes! Seven letters and it begins with C . Hm...”

They continued this guessing game, Kiyami asking letter after letter and Celeste nodding or shaking her head for each. Celeste eventually brought herself to try the bread. It was rather hard and tasteless, but it was better than nothing. Once the food was finished, Celeste felt somewhat herself again, despite the circumstances. Kiyami guessed T for the sixth letter of Celeste’s name, and the siren nodded again.

“Is the last letter E ? Is your name Celeste?”

At once, all the air swept from Celeste’s lungs. It didn’t occur to her how it would feel to hear her name again, spoken to her by a human. It was as though, after days of drifting, she had at last made anchor. Someone in this world knew her. Celeste blinked back tears, and she nodded.

“Celeste,” Kiyami said again, grinning. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Perhaps names had a special sort of magic. Because as the two looked at each other, something had changed between them. The shift was subtle, barely perceptible, but present all the same. Celeste didn’t consider them friends, nor did she think letting her guard down around any humans was a good idea. But at least she wasn’t afraid of this human. With careful fingers, she touched the painful bruises on her arms, as if to remind herself they could still be just as monstrous—a fact she had so brutally learned firsthand.

Shouting erupted somewhere within the jail, the echoes ringing through the cells. Kiyami turned and leaned toward the bars. They heard the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor. And... was that the growl of an animal? Celeste tensed, sliding further from the cell bars. Whatever was happening, she wanted no part in it.

“I think someone is coming,” Kiyami said. “And it’s not the guard.”

Celeste tugged her coat around her shoulders. Whoever had overtaken the guards must be far worse.

Hurried footfalls and the jangle of metal signaled the intruder was entering the hall. Shouts of humans struggling continued. A bang silenced them, so loud it rang in Celeste’s ears. She clutched her head, doubling over. A sound of death.

The cell door clanged open.

When Celeste looked up, Prince Raiden Sharp was framed in the doorway, staring down at her with fathomless dark eyes.

“Hello again.” He smiled.