Without saying anything more, Zia stood up and left Min’s office. She wasn’t about to stay any longer and give away where he had made the mistake. He had told her to try to win over the Siren with King Longray’s son. He never said she had to do it. Good enough for her. She would stay away from the poor Siren who had the bad luck to be sent to the Mavkas underwater world, and he would head home in a week when their visit was over.
Zia walked down into the main room of the Mavkas home. People were already setting up the feast they planned to use as a welcome to the Siren visiting. Excitement laced all their faces. Zia didn’t hate the Mavkas as she hated Min and Lan. They were all completely innocent. Not a single one knew the truth about her beyond the Mavkas leader, but she still didn’t feel at home. The Mavkas world would never be home, and she wasn’t about to condemn another mer to the same fate as herself.
After passing through the main room, Zia went to her favorite spot to get away. There was a little alcove right off the eating room that had one spot in the whole place that was quiet. Zia walked over and sat down in her spot. She’d sit there the whole week if she needed to, and that was a good enough plan for her.
It didn’t take long before their guests arrived, but Zia still didn’t move. She would find food later or go pick something from the gardens herself if she needed to. It was safer to stay away.
As cheers erupted around the room, Zia couldn’t help her curiosity. Rising, she peeked around the corner to see the two Siren entering. At the lead was Sam. She knew who he was. His dark hair was close to being black, but his blue eyes looked like the ocean. He was just as handsome as everyone said. But it wasn’t the cute heir to the Siren throne that had her attention. Zia couldn’t help but stare at the Siren with him, the tall blond who seemed as out of place as she felt all the time.
The mystery Siren walked behind Sam and sat down beside his friend as they were greeted by Min. Zia’s heart skipped a beat when the Siren looked up and toward her direction. Zia knew she was hidden enough in the shadows of the wall, but she still felt exposed, like he could see her. Zia pulled back around the corner into her spot. She needed the silence more than anything now, and she needed to stay away from that mer, or she would do just what Min had asked of her.
For Leo, leaving to go to an underwater world sounded fun only in the movies. While Siren were fine in the water, they actually lived their lives on land on a private island. In fact, Leo was more than a little worried about this visit. Yes, he was a mer person and could breathe underwater, but he didn’t like the idea of spending a week at the bottom of the ocean. At least he thought he’d be in the ocean. He didn’t exactly know where the Mavkas lived. For that matter, he didn’t know where any of the other clans lived.
It was hard to let go, and more than a little terrifying. Against the feelings inside of him, Leo allowed his guide to pull him along. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter. His life literally depended on it. If King Longray knew Sam and Leo planned to leave the Siren in the coming year, it was very well possible he was already plotting some hideous torture method to use to kill Leo. Sam would likely get to live; he was the king’s son after all. Unfortunately, Leo wasn’t that lucky. He didn’t have family that would be able to speak up for him, if any of them even cared. Siren life was all about allies and power. Leo wanting to leave would make him a disgrace to his family, and the little he had would turn on him.
After the uncomfortable blindfolded journey to the Mavkas, Leo was surprised to find that while they survived underwater, they actually lived kind of like how people did on land. The whole underwater Mavkas home was made up of giant bubbles that were pockets of air. The Mavkas all walked around on two feet and could talk and converse like normal humans. It wasn’t what Leo had been expecting at all.
Leo and Sam had arrived at a party that was occurring in their honor. People sat on the ground and ate at low-standing tables. Food was passed around in dishes, and Leo had to decline much of it as he couldn’t be positive what they were eating. Nothing about the place was how he had expected it, and reality was setting in that Leo knew very little of the other mer clans. While King Longray wanted them to spy on the Mavkas, it really did seem like learning about the other mer clans was a good idea.
It was well known that many of the mer clans such as the Mavkas didn’t venture to land for anything more than blood and that they preferred to feed on people at sea. It was obvious why, with various shades of green for hair. There was very little way of fitting in with the normal humans without drawing attention to themselves. The world Leo now found himself in was a variation of acting human, it was close but for small differences that made it a little strange, especially all the green hair. Sam’s dark locks and Leo’s own blond stood out tremendously.
Sam seemed comfortable in their new setting. He chatted away with the people seated around them. Leo kind of recognized one of the males as he saw him more than once with Sam’s brother, Tim. Beyond that, Leo knew no one. He tried to be polite, but he wasn’t about to start any conversations.
Even if Sam didn’t want to admit it, Leo was seeing a side of Sam that he was sure his friend’s father knew about. Sam was a people person. He was a diplomat and so charismatic that everyone around him was eager to join in the conversation. Leo knew Sam well enough to know he was likely already gathering information. While the Siren, in general, weren’t very trustworthy in terms of friendship, Sam wasn’t like the rest of them. He was serious in insisting on doing exactly what his father asked and without getting into further trouble … at least for now.
When the food was done, people around Leo began to stand. Sam took that as his cue and stood, too. Leo wasn’t too far behind. Though he’d casually looked around during the meal, Leo remained confused by where they were.
