Chapter 1 #2
Even if he was someone I sent the message to, if he was going to be an ass, he needed to be taught a lesson.
My mask of neutral sweetness fractured. The water flowing endlessly behind me burbled with a furious energy that matched my own.
“Go to Mourner Hell,” I snapped, shoving my hand towards him.
The fountain’s vengeful song went silent as it heeded my plea and bent to my will, just like when I used to manipulate the currents in the ocean.
A torrential stream burst out of the pool and shot straight towards him.
Nameless Asshole smoothly turned at an angle so that the stream flew past him and drenched an elderly woman in the crowd.
The power of the water nearly knocked her off her feet, and she shrieked at her husband and the servants and guards nearby to do something, to throw me out of the party.
“Well, this couldn’t get worse, could it?” The man chuckled and took another drag of his cigarette, releasing a cloud of fragrant smoke into the air that made my eyes and throat burn.
Before I could refocus my energy on a second attack at his stupid face, another stranger effortlessly stepped between us. The buzz of the party seemed to hush.
“Evening,” he said to me.
A breath escaped my lips.
A Druinn.
Telltale pointed ears, significantly longer than mine, were plain to see beneath his dark, cropped hair.
His clothing appeared to be more like light padded armor, colored the deep green of a kelp forest and embroidered with golden threads that ran through the thick fabric like rivers.
It complimented his dark skin beautifully.
A leather strap lay across his chest. I imagined it was some kind of weapon holster on his back. But it must be empty; there was no way the Humans would allow a Druinn to hold weapons at an event like this, even if only a few had been invited in the name of “neighborly accord.”
The Druinn offered his hands to me, helping me out of the fountain with no trouble.
“T-thank you,” I said, attempting to keep some semblance of poise.
“Of course. We non-Humans have to stick together.” He cast a glare at the servants who had begun to approach us, sending them scurrying away like minnows from a shark.
A victorious smile played on his lips. “Hm, all this party is missing is one of the Mourners, and we'd have a representative from all four nations here.”
He was right, but a Mourner in the Human country of Arvensis was nearly as ridiculous as a Siren out of water.
The reclusive, demonic guardians of the entrance of Hell lived on an island somewhere in the middle of the ocean, and I didn't think anyone had even seen one in hundreds of years. Just like my people, aside from me.
I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster. “Well, if you see one, let me know so I can avoid them.”
“Right.” That mysterious grin widened, revealing perfect teeth I half expected to be sharp like a barracuda’s. “Ah, looks like the bastard that pushed you took off.”
Nameless Asshole had indeed disappeared. I couldn't even find a flash of his black hair in the crowd.
Good riddance.
The Druinn gave me a bow. “General Shaddan Akshar, head of the Second Army of Terrakor.”
“Oh, the Humans allowed Druinns to retain their armies? That's surprising.”
Shaddan hummed, amber eyes glowing like the bubbly champagne carried by a servant that hurried past us. There was a hint of mischief and conspiracy in his voice as he leaned closer to whisper, “Well, what the Humans don't know won't hurt them. Not right away, at least.”
I met his grin with one of my own, but even a shared hatred of Humans wouldn't bring me to trust this stranger. Not yet. I gave him an awkward curtsy thanks to my chafing gown. “Zephra Yukaris of the Abyssal Deep.”
“I'll admit, Zephra, I'm curious…What in the Mourner Hell is a Siren doing here, of all places?”
I grimaced. An accurately detailed answer about why I was in Arvensis would probably require a great length of time and stronger alcohol than could be found at this silly party.
My eyes roved around the room to the ridiculous grandeur of the white pillars, the velvet-carpeted staircase leading to the second floor, and the gaudy golden decorations.
Shaddan probably despised the extravagance they demonstrated as much as I did.
“Well, you see, General, I entertain at Nightwhisper, but the Circle of Gold paid for me to perform my services here tonight.” As usual, I spat my sad truths with a smile.
