“And your people are upset with the Siren King for not being able to find them,” I concluded.
“Which he is responding to by alluding that the halflings, like Audrey, must be the reason for the missing sirens. The uptick in missing reports escalated right when halflings started coming and going into our realm as they pleased.”
I raised my brows at that. “What? No way.” I turned to Audrey, who nodded her head. “The Siren King thinks you’re just wandering in and kidnapping his people?”
“Yes, which is another reason why he probably doesn’t want to entertain the idea thatI’mthe Chosen One—not that I’m entirely convinced that I am.”
“Which is also why the Siren King has been strongly advocating with the fae and nereids for the Mellhawn Gates to permanently close,” Hush added.
I shook my head and tried to summarize, “Instead of entertaining the idea that the Siren King might not be as grand as he thought he was.” Liam smirked at my simplified explanation. “He’s blaming Audrey and the other halflings for his large number of missing persons, and advocating for the gates to close, cutting off Audrey and the other halflings from half of their lineage forever.”
“That’s about it,” Audrey replied in a bored tone.
“Audrey is powerful,” Hush added, staring at my friend thoughtfully. “She has the common fae gift of manipulating horticulture, and a common siren gift of healing. If she happens to develop a third commonly nereid gift, that identifies the threemain territories of Hyvenmere. I, personally, wouldn’t need any more convincing that it’s Audrey who was meant to unite our realm.”
Damn. Uniting an entire realm could not have been an easy feat, which explained Audrey’s reluctance to accept the role. The responsibility was heavy, and when I glanced at her, I could practically see her shoulders sag with the weight of it.
“I never kill anything…” Audrey murmured. “I’ve never been put in a position where I needed—” She cut herself off, flicking her hazel gaze up at me. I shook my head at her, knowing why she did.Ihad been put in that position at too young an age. But now was not the time to talk about it. It was the past.
“But the gates haven’t been closed yet…” I changed the subject, looking back at Hush and Liam. They both shook their heads.
“Ilia has yet to convince the fae and nereids,” Hush replied.
“Why do they want them open? Beyond just being decent people.” I asked. Audrey smirked, and something flared in her eyes as she looked at me. I narrowed mine back at her, wondering what sparked the mischievousness.
“The fae and nereids have seen success with human—or halfling—inclusive mating bonds,” Audrey replied. It was my turn to roll my eyes.
“Okay, gross.” I shook my head and ignored Hush’s confused look. “So basically the only reason Liam’s sister and the people with gills want to keep the gates open is just that they want the opportunity to fuck humans.”
“Why does that disturb you?” Hush asked.
“It’s not just about sex, Van,” Liam chimed in. “It’s about compatibility. The opportunity to start families with fewer obstacles. Hyvenmerian mating bonds had been forming less and less over the last several hundred years—until about thirty years ago. There was a subtle rise in mating bonds snappinginto place.” The way he talked about mating bonds made it seem like they were this tangible, physical tie between people, not just hormones. “Then, when halflings started to wander back into Hyvenmere, several of them formed mating bonds with fae and nereids. It’s a joyous time now, after a very dark one, and if we can keep the gates open and allow more Hyvenmerians to find their partners, why wouldn’t we do that?”
I nodded. It sounded like creating a mating bond was the equivalent of getting married. Something to be respected. I tipped my head back and forth as I thought about it.
“The Siren King just doesn’t give a shit about that? He doesn’t care if his people find their—um—” I stuttered over the wording, but Hush filled it in.
“Mates. There has been no siren on record who has formed a mating bond with anyone with human DNA. So, to Ilia, and a large amount of his people, there is not much to lose by shutting the gates to the human realm.”
“I guess that means we just gotta match a siren up to a willing halfling.” I held two thumbs up, mostly joking at the simplicity of my suggestion. “And help Audrey with her new role as Hyvenmere’s Hero.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her with jest, but Audrey smiled at me back, looking like she was about to be sick. I immediately walked over and sat on the arm of the loveseat next to her.
“Easier said than done,” Audrey sighed. “I still don’t know if I’m totally convinced…but I did justdefeat, you know…” She let her sentence go unfinished as she leaned back against the loveseat. “This is basically going to be a nightmare once word gets out of what I did.”
“The good news is, my sweet little halfling…” I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her close, wrapping her up completely in my arms while she struggled to free herself. “Is that you havemenow.”
Hush tipped her head to the side as Audrey finally freed herself and asked, “What do you do?”
I shrugged and replied, “I’ll be the Robin to her Batman.” Hush just looked more confused. “But even less cool because I wasn’t raised in the circus.” I looked down at Audrey, nudging her arm with mine. “You can tell me about all of this now. I can be a listening ear and be waiting with a warm cup of coffee when the stress of being the Chosen One becomes too much. Hell, I can even go with you if?—”
“You will?” Audrey sat up, eyebrows raised. I hesitated before lifting a shoulder to act like my suggestion was no big deal.
“I’m not going to lie. I was really freaked out when I woke up in Hyvenmere the other day,” I said, ignoring Hush’s curious glances between us. “But I’ve had time to absorb…all this. Hell, because ofyou, we survived getting attacked by a dragon last night, and I was able to come into work as if everything was normal today.”
“You were attacked by a solvyrn,” Liam corrected.
“Oh my god, who the hell cares?” I shook my head at him and addressed Audrey, “All that to say, I want to help. Even though I don’t have cool powers or anything, I still want to support you.” I was also dying to see if I heard that distant melody as soon as I set foot in Hyvenmere again, but Audrey didn’t need to know that or be concerned that her friend was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.
That just seemed so unimportant in comparison to being a Chosen One destined to unite a whole ass secret magical realm.