There was a clear film that went up the sides and made up a ceiling for the large room they were in. On land, Leo would guess that the room was close to the size of a hotel ballroom. Plants swayed beyond the barrier and were certainly in water, but all it did was make an illusion that the room had walls. The sand under his feet told him that they were at the bottom of the ocean. For the most part, the room was just a giant bubble sitting at the bottom of the sea. Leo was confused and wondered if they lived outside the bubble when they weren’t celebrating. There weren’t distinct walls beyond the few places of plants, but off to one side, Leo could make out something that looked like coral blocking off a portion of the room.
As Sam continued to talk to the people around them, Leo began to drift away from the crowd. Luckily the meal had lasted long enough that most people were done staring at him. Or rather it was lucky that Sam commanded attention, and no one seemed to care about him. Leo wanted to see if there was anything beyond the coral-like wall, so he headed in that direction. No one noticed or tried to stop him.
Leo made it to the wall and walked through the one opening. The chatter of the bubble behind him seemed to quiet as he passed the porous barrier. Leo didn’t notice much around him as he stared in front of him. In the room behind him, there were plants just outside the partition keeping the water out, but now there was nothing to block his view. As it was getting closer to day time, there were vibrant shades of color peeking through the water and lighting up the world he was standing there watching. It was like standing in front of a huge aquarium wall. Fish swam by, not even caring as he stood there. Walking closer, he reached up to touch the barrier.
The clear bubble making up the wall around the underwater mer home was soft and squishy. Leo pushed a little, and the space in front of him wiggled. If he pushed hard enough, his hand might go into it, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to. It had to be magic, but at the same time, it was a little awe-inspiring. Leo stared a bit more at the clear magical wall. It was confusing but kind of fun to tap, causing ripples to turn out in every direction.
“I wouldn’t push too hard,” a voice said quietly from behind him. “There’ve been a few visitors who have found themselves swe
pt into the ocean and land is quite a distance away.”
Leo turned around to face a green-haired Mavkas that was watching him. She was partially hidden in the shadows of the coral wall, keeping Leo from being able to tell if she was a child or his own age. Her voice was high, so he knew she was female.
“If someone punches a hole in it, does water come flooding in?” Leo was curious about the underwater mer world he was now going to stay in for the week.
“No. If you go through it, it closes right back up. Not even a drop of water will come in,” she replied, not leaving her spot.
Glancing around, Leo noticed that there were short chairs that looked a lot like low-standing beach chairs in the weird outside room where he was now. He moved over to one and began to turn the seat to face the girl.
“Don’t,” she whispered as she pulled back into the shadows and completely hid herself from view now.
Leo was confused until a mer at least a few years older than himself marched into the room.
“Zia …” he grumbled before stopping in his tracks and staring at Leo. “I’m sorry. I thought someone else was out here.”
The man turned and marched away as quickly as he’d entered. Leo was left scratching his head.
“I take it you’re Zia?”
The girl stood up and moved from the shadow to look around the corner. She only peeked a tiny bit beyond the wall before hurrying back to her hiding spot. But that was enough. Leo had a perfect view of her and knew for sure. She wasn’t a kid, and she was the most beautiful mer he had ever seen.
3
Sam stood and listened to Chris drone on about his latest adventure somewhere Sam had never been nor planned to go. While the Siren were technically in control of the mer world, they still mainly stayed within their boundaries. Exploring wasn’t a trait of mer in general, but it seemed Chris had a little adventurous spirit in him. Since Sam and Leo had arrived at the party, Chris had talked non-stop about all the places he had been.
Leo had wandered off, and Sam kept a discreet eye on his friend. He could tell the news that his father knew of their plan had upset him. Sam didn’t blame him either as they both knew what the punishment was for leaving the Siren. Neither one would ever know how his father found out. The old man never shared his sources. Sam was going to have his work cut out for him when he got back to convince his father that since they hadn’t actually left, there was no reason to punish Leo for thoughts alone.
King Longray was an expert at punishments. Sam actually thought his father enjoyed it a bit too much, but he could never tell him that or he’d be on the receiving end of his tortures. While it would be nice to think sending Leo and Sam off to another clan where they very well could be assassinated was punishment enough, Sam was pretty sure this wasn’t the only thing that would be coming their way.
Sam had watched Leo make his way to the spot Sam had been eyeing himself. It looked like a divider or something, and Sam was just as eager to explore the Mavkas underwater home. They had been blindfolded until they arrived in the Mavkas room they were in now. Unfortunately, Sam was left playing diplomat and listening to the Mavkas leader’s son, Chris, talk more about his life.
“It really is too bad Tim couldn’t have come with you,” Chris commented as he broke from his latest tale. His hair was a deep green color—it was dark enough that people on land could almost mistake it for black. Sam had a feeling that was what made Chris confident in exploring the regular world. He could fit in. Not like his sister, who was next to him with her almost neon-green hair.
“Tim had a job to do,” Sam replied with a shrug. There was no way possible he would ever ask to purposely spend time with his older brother, Tim.
