Chapter 15
Ihad no idea what I was expecting when Hush originally said the words “mating ritual” back at the Sun Bean, but it wasn’t this.
About thirty minutes after the court cleared out, someone produced cushioned stools for the three of us to sit on.
All I could think in the moment was, what a great place to start getting cramps, because of course, I would start to cramp during this whole experience.
There was no backrest, and the ottoman was just small enough for a butt to sit on.
I couldn’t even sit crisscross apple sauce.
Was I really expected to just sit on this for an hour? Or however long this ritual would last?
Liam originally moved to sit next to the king, but Caelena quickly cleared her throat and tapped the ottoman next to her, which would place him right between Audrey and Caelena.
Which left me sitting right next to King Ilia.
I immediately tried to fidget less on the ottoman. I didn’t want him getting offended and sending his men back to kidnap me in the human realm again. I wanted to end this one-sided beef once and for all. Being cordial was the way to go.
“Do you know much about our culture, Van?” Ilia asked. Part of me liked that he didn’t use my full name. I liked the respect a full name provided, like when Drew used it, and one thing was for sure: I did not want respect from someone like Ilia.
“I know little to nothing about your culture,” I replied.
“Oh?” He lifted a blond eyebrow at me, shifting in his seat to rest his fist on his cheek. “I’m sure your friends have informed you of their…perspectives.” He grinned, and I blinked at him because of how similar his son had grinned at me moments earlier.
His son, who had disappeared somewhere.
I lifted an eyebrow at the king before shrugging. “I know that sirens like to keep to themselves, which is fair.” His eyebrows rose at that, surprised. “And…that sirens are shapeshifters.”
“True.” Ilia nodded.
“And…that’s pretty much it.”
He chuckled. “I’m surprised you know so little.”
“That’s funny.” I gave him an unimpressed look. “Because I’m surprised to know about this realm at all.”
I locked eyes with him.
It was his fault I was here. If he hadn’t sent his men to kidnap me that night, Audrey wouldn’t have had to intervene. I would have never met Liam. I would have never discovered her magical powers. I would not be slowly dipping my feet into this otherworldly culture.
If Ilia was upset that a human was traipsing around Hyvenmere, he needed to look in the mirror, for exposing his realm to me in the first place. Ilia gave me a narrow-eyed look, clearly not liking the confrontation I was giving him.
Perhaps I needed to back off, so I adjusted my uncomfortable seat on this cushion and added, “I’m grateful to learn what I can, though.” The fine lines around his eyes relaxed at that, and he settled back in his seat.
“Do you know why we like to, as you said, keep to ourselves?” Ilia asked, staring at the staff setting up the room for the ritual that may or may not be an orgy.
I could feel Audrey listening intently to our conversation, and even though I didn’t know much about things in this realm, I figured now was my time to get Ilia yapping.
In the corner of my eye, I noticed Caelena grasp Liam’s hand and pull him to a standing position, before leading him through a door near the back of the dais.
Leaving Audrey and me with King Ilia.
“I do not,” I replied. Cordial. Pliant.
“Sirens are safer together.” Ilia lifted an ankle to rest on his opposite knee as he spoke, the posture of an underwhelming man about to weaponize a woman’s silence so he had an excuse to hear his own voice.
“Our magic is more connected between our people, unlike other creatures, such as the fae, for example. Sirens rely on each other to truly thrive.” He turned his head toward us, rubbing his white beard in thought.
“The larger the number of sirens that are together in proximity, the stronger our magic and, therefore, our people, are.”
This was interesting.
I didn’t love the fact that he was offering me this information freely, because why would he feel so comfortable doing so? Unless he wasn’t intending for us to leave with it.
“Strength in numbers, and all that,” I added, not wanting to add my opinion one way or the other.
“Precisely.” Ilia smiled at me, showing off the fine wrinkles in his cheeks and eyes. Though his smile looked more like a threat than anything, “But there is a condition, as the Goddess Tynara demands of all things.”
I nodded, pretending to be fully aware of all things goddess in Hyvenmere.
“The goddess who used to live in the Fjellenheim Mountains,” I added.
“The goddess of nature, balance, justice, and prosperity,” Ilia continued.
“This is why the siren’s main settlement is the closest to the Fjellenheim Mountains.
