Elian sighs, unimpressed. “If you’re going to lie,” he says, “do it better.”
“It’s not a lie.” I pretend to be wounded by the accusation. “One of them was injured during the attack on my family. We’re from Polemistés.”
At the mention of the warrior land, Elian takes a step forward. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small circular object. The same compass he palmed when we spoke above deck. A thin gold chain hangs delicately from the hilt, and when he flips it open, the ends chime together.
“Do you really expect me to believe that you’re from Polemistés?” Elian asks.
I try not to take offense at the question – right now I wouldn’t believe I was a warrior either – but I don’t argue my case. I don’t like the way Elian glances down at the compass, as though he’s relying on it to discern something. With every lie that crosses my thoughts, I can almost feel the object reaching out to crawl into the watery depths of my mind. Pluck out the lies like seaweed roots. It seems impossible, but I know how much humans like their trickery.
“My family are hunters,” I say carefully. “Just like you. The Sea Queen wanted revenge because she felt she was wronged.”
The space between us cloys with the compass’s phantom magic, and I conjure an image of Maeve’s face to prove to the strange object that this is not technically a lie.
“I tortured one of her sirens to get what I needed,” I say.
“What happened to the siren?”
“Dead,” I tell him.
Elian glances down at the compass and then frowns. “Did you kill it?”
“Do you think I’m not capable?”
He sighs at my evasive answer, but it’s difficult to miss the intrigue in his eyes as he toys with the possibility of believing me. “The siren,” he says. “Did she tell you about the crystal?”
“She told me a lot of things. Make me an offer worth my while, and perhaps I’ll tell you, too.”
“What kind of offer?”
“A place on your ship and this hunt.”
“You’re in no position to bargain,” Elian says.
“My family has studied sirens for generations. I guarantee that I know more about them than you ever could hope to. And you’ve already seen that I can speak their tongue,” I say. “This isn’t a bargain, it’s a deal.”
“I’m not in the business of striking deals with girls in cages.”
I twist my lips into a cruel smile. “Then by all means, let me out.”
Elian laughs, pulls a pistol out, and shakes his head once again.
“You know,” he says, approaching the cell, “I think I might like you. Thing is” – he taps his gun against my prison – “there’s a difference between liking someone and trusting them.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never done either.”
“When we get to Eidyllio,” Elian says, “we can drink to that.”
The thought is enough to make me wince. Eidyllio is a land devoted to romance. They celebrate love as though it’s power, even though it has killed far more humans than I ever have. I would rather be surrounded by the blinding gold of Midas than be in a kingdom where emotion is currency.
“You trust me enough to buy me a drink?”
Elian pockets his pistol and heads back to the switch. “Who said I’d be the one buying?”
“You promised that you would set me free!” I shout to his retreating figure.
“I promised you more comfortable living arrangements.” Elian’s hand flickers over the switch. “I’ll get Kye to bring you a pillow.”
I catch one last look at his angled smirk before the lantern dims and the last speck of light is pulled from the room.
19
Lira
WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS across the shore of Eidyllio, there’s a flash of pink that shatters the sky. The sun gleams against the horizon, encircled by a miraculous hue of diminished red, like melted coral. I’m pulled from the depths of my cage and into the light, where there’s an explosion of warmth and color, like nothing I have ever witnessed. There’s light in every corner of the earth, but in Eidyllio it seems closer to magic. The kind that’s crafted into Elian’s blade and my mother’s ashen trident. Dreams shaped into something more powerful than reality.
Across the docks, the grass is the color of neon gobies. A meadow floating on the water. Stems of juniper sprout like fireworks, rain beads clinging to their tips in indestructible droplets. They are orbs of light guiding the way back to land.