Page 157 of The War God’s Favorite

Despite being alone, Cassandra’s frail figure looked very proud and confident in that moment. With her elegant dress, sparkling jewelry, and those gorgeous, emerald eyes, no one could deny her beauty. If it wasn’t for the scars that she never bothered to hide, no one would have even known she was a former slave.

The young concubine walked up to the lake, but instead of stopping at the edge, she continued on, taking off her shoes and stepping barefoot into the water. The fresh sensation on her little feet was very welcoming.

Cassandra stood still there for a few seconds, making people wonder if she was going to dance. Contrary to their expectations however, she sat down on her knees. All of her lower body was now immersed in the water. She put her palms face down over the top of the water, her hands not breaking the surface, as if to merely get a sense of its untold secrets.

Shareen peered over at Missandra, who was smiling. It was apparent the younger sister already knew what Cassandra was doing. Shareen thought about asking, but then decided against it. She would rather see for herself.

After a few seconds of silence, Cassandra opened her lips and began to sing softly.

No guest could have guessed this. Not only was the language Cassandra sang in completely unknown and very strange to them, but her voice was deeper and much clearer than they had expected. It was entrancing, almost like an echo. Her silvery voice spread quickly around the garden like a cold wind. There was something sort of eerie and unreal about it, which left the crowd speechless.

As Cassandra continued singing, people exchanged uneasy looks, hardly believing their ears. Was this haunting voice even human? It sent shivers down their spines and left goosebumps appearing on their exposed flesh while their heart beats accelerated. Some people felt strangely drawn to it, while others found it…scary. As if the woman sitting there was singing some forbidden chant...a chant that didn’t belong in this world.

As her song continued, something else started happening. One of the concubines saw it first and gasped, pointing it out with her finger without a word.

The water.

Something was happening with the lake. It was flat and calm moments ago, but slowly, little circles were now appearing at random on the surface. At first, it was very subtle, making people think it was just a coincidence until they realized the truth. One by one, little ripples started appearing, and the precision in which they matched Cassandra’s voice left no doubt that the young concubine was actually doing this.

With her eyes closed, Cassandra kept on singing, and it was as if the lake was echoing her beautiful song. The circles started growing bigger and bigger, crossing each other, matching every note she sang. No one dared to speak or even move. They were absolutely mesmerized by the foreign lullaby.

When they believed they had seen it all, another guest pointed to something in the water. And sure enough, under the clear rippling surface, another phenomenon was occurring before their eyes.

Small, swift movements were seen atop the water. The hypnotized guests eventually realized those quick movements were fish. As if they were dancing, hundreds of little and middle-sized fish were swimming around the surface but not crossing it. Moving in shoals, the underwater creatures were gliding in circles and curves, so synchronized it was incredible to witness. As unbelievable as it was, they were definitely reacting to Cassandra’s song. Most of them were gathering close to her in such large numbers that all of the water around her was filled with fish of various sizes now.

Bigger fish started to appear as Cassandra’s voice became deeper, taking the majority of the audience by surprise. Among the arriving fish, a large white carp was dancing around in the middle of the lake, following the currents created by the others. With the song taking a new turn, the ripples increased, smaller ones, but more agitated.

Something was getting a bit creepy about her song now. The clear surface suddenly broke and little waves appeared randomly, chasing the smaller fish back into the lower levels of the lake. The larger fish stayed.

At that very moment, Cassandra opened her eyes, staring directly at Phetra.

The Princess was visibly uncomfortable with that. There was something threatening about this song; the more she heard, the more she wanted to run far away from Cassandra.

She was shivering uncontrollably, feeling frightened and worried. The lake, too, was getting dangerously violent. The little waves grew bigger, like an angered sea ready to swallow its surroundings. The young concubine didn’t feel like a frail useless woman anymore. She felt more like a water creature, waiting to trap her victim.

When the song came to a sudden end, it took a few moments for everything and everyone to settle down.

The lake returned to its quiet state, and only a few fish hung around to circle Cassandra. Some little ones were brushing against her legs and feet with curiosity. The crowd stayed speechless for an entire minute. No one dared to break the silence as if the magic would be washed away.

The first claps came from the Imperial Concubine Kareen. The sharp slaps had many people jump as if they had been awoken from a trace. Kareen’s applause was joined by her children and the Emperor. Since the most powerful man in the Empire was clapping, the rest followed in his stead.

While everyone was cheering loudly and applauding her, Cassandra rose gracefully, sending one last glance at Phetra before turning around to leave the water.

“Beautiful! Absolutely heavenly!” complemented the Emperor.

Cassandra bowed, before walking back to her Prince. Kairen stood to go and meet her halfway.

In her chair, Shareen let out a long breath.

“What the heck was that? This is divine power!”

“It’s called the Mermaid’s Chant,” explained Missandra. “In our native tribe, every child begins to learn it when they turn seven. Our people have this ability to modify our voice to have it match and change the water’s natural rhythm.”

“You’re telling me this was all a…water trick?”

“That was no trick! It takes years of training to master it! My sister was naturally gifted with a great voice, she learned it in a few short months. Some people practice their whole lives without success. Your people could never even attempt to master it.”

“Missandra, please,” said Cassandra as she arrived at their side.

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