Chapter 12
We descended the winding stairs, then turned down another lengthy hall made entirely of glass. It extended like a bridge over a vast, dipping ocean field. Sirens swam beneath, weaving through a forest of swaying sea grass, toiling in the gold-green strands. It was incredible.
“Many sirens live and work in the castle. Those below are tending to farms or fishing,” Lumina explained.
“Do they not need to breathe?” I asked.
“We take breath from the water as you do the air upon land.”
“Then why a castle if you can live out there?”
“Great question. Many of our kind do still live in the open sea.”
“Ew, just imagine,” Morvyn interjected.
“Some have their own homes, modest and grand, that are completely submerged. However, King Aegir built this castle, Naiadon. It was the first of its kind. Mirrored after the castles upon land. Today, the other noble families—we call them Circles—have created structures of their own to emulate this one. But Naiadon is the largest and most grand to date. Here, we are out of the ocean’s elements. ”
“Plus, we can have pretty guests, like you,” Morvyn added with a playful wink.
“I suppose there is some truth to that.” Lumina put a finger thoughtfully to her chin. “Many say King Aegir created this castle for his lover, Hylos’s mother.”
I surveyed the castle stretching into the distance, all stone and sparkling glass. Its peaks rising from the depths. All of this for love.
“Lumi, you make pickups sound so unsexy when you follow them with facts,” Morvyn said as we passed through a stone archway into a large rotunda. Its imposing stone dome looming above was supported by matching columns that divided various halls and chambers.
Sirens hurried in and out of the passages, each adorned in vivid hues. They moved through the other archways carrying large baskets, or wielding spears. All marched purposefully to their destinations. They were spellbinding.
My stomach flipped as extraordinary colored eyes flickered with curiosity in my direction. Their gazes quickly diverted when they recognized Lumina and Morvyn flanking me. Clearly my guides were important and feared.
“Don’t mind them,” Lumina said at my side. “They rarely see humans. They’re all far too busy preparing for the celebrations to be bothered, anyway.” Celebrations?
The crowd thinned as we turned down a narrow hallway lined with glowing orbs of water lights that cast dancing shadows on the walls.
At the end stood a towering, studded door.
Lumina waved her hand past it, and with an illustrious hum that radiated from her, water formed and spun out of her fingertips before swirling into a hole in the door, like a key in a lock.
The door clunked open, revealing a room filled with treasure.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight before me.
“Brilliant, isn’t it?” Morvyn said as he and Lumina entered.
Following him, I carefully avoided the piles of gold coins scattered about. Magnificent objects of all shapes and sizes topped short pillars that stood at intervals. Glinting crowns, tiaras, a necklace with black sapphires so large they could fill my palm. Riches filled every corner of the space.
“The treasury holds all of Naiadon’s greatest jewels,” Lumina declared, her voice resounding in the filled chamber.
Morvyn picked up a delicate tiara, its ornate details catching the light, and placed it on his head. “I call it Naiadon’s Hubris Hall. I swear Hylos has taken every girl he’s ever fancied at least once to show them the family jewels.” He elbowed Lumina, who didn’t laugh.
He snatched up a tarnished metal crown, spun to me, then placed it atop my head with care.
“Fit for a queen,” he smiled.
Balancing the weighty crown upon my head, I looked around. There was more opulence in this room than I had ever seen before.
“Did you take it from ships that you forced to crash, like the one I was on?” There was more bite in the accusation than anticipated.
Lumina’s forehead crinkled in concern. “Just like the library’s books, we’ve salvaged these items from the ocean floor. We aim to save and restore. Not take.”
“Yet here I am.” The snap of the statement was purposeful that time.
“You are the only one on that ship who was saved.” She looked at me squarely, a scowl carving her gentle mouth. “The rest being taken from the ship goes against everything I stand for.”
So she did not agree with her leader, then. Good to know.
Were there others like her who disagreed as well, and so openly?
But then my attention tore across the room when I spotted it. “Is that a virginal?”
I stepped over gold coins and jewels, drawn to it.
“Be careful,” Lumina urged me. “These relics are priceless.”
My eyes scanned the basic wooden instrument.
It wasn’t as nice as the one I’d played at Highthorn; it was far more simple, like the one I’d possessed at Granger House.
My fingers pressed into its simple wooden keys, awaiting that sweet sound I was craving among all this chaos.
