Page 10 of Voice of the Ocean

“Are you nervous?” the queen asked, getting up and moving toward the mother-of-pearl comb on the shelf.

“I—” Celeste began, hand dropping from her hair. She wanted so desperately to ask her mother about the prince, but she was certain it was a bad idea. “No.”

The queen glided back to her daughter’s side, eyes unreadable. With a gentle touch, she placed her hand on Celeste’s chin, turning her daughter’s face away. Then she carefully ran the comb through the tangles, each stroke smooth and soft. The touch was soothing. Calming. It reminded her that she wasn’t speaking only to the queen of Staria. She was speaking to her mother. The siren who raised her.

“Did you know humans sang songs?” Celeste hedged.

The comb paused, then continued.

“Their songs aren’t like ours.”

“Right! I know,” Celeste agreed, heart hammering. Why did she say that? What if her mother asked how she knew about the human songs? But the queen said nothing, only finished brushing and set the comb down. “Are—are all humans bad?” Celeste turned to face her mother, knowing full well she was swimming in dangerous waters. But she couldn’t stop herself.

The water around her felt as though it had dropped several degrees.

“They would kill you as soon as they laid eyes on you. You know this,” the queen said, her brow knit in confusion.

“I know, but—” Celeste’s words died in her throat. She wanted to ask about the animal. About the dancing. To ask why sirens hated these creatures who made the things sirens pillaged. Surely there was more to them than violence. But she couldn’t say any of what she’d seen without revealing that she had been to the surface that morning. Instead, she said, “What if they’re not all dangerous?”

The queen looked as though Celeste had slapped her.

But Celeste pushed on. It was as if her thoughts were water, rushing out at once. “I’m sure you have good reasons for not trusting them... but couldn’t there be some humans who are good too? Just because their king is a monster doesn’t mean his son?—”

“That’s enough, Celeste.”

“But, Mother?—”

“Humans are dangerous and violent, even to their own.”

“I know,” Celeste said, knots forming in her stomach.

The queen shook her head, hurt plain on her face. “Then how can you say such things? Just because you discovered they have songs you think they’re civilized?”

Tears pricked at Celeste’s eyes. “I don’t know?—”

“You don’t.” The queen sighed, rubbing her temples with her long fingers. “You don’t know anything about them.”

This landed like a blow. “That’s why I’m asking you!” she said. “I only want to understand, Mother. You haven’t told me anything about them. Everything I know has come from gossip or through training. I know their language and their ships and their geography. We even collect theirthings! I just—” Celeste stopped at the look on her mother’s face, angry enough to boil water.

“That’s enough,” the queen said, straightening.

“Please, Mother. I just want to talk about this.” But as the words left her mouth, her voice began to waver. Then the tears grew in her eyes, until they released, unbidden, mixing with the water around her and disappearing as quickly as they formed.

“Calm down,” the queen said. “Crying about it is not going to help.”

Celeste wiped at her eyes, embarrassment white-hot in her chest. It only made things worse. The tears did not listen.

“Don’t act like this,” the queen said, “likeone of them.”

The words sucked the air from her lungs. Sirens considered humans irrational creatures, led by their emotions and incapable of reason or control. Celeste gasped, the tears falling faster.Stop crying, Celeste begged her tears, but they ignored her silent pleas. The feelings inside her felt too big, too confusing.This is foolish. Why am I crying over this? Why can’t we just talk? How did this go so wrong?

But this was not the first time. Celeste had always been emotional, unlike her family. She’d never seen her mother or father cry. Shye hadn’t cried since their grandmother died, and Sephone... Sephone only cried when no one was looking. But it seemed as though Celeste cried all the time. She couldn’t control it. And even having someone present wasn’t a deterrent. Despite her and her mother’s wishes, the Chorus hadn’t trained it out of her. She wished she could handle her emotions like other sirens. She wished she didn’t cry when she was angry or sad or frustrated. But she did. She always did. And she hated herself for it.

The queen took a deep breath and reached for Celeste’s hand. “I don’t think being a member of the Chorus is the right fit,” she said. “I fear this is too much pressure for you.”

It was as though Celeste had been doused in the icy waters of Skalvaske. “What?”

Her mother rose, moving toward the door. “I know you went to the surface today. The guard told me,” she said, voice low. Celeste looked down at her fin, embarrassed. “You’re not ready. I hoped you could learn from General Echo, but—I don’t think you should be making any more trips to the surface anytime soon. Clearly, they’re leaving a bad impression on you.”

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