Beneath the Waves (Ocean Song Book 1)

Chapter 31: Voice of the Monster

She follows Prince Oceanus through the dimly lit corridors as she finds herself jumping just the slightest bit at their passing shadows. Eventually the tenseness of their silence begins to suffocate her after a few minutes of fidgeting with her hands.

She spends another five minutes trying to convince herself to ask the question that's been plaguing her mind before she actually finds the courage to ask it. "Has there been anything from Pelagios?"

He doesn't even turn towards her as he replies, "No, there has not." And just like that, the conversation is brought to an abrupt end before it could even go anywhere.

So she asks another question, albeit a bit hesitantly. "What...What of Aquanetta?" That vile woman's name sticks within her mind like a parasite as it even invaded her sleep.

Prince Oceanus is silent for a moment before he replies, "You refer to the Siren of the Deep, that has eluded our grasp. Somehow she managed to disappear with Pelagios, so we have been unable to locate them as of right now."

It's then that something dark blooms in her chest. A feeling of deep foreboding mixed with her own growing fear. She hasn't felt such a feeling since the time her mother was taken by the sea, but even then it didn't feel quite as...sinister as it does now within this moment.

This doesn't go unnoticed as he then asks, "Is that what your wailing was about?"

She sighs. "Yes. Nightmares are not uncommon for me, and I have learned to deal with them. However, that woman has found a way to cast a vice grip on my mind and I hear Proteus's voice in my dreams-"

He abruptly cuts her off. "You say you hear his voice in your sleep?"

"Yes. Apparently he likes toying with his would-be victims, and scaring them out of their wits," she says with a shuddering exhalation of breath.

Meanwhile, Prince Oceanus appears thoughtful for a moment, but it quickly transitions into a look of annoyance as he whispers, "What a time for that damned sorcerer to be away!"

"Where is he now? He did not speak much of his destination the last time we spoke," she comments as she finds herself slipping into a state of peaceful calm.

That selfsame glint of annoyance she's so used to flickers within his turbulent green gaze as he replies, "When last I spoke to him he said he was making for Vilmaris to see if he can obtain a better understanding of its current state of affairs."

Her lips twist up into a frown as he takes heed of the worried look in her eyes. "But is it not unsafe to go there right now? I recall Alankar had said that the waters surrounding the city are dangerous."

However, he rolls his eyes with a scoff. "Be that as it may. I highly doubt there is anything in those waters that can kill that eel." It takes her a minute to understand the strange terminology he used to describe Calder and when it does click a brief thought passes through her mind, I suppose it would be the equivalent to calling him a snake if we were on land? Though she chooses not to waste time on that thought as she finally takes notice of their current surroundings. For a moment she's surprised, because of her lack of attention to the area around her she didn't realize that they had been heading towards the palace gardens.

Although now that she's here, she allows herself some time to take in its visage under the cover of darkness. For the most part, night operated similarly enough to day as it does on land with the exception of streetlights and the appearance of the moon in the sky. That isn't to say that she can't see it, but the surface is far and the moon is nothing more than a small circle of waves that cast its light down upon the surface. A light that doesn't quite reach them on the ocean floor so far below. Yet, this kingdom doesn't lack for such light as she often sees those same glowing orbs wherever she looks, although they shine a little more brightly than the dimly lit ones in her room.