A flat, clunky sound clanged instead. I frowned.
Morvyn bounded to my side. “What is it?”
“A virginal,” I said.
“A what?” His features twisted in confusion.
“A musical instrument.”
“Can you play it?”
“Yes, and well.”
He grinned at that. “Then we should have it brought out. It’s not doing any good hidden in here.” His webbed hands glided across the keys. They didn’t sing to his touch either.
“It’s broken,” I said.
He stuck out his bottom lip in a frown.
“What did you find?” Lumina called from her spot across the room.
“A virgin, quite rare in Naiadon!” Morvyn bellowed back.
“A virginal,” I corrected as we waded through the wealth back to Lumina.
“Ah, do you like music?” Lumina brightened a bit with the question.
“Yes, very much.”
“Please don’t get Lumina started on the topic of music or we’ll be here for hours,” Morvyn said, walking out the door.
“Music is the world’s gift from Nymphaea,” she said, following Morvyn.
I looked back longingly at the virginal, yearning to lose myself in its keys, but followed Lumina and Morvyn instead.
“Every siren has their own unique song that manipulates water in a brilliant way. Despite all the studies of siren scholars, there is no clear rhyme or reason why our songs all differ. One day I wish to figure it out. But, the most brilliant part—”
“Told you not to get her started,” Morvyn sneered.
“The most brilliant part,” she repeated, her words measured and deliberate, “is that every living creature, from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the sky, possesses a melody, a song that echoes through space and time. Even long past one’s life.
Though you may not realize it, humans even hum at their own frequency.
Yet, sirens alone possess the ability to channel and refine their songs.
We can weave our melodies into the very fabric of existence and manipulate water through it. ”
“We get it. Sirens are awesome. I could have told you that,” Morvyn said with a lecherous smile. A clanging tune echoed through the chamber. With a dismissive wave of Lumina’s hand, water surged against the heavy door, slamming it shut behind us.
Lumina shot Morvyn a sharp glance. “It’s not that we are simply great. Many creatures are great. Look at humans, for example. It’s that we are … well, we’re simply magical. We take an element of this world and through sound and beauty, we change it,” she finished.
It was astounding, their ability to harness such immense power with sound alone.
Water bowed to their commands with a tone and a flick of their wrists.
But it was also horrific. Water could be gentle as baths or summer showers.
Yet waves could swallow metropolises whole, and rivers could carve through stone with time.
Being able to harness the power of water and the minds of men meant sirens were unthinkably powerful.
What damage could they do to Oakhaven? What chance did my father’s subjects have against them?
We walked back into the large room, but now the clusters of sirens had paused and the sound of clashing metal crashed.
“That must be Hylos practicing,” Morvyn exclaimed. “We’ve got to see this! He’ll put on a show with all these spectators.”
We wove through the tightly packed crowd, my stomach churning as sirens surrounded me.
We passed through an archway that opened into a vast, globe-like glass room, a pool shimmering at its center. Arms of all types hung on weapon stands, sharp metal gleaming.
Clang. Hylos intercepted Raylik’s relentless blows as his muscles rippled beneath his pale-blue flesh. Each clash echoed with raw power as steel met steel. Blow for blow, Hylos held his ground, but he was struggling to gain an advantage.
They were both skilled fighters, but Raylik was clearly physically stronger.
On the other side of the room, Calypstra sat on a velvet chair, uninterested. Her legs were crossed, exposing her strong-lined hamstrings under her short, sheer black dress. Over her shoulder, in the sea behind the crystal barrier, were three deathly pale creatures, nearly transparent.
Their hair bobbed like black streamers as they gaped blankly, exposing sharp teeth too big for their mouths.
“What are those things?” I asked Lumina at my side. Goose pimples pebbled my arms. They were revolting.
“Deep-sea sirens. They’re a breed apart from us. They come from a depth we call the Midnight Realm.”
“Why are they here?” I asked.
“To carry out Calypstra’s bidding,” Lumina replied with a hint of concern. “Calypstra hails from a Circle located there.”
My throat tightened.
Raylik unleashed another thunderous blow from above that caused Hylos to lose his footing. A fleeting hint of wounded pride worked in the ruler’s jaw. Hylos tossed his sword aside, a cocky grin stretching across his face.
“We are meant to work on your swordcraft.” Raylik groused.