The next morning, a Siren envoy came to get us.

No, the envoy wasn’t a siren or she wouldn’t have been able to get into the city in the first place.

Rather she was a friend. Or at least I thought she was.

Hilda spoke mostly to Alustur and kind of avoided me. Had I done something to her?

Alustur turned to me. “We will meet them again but this time on land. I will do the talking.”

“Sure,” I said.

So we started getting ready. Or rather they started to. I didn’t have much to sort. My stuff was on me, and I didn’t need new things from the city. I wanted to buy some souvenirs but for whom? Mom was dead and Den was missing and-

And-

And you still have friends and new family there. But said friends and family wouldn’t, no, couldn’t ever fill in the void in my heart. Though I suppose it was unfair of me to expect that to happen in the first place.

Sighing, I turned and almost crashed into the person behind me.

“What?” I said.

“Hi, Sol,” she said. She was close, fairly close. And looking at her now, I could tell she was upset.

“Hi.”

“How are you doing now?”

“Better.”

“Glad to hear that.”

“You just left. You could have said something before leaving you know. If I somehow upset you, you could have said-” I didn’t want to bring it up. Yet it just jumped around in my mind.

“No, no. I was just… I didn’t know what to say. I got scared and ran.”

She had difficult experiences herself as a child with her family and she saw a lot of similarities and didn’t want to face her feelings. Hence she’d ran away.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I understood yet didn’t at the same time.

No, perhaps I didn’t want to bother. None of it mattered right now anyway. I was probably not going to see her again and she would eventually forget about me. So it didn’t matter.

“It’s fine,” I said, smiling. “Let bygones be bygones.”

“Okay…”

Once finished, the four of us headed for the pond outside the city. Apparently, that was going to be the meeting spot.

“The gem was yours to give,” Alustur said. “I’m fine with it. However, you yourself is not for you to give,” he said, eyeing me. “A lot of people have their hopes on you. Even Den and your mom. They all placed their hope and faith in you. Never sell yourself short.”

I didn’t say anything. Not a conversation I wanted to have. So I just nodded and moved along. Shia had also been quiet. Normally she’d keep talking but these days she hardly talked.

Everyone had their limits I suppose.

We arrived at the pond sooner than later. No, I was just too preoccupied with thoughts.

Four sirens awaited us. Armania, and three of the elders. One of them was the actual elder. Or I suppose I should have just called him the leader?

“Ah, greetings,” I offered the same bow as before. Shia didn’t bother. Neither did Alustur. Talk about a lack of manners.

The elders were happy to see me and before they could ask any questions or say anything-

Alustur stood right in front of me, and glared them down. Someone was clearly feeling hostile today.

Although I thought our negotiations were fairly decent the last time minus them wanting me, Alustur begged to differ. He thought I’d been duped and the sirens were out to scam me of my riches. I couldn’t fault him. It was best to always be cautious. But the sirens probably just wanted to use me rather than abuse me. The terms they were offering were also pretty generous.

“Alus Staire,” he said, offering his somewhat fake name. Sometimes I wondered if maybe his real name was Alus but not my problem. He was always going to be Alustur to me.

“Johan,” one of the elders said. “We’ve come for the young boy’s response.”

“We decline,” Alustur said. “He needs to be home as fast as possible.”

“Then we cannot help.”

“Your help isn’t mandatory,” Alustur said. “We’ll find our way out, on our own.”

“Very well, then we shall leave at once!”

“Calm down,” their leader said. “Soler, would you consider joining our village?”

“I have considered it,” I said. “However, right now I must focus on things that are important to me. If everything is alright and I’m still alive in a couple of years, I’ll come visit.”

My mother rested in these lands. I was definitely going to be coming back.

“I see,” he said. “We’ve already received payment,” he shrugged, producing a small stone from his pocket and flicking it at me. “We shall await you by the Yuhe Terrace.”

The three elders left.

Meanwhile, Armania nodded with a smile. The hell was she proud about? “Not bad, not bad at all. I expected there to be some bloodshed, but not bad at all.”

Oh yeah, considering Alustur hadn’t cleaved people’s heads off, she was definitely right to have that pride.

“You’re going to be coming back here?” Shia said.

“Probably. Mom’s here…” I mumbled.

“Your mom’s dead Sol.”

“I know,” I said. While I meant it to be a normal response. It came with a sob.

Fuck….