Page 2 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)
Although it was midday, the trench at the bottom of the sea was cloaked in eternal darkness, reeking of death. The only light source came from the scorching violet fire billowing out from a crack in the earth. It did little to keep the cold from sinking deep into Mariana’s bones.
Ethereal voices echoed through the stone cavern.
The sacred cremation ceremony had begun.
The gathered sirens sang their enchanting song about life, death, love, and family in perfect harmony. The sad melody slithered and crept across Mariana’s skin, giving her chills. It was the only song that haunted her dreams.
Three sisters were dead, and one was missing. It was a dark and ominous reminder of how precious life was when you were part of an endangered species. A despairing shadow was cast over the underwater caverns of Salus as, once again, hope for peace and safety became a desperate, tragic dream.
Mariana’s eyes were locked on the corpses before her, each wrapped in black, metallic fiber .
Astra, her eldest blood sister, was gone. No one knew where she was or what had happened to her.
As if in a trance, Mariana felt her lips move along with the chorus.
She felt hollow, like the sea reaper had slithered out from these black depths and carved out her broken heart.
She could envision Astra’s ivory hair woven with pearls into thin dreadlocks, her tail blending in with the kelp forest’s mossy depths.
With pale blue eyes and a delicate voice, Astra could capture anyone in a story like no other.
She was compassionate, gentle, and caring, always making everyone around her feel special.
Her determination was admirable, as was her bravery.
Mariana was furious with the siren queen. She had kept Mariana in the dark about crucial details regarding Astra’s mission to the fae realm. She cast her eyes at her mother.
Queen Cybele appeared regal with a shimmering, translucent top wrapped around her waist and long billowing sleeves that brushed halfway down her tail.
Glinting underneath was her fitted white armor that closely matched Mariana’s.
The scales on her arms gleamed the colors of the sea, and her tail was as black as midnight yet sparkled with the light of a thousand stars.
The ends of her fins faded into her hair’s magenta hue, which was braided and pinned back with black diamonds beneath her deadly crown.
It was meant to inspire and intimidate. It was also a weapon in battle.
It had five diamonds carved into sharp, twisted points reaching upward, with a row of rough blue sapphires sitting above the queen’s arched brow.
More diamonds were woven across the top and back of the head as a shield.
It was a warrior’s crown, a symbol of power and death.
Mariana hated it .
She’d held the heavy crown before and even felt it upon her small head as a youngling when she and her mother played. She couldn’t wait to be queen then. But that was a very long time ago.
The song faded away, and silence settled over the cave.
The sirens all watched as their queen approached the three bodies lying in wait on woven kelp pallets.
Mariana could hear the quiet sound of her mother scraping her long, sharp nails against the staff she held tightly in her left hand.
Cybele gestured for Luna, Astra’s only daughter, to come forward.
Although every siren was a sister, the protective nature of sisters connected by blood was fierce. Astra, Aurora, and Mariana had all been born from Cybele. Like many sirens, Luna was single-born, and her kin were her closest companions.
Mariana breathed deeply and kept her arms locked at her sides despite the urge to reach out and comfort her.
Luna approached the queen as the crowd parted for her.
She was the spitting image of Astra, though her scales were ivory and shimmered a violet hue instead of green.
Although considered small for a siren, Luna was much older than Mariana.
She appeared even smaller now, hunched protectively over the marble box that housed Astra’s memorabilia.
The queen gave a soft smile and held her free hand out to Luna, who took it lightly.
Mariana watched Cybele face the audience with Luna. The blazing violet furnace behind them cast their faces into dark shadows while outlining their bodies in a purple glow.
“This never gets easier. These ceremonies have become habitual for us, and I dread them,” the queen admitted, her velvety voice thick with grief.
“And telling you that we’re here to mourn more of our fallen sisters …
it breaks my heart.” She shook her head slightly.
“Today, we’re here to remember four truly beloved sisters who risked and dedicated their lives to help create a better future for us all.
One where there is no fear of exploring, growing old, or finding a mate.
That is the future they believed in, and that is the future I still believe in.
