Page 37 of Voice of the Ocean

With a sinking feeling, Celeste nodded. But the time when she would have to pretend she was a Wayfinder—whatever that meant—was bound to happen eventually. She knew Raiden didn’t actually believe her to be a Wayfinder. So what did he want to discuss with her? How much had his father told him about sirens anyway? How much did they know?

Kiyami pointed past Raiden toward a door below the quarterdeck.

“That’s the captain’s and superior officers’ quarters,” she said. “Raiden, Bastian, myself, Torben, and Nasir will be sleeping in there. I believe your room is in there as well.” Kiyami pointed to a door that sat upon the quarterdeck. “Navigation room’s there, as I’m sure you figured out. I expect that’s where Raiden wants to speak with you.”

Celeste nodded appreciatively, doing her best to keep a neutral, yet knowledgeable, countenance. Although the Chorus had taught her some parts of the ship, and she had seen many different shipwrecks, most of this was new to her. But she was fairly certain it wouldn’t be new to an accomplished member of the Wayfinder guild.

Kiyami ushered Celeste below deck into a dimly lit, large wooden room. Sunlight peeked through narrow gaps where a window would be, if it weren’t covered by a wooden flap. And before each of the windows was a large metal cannon. Humans bustled throughout the room, some hanging hammocks between the cannons, while others were rolling heavy barrels through a door at the back. The smell of salt air and human sweat sat thickly in the air.

“Bet you’re glad you’re not sleeping here in the berth,” Kiyami said.

She was right about that.

“Through there is the gunport, and where they keep the rum and water casks,” Kiyami said, pointing toward the bow. “And behind us is the infirmary, galley, and officers’ mess. Weofficerswill be having our meals there.” She finished proudly, as if being an officer on this ship were a privilege and not something Celeste had been forced into. “Cargo access is here,” Kiyami said, pointing toward a trapdoor in the floor. “And, of course, brig’s down there too.”

Celeste understood about half of what Kiyami had said. But she nodded along respectfully all the same. She did know the termbrig. The Chorus had said that humans locked up others in there. Sometimes even sirens, although all of those had been rescued and those ships destroyed. Celeste hoped she would avoid having to see the brig at all, but considering her record thus far for being locked in cells, it wasn’t out of the question.

“Now, let’s get you upstairs before Raiden gets cross,” Kiyami said with a smirk.

They made their way to the stairs as Raiden appeared at the top, blocking out the sun with his tall frame.

“Follow me,” he said, before turning and walking away, leaving Celeste no choice but to follow. As Kiyami had surmised, Raiden led her up onto the quarterdeck and toward a shining wooden door with a golden handle. He pulled it open to reveal a well-lit room, with a wall of curved windows at the back. Celeste stepped into the room upon a plush red rug and looked up at the iron chandelier rocking gently above her head. Whoever Valencia was, she had excellent taste in decor. And the room certainly looked fit for a queen.

Celeste’s eyes caught on a large map that took up the entire wall to her left. She moved toward it. It was largely a map of the human kingdoms, along with the Southern Ocean and the Turquoise Sea to the south and east of it, respectively. Celeste had seen many maps before on sunken ships and from the Chorus’s collection, but none so beautiful as this. Ethoria’s large mass of land spread out in the center of the map like a handprint, and along the west coast sat Port Romsey. Or at least Celeste assumed as much, since she couldn’t read a thing on the page.

An issue a real Wayfinder likely didn’t have.

Raiden moved further into the room, coming to stand behind a large wooden desk at the center with one throne-like seat behind it. He gestured to a smaller chair before him.

“Join me,” he said, the words just shy of a demand.

With a huff, Celeste did as he asked. Sitting upon the table was another map, this one specifically of Ethoria and a near-perfect depiction of the Southern Ocean. A small wooden object sat beside the map, looking very much like their ship. Celeste took the tiny boat and placed it atop the location she believed was Port Romsey. Although she couldn’t read, Celeste knew her ocean. Every shallow and every shore. Every siren worth their salt did. It was a part of them. It was their birthright.

Raiden leaned over the map beside her.

“Our destination is here,” he said, pointing to a small island far to the southwest of them. It was well past Ethoria’s most southern island, upon which Port Velluno was located. In fact, it was past the siren Kingdom of Staria. So far south it would take them weeks to reach it at the slow speed ships sailed. Celeste blinked at the map. The island was so small she could have missed it. That made sense if someone were trying to hide treasure, she supposed. It hadn’t been depicted on the map on the wall. The treasure must be great, given the prince was willing to spend so long sailing to an island in the middle of nowhere and back. And she doubted there was anything there. She had never heard of its existence.Nothingshould have been out there.

“During our last journey...”

Celeste looked up. He blinked, and for a moment, she wondered if she saw a look of anguish cross his face. But it was gone before she could be certain. Then it hit her all at once.

He still mourned the lives of his former crew? Why would he choose to make this trip a second time? Anger flared within her, white-hot. This prince waschoosingto put another fifty human lives at risk! For money. And despite the fact Celeste shouldn’t have cared one way or another about any human lives, the idea of it made her sick.

“We followed this path,” he continued, pushing the little wooden ship along a curved line, first moving west, then south through Staria’s territory and to the island.

Celeste’s nose wrinkled. Of course they would run into trouble going that way. Not only would they be sailing directly through her people’s territory but they were takingthelongest routethrough it. They would be traveling through Staria’s boundaries fordays. No wonder the Chorus put a stop to them. A shiver ran down Celeste’s spine at the memory. If the Chorus found her on this ship before she managed to kill the prince, would they drag her back to Staria to face execution? Or had her mother been able to convince the council of their plan? Either way, she knew the others aboard this ship wouldn’t survive such an encounter. But there was no way to reach the island without going through Staria. They could try to skirt around the perimeter, but that could add another week to the voyage.

“I take it you don’t approve?” Raiden said.

She must have been making some sort of face again. Celeste looked up from the map, meeting his eyes. They were standing much closer together than she realized, his arm just a breath away from hers. She took a step back.

“We must arrive by the eclipse,” he said, watching her closely. “What path do you suggest?”

Celeste stared at him. He was actually asking for her help. Asking her to navigate. Of all the reasons she’d suspected he had to bring her up here, this one hadn’t been high on her list. If the prince were asking a siren he didn’t trust for advice, he clearly was desperate. Celeste turned her gaze back to the map. Although she wanted the prince dead, it needed to be by her own hand in order to secure her pardon from the council and return home. She considered leading them to a different island. It would give her time to figure out more about the treasure. But Raiden would surely know if they veered too far off the path.

There was, of course, the powerful Lunastri Current that moved through the southern tip of Staria’s territory and toward the island he had pointed to. Most sirens avoided it, afraid of being caught by its undertow and pushed miles away through the water. She wasn’t even sure if a ship like this could withstand it. And as far as Celeste knew, no humans knew of this current. There was no way Celeste was going to show himthat. It was more than likely she would kill him long before they made it anywhere near it.

With no better option, Celeste reached out her hand and moved the little wooden ship along a path that ran south, toward Port Velluno, before turning west, through the southeast side of her people’s territory, but still remaining well away from the current. This way, she could avoid entering the siren territory for at least the first week at sea, giving herself plenty of time to uncover more about this treasure and to plan the prince’s untimely death.

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