The Little Siren

11 - The Library

The inky cloak of night settled over the sapphire expanse of the ocean, cloaking it in an inky veil. Lashanie, her scales shimmering an iridescent teal in the moonlight, peeked from behind a coral outcropping. Her heart hammered a frantic tattoo against her ribs. Tonight was the night. Tonight, she'd betray her own kind for a chance at truth, and for the unsettlingly handsome maelstrom siren prince beside her.

Varian, every inch the picture of a predator with his piercing blue eyes and razor-sharp teeth, shifted impatiently. Unlike Lashanie, who blended seamlessly into the coral background, his dark, swirling form was a stark contrast. Maelstrom sirens, feared for the whirlpools they conjured and the deafening shrieks that could shatter ships, were not known for their subtlety.

"Are you sure this is the way in?" Varian rumbled, his voice a low tremor that sent shivers down Lashanie's spine – a shiver that wasn't entirely fear-induced.

Lashanie swallowed the lump in her throat. "Positive. There's a hidden passage through the kelp forest on the west side. It leads to an abandoned section of the city."

Varian raised an eyebrow, a gesture that somehow seemed menacing on his face. "Abandoned? Sounds safe."

Lashanie forced a smile. "Safer than the main entrance, trust me. Now come on, we don't have all night."

With a flick of her tail, she darted towards the kelp forest, the dense fronds brushing against her scales like a prickly caress. Varian followed close behind, his movements surprisingly graceful for such a large creature. The silence was thick, broken only by the occasional snap of a shrimp or the sigh of the current.

Lashanie reached the designated spot, a swirling mass of kelp that seemed almost to writhe in anticipation. Taking a deep breath, she dove in, pushing aside the clinging fronds. A narrow tunnel, barely wide enough for her slender form, opened up before her. She squeezed through, the kelp brushing uncomfortably against her gills.

Varian, however, seemed to have more difficulty. Lashanie winced as he got stuck halfway, his broad shoulders wedged tight.

"A little help here?" he grunted, his voice muffled.

Lashanie swam back and, with a laugh that sounded more strained than intended, shoved against his chest. He lurched forward, popping out of the kelp with a disgruntled snort.

"Maybe you should have considered a diet before this little escapade," Lashanie teased, unable to resist a playful jab.

Varian's lips twitched, the closest he ever came to a smile. "Maybe you should have picked a bigger entrance."

Suddenly Lashanie gasped, a grey dolphin with black stripes swam up to her.

"It's okay. It's just Ruddiger." Varian said with a small laugh.

They continued their journey through the tunnel, the darkness pressing in on them. Lashanie's tail propelled her forward, a nervous energy coursing through her veins. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tunnel opened up into a vast cavern. Moonlight filtered weakly through cracks in the ceiling, casting long, eerie shadows. The cavern was indeed abandoned, remnants of broken pillars and overturned statues hinting at a forgotten grandeur.

"Creepy," Varian muttered, his voice echoing in the silence.

Lashanie, however, couldn't help but feel a strange sense of wonder. This was a forbidden part of her city, a glimpse into a forgotten past. Ignoring the tremor of fear in her stomach, she pressed on. Aqualux's secrets awaited.

***

The tendrils of suspicion had woven themselves around Corin's heart from the moment he'd spotted Lashanie's clandestine meeting with the cloaked figure by the coral outcropping. Lashanie, his childhood friend, the mermaid who possessed a smile that could rival the brilliance of the sunlit shallows, had been acting strange lately. Her normally bright eyes held a haunted glint, and her once carefree demeanor had been replaced by a nervous twitch of her tail.