Siren Song (The Fated #1)

04 | Blood Bind

"Lykos and you are married?" she settled upon.

Eumelia laughed, then gave a small shake of her head. "Gods, no. That man-child and I are nothing more than friends."

"But, your son..."

"Called him Papa?" Eumelia finished for her, brow raised. "Yes, well, that's all Lykos' fault. Despite having no blood relation to Abiel, he insists on taking up the father role. According to him, every young lad needs a father, so why shouldn't it be him?" She gave an exasperated shake of her head. "Of course, he ignores the fact that most would consider him the worst man for the role."

Iliana considered this. Admittedly, the news brought some relief. It would be hard to bring Eumelia over to her side if Iliana was constantly being flirted with by her husband. As it was, the information spurred new questions. She dropped a grape in her mouth, musing the matter over, before deciding to be straightforward about it all.

"Then why are you two here?"

Eumelia laughed once again. "You're rather blunt, aren't you?"

"Typically."

"Lykos prizes my skills, and we've known each other since we were children." She trailed off into a thoughtful hum. "I believe I was... seven or eight, when we met, and Lykos was six. So, he keeps me around."

That clears some things up, but also means she's unlikely to betray him. She finished off the breakfast and Eumelia jumped up, gesturing for Iliana to follow her.

"Leave the tray here, I'll collect it when we return."

Iliana nodded, and trailed behind the woman as she led the way into the room directly next door. The sight of it froze her in the doorway, eyes wide.

There were slight similarities to Iliana's room, such as a cot, and a chest; and that was it. The walls were covered by two, ceiling to floor bookshelves that, for the most part, held everything but books. Jars after jars of differing, dried out plants, bugs, and questionable liquids littered the shelves. Different charms and tools she had no chance of recognizing also laid out on display.

It clicked, then. Eumelia was a witch doctor.

"Sit over here."

Eumelia'd gestured towards a table settled in the center of the room. Iliana followed the instruction automatically. Since she was young, she'd had several things drilled into her by her mother, sister, and brother-in-law. The sole point of similarity between all of their instructions had been that you always obey a witch doctor. Ignoring their instructions could be the difference between life or death, blessing or curse. They were healers, but also magic makers and peace keepers. Out of all of the species created by the gods, the witch doctors alone thrived without assistance from their patron.

Perhaps it was luck, believable given that Koun was the god of fortune and healing, but as far as Iliana was aware, witch doctors were the only of the "god's children" able to have children themselves. Their powers and skills were passed down through their bloodline, although they grew weaker with each generation. It was rare to hear of a witch doctor who had actually been created by Koun. They weren't immortal, aging like any other human, so Iliana had always been under the impression that those the god had created were long dead.

She created the charm, Iliana realized, thinking back to the pouch she'd pulled off when changing clothes. That one, and the one Lykos wears.

As all of this ran through her mind, Eumelia was busy pulling out multiple, wooden tools that set Iliana on edge. There was every chance she was wrong, but they looked like the tools she'd seen used to tattoo sailors. The tools were followed by several bowls of ink, and a needle. Eumelia held out her hand when satisfied with her collection of objects, and Iliana reluctantly offered her right hand. Trapped on a ship full of well-armed mercenaries, it seemed stupid to resist.