Page 1 of Lured By the Siren

Prologue

The storm came like a ghost in the night. One minute, we were sailing on clear water, and the next, we were being attacked by the sea as it threatened to rip us apart.

I grip the portside railing, my knuckles white with the strain as the wind howls around us. Rain pummels us in torrents so heavy that I can barely see what is directly in front of me. Waves crash over the deck, loosening my grip on the railing with every blow.

The storm rages like an angry dragon, roaring and sending its fury down upon us. I can’t hear the commands of the Captain and crew.

I look out over the sea, spotting a blurry mass in the distance.

Is that land?

We are miles away from any charted piece of land. It isn’t possible unless we veered off course, but the compass holds true. We have taken this new route as a test. It is supposed to save us a full day's worth of travel. I look down at the map now soaked with rain, and there is no land, only an endless sea. So what have we sailed into, and what is beyond the storm's clouds?

A bolt of lightning splits the sky, sparks fly, and I spin at the sound of cracking wood, watching in horror as the foremast falls into the churning sea. I watch it sink below the waves with a whimper. We are doomed.

A glimmer flashes in the sea, something pink and sparkling. I lean over the railing to get a better look. The ship lurches, and I hear a loud crash before I fly overboard. Gripping harder, I hold onto the railing with one hand, dangling over the furious, white-peaked waves of the ocean. We hit something massive, and the entire front of the ship is gone. We are sinking. We aren’t getting out of this alive.

Suddenly, I hear a beautiful sound echo through the howling of the wind, a song sung by a heavenly voice. It draws me to it, and I search for its owner. It is absurd, but a sudden sense of serenity washes over me, even as I plunge into the icy water and the sinking ship drags me further beneath the waves. That euphoric calmness is all I can feel. So, when I take my final breath, pulling the salty sea into my lungs as I fade into the cold, dark depths of the sea, I feel no fear, only an overwhelming sense of peace.

1

Kai

Ipush my spectacles up my nose, pulling my hood down further to shadow my face as I open the door to the pub.

It has been a month since my elder brother, Dru, went missing—lost at sea. What was supposed to be a basic shipping expedition, taking no more than a week, has turned into a catastrophe. Dru is the heir to our father's empire. The entire province is in mourning, assuming Dru and the crew are dead, swallowed by the waves, forever lost. I, on the other hand, don’t believe it. It just can’t be true.

My father was teetering on the edge of life long before Dru went missing all those weeks ago, but now the end is truly near. Ican feel it. My father’s days are numbered, and I have absolutely no interest in taking on the title of province leader or being head of his shipping enterprise.

My father created the Ivarrson Shipping Company from nothing. Starting out with a single battered ship, transporting goods for small businesses that couldn’t afford large trade services, my father worked hard acquiring new ships and clientele with every trip. Over the past two decades, the company has become known far and wide, making us a major player in the shipping and trading industry in Halvendor. My father is the only reason our small settlement of Renyir is now a legitimate province within the Kingdom.

Becoming the province leader of Renyir and the face of Ivarsson Shipping is a huge responsibility, one I’m not ready for. I am no leader. I haven’t spent my entire life training for it. Not like Dru has. In my hands, the province will fail, I know that for a fact.

I’m much more accustomed to a quieter existence, preferring my botany, science experiments, and other hobbies to a life behind a desk commanding an entire company. The life of the second son suits me. The lack of stress and pressure has kept me youthful and sane. I’m not ready to let that go, not now and probably not ever.

Plus, I have no interest in ships. I don’t even know how to swim. How could someone with no knowledge of the maritime industry or the ocean run a shipping enterprise?

No, life is better spent tucked away in my greenhouse on the manor grounds, where I can work on my plants and hone my herbalist skills.

My father always calls my interests ‘dalliances’, but my little slice of peace and privacy in the garden greenhouse is my greatest passion. It is my entire life’s work, and it is the only reason I am currently outside a rather shady establishmentlocated on the east side of town. This is a place my brother always told me to steer clear of, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I am willing to do quite literally anything not to be the heir to my father’s legacy, and if that means coming alone to the East End Dockside Pub, known for its riff-raff and crime, I will do it.

A little over a week ago, a member of Dru’s crew was miraculously found, and I tracked him down, setting up this meeting with him in an attempt to find out what happened and if Dru could be out there somewhere, still alive.

The dim lighting of the pub is an adjustment from the bright sunlight of the warm day outside, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust.

No longer seeing spots, the inside of the pub comes fully into view, and every single person in the establishment turns to look at me.

Dread pools in my stomach as I suddenly realize how terrible an idea this is. It probably would have been smarter for me to insist that the man come to me somewhere closer to home.

“Too late for that now,” I mumble to myself.

Pushing my spectacles up again, I pull my heavy wool black cloak tighter around me, feeling too exposed under the onslaught of stares.

“Aye, boy!” A man calls from a table in the corner.

He’s alone, two glasses of ale on the table in front of him. I hope to the gods this is the man I’m here to meet. He does look a little rough around the edges, malnourished, with a wildness in his eyes that openly shares the shock of what he's just gone through.

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