“I promise you all that I will never stop trying to find a solution for us to return to Sirenia, our home. For Telesia, for Hella, for Iris, and”—she gazed down at Luna, who peered up at her with swollen eyes—“for Astra, we will all persevere. From ruin, we rise.”
Conflicting thoughts rattled Mariana as she scrutinized her mother.
A century ago, all sirens had been banished from the fae realm. Thousands of their sisters were brutally killed, all because of the death of one fae.
Prince Helios.
The Kingdom of Aurelia, once a place of wonder and enchantment, became a symbol of treachery. King Stavros had been known as an honorable leader. Yet, everything changed the day he found Queen Cybele standing over his son’s dead body.
The truth of what happened that fateful day remained shrouded in mystery.
Some said Cybele had slain the heir, while others whispered that she had tried to save him.
Whatever the case, the fae king’s wrath knew no bounds.
Without trial or evidence, he banished all sirens from the fae realm, condemning them to an existence of suffering and exile.
He razed the siren queendom to the ground, forcing the survivors to flee for their lives.
The bitter, imaginary taste of death and smoke formed on Mariana’s tongue, and she hardly noticed when someone sidled up next to her. The Siren Witch touched Mariana’s arm, startling her from her clouded thoughts.
The witch’s hands were stained black from the ritual of wrapping the bodies before cremation.
Her polished claws were long and so sharp that they could easily slice open a vein in the blink of an eye.
Mariana shook her head to immediately cut off the dark thought.
She lifted her eyes and caught her mother’s intimidating stare.
She realized her role in the ceremony was next.
After giving her a curt nod, the witch retreated behind Cybele. With a steadying breath to calm her heart, Mariana slowly raised her hands as her power came forth with its familiar buzz. Carefully, she commanded the surrounding water to gently lift all three pallets to eye level.
Just as they’d done hundreds of times before, the sirens behind her started to sing their final song as the queen used the staff she held to push each pallet forward.
The purple flames enveloped the bodies, and the flaring heat blasted Mariana’s skin.
Her voice cracked as she sang goodbye to her fallen sisters, imagining their journey to the afterlife.
The song faded, and Luna’s muffled sobs replaced the sad melody.
“Luna.” Mariana gently grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her into an embrace. They held each other with the stone box clutched tightly between their bodies .
“She’s not dead. She can’t be. My heart knows she’s still out there,” Luna whispered, her voice quivering.
Mariana rested her head on Luna’s and held her tighter. “She could still be alive. We don’t know for sure, but—”
“But I do know!” Luna cried out. “I do. She’s alive. She has to be. Please, find her.”
Mariana softly hushed Luna’s wailing and unfolded her arms to put her hands on Luna’s shoulders.
She held her gaze, and when she tucked Luna’s silvery hair behind her pointed ear, she saw the gills on her neck inhaling and exhaling rapidly.
Unable to look into the sad eyes of her sister any longer, Mariana fixed her gaze instead on the tattooed moon phases on Luna’s forehead.
Like all their tattoos, they glowed gently when in contact with the sea.
“Luna, if she’s still alive, then I will find her.
If she isn’t—” Mariana gently halted the start of Luna’s protesting.
“If her soul is wandering, we have to say goodbye. Amphitrite needs to guide Astra on her journey to peace. We can’t delay it any longer.
And if she is alive, Amphitrite will hear us and …
” Mariana choked and breathed deeply to steady herself.
“And she will guide Astra back home.” She gave an encouraging nod to Luna, then placed her hand over the box’s lid, right on top of Astra’s carved name.
Cybele’s right hand settled over Mariana’s, and their eyes met briefly before the Siren Witch placed a hand on Cybele’s right shoulder.
When the comforting hands of her blood sister, Aurora, rested on both her shoulders, Mariana closed her eyes.
She silently prayed to the Goddess to guide Astra to peace and herself to find justice for her sister.
She listened to Luna weep and opened her eyes to watch as the free hands of every remaining siren alive were placed on each other’s shoulders, encircling Astra’s unopened box.