Page 89 of To No End

After several minutes, I heard the noise of a faint conversation coming from the room next to mine. I couldn’t make out the words, but there was a male voice. I stood up and scanned the wall with my eyes, looking for signs of where the sound might be coming from. On the far-left side of the room, there was a small crack in the stones, leaving a tiny hole. If I held my eye up to it, I could see a hint of the chamber on the other side.

I knew it was wrong, and I should have probably gone back to minding my own business, but once it was clear that Varro was on the other side, curiosity got the best of me.

From what I could see, he was on his knees shaking his head in what appeared to be desperation. Sitting on the small cot before him was a beautiful girl. She was as bright as a pearl in sunshine, with long white curls sweeping past both sides of her youthful face. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. It seemed like he was arguing with her, but not aggressively; more like he was dismissing her advice.

He then leaned over and placed his head in her lap, giving her access to run her fingers through his hair. She then began to hum a tune, soothing him with her song. I started to feel like I’d been intruding on something very private. But who was she?

When I heard the hum of the song slow to an end, I moved my head and held my ear against the hole, trying to make out any of the conversation. “I will never be given a fair chance,” he was pleading quietly. “It hurts in my ribs; my heart feels caged. I feel it in the marrow of my being.”

I muffled my gasp, pulling my ear away from the cold stone wall, fearful of having spied on something too intimate to witness. Whoever it was, she had a hold on Varro. It was clear from the way he clung to her.

I occupied myself with the Vesper, doing some light sparring that allowed me to sweat off all the built-up tension. I tried mybest to put it far from my mind, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Varro and the other female.

When I heard the door close, I deduced he had finally made his exit. I peeked out of my door and noticed he was heading to the baths rather than his room. I reasoned that after all the sweating I’d done, I needed a quick dip. I sent the Vesper back to its original form and waited just a bit longer so he didn’t notice me following behind him.

I knew he’d be in his favorite pool, which made locating him easy. When I entered the steamy room, he paid me no attention. He didn’t even turn to acknowledge me. Varro just stood there with his back turned to me, making his way farther into the cavernous pool.

I hadn’t realized it till I was waist-deep, but after what he’d done to me earlier, I was feeling a bit nervous in the water. It was shallow, nearly impossible for me to drown, but the eerie memory of that feeling was now ever present.

I sat down on a stone bench under the inlet, something that was becoming a familiar routine for Varro and me anytime we were both here. He sat across from me, stretching his muscles in the milky water.

“How’d you do it?” I demanded.

“How’d I do what?” he asked, playing coy.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. How did you make me feel like I was drowning?”

Varro slowly moved toward me, and I was unsure why he needed to approach me to answer the question. I shrank back in my seat.

From below the waters, Varro suddenly grabbed my foot and refused to let go.

“You’re so tightly wound. You need to relax.”

“Tell me…” I fumed, trying to tug my foot away.

“I’ll tell you if you just relax,” he demanded as he began to slowly knead his fist into the bottom of my aching foot.

Gods, that felt good. I eyed him suspiciously, but he was rendering me defenseless with each squeeze and tug along the arch of my foot and up my toes.

“How did you do it,” I gritted out, sounding far less relaxed than I was becoming.

“It’s like mesmerization. We call it ‘Siren Song.’ Instead of mesmerizing you to take action, it controls how you feel. I made you feel like you were drowning, even though you were perfectly safe.”

He said it so matter of fact, like I shouldn’t be shocked by any of it.

“How come I’ve never heard of that ability? Saryn has never mentioned it.”

Varro lowered my foot and released his grip. It had felt so good, the second he let go I longed for it again, but then he grabbed the other foot and proceeded with the same movements on the remaining leg.

“Because it’s not an ability. It’s a gift.”

“Like Nori and dreamwalking?” I prodded.

“No, that’s an ability, albeit a rare one. Siren Song is a gift, and you have to earn it.”

I was excited to understand this unique thing Varro was capable of.

“How do you earn it?” I prodded.

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