Chapter 7 #2
“Why does it matter if Audrey or Ilia is the prophesied Chosen One?” Perhaps if I understood the significance of this role more, I would be more helpful.
Hush sighed as she crossed the room to lean against my shelf of trinkets.
“Things are already tense in Lyndoruun,” Hush explained.
She flicked her eyes over to Liam and Audrey, who nodded in agreement.
“Ilia is a dangerous ruler who has become more aggressive with age and the loss of his queen. He takes pride in his role as King of the Sirens, protector of the Fjellenheim Mountains, and as the Chosen One the prophecy foretold. Hyvenmerian governments have been able to keep peaceful trades under his and Queen Astrid’s rule—before she passed, that is. ”
“Before his bastard son—” Liam started, before Audrey interrupted him.
“Being the Chosen One gave Ilia all his success,” Audrey explained, looking to Hush for her nod of confirmation.
“He killed the solvyrn that directly endangered Astrid, the former Siren Queen. That accomplishment is what allowed Astrid’s parents to bless their union, so he could take the throne next to her.
Who better to guard the Fjellenheim Mountains than the Chosen One from a prophecy designed to unite all the lands? ”
“So basically, if he’s not actually the Chosen One…” I pointed toward Audrey. “And you are, his seat on the throne will have been because of a misunderstanding.”
“Imagine the distrust his people will have toward him,” Hush added with a nod. “Especially when he’s already losing his grip on them.”
I glanced around the room, waiting for an explanation.
Everyone just stared silently in thought, so I rolled my eyes and groaned before saying, “I’m new to literally all of this; stop speaking in vague cliffhangers.”
“It’s just so much.” Audrey sighed with a pinch on the bridge of her nose. “Where do I start with this?”
Hush rolled her golden eyes. “If you must know, human, Lyndoruun has its own mess to deal with, on top of our king possibly not being the prophesied peacekeeper we were all raised to believe he was.” Hush crossed her arms over her chest and danced her fingertips on her bicep.
“We also have a very significant problem where siren mothers and children are continuing to go missing.”
My heart ached. “Oh.”
“Yes, oh.” Hush shook her head as she stared at something on the wall behind me, a divot formed between her brows.
“It’s gotten worse over the last couple of years.
Even more so this year. Every week, a new siren female and her child are reported missing.
Every time Ilia’s guard is close to finding answers, the trail goes dry.
” Hush shook her head once. “My people are scared. We don’t know who is hunting us or why.
If they’re even alive or not. Sometimes we manage to find a blood trail, but then…
nothing. All we know is that it’s getting increasingly unsafe for siren females to wander the realm alone. ”
I huffed and dropped my eyes, understanding all too well how dangerous it was for women to travel alone.
But Hush was speaking as if this were a new phenomenon.
Was that not a common threat in Hyvenmere?
Were Hyvenmerian women not raised to hold their car keys in between their knuckles when walking in a parking lot at night?
“And your people are upset with the Siren King for not being able to find them,” I concluded.
“Which he is responding to by alluding that the halflings, like Audrey, must be the reason for the missing sirens. The uptick in missing reports escalated right when halflings started coming and going into our realm as they pleased.”
I raised my brows at that. “What? No way.” I turned to Audrey, who nodded her head. “The Siren King thinks you’re just wandering in and kidnapping his people?”
“Yes, which is another reason why he probably doesn’t want to entertain the idea that I’m the Chosen One—not that I’m entirely convinced that I am.”
“Which is also why the Siren King has been strongly advocating with the fae and nereids for the Mellhawn Gates to permanently close,” Hush added.
I shook my head and tried to summarize, “Instead of entertaining the idea that the Siren King might not be as grand as he thought he was.” Liam smirked at my simplified explanation.
“He’s blaming Audrey and the other halflings for his large number of missing persons, and advocating for the gates to close, cutting off Audrey and the other halflings from half of their lineage forever. ”
“That’s about it,” Audrey replied in a bored tone.
“Audrey is powerful,” Hush added, staring at my friend thoughtfully.
