Siren's Kiss

Chapter 10.1

I picked out a long, thin coil close to my scalp and slid the Queen's Eye through, tying it up with knots far less regal looking than the ones Venus created. It also looked like the clumsy knots I tied wouldn't be able to come loose, but it was all the better if it meant the Queen's Eye was secure. It didn't matter to me if I had to cut off some of my curls, anyway.

I worked at it for a bit longer, grabbing a few more curls to tie around and through the gem to secure it. After shaking my head and yanking on my hair enough to send a few pearls and shells flying, I was satisfied the Queen's Eye wouldn't come loose. I could also feel its weight distinctly since it was heavier and farther away from all the other pearls in my hair.

With it secure, I quickly set about shoving all my human belongings into the chest save the few items I stuffed in the satchel, including the storybook, a few gems and assorted currency pieces, and the shell case that held the heshima kuua dagger and blood vial. I didn't want to take the vial, but it would lead to questions if someone found it laying around. Now all that was left was the chest, an empty vanity and my bare sleeping shell.

I used my pink rope to tie up my hair in a ponytail, pulled on the human garb save the corset and hurried out into the night.

Outside, the moon was high and bright in the sky, eliminating the need for any lamps to be lit. There were a few clusters of students gathered around the courtyard and in the halls practicing their gifts with one another since the Full Moon was the best time to do so. Maybe some of them expected they would get a chance to show their talents to the Queen as well, not knowing what horrors she had in store for everyone on this island. Even for those Maji who outright hated humans, none of them could really be okay with an all-out slaughter, could they?

I brushed the thought aside and moved quickly through the shadows to get back to the Headmistresses tower. It really did come in handy to be invisible to everyone; if only I had known I was training every time someone shoved me in the halls or gossiped when I was directly next to them. I made quick work over to the tower, my only mishap when I stepped out of the shadows at the sound of someone playing the harp in the same way Anna Maria used to. They looked at me with slight annoyance but smiled when they figured I was simply entranced at their beautiful playing. I took in a deep, shuddering breath at the memory, trying not to break down, and went about my plan.

Just as expected, there were no guards surrounding the tower and no lights were on in the chambers. I ran for the tower as quickly as I could, slamming against the cool brick to listen for and stirring or wings flapping. Silence.

"Okay," I said quietly. "She said there is a brick here at the bottom with...blue sea glass!" I jumped excitedly when I spotted it, quickly crouching down to wait quietly after I did. Calm, Nia, calm.

I crept along the tower wall to crouch down, pressing into the piece of sea glass on the brick. Thankfully, there was no riddle or trick to it: with one push, the sea glass sunk into the brick. With a labored squeak, the brick moved to the side along with the dozen or so bricks above it to reveal a pitch-black stairwell save a faint firelight coming from below.

There was no time to hesitate. Using my hands to guide me down the sides, I cautiously made my way down the stairs through the darkness as the firelight got brighter. There were no sounds coming through, not even the classic drips of water or jangling of keys. As I got closer though, I could hear a faint shuffling sound followed by a sneeze that sounded exactly like Caroline.

All thoughts of stealth and caution out the window, I bolted down the rest of the stairs and rounded on the scene of a few empty rusted cages decorated with tattered rags and trays of water, one stunned guard standing in the middle with a hand on their spear, and Caroline. She was wrapped up in a cloth in the nearest cage, now staring up at me with big bright eyes. Her hair and her body were dirty, caked with mud and dried blood, but still she smiled warmly when she saw me.

Fury and adrenaline would have let me do anything at that moment to get her out. Without letting the guard get a word in I marched forward and locked eyes with them as fiercely as I could manage. "You. Let. Her. Out. Now."

I never got a chance to test it out, but thankfully the Queen's Eye being tied in my hair was enough. I could feel its energy climb up my curls of hair and surge through my body as I stood, daring the guard to even consider defying me. And just like that, one of the most powerful Wings alive, assigned to protect and do the bidding of the Queen, obeyed. They walked over to Caroline's cage and grasped onto the bars of the door and the cage, giving it a quick twist the same as we did for our moonstones. They pushed inside and the door creaked open, pulling Caroline up carefully around her waist. As the cloth fell, I could see fresh cuts and bruises covered her arms and neck. She had only been in there a day, and this is what they did to her?

My body was shaking with fury, but Caroline melted it all away when she fumbled herself into my arms with a happy squeal. I hugged her back tightly, careful not to touch where blood was crusted. When I looked back up, the guard was standing and staring at us, unsure of what to do. I took in a shaking breath and stared up into their eyes.

"The human you were guarding escaped on their own by.... in whatever fashion will be the most believable if someone asks." I decided, praying that the Siren's Kiss would work in such an aloof way. "Do not let anyone see she is gone until the Full Moon rises. Understand?"

They nodded somberly and started heading towards us, moving past and up the stairwell. We hurried along behind them keeping on their heel, afraid that the passageway would shut when the guard was outside. When we stepped back out into the moonlight, the guard moved to stand in the way of the stairwell just as it closed back up with a low rumble. They looked straight ahead into the emptiness of the night, paying us no attention. I muttered a thank you and pulled Caroline along with me back into the shadows. Once I was convinced we were out of sight, I gathered her back into my arms and started sobbing.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline! I'm so sorry I let them take you! I was so worried about you! And look what they did! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I cried over and over, rocking her in my arms. Caroline pulled back from me, wiping the tears from my cheeks. She smiled gently, shaking her head. She still couldn't speak, but I could hear her voice in my mind. "I'm fine. I was worried about you."

Even with everything I put her through, she was still worried about me above herself. Her bright eyes, her kind heart, her stubborn and silly personality, everything that was Caroline fanned a passionate ache in my heart as fiery as her hair. Despite the world falling apart around us and my feelings for Vincent stirring into a complicated mess, I couldn't deny this anymore. For the first time in my life, I was fully honest.

"Ilove you, Caroline."