The name Siren followed Freya Helvar around like a curse from the moment her powers first manifested in a raid on her village. With the image of her father's charred corpse and her brother's disgusted face on her mind, she is hauled to the Little Pa...
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THEY WERE SHOWN to a set of hammocks at the back of the ship's hull, the farthest away from an exit one could get on this ship. It made Freya's entire body itch, but she bit her tongue and followed behind the frightening Shu woman without complaint. They were offering them passage for free, and if it hadn't been for the breathless sound of the captain's words, Freya might've thought this another trap. The man had stared at her with something she couldn't discern, but it wasn't anything malicious. More like he was looking at the stars for the first time ever, trapped in a cage all his life.
When he spoke, something nudged at the edge of her consciousness, a recognition of sorts she shoved away. It wasn't possible, she told herself, rubbing her tired eyes. It was the exhaustion, she decided and tried to ignore the memory of a deep melodic laugh and mirth-filled hazel eyes resurfacing.
Freya claimed the top hammock, propping herself up on it as she swept her eyes over the hull. Some of the crewmembers were looking at her, but they averted their eyes when they realised she noticed. It didn't make her uncomfortable, she was used to the stares, but she was glad they stopped nonetheless. She fidgeted with her cloak as the ship began to move. The feeling was subtle, but she'd spent too long in the hold of a drüskelle ship to not know the feeling.
She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but the next thing she knew someone was nudging her shoulder, and she was opening her eyes to a dark room with only the barest amount of light. The Shu woman was standing beside the hammock, holding her finger to her mouth in a silent gesture to not speak. She jerked her head, bidding her to follow.
Freya hesitated for a moment. Maybe she would take her up onto the deck, kill her and dump her into the water, or maybe the drüskelle would be waiting for her there. She had a much bigger price upon her head than Henrik did, after all. But the woman didn't seem malicious as she stalked away, treading carefully past the sleeping lumps of sailors to not wake any of them. Freya slid out of her hammock, landing on the floor with the softest thump. She cringed, looking down at Henrik on the bottom hammock, but he was still sleeping, face half buried in a pillow.
"Where are we going?" Freya whispered when they made it past the sailors and entered a corridor. There was a door at the end of it, and she didn't doubt that was their destination, as there was nothing other than barrels stacked in doorless rooms at the sides. The woman didn't stop walking, didn't even look at her.
"The captain wants to see you." And Djel, if that didn't make her heartbeat skyrocket. What could the captain possibly want with her? Surely he wouldn't try to extort any money from her now. But then again, she thought, they were miles offshore with no way of getting off the ship. If he wanted a ridiculous amount of money, there wouldn't be a way for her or Henrik to get out of it. She fingered the silver bracelet around her wrist. It was the only thing of value she had now, and her heart clenched at the thought of giving it up.
The walk to the door seemed to stretch out for hours as every possible grim thought rushed through her head until finally, she was standing right before it. The Shu woman rapped her knuckles against the wood in three short and quick movements, then opened the door without waiting for an answer. Freya stepped inside the room, the door immediately closing behind her.
