Page 4 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)
Egan Village was the largest mortal settlement in the Andros Islands, a fishing port nestled at the base of craggy cliffs, where pine trees loomed tall and dark like sentinels.
The bay stretched out in calm shades of steel blue.
Its surface rippled with the morning tide, swaying boats gently as their mooring lines creaked.
Smoke curled faintly from scattered chimneys, a sign that a few villagers were beginning their day.
Beyond the woods was the Crossing—a land bridge connecting the mortal realm to the fae realm.
However, the fae never ventured into the mortal realm; they hated mortals and their scent.
The village itself smelled of dead fish, brine, and musky earth.
Mariana wrinkled her nose as she rose from the waves just beyond the port, stepping onto the coarse sand with the water lapping at her legs.
She adjusted her white linen dress, the fabric clinging to her form before she expelled the water from her body in one smooth motion, letting it puddle and sink into the sand at her feet.
Finger-combing her now-dry hair, she approached a small wooden cabin hidden between the trees .
She knocked on the chipped yellow door, casting a glance at the other silent cabins around her. Most of the villagers were still asleep, but Mariana knew, without a doubt, who would already be awake.
As the sun began to lift from its slumber beneath the horizon, the door creaked open. Celeste’s familiar face appeared, wrinkled and warm, framed by a curtain of soft white hair.
“Morning, sleepyhead!” Mariana greeted, her lips lifting into a genuine smile as she leaned in for a hug.
“I was wondering what time you’d get here today,” Celeste said, wrapping her willowy arms tightly around Mariana in the way that only Celeste could. Lavender wafted from her skin, the scent comforting.
Even with all the storm clouds that loomed in Mariana’s life, Celeste always managed to make her feel safe.
“I’m not that late,” Mariana said with mock defensiveness as she stepped back. “The sun isn’t even fully up yet.”
Celeste chuckled, her laugh light and warm as a spring breeze. “If the sky has a touch of light, it’s time to prepare,” she teased, motioning Mariana inside.
The cabin’s interior welcomed her with a burst of color and scents.
Herbs and flowers hung in bundles from the ceiling beams, their fragrant oils infusing the air with earthy sweetness.
Jars of dried petals and powders lined every available shelf, each labeled with Celeste’s elegant handwriting.
And the round table at the center of the room overflowed with more herbs, wax, cloth bags, and strings for bundling.
Mariana often thought of this cabin as a sanctuary.
It was a world apart from the cold, dark waters of Salus, where everything tasted of salt and decay.
Here, she could smell. She could breathe deeply and savor the richness of the air, her senses delighting in things she could never find underwater.
She stooped to pick up a bundle of mint that had fallen to the floor, inhaling its sharp, refreshing aroma as she set it on the table.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, eyeing the piles of herbs still waiting to be chopped.
Two mugs of steaming chamomile tea sat waiting on the table, their golden liquid catching the light.
Mariana smiled faintly but found her gaze lingering on the tea bags, her thoughts drifting.
Astra. The name surfaced unbidden, cutting through the moment like a jagged blade.
Her sister would’ve loved this. She was the only one who knew about her visits to Celeste, so why hadn’t she brought Astra to meet her?
Now, with the very real possibility that she might never see her eldest sister again, regret hit her like a wave.
Why had she kept this part of her life separate?
Why had she never shared this haven, this safe place, with the sister she loved so dearly?
There was still so much she wanted to tell her, so much she wanted to show her.
“Dear,” Celeste’s soft voice broke through her thoughts with a touch to Mariana’s elbow, her brown eyes filled with concern. “Are you alright?”
Mariana blinked, her vision suddenly blurring with unshed tears.
She stared at Celeste, at the lines etched into her face, at the gentle strength in her gaze, and for a fleeting moment, she considered lying.
She didn’t want to burden her friend with the dark storm that had settled over her life.
Celeste lived in the light, and Mariana didn’t want to drag her into the darkness .
Mariana’s eyes skated over Celeste’s wrinkled features and saw the young female beneath that had found her on a beach nearly fifty years ago.
Celeste always had a knack for understanding plants.
She knew where to find even the most elusive, insignificant sapling and how to nurture it in the wild.
