Page 239 of The Sins of Silas

To her right was another woman, one with tanned skin and light sea-green hair whose length rivaled mine. She had it tied in two long fishtail braids, the ends resting at her waist. Her brown eyes studied us with slight surprise.

To the throne’s left was a Mage man, his skin a rich brown and eyes a striking green. His dark brown hair was cropped short to his scalp, and his hands were kept politely behind his back. His eyes remained on me.

“Lena Daelyra,” The woman on the throne began, her nearly black eyes studying me curiously. “We have been anticipating your arrival. Allow me to introduce myself.” A warm smile overcame her face. “I am Lucretia Crane, Supreme of Nereida.”

I began to bow, and Lucretia raised her hand. “You and I are equals, Supreme. No need to bow.”

I felt my cheeks heat, and I gave an embarrassed smile. “We are pleased to be here.”

Lucretia motioned to her right. “This is Kismet, my consort.”

The green-haired woman—Kismet—gave a warm smile.

“And this is my son, Valter.”

The green-eyed Prince smiled slightly, inclining his head.

I returned the gesture, my eyes sliding back to Lucretia. “How did you know my name?”

Lucretia smiled, lifting a note between her pointed fingernails. “Your seer informed us a few months ago to anticipate your arrival.”

“Kayin?” I asked breathlessly.

Lucretia's smile faltered as she lowered the note. “No. A man named Igon.”

Gods…Igon really knew a lot. If only he had lived, we would have so many more answers.

I nodded. “He was our Supreme.”

“Yes,” she responded gravely. “It appears he knew of his impending death.”

“I can’t believe a place like this actually exists,” Viola began. “I can't believe Igon knew yet kept us in Ames.”

“We once were a kingdom under the sea,” Lucretia explained. “Until The War of Three Pirates, that is.” She gestured to alooming statue resting along the northern wall. It was of a male Sea Nymph and what appeared to be a Mage woman in each other’s embrace.

The War of Three Pirates…Immeron had mentioned that war.

“I’ve never read any literature on this place…never heard of it, except from a couple of Mages I know.”

“That is for good reason,” she explained. “We don’t wish for the humans to know of us. While we have a powerful ward protecting our land, it still would prove tiresome if we had a group of people constantly wishing to pass through.”

“What of all the rest of your people? We are suffering…our numbers dwindling by the day.”

“It seems that is the humans’ fault, no?” Her eyes shifted to Dani. “I wasn’t expecting a Warlock to be in your company. A longtime enemy of ours.”

“Warlocks are not our enemy,” I protested as Dani's gaze narrowed.

Lucretia's eyes slid to Silas. “It appears you don’t believe humans are, either.”

“Bad people exist among every group of people. Our real enemy is the necromancer plaguing our lands.”

As my words came out, Valter stiffened. “A necromancer?”

“You don’t know?” Dani asked. “Or perhaps you are harboring him, seeing as though there are thousands of Mages here.”

I shot Dani a warning glare. Lucretia shook her head, raising her nose. “I’m aware of the threat.” To that, Valter shot her a surprised glance. “Those that live here never leave. They have no desire to see the rest of the continent…see all the places where we are discriminated against. As for the necromancer, I became aware of his presence when the Undead recently seized Wrendier. I've hadto strengthen our borders due to their continuous desire to get here.”

Viola clenched her fists. “You keep to yourselves while the rest of us suffer. With how many of us are here, we could’ve stood a chance of winning this war before it even began!”

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