Live to Venture (#0)

06 | The Minds of Adventure

Vallin took in his surroundings carefully. It was an interrogation room, just a few chairs and a raggedy desk. There was a high window in the top corner, letting in dull afternoon light. Water dripped from the roof in places, rhythmic and calming. He could smell the ocean close by somewhere, calling back to him.

The door clicked shut behind him. Glancing briefly at the window, he refocused. "I need to speak with the Queen," he said.

"Why would I know where to find her?" she asked. "I'm no Siren."

"You certainly look like one to me, stunner." He turned around to see her, making a point of looking her right in the eye.

She clasped her hands behind her back, chin up to meet his gaze. "Here's the deal: I can't enchant you." She paused, the ghost of a smile threatening her sombre look. "With anything magical."

He felt his skin get hot from holding her stare so long, but he couldn't break contact first. "An island full of Sirens," Vallin said, raising a brow, "and they send the only one that doesn't have charm to interrogate me?"

"You don't think I'm charming?"

"Not really the word I'd use, no."

She tilted her head to watch as he examined the room. "Charm has its limits. It can only work so well, in the right conditions. A man with your reputation could turn a Siren's tricks right back on her."

Vallin searched her expression but found nothing of use in it. "Would it not be far easier to play womanizer on you than a Siren?"

"It most definitely would not be." She settled into one of the rickety wooden chairs. "Besides, what's one Siren when you've had the Queen?" She glanced up at him. The way she moved was impossible to describe, so fluid and elegant in the simplest of task.

He took a wide step around her. "Regardless of what I did to get the deal, the guidelines of it are firm. I don't touch her Sirens, and she doesn't touch my ship. I'd like to discuss this with her personally."

She remained unsmiling, but she was so clearly amused. "I'm sure you would love to discuss it with her personally," she said, leaning forward. "Tell me King of the Sea, most powerful man in the ocean, how much of that success is talent, and how much of it is looks?"

She'd flagged a crack in his confidence, and now she was trying to break it open. He recognized that, but he deflected anyway. "Looks don't equate success. I'm the biggest name in the sea, and you're...?"

"The owner of your ship," she finished. No smile, no clever expression. He was the weaker party in this mind game, clearly, but he didn't know how to get out of it without looking weak.

"Enlighten me with the power you have, love. Something you didn't steal." His mind was whirling, but he hid it well.

"I have the power to kill you with nothing but my hands." She paused. "Stunner."

Vallin didn't like this. He was the witty one; he was the one that forced his converser to stumble upon finding out he wasn't the dim brawn he showcased. He took a breath, but she held up her hand to stop him from whatever he was about to say.

"Let me put you out of your misery, love," she said. "I could run circles around you all day, but they have Kapas in the mealroom today, and you know how I feel about those. Your deal with the Queen stands, I'm sure, but unfortunately for you, she doesn't control every Siren, and—we've already gone over this—I'm not one myself, so your deal does not extend to myself nor anyone under my control."

"The Siren Queen doesn't control all Sirens," Vallin repeated. "That's counterintuitive."

She raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "The land king controls you, then?" she asked.