“Be wary,” she said to me with a knowing smile. “Siren men are shameless rakes who often see humans as conquests.” She stopped before Morvyn and me.
“Lumina,whateverdo you mean?” Morvyn said as he leaned an arm on the bookshelf, flexing his biceps with the motion.
“You Morvyn, of all sirens, knowexactlywhat I mean,” she said, looking up at him. Golden scales coruscated on the crests of her cheeks as she raised an eyebrow.
“Lumi, love, are you jealous of my conquests? If you wanted to be one of them all you ever had to do was ask.” He reached out and tucked a brunet braid behind her ear. She leaned toward him in familiarity, but she still rolled her beautiful brown eyes for show.
“See? Shameless,” she said to me. “You must be the human visitor all of Naiadon is speaking of. I’m happy to meet you. I have so many questions.”
Anxiety fluttered in my chest. Questions?
Morvyn retreated to the couches. “Careful how you answer, Elowyn, or you will be stuck answering herquestionsfor the next millennium while she scribbles them down.”
“I’m sure she would prefer that then being flirted to death. Besides, we haven’t had a terra woman down here in a while. Much has likely changed on land,” Lumina answered.
Did that mean there had been others before me?
“Terra.” The new word rolled clumsily off my tongue. “I’ve never heard that word before.”
“Terra, like the Guardian Terragos,” she answered. “You and your people are his children, as we are Nymphaea’s.” Her words were warm but matter-of-fact. “Nixie told me about your prayer beads for the Holy Mother, how they granted you breath under the sea. We call it a ventus, an invoked gift blessed with siren magic to allow you in our domain.” I hid the piece behind my back. If it was magic, like they said, it might be my only way out of here.
“Where did you get such an item?” she asked, her eyes quizzical. She looked at me as though I was some strange phenomenon she was tryingto figure out. She was so beautiful; it was almost hard to look at her. Like her bright eyes would shine a light on every secret you ever held.
“It is a prayer bracelet, used to recite prayers,” I answered. “It belonged to my mother.”
“I’m familiar with prayer beads, but I’ve never known them to be invoked. Interesting. Well, I’m glad you had it. It likely saved your life. Now you’re safe here with us.”
Safe wasn’t exactly how I’d describe being a prisoner among mythical creatures that hated my father.
“Nixie believes Nymphaea herself saved you,” Lumina added.
“Some of us are morespiritualthan others,” Morvyn said as he flipped through a book.
“Can you even read, Morvyn?” Lumina said. “Sirens are made in the great Mother’s image, after all. How could we not believe in her wonder?” She pointed down to her long, slender, finned feet, scintillant in gold.
I looked at her in awe, struggling to pull my eyes away.
“Have you taken her to the treasury?” Lumina asked Morvyn.
“That’s what I was thinking next. Will you join us? You know all about that old stuff.”
Lumina shook her head, “Your grandsire found half those relics and gifted them to King Aegir the Great. We get it, you’re another ignorant wellborn, but at least pretend like you know something of your dynastic history.” She looked back to me. “Thank goodness I’m here to rescue you from pure and utter brain rot,” Lumina said with a smile.
“We were having a lovely time before you arrived, for your information.” Morvyn sounded insulted.
“Of course we were,” I said, then shook my head no at Lumina in jest.
She smiled softly. Despite her otherworldly beauty that told me to be wary, I liked her.
“To the treasury then,” Lumina said, and turned for the stairs.
Morvyn followed, as did I.
Then I saw it.
Out of the corner of my eye, on the second level of the mezzanine, hidden in one of the towering bookshelves, a faint blue gleam like a sapphire star twinkling in a dusky sky. Was I imagining it? It seemed like the more I looked at it, the brighter that light became.
Then a sharp clamor rang through the library, like blackbirds calling to one another in a garden.
