Page 50 of Lore of the Tides

She looked at her arm and shrieked.

A mottled mauve-and-rose-colored jellyfish had stuck itself to her wrist, its poisonous tendrils wrapping around her forearm and reaching up to her shoulder. She scrabbled backward and began to pull at the jellyfish’s round body. The jellyfish complied, its tendrils releasing the hold on her arm all at once before it fluttered smoothly upward with the current.

It was peaceful, gentle, and somehow adorable despite the agony it had just inflicted on her. The jellyfish gave a little twirl in front of her face before undulating its body and floating toward the door.

The door where there was a creature standing, waiting to enclose the jellyfish in something that, oddly enough, resembled a birdcage.

Finndryl was on the ground, his eyes shut tight, the veins in his neck standing out against the strain as he fought against the venomous acid of a jellyfish himself. Lore couldn’t believe that he wasn’t screaming. She hastened to him and tugged on the jellyfish, this one a twin to the one that had just assaulted her. When she pulled on its slimy, jellied body, it released his arm and floated away, following the other jellyfish to its cage.

The moment it released him, Finndryl sat up, inhaling a ragged breath. Upon seeing her, he pulled her into his arms, though she knew one must still be burning. “Lore, you’re alive! How are you alive?” He whispered the words against her cheek as his hands roamed along her back and shoulders, her throat, lightly dancing along her skin, as if checking that it was really her. That she was really warm and alive in his arms.

“Weare alive,” she whispered to him, her voice rough from screaming.

Lore pulled away from him and gripped one of his hands, turning it palm up. Where the jellyfish had entwined around them were matching, glowing, purple burns—perfect imprints of the jellyfish, twirling around their arms, up to their shoulders.

With every beat of their racing hearts the imprint pulsed, glowing withSource.

“You poor creatures. I apologize on behalf of our queen for the close call you both just experienced.”

Lore jumped, her head turning toward the owner of the dulcet voice heading toward them. Lore stiffened. The siren from her room. Who, when Lore had not complied fast enough, had mesmerized her with siren song.

They had changed out of their bloodied gown and now wore an elegant vest. Adorning the lithe creature were two bangles on each wrist, shimmering with emerald stones that matched their eyes, and a formfitting leather apparatus that wrapped around defined biceps, securing a thin weapon with a sharp blade fastened to the wooden staff. The weapon was long and extended above a sympathetic face that was mostly hidden by their wild, shoulder-length hair. Lore’s eyes roamed the length of the creature, trying to come to terms with the fact that where the siren had previously sported legs on the ship, now sprouted a long fish tail.

Though the tail didn’t resemble a fish, not truly.

The tail was tapered, agile, and a sleek, glittering black. It was peppered with elegantly shimmering fins, here and there, that no doubt helped the siren to reach incredible speeds. “My song usually lasts much longer. You both should still be sleeping peacefully before the song’s spell abated, requiring the Puallas Kiss to breathe. As our most welcome guests, we would never have purposefully...”

Lore blinked.

The siren continued swimming toward them; their apologetic voice thrummed and hummed, reaching Lore’s ears as if they were speaking through air and not in a room filled with water.

The moment the siren was within reach, Finndryl gently but firmly moved Lore aside, stood, and pulled the siren’s spear-like weapon from its sheath. In surprise, the siren dropped the jellyfish cage, which floated gently to rest on the sandy bottom.

“You call that a ‘close call’?” Finndryl seethed, the blade’s sharp edge pressed to the siren’s side, where Lore imagined a beating heart would be. “You almost killed her.”

The siren swallowed, managing to hold almost perfectly still, the only movement their tail that fluttered at the finned end just enough to keep them afloat in the water. The siren squeaked, clearly surprised that a land creature had commandeered their weapon and was now threatening them with it.

Lore bet they wished they hadn’t removed their armor before coming in here.

“I apologize. It was a grave mistake that we do not take lightly. Please, if you let me...”

“You are lucky I let you keep your head attached to your body, you piece of—”

“There has been a misunderstanding,” pleaded the siren. “Please—let me go so I can explain!”

“Quiet!” Finndryl, who somehow managed to resemble a lethal and deadly wolf, despite beingunderwater, bared his teeth in warning. “I don’t trust you to speak just yet, in case you decide to sing.”

That was a good sign, though. The siren had had time to sing them into compliance, to force Finndryl to let them go—and instead they had chosen to reason with them.

Finndryl’s eyes narrowed, as though he was mulling over the same thing, but he didn’t remove the blade poised at the siren’s ribs; in fact, from the look on their face, it appeared Finn had increased the pressure. “Tell us who you are and why you havebrought us here.” The siren gave a squeak as Finn pressed the blade deeper; any more pressure and it would pierce their skin, their heart. Finn growled. “If you start to sing, I’ll slip this knife between your ribs before your song can incapacitate me.”

The siren placed two fingers on their chin, just below their lips, in a sort of salute. Finndryl pulled the weapon away a smidge, just enough to ease their discomfort. The siren sighed with relief.

“Thank you.” They glanced between Finndryl and Lore, their face grave. “I assure you, you will not hear our song while you remain here. My name is Cuan Merilani. I am a palace aide.” They dipped their head slightly in greeting. “I have been assigned to your detail during your stay here. I assure you, I only used my song as a last resort to bring you safely to our empire, Lapis Deep.” They gestured toward the jellyfish, floating gently in the cage, bumping listlessly against the bars as though bumbling and harmless, as if they couldn’t cause more pain than Lore had ever experienced in her life. “The jellyfish that bestow the lifesaving kiss, Puallas Kiss, are deep-sea creatures. The Puallas jellies cannot be brought to the surface without injury from the pressure difference. My song allows your kind to survive the trip below, until the kiss can be bestowed. I apologize for the pain my mistake caused you.”

“And what of the answer to our question onwhywe are here?” Lore asked.

The siren beckoned toward the open door. “If you both will follow me, I’ll take you to the queen. She will answer your questions.” Cuan raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking at the blade Finn still hadn’t pulled away from them. “The rest of your party is already at the palace.”

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