Sam had seen a little girl try to sell her brother at a garage sale he had passed once on the mainland. Tim was that sort of brother. One you’d sell if you got the chance. Though he was only two years older than Sam, there was not a single redeeming thing about his brother. Tim had done nothing while they were growing up to make Sam like him even the tiniest bit. While his older brothers were ruthless and mean, Tim took the top of the list. At least Sam could excuse everyone else for their behavior. Siren in general only respected strength, and until Sam was as strong as them, they didn’t plan to give him the time of day.
Tim was completely different. He had spent his whole life going out of his way to make Sam’s life difficult. If they weren’t related, Sam would have put Tim at the top of his list of enemies. Okay, relation or not, Tim was at the top of his list. And that was what was scary about Tim. He didn’t respect the fact that their father was king and would never allow one brother to hurt another. Longray might only value strength, but he respected the bonds of family. Tim did not.
As a mer approached where Leo was standing, Sam almost moved to follow, but thankfully didn’t. The man seemed to only stay a second before walking away. It would have been nice if Sam had his father’s power to talk to other mer in their mind. Then he could strategize with Leo a bit. They really needed to come up with a plan. One week wasn’t long enough since they didn’t know what they were looking for, and maybe that was the whole point. His father could punish them for failing and take whatever information they had gathered and send Tim back to do the job easily. Actually, for that matter, maybe there was nothing to find. That wouldn’t surprise Sam either. Games, trickery, and lies seemed to be the foundation of the Siren world he came from. This was the world he was desperate to leave.
Plastering on a smile, he nodded his head as Chris kept talking. He needed a plan, and Chris didn’t seem to care as Sam studied the room around them. Nothing was coming to mind for the moment. It would have been nice to be able to get a Mavkas alone and he could just force them to talk, but with the bubble-like walls it wasn’t an option. The shape of the walls made sound carry. He heard dozens of conversations and not everyone was seated near them. He would never be sure if he was talking to one person or more.
Time was going to go by quick, and sitting around talking wasn’t solving anything. Unfortunately, Sam had to play his role, but as soon as he could he was going to explore. They needed to figure out something; their lives depended on it.
Leo moved to sit beside the girl once he recovered from finally seeing her. However, she quickly scooted away in the shadows. Leo frowned at her. Did she want him to go away?
“Sorry to offend you,” Leo told her before turning to leave.
“Please stay,” she said quietly. “But pretend like I’m not here.”
Okay. That’s confusing. Leo wasn’t sure what she meant.
“If you sit down and face away from me, we can talk,” she added.
“As opposed to sitting and talking face-to-face like normal people? Is there a rule against Mavkas talking with Siren?” That had to be it. Leo was sure. Well, not completely sure. It didn’t seem like anyone had a problem talking to Sam in the bigger room. But maybe a female and male couldn’t talk in private. There was always mer politics even if Leo didn’t understand them.
“No. We can talk to anyone. It’s me. If they see me talking to you, it’ll be a problem. Just sit and pretend to be watching the ocean and we can talk. If you still want to stay,” she added, sounding unsure.
Leo wished he could see her face better. The pain behind her words broke his heart. Something inside of him made him want to march into the other room and demand why that one Mavkas was scared. Leo had no idea where the feeling came from and dropped into the chair as she had asked. There wasn’t any way he could just walk away from her.
Zia. At least he had a name to go with the pretty face, even if he didn’t know anything else. And he wanted to know everything. Who was she? What did she like? What did she hate? He wanted to know it all.
Leo sat staring at the water while Zia remained in her shadowy hiding spot. He would have much rather been staring at the girl he had to picture in his mind instead, but he didn’t have the slightest clue how to start a conversation with her. Leo turned to her spot, a
nd she motioned for him to face forward again. He just wanted another glimpse of her. Her pale green hair seemed different from the other Mavkas, and her pale skin looked like it was missing some of the glow of the others. She was different; at least he had to keep telling himself that was why he was sitting there. He wanted a reason why that one Mavkas caught his attention when there was a room full just beyond the wall.
“It’s dangerous for you and your friend to be here,” Zia stated.
“We weren’t exactly given an option,” Leo replied, trying to focus on the school of fish swimming just outside the clear wall. They had bright yellow stripes that were almost green in tone, like Zia’s hair. “And my friend happens to be the son of King Longray. I don’t think anyone will try to do anything to him.” At least that’s what Leo kept telling himself.
“It doesn’t matter whose son he is, the Mavkas can’t be trusted.”
Now if that wasn’t a warning he didn’t want to hear, then what was? Leo already didn’t want to be there, but she was talking like there was a reason behind her words. Leo had no idea what he was supposed to find with Sam, but it seemed like maybe this mer knew something. Now if he could only get her to tell him more.
“Does that include you?” Leo teased, trying to ease the tension hanging in the air.
Zia didn’t reply. Leo found a new fish to watch. He was larger and eating a few of the smaller fish. Not the nicest thing to watch, but that was life in the ocean. Fish ate fish, and the mer were no different. They pretended to be allies and get along, but everyone wanted to be on top. Luckily for Leo, he had been born a Siren. They were at the top of the mer world food chain. They were the only clan that could control all the others with their voice. A few of the other clans, but not the Mavkas, could also use their voice to control normal humans, but no one could control the Siren. That really was the only protection Leo had from anything in the Mavkas home.
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