Chapter 181: 181
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We continue to swim through the corridors, etched in a pale light, our bodies moving like silhouettes against the current, swift and fleet as we travel from one room to the next with little more than a word between us.
With my thoughts trained on the welfare of my friends, and my husband, I have barely any time to take in my watery surroundings as we are led through corridor to the next, rounding past draping, silken cloth and glass paintings of prior kings and queens of the underwater realm, ducking under tentacle like chandeliers and weaving our way past tiny blue crabs that scuttle like mice along the walls.
It is a peculiar feeling- that drift and sway as we half swim, half walk through the waters of the palace, our limbs light, but our hearts heavy with a grief that the three of us have yet to lament. Areen does not notice- or intent to notice, the sickness in our hearts, content to part the crowds around us with a menacing wave of her sceptre and continue on, not privy to the dizzying grief of mortal hearts.
Most merfolk in the palace step aside to watch us past, trailing our humanoid with emerald eyes and leaden stares, trying to determine whether we are a monstrosity, or simply mere mortals not worth their time. By the looks many of them give us, it would be safe to conclude that they have never come across vampire hybrids before, or the strange, humanoid dragon that swims beside us. Many even attempt to reach out to touch Kal's wings, much to his displeasure, causing him to tuck them into himself, growing small with discontent.
The palace seems to go on forever, twisting and turning in a series of never-ending rooms and corridors, the cycle of swimming almost dizzying.
At some point, we stop at a solid wall, seemingly a dead end with little to no lustre about it whatsoever. In my lack of concentration, lost in the thoughts of my friends, I bump into Delina, who topples forward a bit, before reaching out to steady me, a strangely soft look playing on her features.
"We will find them," she says insistently, but there is a lack of conviction in her voice that seems to imply she is mostly just saying these things to convince herself. I didn't think it was possible for a vampire to look paler than they already are, but poor Delina's face is leached of colour, the normally blue sinking to a ghostly transparency that would give her grandmother a fright if she cared enough to look.
Perhaps, I think to myself morosely, I wasn't the only one reminiscing on lost companions.
Noticing we have all halted behind her, Areen turns around ahead of us, her silver eyes glowing with frustration, her nails clacking impatiently at her side.
"Through here," she insists, waving us forward towards the wall that clearly is a dead end, beckoning with a long and pointed finger to the three of us, impatience rising. Kal and I exchange a puzzled look.
There is enough foreboding in my heart not to dismiss something like this as a trap just yet. Despite Areen offering her help, I do not strictly trust the Siren lady- which would be wise of anyone endeavouring to remain alive in a Siren's palace. While it is advised that you never lie to a Siren, that does not mean they will not lie back.
Noticing this, Areen sighs irritably, throwing back her head with desperation, causing the hairpins to jangle in her hair like tiny chiming bells.
"Are you two really that dense?" she mutters rudely, bringing a hand to her temple to rub in soothing circles to quell her exasperation. "I doubt you are unaware that I dabble in the profession of illusions, and yet here you are, staring blankly at a wall that I strictly just told you to go through."
Beside us, Delina pipes up.
"I will go first, grandmother," she assures, stepping round Areen, perhaps realising that Kal and I hold a lingering distrust for Areen. Delina hovers tentatively at the wall for a second, fingers running over the air before us, before puffing out a breath, steeling herself, and walking through.
One minute she is there, the next minute, her whole form disappears through the wall, completely engulfing her in one fell swoop. Besides me, Kal stiffens.
"Oh wow," he whispers shakily, bringing a hand round to scratch the back of his head as he sucks in his cheeks. "That's, er, interesting."
Areen does not look impressed.
"Yes, as I said, an illusion. Come on," she instructs firmly, tiring quickly of waiting for us to pluck up our courage to do as she says. Firmly, she drags Kal over by the arm.
"Woah, woah, hold on Areen, I-"
"In you go," she says simply, tipping him forward, and in an instant he is tripping forward through the wall, straight into wherever Delina has disappeared to. Next Areen beckons me over.
As I approach, her eyes darken, flickering with thoughts I can neither guess, nor am privy to. Just before I reach the wall, she grasps a hand around me, fingers clawing into the skin of my upper arm, tight and unrelenting, unwilling to let go. Heart pounding, I still to a halt.
Please don't eat me, is the only stupid thought that I can think in that moment, knowing full well that I am immortal, and it would be unlikely to kill me.