To protect Tynara’s home from those who seek to bring imbalance and pain to Hyvenmere.
The siren who sits on this very throne…” He tapped his knuckles on the arm of it.
“…is also considered the guardian of the Fjellenheim Mountains. The last known spot she resided before she considered Hyvenmerians mature enough to look after this continent ourselves. Before she trusted us enough to look after the continent. However, the siren on the throne is only as strong as his people allow him to be.”
I nodded in thought, absorbing his words.
As flowery as his story was, all I seemed to take from it was that as long as Ilia’s people stayed close to him in the city of Lydhavn, then he would be considered strong enough to guard his people and the mountains.
Or, if he was simply a bad person like I suspected, strong enough to be a threat to other territories.
Which was probably difficult to do when the women of your territory were being hunted down.
“It sounds like an honor to be in that position,” I said.
Ilia slid his gold, suspicious eyes over to me. Clearly, I hadn’t quite won him over, yet.
“It is.” Ilia nodded once with his agreement. “Do you understand then, why I would be hesitant to allow your kind to roam so freely in our realm?”
“I do,” I agreed. Ilia hadn’t been expecting that answer. He narrowed his eyes at me.
“You understand why I’m cautious of humans like you.
” Ilia’s words dripped with derision as he gave me a once-over.
“Coming into my realm, into my city, making yourself at home during one of our most sacred rituals of the season, whereas the number of missing females and children in my territory only seems to rise.”
My face fell from his words. Where were they? What was happening to them?
“I understand your concern.” I tried to lace as much sympathy in my voice as I could, but Ilia—based on his own expression—wasn’t buying it. “I don’t want to be rude, but I can leave right now if you’d feel safer.”
That, unfortunately, was the wrong thing to say.
I only realized it a moment too late.
“I do not feel unsafe by your presence, human.” Ilia’s lip curled with his words. “Do not be ridiculous.” Right. Insinuating he felt unsafe probably made him feel weak. Pathetic. Because not only was I a human, but I was a human female, as he would refer to me.
Men like Ilia wouldn’t tolerate anything suggesting he wasn’t the biggest, baddest, and strongest in the realm. This was why Audrey’s existence was enough of a threat to him at this point.
Off to the side, a small orchestra was set up and ready to go. Ilia lifted his sleeve to check the time on his watch, and soon the doors to the court opened. The sun was setting, filling the large marble room with oranges and pinks and warm light. Entering, I assumed, were the soldiers from before.
And a lot more sirens.
Everyone was dressed the same; variations of whites, tans, creams, and linens.
Gold, shimmering jewelry. Dresses, floor-length skirts, pants, and capris.
Some wore cropped shirts and others wore baggy long-sleeved tops.
Everyone wore clothing that they were comfortable in.
The only similarity was the bland, monotonous color choice.
Sirens of all shapes, sizes, and colors got the same dress code.
Everyone filed in right when Ilia’s staff finished setting up a table on the left side, against all the open pillars that displayed the sunset over the glistening lake, facing the mountains in the not-so-far distance.
The table was covered in food and appetizers.
Some vegetables and fruits looked familiar; others were unrecognizable to me.
“You good?” Audrey asked me on my right. I glanced at her and nodded, not wanting to look nervous in front of Ilia.
The band started to play, and I struggled to not tap a finger to the beat. No one said a word. There must have been at least three hundred sirens in this large room, and no one was speaking. They were snacking, standing with friends, and…just chilling.
The music shifted after a few minutes of silence; a beat started to thump heavily.
I found myself studying the faces of the blonde women more and more. The blonde women with pale skin tones, specifically.
Movement from the side caught my eye, and when I turned to see if Liam and Caelena returned, instead I locked eyes with the siren prince, and frowned.
“Nice of you to join us.” Ilia sighed in annoyance as his son smirked. Drustan pulled half of his hair away from his face to tie it back as he approached us.
I knew, deep in my soul, that Drustan was doing it to show off the bare muscles in his arms and chest. Because he was wearing even less clothing now.
No billowy shirt, only a small cream-colored corset, a size or two too small for his massive torso.
His gold navel ring dangled with a green jewel, and because of how small his corset was, I could see another gold hoop through one of his nipples.
A gold septum ring adorned his nose, as well as many gold studs and piercings in either of his pointed ears.