“Who are you?” Asta tried to hide the waver in her voice.
The woman shook her head and laid a palm on her throat.
Asta barked at the woman. “What are these beasts? What do you want with me?”
Again, the woman shook her head, caressing her neck once more before pointing to her ears, which Asta now observed were delicately pointed at the helix.
It was as if fate had guided Asta to this moment, prepared her all her life for the skills she needed for whatever situation was unfolding before her. A puzzle piece in Asta’s brain locked into place as she held her hands out in front of her and signed to the woman. “Can you understand this?”
The crowned female nodded.
She signed again. “Who are you?”
The woman signed back. “Queen Arielle. Leader of the Ventarin sirens and empress of the Northern Seas.”
Asta couldn’t stop her jaw from swinging open like a gasping fish out of water. This female, the one who bore the same eyes as Kaid, was the empress of their ocean. Queen Arielle’s eyesglimmered at Asta’s reaction, which reminded the princess to collect her composure once more.
Asta asked even though she knew the answer. “Are you Kaid’s mother?”
The empress nodded, her deep pink lips forming a flat line. The two massive water beasts circled around them. Asta took a step forward with the intent of forming a little more distance between the eerie creatures and herself, but it only pushed her closer toward the queen, which also made her hesitant.
“Can you tell me where he is?” Asta signed.
Queen Arielle again nodded, and began signing hurriedly.
She told Asta the story of Kaid being sent into hiding, how she had been born deaf but with a beautiful voice and gave up her siren song in an agreement with Euphemia, Knud, and Gylla—the water goddess, god of love, and goddess of afterlife—in order to keep Kaid masked and protected. She hadn’t realized that giving up the song meant giving up her voice altogether, until it was too late. Kaid was supposed to only return to the sea once the empress had found a way to put a stop to Queen Yrsa’s assassination attempts, but he had touched the water before she was ready for him and broken his protection spell.
Asta covered her mouth with her hand.Shehad forced Kaid to touch the sea.Shewas the reason he had been abducted. If it wasn’t for her silly little prank, Kaid would still be safe.Regret washed over her as quickly as the frigid waves washed over her bare legs.
Queen Arielle continued, ignoring Asta’s reaction. She explained the finfolk queen’s intentions, wanting to turn humans into their chattel once more. But the empress could not understand why they took her lost prince captive instead of killing him, could not understand what more they could want from him besides his death. The empress was not sure what the finfolk were planning, but she knew they were overfeedingto gain strength. They were also over-producing to create more spies and soldiers, just as Maren had been, but abandoning any offspring they didn’t deem worthy of finfolk lineage. Nature had been attempting to balance the sudden overpopulation by creating more beings like Arielle—clean souls.
Asta rubbed her temples, needing a moment to process everything. Kaid was the lost prince of the sirens, taken by the rival finfolk who wished to restore chaos amongst humans. They must have been the reason for her missing villagers and rising orphan population. At least she had gotten some answers out of this, but still no solutions.
Asta’s head was filled with so many questions but for some reason, the only question Asta could manage to sign was probably the least important at the moment. “What are these water beasts?” she gestured to the dragons.
The empress of the Northern Seas looked upon the circling reptiles. “They are water dragons, an extremely rare shifting ability that can be gifted to a siren from Absolon himself. Before this pair came to life, the last known water dragon had died about two centuries ago. I think, however, you may recognize these water dragons as a familiar set of twins you’ve befriended.”
Asta stared into the purple eyes of the dragons patrolling them. The green one playfully dipped its fins into the water as it passed, while the red one kept an eye on the royals between them and the other on the surrounding waters. They were Tova and Liva.
“Why have they been in the castle for years?” Asta asked.
Arielle grinned. “We discovered a tidbit of information implying that an ancient siren artifact was within the Orntali castle, and the twins accepted the assignment to locate the item. They have been searching to obtain the relic for years.”
It was all too much for Asta. Until a few days ago, these creatures had been folklore. A storybook of myths passed downthrough generations. Something imaginary that she had listened to Niklas drone on about time after time. But, no—they were real. And now a subspecies of them threatened the people of her kingdom.
Once more, Asta turned her gaze to the empress who was basking on a rock. Queen Arielle gave her first full-toothed smile, and Asta’s stomach turned at the sight of her elongated, disturbingly sharp fangs.
The blonde princess paced in the water, the splashing waves and screeching gulls fading as she was deep in thought. She could rally the royal army, have them guard the border. Maybe they could stop the slaughter of her villagers.
That wouldn’t work. Not against the dizzying screech of the finfolk. Not against the preternatural strength of them. Not against the half-breeds who had the ability to come on land and drag the men right into the water, like Maren could. The odds were not in the humans’ favor. Not while the finfolk were so strong. Not while they had leaders like Maren and soldiers like Svanhild.
The memories of growing up with Maren flooded Asta’s mind. The games of hide-and-seek they played in the castle. The hidden laughter during formal dinners. The siren game they used to play in the waves. It had all been a lie, and it gutted Asta. She had thought they were growing apart these last few years because of their differences as they matured, not because Maren was living a double life. It made sense now, why everything had changed when Svanhild was hired as her sister’s lady-in-waiting. She was one of her royal subjects, her finfolk heritage secretly taking precedence over her human lineage. Rage roiled throughAsta. She hated her sister, and she would tell her as much when she found Kaid.
“How do I find him?” Asta signed to the empress. She would send out more rescue fleets, and she would join their ranks if she had to.
Queen Arielle’s hand motions were sharp—determined—as she answered Asta’s question. “He is being held in the finfolk kingdom, Ryktarva. Your sister and her courtiers will not be leaving the safety of their fortress willingly any time soon, now that they have what they want. I offer you my sea dragons, as well as my best soldiers, to accompany you. I cannot go there myself. I cannot leave my people unprotected.” The empress patted a trident tattoo covering her right hand, the prongs inked up her middle fingers. “I must remain in Naltania to guard them from the continuous attacks.”
Asta blew out a frustrated breath, one obvious problem looming over her. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m human. I can’t go to Ryktarva unless I’m floating atop it on a ship.”
