“You have invited me this evening, knowing damn well who I was all along, and now I wish to hear what you have to say. Just like every other royal guest here.”
Even if I was about as royal as a blade of grass, gaining more knowledge was imperative. My plans for escape would need to be expedited, and themore I knew of the sirens, their plans, and their minds, the easier it would be for my father to stop them. If I could even get out of here alive.
“Fine.” Hylos relented. “Raylik, do not let her out of your sight.” He looked back to me. “I assume you have experience meeting with the elite?”
“Of course,” I scoffed. A lie.
“Good. Keep your wits about you and stay with Raylik. He will ensure your safety,” Hylos advised, searching my eyes for any sign of hesitation. But there was nothing more to say.
Chapter 20
Although strange-colored stares followed me, I walked calmly across the room filled with low-lying couches clustered in semicircles. Sirens lounged casually on them, audience to a lone siren woman who stood upon a bright-blue marble stage framed by two towering columns.
Her deep-violet curls cascading around her olive complexion, she sang exquisitely, eyes closed. The melody hung in the air, forming a vision above the sirens’ heads in dreamy pastels. I drew in a sharp breath at the shock of it. But the other guests did not look up or gawk. They merely refilled their chalices and continued with their conversations.
It was so beautiful and casual. Not at all where I’d envisioned the discussion of war to take place.
“Where would you recommend I sit?” I asked Raylik in a murmur, slowing my steps, waiting for his answer.
“Starwyrt Circle,” he rumbled over my shoulder, and nodded to a cluster of four fantastical creatures with bright-yellow hair and long, slender limbs that stretched under layers of prismatic fabric.
I looked up at him flatly.Seriously?
“Colorful sirens usually dwell closer to the surface. Starwyrt Circle has experience with humans, as they live so near to shore. They are kind, but talk too much,” he explained.
Fine.
I continued across the room. “Why did Lumina speak to Hylos in that manner?” I asked pointedly as we neared my targets. I looked back at him quickly to show that I wanted a true answer.
Raylik cut me a hard look, telling me this question was bold, but still he answered. “Because she cares for him deeply. That binds her to honesty.”
The pain in her eyes when Calypstra kissed him told me it was far more than care. She loved him.
We stood before the colorful females. “May I join you?” I asked, mustering all my polite sensibility.
Their violently cherry-colored eyes inspected me.
“Princess Elowyn Blackthorn, yes, please sit with us,” the nearest answered, her voice deep and relaxing with a slow, steady cadence. “We were discussing you after thatinterestingshow at the deipnon,” she continued.
“I’m sure,” I responded as I took a seat.
The ethereal being smiled knowingly as I sat beside her. “My name is Serenous, Leader of Starwyrt Circle. Although I am sure that kind Raylik of Mariscal Circle has already told you my origin.” She craned her lithe neck, encrusted in berry-colored twinkling scales. “Hello, Raylik,” she said to the watchdog standing a few steps behind me.
“I am Raylik of AquinCircle now,” he grunted.
“That is right. You have joined Hylos’s inner circle. Did you know Raylik’s father was a great warrior?” she said, leaning into me. I tried not to flinch at just how unnatural she looked. “But he lost all spirit when King Aegir defeated him. The last Circle to fall. That is what they call Mariscal Circle in whispers behind their backs.” She smirked. “But Raylik is a greater warrior than his sire. He thrives within the Circlehis father on his deathbed claimed to be his nemesis. The hard-headed brute never understood that your adversary should always be your closest acquaintance.”
I swallowed the dryness in my throat. This was my safest bet?
“Oh, interesting.” I lunged for the wine at the center, grabbing up a cup. I was going to need a drink.
“Together we are stronger,” Raylik grunted, looking straight ahead, unbothered by the forward conversation, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Indeed,” Serenous agreed. “Princess, this is my sister, Serfie.” She pointed to the siren who shared her couch, propped up on a satin pillow. “And my daughter, Siggy.” She nodded to the other, much younger and with a thick, yellow braid. She was pouting. Or perhaps that was just the look of her round face and full lips.
“It is lovely to meet you all. And please, call me Elowyn.”
“Because your father considers you a bastard?” Serenous asked plainly.
