A knock on the door echoed in the darkness, stirring Alanis from her sleep. Hushed whispers emanated from outside, and the brief flickering of a torch under the door.
The door swung open as she scrambled to her feet. Two guards stood in the of the corridor, bathed in the light of their flaming torches. Between them they held the arms of a third man. His head was hung low, masses of golden curls cascading down his shoulders and arms.
“The creature of the sea.” Scoffed the first guard and thrust Cassiel to the stone floor. Alanis dove forward in time to catch him before he stuck the ground. The side of his face was streaked with blood, and from what she could tell the sleeve of his robe was torn.
The guards slammed the door, and the thunder of bolts sliding into place reverberated in the chamber.
“What have they done to you?” Alanis whispered, easing Cassiel to his feet so she could lead him to the side of the bed.
A crimson gash ran down his cheek and the side of his neck. His clothes were torn as if he had been in a fight, and his arms were covered in pink scratches.
“It appears…” he muttered, “that they did not appreciate my singing very much.”
Alanis sat next to him on the bed, running her fingers along his cheekbones carefully, her eyes tracing the red marks on his skin. “Who struck you?”
“It’s difficult to say.”
“What do you mean?” She exclaimed, “who did this to you, Cassiel? Tell me at once!”
“Let us simply say…that I have had my retribution, and you need not interfere.”
Alanis frowned and reached to touch the cuts on his arm. The words of aged magic were on her lips, but before she could speak them, Cassiel took her hands in his own.
“Do not.” He said quietly, “do not heal me, darling. Your talent ought to remain a secret.”
“I am the princess of Silthia; I shall do as I please!”
“I thought it pleased you not to start a war?” Cassiel murmured, “if they discover your talent, rest assured, there will be war. A princess does not simply acquire magic that has been lost for centuries.”
Alanis reluctantly pulled her hands back to her lap.
Now it was his turn to run his fingers over her cheek, “I thank you, Alanis. You are truly kind to me; like no other. But we must focus on greater things than temporary pain. The court is in your hands now, I assure you.”
“They detest me, and they detest you. I do not know what I shall do.”
Cassiel kicked off his boots, and crawled next to her on the wool blankets. “You shall rest.”
“Rest does me no good. It only delays the inevitable.”
“And what is that, Alanis?” Cassiel leaned close to brush a stand of hair from out of her face. His soft eyes; seas of beryl and indigo, sunk deeper into her soul with every passing second. She almost felt it was pointless to respond; could he not see her inner thoughts already?
“Death.” She whispered, “death is the only inevitable thing.”
“You know that’s not what we are speaking of.”
“Tell me, then.”
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“Do you really think I am a common fish of the sea?” A smirk tugged at his lips, “tell me, do you?”
“What do you mean? I know you are not a fish.”
“What of my sword, Alanis. Tell me, where is it from?”
She blinked, and her brows furrowed in confusion. “Cassiel, why do you mince words with me? You are from the sea. A soldier. From Alathia? I assumed you are from the lost merfolk of Alathia.”
A long, wicked smile swept over his face, “not only a soldier. And we are not merfolk.”
Their closeness was suddenly too close, and Alanis sat up. “What are you?”
Cassiel closed his eyes, lifting his arms above his head to brush against the pillows as he stretched slowly on the bed. His golden curls spread around him like a pool, and his robe shifted enough that she could a glimpse of his abdomen, and his eyes flicked open, catching her gaze.
“Your remind me of the moon, Alanis.” He spoke in a low sing-song voice, a whisper, a murmur; a lullaby. There was something entrancing in his eyes; they shimmered in the dark like silver coins. “When the tides return to the sea, we crawl to the shores and there we find ponds of silver and gold, glowing in the light of the stars, and the crescent moon above. It is beautiful, we worship it. I worship you.”
His voice was piercingly sweet, and with every word her skin prickled. The words spiralled around her head in a low tune, a hum, a melody so entrancing she was unable to turn away – she didn’t want to.
“What are you doing to me?” Alanis hissed breathlessly; and her hand flew to her heart and found it beating rapidly against her fingertips.
“You remind me of a pearl.” Cassiel rose slowly from the sheets, leaning towards her. She felt her back press against the wall at the head of the bed. “A jewel of the ocean, and of the land. Beautiful like no other.”
His lips brushed her neck briefly, but then he pulled away as if crossing an unspoken line, and instead his breath drifted up her neck, up her jawline, until his breathy words tickled her ear, “should I kiss you I would not be ashamed of it.”
His face was before hers, his body hovering above hers, trapping her without a touch. She was staring into the eyes of another creature. And this creature was ravenous.
“Cassiel…” At that moment she knew that if he kissed her, she would be helpless to it. Her body yearned for his touch; her mind was a whirlwind of desire and confusion, and him.
Cassiel smiled. Two rows of sharp, ivory teeth. Wicked, and dangerous.
Then it was gone. She blinked, and the trance was gone. The desire was gone. Alanis fell shaking into his arms.
“There, there.” He embraced her warmly, a hand on the back of her head, and the other around her waist. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“What did you do to me?” She wailed.
Cassiel sighed and buried his face in her hair, “a little trick of mine.”
She pushed him away with a rasping breath and smoothed her hair, “you tried to seduce me, Cassiel! What is wrong with you?”
Cassiel blinked lazily at her, and fell onto the pillows, making himself comfortable before looking back up at her, “I owe you my life, Alanis. I am yours. I would not seduce you unless you wish me to. I…I thought it would be best to show you what I am.”
“A seducer!”
“A siren.” He murmured with a smile, “so, yes, I suppose you are right.”
“A siren.” Alanis echoed quietly, “oh gods.”
“Don’t be afraid of me, Alanis.” He reached to take her hand in his own again, “I wanted you to see, so that you understand what I have done to the court.”
“You-” her voice caught in her throat, “you did…what?”
He turned his gaze to the ceiling, “they are in your hands now, Alanis of Mercy, just as I am.”
“No, you can not do that for me.” A new feeling overwhelmed her, she felt ill, desperately ill. “You did not let them touch you. No.”
He eyed her from the side, “that is a privilege only you hold. But they did try.”
“Is that why…” Her fingers traced next to the wound on his cheeks, and the gashes on his exposed arm. Cassiel didn’t stop her.
“Yes.” His voice was quiet; he seemed caught up in her touch to do little else but watch her fingers dance over his skin.
“Let me heal you; just a little. You’ve already done so much for me.” She pleaded.
“Alanis, you tempt me too much.”
“I shall not have you bleed on my bedsheets.”
Cassiel winced, “do as you wish. But know I advised against it”
Having received his permission, at once Alanis whispered the words of old. A lightness in her chest swelled, and a small light came out of her mouth and landed on Cassiel’s arm. It crawled upwards over his arm, transforming the red streaks back into the alabaster tone of his skin.
He squirmed slightly, but made no sound, and once he was made well, Alanis spoke a second word and the light retracted, leaving the gash on his cheek untouched.
“There. I have left the obvious mark. There ought to be no suspicion.”
“Now let us sleep.” Cassiel leaned forwards, gathering the blanket from the end of the bed and pulling it over Alanis, and then himself.
“I hate this place.” She whispered, letting Cassiel tuck the blanket around her, “I hate it. I hate it all. When I am queen, I shall never sleep in a dungeon like this again.”
Cassiel smiled, and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, “I will make sure of it. Now sleep, my darling. Tomorrow, you have kingdoms to conquer.”