“Oh… They paid for you to sing here? Would you sing the Song of the Void?”
My heart jumped out of my chest. Now this—this made more sense. Surely a Druinn would help me escape in exchange for information that could lead to enough power to make the Humans pay for their misdeeds. Maybe the plot brewing behind Shaddan’s eyes was the same as mine.
Destroy them all.
I silently thanked Jereq for actually doing what I paid him for and apologized for all the times I thought he was nothing but a lazy skirt chaser.
Unfortunately, those servants who scattered at Shaddan’s behest had sent guards in their place to reprimand me. One, who held his polished helm beneath his arm, took the lead. “Siren, I’m going to need you to come with me.”
“Come now,” Shaddan interrupted. “No need to haul her away for an honest mistake. Sometimes the magic that runs through us non-Humans’ veins tends to be…tricky to control.”
He put his left hand behind his back and clenched it into a fist. The helm under the guard’s arm crushed in on itself and clattered to the ground in a rain of golden shards, as if an invisible metal press had squashed it with a ridiculous amount of weight.
The Human guard stuttered and stared wide-eyed at his ruined helmet while Shaddan merely shook his head at his right hand as if it had betrayed him.
“Oops.”
“Y-you were warned not to use your magic while here!” the guard stammered, drawing his sword with a grate of steel. More metallic scraping followed soon after as the rest of the guards did the same. One pointed his rifle right at Shaddan’s head.
“Relax. Nobody died,” Shaddan hissed, dropping the air of a well-bred gentleman for one of a wrathful soldier. “Put your toys away.”
With an almost imperceptible twitch of his finger, Shaddan’s magic seized control of the weapons brandished in his direction, ripping them out of the guards’ hands to float in the air.
The blades turned towards the Humans of their own accord—or rather, Shaddan’s accord—and I almost expected to see them drive themselves into the guards’ bodies.
That was how I heard the Druinns nearly won the war, with how easily they could take control of anything metal.
Until the mysterious hero known as the Timebreaker came along to ruin everything.
But Shaddan was merciful, and instead forced the swords back into their sheaths, sending the guards staggering at the sudden awkward impact at their belts.
With a tilt of the general’s head, every piece of metal in the room quivered with energy.
The silver cutlery, the ladies’ jewelry, and even the golden chandelier high above heeded his power, in the same manner the water obeyed me.
“Not to worry. After I’ve had a word with the Siren, I’ll leave.” Shaddan gave them a fake, friendly smile.
The guards barely hid their relief behind shaky nods, and the magic that laced the air dissipated.
Everyone attempted to return to their own business as the guards herded the seething elderly woman I had accidentally splashed into a side room.
They seemed to prefer her curses over being stabbed with their own swords or having their metal armor crush them like grapes.
“Fucking Humans,” Shaddan muttered.
One of my favorite phrases.
He slowly retrieved a golden ring, the size of a bracelet or choker, from his pocket.
“I should tell you, Zephra, I ran into your friend again today. The one that gave me the message from you. It took some…persuasion…but he divulged a bit more than your cryptic note. And he mentioned you are the final, most important piece of the puzzle that leads to the Voidtome.”
The air iced over, far colder than the fountain water.
My skin rippled with numbness that made my fingers tremble.
I went to step backwards away from him, but he seized my wrist faster than a shark after its prey.
My cry died in my throat when he began to murmur words in a language I didn’t recognize.
A chant of some kind. Darkness curled around the edges of my vision.
Cold metal clamped in a tight circle around my neck and a brassy tang swept through the air. It threw me off balance, alarm blooming in my chest at the metal ring that disappeared from his palm to manifest around my neck. No hinge or clasp.
Shaddan at least had the decency to glance my way, not a trace of pity or regret in his battle-hardened gaze.
“I don’t give a damn about you and your freedom, Siren. If I have to drag you to Hell with me to get my people their retribution, then so be it.”