Nevertheless, whatever she wants of me, it can't possibly be good, nothing down here ever is.
"Face me, girl," she instructs, her fingers tightening impossibly further, constricting the cold blood that runs through my body, tinging my skin with a faint purple hue.
"What do you want from me, Areen," I ask stiffly, careful not to be overly snarky with her, or display any reason to give her another motive to hate me. It is obvious from the slurs she uses- 'landwalker' being one of them, she has a distinct distaste for those of the world above, or perhaps just me in general. Of course, this is not entirely uncommon, especially since the divide between the water and land species is notoriously large, and even more so because siren's themselves are quite cynical, often at times hateful creatures. But that doesn't make me any more eager to find myself boiled in a stew and served up on a silver platter.
Deliberating, Areen eyes me up and down.
"You truly are the Scarlet Prince's wife?" she asks lowly, her voice sinking down to little more than a whisper. With a hesitant slowness, I nod.
What a peculiar question to be asked- especially coming from the likes of her. Exactly what is she trying to uncover here?
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my question is quickly answered.
Glancing around nervously, she leans in, whispering against her cupped hand for the fear of being overheard.
"If he gets out, if you manage to save him, tell him my people have found who he was looking for. He will understand what I mean," she affirms, letting go of my arm sharply, causing me to tumble back.
Find who he was looking for..? What on earth does that mean? As far as I am aware, Soren wasn't searching for anyone in particular, or searching for anyone at all for that matter. Not wanting to hear any more riddles from the ancient siren, I at last turn back to the wall, mentally preparing myself to go through, blood rushing through my veins, before I hear:
"It was Azrael, wasn't it."
And stop dead.
"Azrael?" I reply warily, doing my best to avert the stammer in my voice, not finding myself keen to let any unwanted information slide. Areen shoots me a knowing look, a snarl ripping from her throat.
"Do not attempt to lie to me, girl, or I will have you diced and thrown into the cauldron and the nearest given opportunity. Azrael was the one who captured your husband, put the whole of the palace in disarray, wasn't he? He brought my granddaughter down here, where he said she would be safe. I did not understand it at the time, but I am not an idiot. The pieces of the puzzle slotted together far quicker than I hoped to realise," she snarls softly, fingers clenching and curling at her sides like a fist of angry snakes, lip twitching with vexation, her eyes glowing a shiny opal white. Nervously, I suck in my cheeks.
"Yes, it was Azrael. He is planning… well, a lot of awful things. No one is safe, not even you. You might think you are, you and your granddaughter, that you have some sort of... leverage over him, and maybe you do to an extent, since he has proven to care about you to some degree, but everything else, your kingdom, your people, he plans to obliterate. Wipe off the map and start anew. Build a new world from the rubble of the old one where he can rule, and him alone. He will not stop, that tyrant knows no empathy, no boundaries. He will take and take until there is nothing left to give.. And if I don't stop him, no one will."
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We continue to swim through the corridors, etched in a pale light, our bodies moving like silhouettes against the current, swift and fleet as we travel from one room to the next with little more than a word between us.
With my thoughts trained on the welfare of my friends, and my husband, I have barely any time to take in my watery surroundings as we are led through corridor to the next, rounding past draping, silken cloth and glass paintings of prior kings and queens of the underwater realm, ducking under tentacle like chandeliers and weaving our way past tiny blue crabs that scuttle like mice along the walls.
It is a peculiar feeling- that drift and sway as we half swim, half walk through the waters of the palace, our limbs light, but our hearts heavy with a grief that the three of us have yet to lament. Areen does not notice- or intent to notice, the sickness in our hearts, content to part the crowds around us with a menacing wave of her sceptre and continue on, not privy to the dizzying grief of mortal hearts.
Most merfolk in the palace step aside to watch us past, trailing our humanoid with emerald eyes and leaden stares, trying to determine whether we are a monstrosity, or simply mere mortals not worth their time. By the looks many of them give us, it would be safe to conclude that they have never come across vampire hybrids before, or the strange, humanoid dragon that swims beside us. Many even attempt to reach out to touch Kal's wings, much to his displeasure, causing him to tuck them into himself, growing small with discontent.
The palace seems to go on forever, twisting and turning in a series of never-ending rooms and corridors, the cycle of swimming almost dizzying.
