“It’s for dramatic effect. I make for a much more tragic ghost that way, I think.”
“Not that.” He loosely wrapped the rope around and tied a knot that could be easily undone. “I mean you going in there all by yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself. Drosselmeyer will be right behind me.”
“I still don’t know why I couldn’t go.”
“Because you’re not a wizard.” She kissed his cheek. “But I promise that next time I go into a cave to frighten the wits out of a smuggler and attempted murderer, you can go with me.”
“There better not be a next time,” he growled, holding her captive for a moment longer before letting her go.
Sienna and Drosselmeyer crept toward the entrance of the cave, where Doryss was standing guard. He was singing, using his magic to clear a path through the water to the cave. His eyes widened with shock and fear when he saw the two figures approaching. “Sienna?”
The water started rushing back along its natural course as soon as he stopped singing, and he hastily took his song back up. Sienna held his eyes as she walked up to him.
“I’m going to ask you some yes or no questions. Are you ready?”
He nodded.
“Did you think I was dead?”
Another nod.
“Were you pleased with this information?”
He shook his head violently.
“Do you like working for Erik?”
He shook again.
“Does he use Devri to make you stay?”
Doryss’ eyes widened again and began to water with tears. He nodded.
“Alright,” Sienna patted him on the shoulder, the action a little awkward with her hands bound. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Keep singing and pretending everything is normal, and then when Erik and his friends are caught, you are going to have a nice, long chat with your sister. And possibly Drosselmeyer.”
The Siren nodded.
Sienna squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Drosselmeyer looked down at her. “Are you ready?”
“You have no idea.”
She checked the cave first to ensure there was no one on their way out, before ducking over and quickly stepping through. A strange chill overtook her as she straightened in the cave, in the very place where less than a few hours before she had been sure she would die. It was dimly lit, and she could just barely make out the message to Jem and Casper that she had scratched into the wall. Voices echoed down the passage from deeper in the cave.
The sound of labored breathing and someone dragging something heavy prompted her into action. She stood, still as a statue, just in front of the entrance. She fixed her face into a vacant expression, letting her eyes unfocus.
Erik’s back appeared first, and then the rest of him as he carefully maneuvered a crate onto the cave floor. He turned around, jumping and going still and pale in shock when he registered Sienna.
She tilted her head just slightly and intoned, “Hello, Erik.”
The elf shrieked like a terrified little girl, then fell to the floor in a dead faint.
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t just send me a message,” Daland said for the twentieth time as Sienna filled him in on the details of the week. They were sitting in front of the fire with Drosselmeyer and Casper, enjoying a quiet cup of tea as the story unfolded.
“Because there was no way of reaching you,” Sienna answered patiently. “And besides, you knew there was danger—that’s why you wanted to leave Casper here.”
“I left him here because I hoped that maybe he would get you to stop mooning over that blasted elf,” Daland muttered darkly.
