Chapter 60: The Voyage
The salty winds felt harsh on my skin as I stood by the bow of the ship, admiring the beauty of the massive and dangerous waters of the Lustro Ocean as the Queen Selena, the kingdom’s biggest and newest sailing ship, slowly traversed its waves.
The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. I watched as a few Black Wolves under Augustus’s command began to scramble, preparing for night duty.
I decided to stay a bit longer, until the harsh ocean winds wore me down.
I avoided the lower deck since Medea and her maid, Isobel, had boarded. Kieran also seemed to be distant, deciding to remain in our quarters to study the map Castiel provided rather than watching the waves with me.
Castiel and Augustus, along with their second-in-commands, well…
It’s quite an understatement to say that the ship was bustling.
The Lustro Ocean has surrounded the continent for Goddess-knows how long. While the waters near the lands were calm and suitable for fishing and maritime activities, the waves grew harsher and cruel as they got close to the Forbidden Island, the very place where it was rumored that the Mother Goddess gave birth to each ancestor of the ten kingdoms ruling the land.
After Mother’s children began to covet more power and kill each other, she closed the Forbidden Island to protect her most prized possession: the Goddess’ Tree, a persimmon tree that carried traces of Mother’s blood.
One fruit could cure an entire kingdom, or destroy it. Even the leaves carried strong, raw manifestations of divine, primordial power that even the strongest among her children couldn’t rival.
She hid it in a thick, vast forest inside an island filled with dangerous creatures. Ones that She raised from hell Herself. Mother often told me that if the time came when I had to find the tree, She would lead me to it, being Her favored.
But it has been weeks since I last heard Her voice. Even Fluke, my own wolf, had been eerily silent.
I know I haven’t lost them. I could still feel Fluke’s core deep within me, and I still carried Mother’s divine powers.
It just felt as if something blocked their voices out of my head…
“Kieran, you know I had memorized your scent already. Stop sneaking up on me,” I said as I turned to face Kieran, who decided to step out and join me.
He wrapped a thick shawl around my shoulder to keep me warm. Kieran then leaned against the railing, watching the violent waves striking the side of the ship. “Why are you here, my Queen? It’ll be dark soon.”
I shrugged. “I’m just making sure nothing’s amiss. The Black Wolves would begin their night watch soon. I’m just worried that with the news of us heading to the Forbidden Island, someone might…”
A soft smile tugged his lips. “Don’t you trust Castiel’s protection spell? Besides, I already gave the Siren’s Tears to almost everyone in the ship, and even asked Castiel to pour it in our water supply. We won’t fall for the effects of a siren song, Hestia. Trust me.”
I swallowed the argument rising in my throat. Kieran never told me where he got the Siren’s Tears. While I don’t doubt him even one bit, I can’t help but have small suspicions playing in my head.
That legendary, almost mythical drug… how would he get his hands on it? The kingdom had launched countless raids and even resorted to the black market before, but no one ever secured even a drop.
If it did exist, the price would be astronomical, and we both didn’t have the money to even afford that…
“There’s nothing wrong with being vigilant,” I finally replied as I let out a deep sigh. “This is already the third trial, Kieran. You can’t blame me if I’m feeling anxious right now.”
Castiel told me that the Temple arranged for five trials for this competition. Shorter compared to the initial Queen competitions that had a dozen trials.
I had only gained one point. The second trial’s results were forfeited after the whole public saw that I still had a Divine Link with Augustus.
I can’t sit still. I must not sit still.
Besides, there were still a lot of secrets we hadn’t uncovered. Kieran hadn’t even started to take revenge for his mother, nor had I fully uncovered the secrets of my heritage.
Our progress was slow. And time would soon run out before we even knew it.
Kieran left to sleep at around eight in the evening. But sleep was scarce for me, and I decided to stay longer, watching the dark void of an ocean stare back at me.
The Black Wolves on duty had begun playing their card games at around nine in the evening. By eleven, everything was…quiet, save for a few snoring and distant chatter in the lower decks where the rest of the crew were.
I pulled my shawl tight as the cold ocean winds began to hit my skin. The navigational instruments were not picking up anything amiss.
It was a calm night.
Just as I had taken my first steps back to my room with Kieran, a soft, almost whispering, singing began to mix into the sound of the ocean and waves.
It was almost subtle, at first. The kind easily to be missed if someone’s talking or being rowdy.
I decided to ignore it, but just as my hand hovered around the knob of the door leading to the lower decks, the singing grew louder, stronger, commanding…
A siren’s song only affected male Lycans. It stirred deep, animalistic desires deep within them, one that, if not cured by their own mate, would lead them to their own watery graves.
Fluke began to howl. The kind of howling that she did when she first met our mates. That yearning, pained howling…
I mustn’t. No, Fluke, we should avoid scandal…
I pushed the door open, hoping that the structures inside would drown the singing, only to be met by three massive figures, their labored breathing, and the mixed howls of Bright, Onyx, and Trigger as their masters began to succumb to the siren’s call.