At some point, we stop at a solid wall, seemingly a dead end with little to no lustre about it whatsoever. In my lack of concentration, lost in the thoughts of my friends, I bump into Delina, who topples forward a bit, before reaching out to steady me, a strangely soft look playing on her features.
"We will find them," she says insistently, but there is a lack of conviction in her voice that seems to imply she is mostly just saying these things to convince herself. I didn't think it was possible for a vampire to look paler than they already are, but poor Delina's face is leached of colour, the normally blue sinking to a ghostly transparency that would give her grandmother a fright if she cared enough to look.
Perhaps, I think to myself morosely, I wasn't the only one reminiscing on lost companions.
Noticing we have all halted behind her, Areen turns around ahead of us, her silver eyes glowing with frustration, her nails clacking impatiently at her side.
"Through here," she insists, waving us forward towards the wall that clearly is a dead end, beckoning with a long and pointed finger to the three of us, impatience rising. Kal and I exchange a puzzled look.
There is enough foreboding in my heart not to dismiss something like this as a trap just yet. Despite Areen offering her help, I do not strictly trust the Siren lady- which would be wise of anyone endeavouring to remain alive in a Siren's palace. While it is advised that you never lie to a Siren, that does not mean they will not lie back.
Noticing this, Areen sighs irritably, throwing back her head with desperation, causing the hairpins to jangle in her hair like tiny chiming bells.
"Are you two really that dense?" she mutters rudely, bringing a hand to her temple to rub in soothing circles to quell her exasperation. "I doubt you are unaware that I dabble in the profession of illusions, and yet here you are, staring blankly at a wall that I strictly just told you to go through."
Beside us, Delina pipes up.
"I will go first, grandmother," she assures, stepping round Areen, perhaps realising that Kal and I hold a lingering distrust for Areen. Delina hovers tentatively at the wall for a second, fingers running over the air before us, before puffing out a breath, steeling herself, and walking through.
One minute she is there, the next minute, her whole form disappears through the wall, completely engulfing her in one fell swoop. Besides me, Kal stiffens.
"Oh wow," he whispers shakily, bringing a hand round to scratch the back of his head as he sucks in his cheeks. "That's, er, interesting."
Areen does not look impressed.
"Yes, as I said, an illusion. Come on," she instructs firmly, tiring quickly of waiting for us to pluck up our courage to do as she says. Firmly, she drags Kal over by the arm.
"Woah, woah, hold on Areen, I-"
"In you go," she says simply, tipping him forward, and in an instant he is tripping forward through the wall, straight into wherever Delina has disappeared to. Next Areen beckons me over.
As I approach, her eyes darken, flickering with thoughts I can neither guess, nor am privy to. Just before I reach the wall, she grasps a hand around me, fingers clawing into the skin of my upper arm, tight and unrelenting, unwilling to let go. Heart pounding, I still to a halt.
Please don't eat me, is the only stupid thought that I can think in that moment, knowing full well that I am immortal, and it would be unlikely to kill me.
Nevertheless, whatever she wants of me, it can't possibly be good, nothing down here ever is.
"Face me, girl," she instructs, her fingers tightening impossibly further, constricting the cold blood that runs through my body, tinging my skin with a faint purple hue.
"What do you want from me, Areen," I ask stiffly, careful not to be overly snarky with her, or display any reason to give her another motive to hate me. It is obvious from the slurs she uses- 'landwalker' being one of them, she has a distinct distaste for those of the world above, or perhaps just me in general. Of course, this is not entirely uncommon, especially since the divide between the water and land species is notoriously large, and even more so because siren's themselves are quite cynical, often at times hateful creatures. But that doesn't make me any more eager to find myself boiled in a stew and served up on a silver platter.
Deliberating, Areen eyes me up and down.
"You truly are the Scarlet Prince's wife?" she asks lowly, her voice sinking down to little more than a whisper. With a hesitant slowness, I nod.
What a peculiar question to be asked- especially coming from the likes of her. Exactly what is she trying to uncover here?
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my question is quickly answered.
Glancing around nervously, she leans in, whispering against her cupped hand for the fear of being overheard.
"If he gets out, if you manage to save him, tell him my people have found who he was looking for. He will understand what I mean," she affirms, letting go of my arm sharply, causing me to tumble back.