“She has the common fae gift of manipulating horticulture, and a common siren gift of healing. If she happens to develop a third commonly nereid gift, that identifies the three main territories of Hyvenmere. I, personally, wouldn’t need any more convincing that it’s Audrey who was meant to unite our realm. ”
Damn. Uniting an entire realm could not have been an easy feat, which explained Audrey’s reluctance to accept the role. The responsibility was heavy, and when I glanced at her, I could practically see her shoulders sag with the weight of it.
“I never kill anything…” Audrey murmured.
“I’ve never been put in a position where I needed—” She cut herself off, flicking her hazel gaze up at me.
I shook my head at her, knowing why she did.
I had been put in that position at too young an age.
But now was not the time to talk about it. It was the past.
“But the gates haven’t been closed yet…” I changed the subject, looking back at Hush and Liam. They both shook their heads.
“Ilia has yet to convince the fae and nereids,” Hush replied.
“Why do they want them open? Beyond just being decent people.” I asked. Audrey smirked, and something flared in her eyes as she looked at me. I narrowed mine back at her, wondering what sparked the mischievousness.
“The fae and nereids have seen success with human—or halfling—inclusive mating bonds,” Audrey replied. It was my turn to roll my eyes.
“Okay, gross.” I shook my head and ignored Hush’s confused look. “So basically the only reason Liam’s sister and the people with gills want to keep the gates open is just that they want the opportunity to fuck humans.”
“Why does that disturb you?” Hush asked.
“It’s not just about sex, Van,” Liam chimed in.
“It’s about compatibility. The opportunity to start families with fewer obstacles.
Hyvenmerian mating bonds had been forming less and less over the last several hundred years—until about thirty years ago.
There was a subtle rise in mating bonds snapping into place.
” The way he talked about mating bonds made it seem like they were this tangible, physical tie between people, not just hormones.
“Then, when halflings started to wander back into Hyvenmere, several of them formed mating bonds with fae and nereids. It’s a joyous time now, after a very dark one, and if we can keep the gates open and allow more Hyvenmerians to find their partners, why wouldn’t we do that? ”
I nodded. It sounded like creating a mating bond was the equivalent of getting married. Something to be respected. I tipped my head back and forth as I thought about it.
“The Siren King just doesn’t give a shit about that? He doesn’t care if his people find their—um—” I stuttered over the wording, but Hush filled it in.
“Mates. There has been no siren on record who has formed a mating bond with anyone with human DNA. So, to Ilia, and a large amount of his people, there is not much to lose by shutting the gates to the human realm.”
“I guess that means we just gotta match a siren up to a willing halfling.” I held two thumbs up, mostly joking at the simplicity of my suggestion.
“And help Audrey with her new role as Hyvenmere’s Hero.
” I wiggled my eyebrows at her with jest, but Audrey smiled at me back, looking like she was about to be sick.
I immediately walked over and sat on the arm of the loveseat next to her.
“Easier said than done,” Audrey sighed. “I still don’t know if I’m totally convinced…but I did just defeat, you know…” She let her sentence go unfinished as she leaned back against the loveseat. “This is basically going to be a nightmare once word gets out of what I did.”
“The good news is, my sweet little halfling…” I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her close, wrapping her up completely in my arms while she struggled to free herself. “Is that you have me now.”
Hush tipped her head to the side as Audrey finally freed herself and asked, “What do you do?”
I shrugged and replied, “I’ll be the Robin to her Batman.
” Hush just looked more confused. “But even less cool because I wasn’t raised in the circus.
” I looked down at Audrey, nudging her arm with mine.
“You can tell me about all of this now. I can be a listening ear and be waiting with a warm cup of coffee when the stress of being the Chosen One becomes too much. Hell, I can even go with you if—”
“You will?” Audrey sat up, eyebrows raised. I hesitated before lifting a shoulder to act like my suggestion was no big deal.
“I’m not going to lie. I was really freaked out when I woke up in Hyvenmere the other day,” I said, ignoring Hush’s curious glances between us.
“But I’ve had time to absorb…all this. Hell, because of you, we survived getting attacked by a dragon last night, and I was able to come into work as if everything was normal today. ”
“You were attacked by a solvyrn,” Liam corrected.
“Oh my god, who the hell cares?” I shook my head at him and addressed Audrey, “All that to say, I want to help. Even though I don’t have cool powers or anything, I still want to support you.
