“After you bathe and dress, we’ll go to Hylostogether.”
“What are you?” I asked, finally meeting her light, gray-pink eyes.
“I should have started with that,” she said coolly. “We’re children of Nymphaea.” She pointed to mother’s prayer beads. “Sirens.”
I rushed my hand behind my back. “Sirens are fables for the overly religious,” I parroted Vega.
She looked down at herself, evidence I was very wrong.
The words of the old men at the Yule feast about sirens taking ships swam back to my mind.
Vega had dismissed them, but it seemed they weren’t wrong in their accusation of who orwhatwas taking those ships. Who had also taken the ship I was on.
“And where are we?” I asked.
“Naiadon, the castle under the sea.”
The under the sea part was obvious.
“The men on the ship? Where are they?” I pressed.
“They’re here too, and safe. But Hylos will give you more details. Is there anything else you may need?”
“A way home for myself and the men you abducted would be lovely.Thanks.”
Her smile faltered. Good.
“You can speak with Hylos about that matter. For now, I’ll give you some time to freshen up.” Her tone was wounded as she started for the door.
“Nixie, that’s your name, is it?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“If anything happens to those men …” I started, but the threat rang hollow, even to my own ears. What could I really do? Either way, I let my eyes pierce into hers, a silent promise to fight back whatever way I could.
“You have my word. They will be safe. You as well,” she answered.
“What is the word of my jailer?”
“I didn’t know jailers kept their prisoners in their personal bedchambers,” she snapped back.
I looked around at the shades of rose that decorated the room beautifully. It clearly belonged to her.
“A cage is a cage no matter how lovely,” I quipped.
“And fear often forces us to remain behind bars. Even when the cage door swings open. I’ll be back within the hour to fetch you for breakfast.” Then she dipped her head in farewell and left.
I followed the sound of rushing water, startled to see a ball of liquid swirling and steaming in the air, pouring itself out into a clawfoot bathtub in the middle of the room. Was it safe? Licks of steam unfurled as my muscles begged for relief. Did I care?
Out of my robe, I climbed into the long tub, likely meant to accommodate those long flippers. Fins. Whatever they were that the woman possessed.
I sank into the bath, soaking up to my nose in the exquisite heat as my mind sped. Sirens were real. Not just fables or cautionary tales but living beings in the ocean’s depths. I racked my mind for any morsel of information from the sacred prayers about their existence while running a thumb over Mother’s prayer beads.
I dunked the bracelet into the water, waiting for that strange blue glow to return. Nothing. I looked up to the glass ceiling, rays of sunlight beaming down, the swaying sea disorienting. Everything around me said land. But out there, it was clear there was nothing but sea.
I needed to find out how the bracelet worked if I wanted to escape back to the surface. I couldn’t even see the break of waves above. How deep was I? And what of the captain and his crew? Could they swim to the surface themselves without whatever magic my mother’s prayer beads possessed? My mind was working through the puzzle desperately.
But one piece didn’t fit anywhere at all. Why did my mother’s prayer beads have some sort of magical ability?