Find who he was looking for..? What on earth does that mean? As far as I am aware, Soren wasn't searching for anyone in particular, or searching for anyone at all for that matter. Not wanting to hear any more riddles from the ancient siren, I at last turn back to the wall, mentally preparing myself to go through, blood rushing through my veins, before I hear:
"It was Azrael, wasn't it."
And stop dead.
"Azrael?" I reply warily, doing my best to avert the stammer in my voice, not finding myself keen to let any unwanted information slide. Areen shoots me a knowing look, a snarl ripping from her throat.
"Do not attempt to lie to me, girl, or I will have you diced and thrown into the cauldron and the nearest given opportunity. Azrael was the one who captured your husband, put the whole of the palace in disarray, wasn't he? He brought my granddaughter down here, where he said she would be safe. I did not understand it at the time, but I am not an idiot. The pieces of the puzzle slotted together far quicker than I hoped to realise," she snarls softly, fingers clenching and curling at her sides like a fist of angry snakes, lip twitching with vexation, her eyes glowing a shiny opal white. Nervously, I suck in my cheeks.
"Yes, it was Azrael. He is planning… well, a lot of awful things. No one is safe, not even you. You might think you are, you and your granddaughter, that you have some sort of... leverage over him, and maybe you do to an extent, since he has proven to care about you to some degree, but everything else, your kingdom, your people, he plans to obliterate. Wipe off the map and start anew. Build a new world from the rubble of the old one where he can rule, and him alone. He will not stop, that tyrant knows no empathy, no boundaries. He will take and take until there is nothing left to give.. And if I don't stop him, no one will."
We continue to swim through the corridors, etched in a pale light, our bodies moving like silhouettes against the current, swift and fleet as we travel from one room to the next with little more than a word between us. With my thoughts trained on the welfare of my friends, and my husband, I have barely any time to take in my watery surroundings as we are led through corridor to the next, rounding past draping, silken cloth and glass paintings of prior kings and queens of the underwater realm, ducking under tentacle like chandeliers and weaving our way past tiny blue crabs that scuttle like mice along the walls.It is a peculiar feeling- that drift and sway as we half swim, half walk through the waters of the palace, our limbs light, but our hearts heavy with a grief that the three of us have yet to lament. Areen does not notice- or intent to notice, the sickness in our hearts, content to part the crowds around us with a menacing wave of her sceptre and continue on, not privy to the dizzying grief of mortal hearts. Most merfolk in the palace step aside to watch us past, trailing our humanoid with emerald eyes and leaden stares, trying to determine whether we are a monstrosity, or simply mere mortals not worth their time. By the looks many of them give us, it would be safe to conclude that they have never come across vampire hybrids before, or the strange, humanoid dragon that swims beside us. Many even attempt to reach out to touch Kal's wings, much to his displeasure, causing him to tuck them into himself, growing small with discontent.The palace seems to go on forever, twisting and turning in a series of never-ending rooms and corridors, the cycle of swimming almost dizzying.At some point, we stop at a solid wall, seemingly a dead end with little to no lustre about it whatsoever. In my lack of concentration, lost in the thoughts of my friends, I bump into Delina, who topples forward a bit, before reaching out to steady me, a strangely soft look playing on her features."We will find them," she says insistently, but there is a lack of conviction in her voice that seems to imply she is mostly just saying these things to convince herself. I didn't think it was possible for a vampire to look paler than they already are, but poor Delina's face is leached of colour, the normally blue sinking to a ghostly transparency that would give her grandmother a fright if she cared enough to look. Perhaps, I think to myself morosely, I wasn't the only one reminiscing on lost companions. Noticing we have all halted behind her, Areen turns around ahead of us, her silver eyes glowing with frustration, her nails clacking impatiently at her side."Through here," she insists, waving us forward towards the wall that clearly is a dead end, beckoning with a long and pointed finger to the three of us, impatience rising. Kal and I exchange a puzzled look. There is enough foreboding in my heart not to dismiss something like this as a trap just yet. Despite Areen offering her help, I do not strictly trust the Siren lady- which would be wise of anyone endeavouring to remain alive in a Siren's palace. While it is advised that you never lie to a Siren, that does not mean they will not lie back.Noticing this, Areen sighs irritably, throwing back her head with desperation, causing the hairpins to jangle in her hair like tiny chiming bells. "Are