This turned out to be true for sirens. The night they met, she had found Mariana flopping around on the sand with freshly transformed legs, trying to get the damn things to work.
She thought Mariana was a mortal child having a seizure at first and rushed to help her.
Of course, Mariana screamed in surprise, making Celeste scream too, and they’d been friends ever since.
Truthfully, Mariana was never supposed to be on that beach.
Cybele wouldn’t have allowed her to practice walking until she was older, but Mariana refused to wait.
Learning to walk meant adventures where she could escape the dark confines of Salus.
Back then, she had been innocent to all the harm that could be inflicted on a young siren if she left the sea, but she was desperate—desperate to listen to the sky, desperate to be free.
So, she’d defied her mother’s orders, escaped her Guardians, and found the quiet, empty beach, determined to walk.
After many days of practice, Celeste taught her how, taught her the mortal language, taught her their culture.
But most importantly, Celeste treated her like an equal. Not like a sea goddess. The title was like acid in the back of her throat.
The memory of the culling bombarded her thoughts, and though it deeply bothered her, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Celeste what she saw.
Egan Village was off-limits for the cullings, a rule Mariana had fiercely enforced to protect her friend and the people there, one Cybele only agreed to because of the importance of the mortal population’s stability.
Still, the image of those mortals—sacrificed under the ruse of honor but prey for cursed sirens—lingered in her mind.
Mariana realized she hadn’t said anything for a few minutes. Celeste was waiting patiently, a concerned look in her brown eyes that said she was ready to listen when Mariana was ready to speak.
That was when Mariana decided she couldn’t lie to her. She may have been growing old, having only lived a tiny portion of the life Mariana would live, but Celeste was the strongest person she’d ever met.
Reaching down for one of her friend’s hands, she held it in her own, noticing how different they were.
Mariana’s skin was pale blue, covered in an array of delicate tattoos, which Celeste always said were the stanzas in the poem of Mariana’s life.
Celeste’s hands were withered with age and scarred from whatever had happened to her before she made it to Egan Village—a part of her life she never discussed.
Perhaps that made them respect each other: They were both physically marked by their pasts and refused to let it control their futures.
Clearing her tight throat, Mariana admitted, “My sister, Astra, has been missing for several weeks now.” She swallowed hard.
Celeste rested her other hand on top of hers, gripping it tight.
It was the encouragement she needed to keep talking.
“There’s a chance she’s…” Mariana swallowed again, then took a deep breath.
“Dead.” The word was so heavy on her tongue that she barely got it out .
Celeste gasped, her eyes wide. “Oh dear, what’s happened to her?” Her voice cracked, and she pressed a hand to her heart. Mariana felt a pang of guilt for bringing her grief into this peaceful little cabin, but she couldn’t stop now.
Lifting a shoulder, Mariana pulled out a chair and sighed as she sat. Celeste sat beside her but still gripped her hand. She squeezed it affectionately, making a corner of Mariana’s mouth lift briefly.
“She was on a peace mission to the fae realm. She wanted to meet with the king and negotiate for the safety of Salus. I don’t know what she planned on bargaining with.
My mother is keeping me in the dark about it all,” she admitted with a scowl.
“I just know that her Guardians returned, but all died before they could tell us what happened, and now we have no idea where Astra is or whether she’s even alive. ”
Mariana let out a shaky breath, thoughts of Astra locked up in a dungeon or hanging by her tail in front of the fae palace gates haunting her. She shivered.
Without saying anything, Celeste pulled her into her arms and held her.
“I’m so sorry, love, that’s terrifying,” Celeste whispered as she rubbed her back gently in soothing circles.
Mariana sank into her embrace, wishing to stay there until everything got better.
She expected herself to start crying, but it felt like she was dried out, desperate for a drop of water, yet knowing nothing would satisfy.
The look on Luna’s face as she begged Mariana to find her mother made her chest ache. “I have to find her, Celeste. I have to bring her home. ”
Celeste gently pulled back and cupped Mariana’s cheeks with warm, soft hands. “I know you do,” she admitted, yet tears still filled her eyes. “But that scares me. What if something happens to you too?”