” I was also dying to see if I heard that distant melody as soon as I set foot in Hyvenmere again, but Audrey didn’t need to know that or be concerned that her friend was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.
That just seemed so unimportant in comparison to being a Chosen One destined to unite a whole ass secret magical realm.
Audrey’s eyes watered at the rims seconds before she wrapped me in a hug.
“Thank you.” Audrey sniffed as she pulled back to release me. “I really don’t deserve you as a friend.”
“Touching,” Hush muttered. She didn’t sound touched at all, actually. “However, I must leave soon. Before I can, we need to form a plan to address the headache your latest adventure is surely going to cause me.”
“My sister is already starting to believe the rumors that it’s Audrey, and not Ilia,” Liam spoke up. “As soon as Audrey developed her second gift, Ada didn’t need much convincing either. She’s mostly been waiting for Audrey to continue fulfilling the prophecy.”
Audrey frowned at that.
“What about the people with gills?” I asked.
Hush gave me a disturbed look and clarified, “You mean the nereids?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “The mermaids.”
“Nereids,” all three of them corrected in unison.
“Whatever.” I flicked my hands in a gesture that looked like shooing the terminology away. “Where are they leaning with all of this?”
“Entirely neutral at the moment.” Liam scrubbed his chin with his words. “However, if we can talk to Fergus, he might be able to sway his parents in our favor. Which would help us keep the gates open regardless of Ilia’s temper tantrums.”
“Fergus is…?” I asked, sliding my gaze over to Audrey.
“The First Prince of the Nereids, next in line for the throne,” she replied. “And also one of my favorite people in Hyvenmere.”
This was good. Liam being the exception to the rule, if Audrey liked this Fergus fellow, I probably would, too. Later, though, I wanted to chat with Audrey about how she casually befriended several princes in Hyvenmere as if she were collecting them like baseball cards.
“Let’s go talk to Fergie.” I sat up from my desk, rolling my shoulders back. “Just give me a couple of days to enjoy the mundane routine of running a coffee shop, and I can tag along.”
“He does have his birthday celebration this weekend.” Liam lifted a brow at Audrey, who grinned with excitement.
“Oh, that’s perfect. It’ll be a more casual setting,” Audrey said.
Hush nodded and added, “I’ll let you know how Ilia’s mood is after learning about Audrey’s solvyrn…
disposal.” She shook her head and stared at the ground.
“He’s getting more unsettled each day that passes; just this morning, he announced that he’s considering banning siren females from leaving Lyndoruun without a member of the king’s guard to escort them. ”
I still couldn’t get over how Hyvenmerian’s referred to people as males and females.
Did they not have nonbinary Hyvenmerians?
Did gender and sexuality really stay so strictly within the bounds of a person’s genitalia?
But instead of voicing these questions, I stayed silent while the conversation, thankfully, started to wrap up in my office.
“Once we can guarantee that Audrey and the other halflings are safe to travel to and from Hyvenmere,” Liam said to Hush. “We will do everything we can to help you find them. And stop whoever is hunting them.”
Hush nodded at him before turning to me. “Thank you for hosting.” She bowed with a flourish, and even though I was still learning about Hyvenmerian customs, it felt a little mocking. As if Hush was bowing sarcastically.
I smirked and bowed back to her. I thought I caught her eyes crinkle in amusement, but it was hard to tell with half her face covered up. Then, without saying another word, she froze a second before I heard Shane’s voice on the other side of the door.
“Is this all, Van?”
My heart started racing as I replied in a panic, “Yup! Just that box!”
Hush was unnaturally still, her eyes on the door that separated her and my employee. The sound of Shane’s heavy footfalls echoed down the hallway, and she only waited one more second until we all heard the thud of him dropping the box on the countertop, before she vanished into thin air.
I gave Audrey and Liam a wide-eyed look and said, “She just teleported out of my office.”
Liam rolled his eyes and said, “She lyskifted out of your office.”
I immediately mocked him in a ridiculous voice, “She lee-shifted out of your office.”
“Enjoy your mundane routine the next couple of days,” Audrey interrupted our bickering. “Because this weekend, I’m taking you back to Hyvenmere.”