you two really that dense?" she mutters rudely, bringing a hand to her temple to rub in soothing circles to quell her exasperation. "I doubt you are unaware that I dabble in the profession of illusions, and yet here you are, staring blankly at a wall that I strictly just told you to go through."Beside us, Delina pipes up."I will go first, grandmother," she assures, stepping round Areen, perhaps realising that Kal and I hold a lingering distrust for Areen. Delina hovers tentatively at the wall for a second, fingers running over the air before us, before puffing out a breath, steeling herself, and walking through.One minute she is there, the next minute, her whole form disappears through the wall, completely engulfing her in one fell swoop. Besides me, Kal stiffens."Oh wow," he whispers shakily, bringing a hand round to scratch the back of his head as he sucks in his cheeks. "That's, er, interesting."Areen does not look impressed."Yes, as I said, an illusion. Come on," she instructs firmly, tiring quickly of waiting for us to pluck up our courage to do as she says. Firmly, she drags Kal over by the arm."Woah, woah, hold on Areen, I-""In you go," she says simply, tipping him forward, and in an instant he is tripping forward through the wall, straight into wherever Delina has disappeared to. Next Areen beckons me over. As I approach, her eyes darken, flickering with thoughts I can neither guess, nor am privy to. Just before I reach the wall, she grasps a hand around me, fingers clawing into the skin of my upper arm, tight and unrelenting, unwilling to let go. Heart pounding, I still to a halt.Please don't eat me, is the only stupid thought that I can think in that moment, knowing full well that I am immortal, and it would be unlikely to kill me.Nevertheless, whatever she wants of me, it can't possibly be good, nothing down here ever is."Face me, girl," she instructs, her fingers tightening impossibly further, constricting the cold blood that runs through my body, tinging my skin with a faint purple hue."What do you want from me, Areen," I ask stiffly, careful not to be overly snarky with her, or display any reason to give her another motive to hate me. It is obvious from the slurs she uses- 'landwalker' being one of them, she has a distinct distaste for those of the world above, or perhaps just me in general. Of course, this is not entirely uncommon, especially since the divide between the water and land species is notoriously large, and even more so because siren's themselves are quite cynical, often at times hateful creatures. But that doesn't make me any more eager to find myself boiled in a stew and served up on a silver platter.Deliberating, Areen eyes me up and down."You truly are the Scarlet Prince's wife?" she asks lowly, her voice sinking down to little more than a whisper. With a hesitant slowness, I nod. What a peculiar question to be asked- especially coming from the likes of her. Exactly what is she trying to uncover here? Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my question is quickly answered.Glancing around nervously, she leans in, whispering against her cupped hand for the fear of being overheard."If he gets out, if you manage to save him, tell him my people have found who he was looking for. He will understand what I mean," she affirms, letting go of my arm sharply, causing me to tumble back.Find who he was looking for..? What on earth does that mean? As far as I am aware, Soren wasn't searching for anyone in particular, or searching for anyone at all for that matter. Not wanting to hear any more riddles from the ancient siren, I at last turn back to the wall, mentally preparing myself to go through, blood rushing through my veins, before I hear:"It was Azrael, wasn't it."And stop dead."Azrael?" I reply warily, doing my best to avert the stammer in my voice, not finding myself keen to let any unwanted information slide. Areen shoots me a knowing look, a snarl ripping from her throat."Do not attempt to lie to me, girl, or I will have you diced and thrown into the cauldron and the nearest given opportunity. Azrael was the one who captured your husband, put the whole of the palace in disarray, wasn't he? He brought my granddaughter down here, where he said she would be safe. I did not understand it at the time, but I am not an idiot. The pieces of the puzzle slotted together far quicker than I hoped to realise," she snarls softly, fingers clenching and curling at her sides like a fist of angry snakes, lip twitching with vexation, her eyes glowing a shiny opal white. Nervously, I suck in my cheeks."Yes, it was Azrael. He is planning well, a lot of awful things. No one is safe, not even you. You might think you are, you and your granddaughter, that you have some sort of... leverage over him, and maybe you do to an extent, since he has proven to care about you to some degree, but everything else, your kingdom, your people, he plans to obliterate. Wipe off the map and start anew. Build a new world from the rubble of the old one where he can rule, and him alone. He will not stop, that tyrant knows no empathy, no boundaries. He will take and take until there is nothing left to give.. And if I don't stop him, no one will."
