Henry enteredand sauntered over to me. “My, what a sight.” He took my hand andplaced a kiss on the back before taking a mocking bow. “Myqueen.”
I snatched itback and laughed. “Shut up.”
“Are youready? We should all be on deck.”
Reaching intomy deep pocket, I pulled out the siren’s heart and then re-tied thethick string that it hung from. I looped it over my head and letthe giant emerald rest heavily on my chest. My red tricorn hat saton the small table next to the mirror. I scooped it up and fit iton my head, taking one last stock of myself in the mirror beforeturning around. “Yes, let’s go.”
We madeour way out to the deck where a fully armed Finn, Gus, and Lottiewaited. It was the first time I’d seen Lottie in slacks, ratherthan the usuallayered skirts she sported. Brown leather patchwork pantsheld tight to her legs and morphed into some sort of pliable chestplate that went over a flowy white blouse. Each thigh had thickblack straps that held an assortment of knives. Her gorgeous longblonde hair pulled together at the nape of her neck and cascadeddown her back like a horse’s tail. She looked like a seriousbadass.
“Lottie,”I said in amazement. “Where have you been hiding thatoutfit?”
She tried tohide her look of pride. “My father had it made for me years ago.”She tugged at its edges uncomfortably. “It didn’t always fit sotightly.”
Next to her, Gus staredappreciatively.
“Aye,”Finn butt in, “We should be there. But there be no islands insight. How do ye find it?”
I did a fullturn, scanning the sea around us. Nothing. Just wide, open waters.Benjamin had told me that the Isles were hidden by a veil much likethe one that hid The Black Soul. “They’re masked by an invisiblecloak.”
“How thebloody Christ are we supposed to see it then?” Finncomplained.
“Justlook for a shimmer,” I replied. “It’ll be faint but think of theway glass would look if it were like fabric.”
We spread outalong the sides of the ship, our eyes searching hard. Henry stoodjust a few feet to the right and his presence comforted me. Thesails had been lowered and The Queen sat idle in the water, waitingto be found. But nothing happened. Nothing appeared. Not even aglimmer in the distance.
I began toworry if too much time had passed since The Black Soul had beencursed. Maybe the Isles moved? Maybe they’d been destroyed? Or,perhaps, Finn read the map wrong. I panicked then at the thought ofnever being able to break the curse. I pictured Benjamin lost intime, tethered to that damn island, waiting for me and slowlylosing faith as the years passed. I didn’t want to think suchthings, but my mind wandered there, and my heart ached. I sighed indefeat as I turned toward Henry and his eyes widened.
“Dianna,”he called and pointed at my chest, “The gem is glowing.”
I peered downand found that he was right. The dark green jewel pulsed to therhythm of a heartbeat and projected a bright neon glow. I cupped itin my palm and it felt warm. “We must be close!”
I whipped backaround and cast my face to the horizon, more determined to catchthat discreet shimmer. Sure enough, my eyes picked up the distortedgleam in the distance. As if the wind had caught an invisible cloakthat hung from the sky and touched the water.
“There!”I called and pointed. “Head that way!”
Finn cupped onehand around his mouth. “Hoist the sails!”
John andSeamus appeared from a ladder hatch. The deckhands then scrambledfor the ropes and pullies, hoisting the sails as Finn stood at thewheel and steered us head-on. The giant white sheets caughtthe ocean's breeze, pullingtight, and I felt the sudden tug that propelled my ship forward. Igripped the wooden edge of the railing, not taking my eyes off ourdestination. Afraid I’d lose track of it.
Henry came andstood behind, stretching his arms out and around me. His facenestled over my shoulder as he leaned forward and watchedattentively with me. As the nose of my ship approached theinvisible cloak, my heart beat like a heavy drum in my chest,falling in sync with the rhythm of the siren’s heart.
“Here wego,” I called to my crew and firmed a grip around my sword’s hilt. “Getready!”
The Queen’s bowpierced the veil and we all watched in shocked awe as our shipseemed to slowly disappear into thin air. Finally, the enchantedcloak consumed the vessel right up to where the four of us stoodand I held my breath as we passed through.
My eyesstruggled to adjust, for I had never witnessed anything like whatsuddenly appeared before me. We entered an unknown land, created bymagic and played home to ancient mythical creatures. Sounds of aweresounded across the deck as we stared in amazement. Giant stonewalls, covered in cascading water, towered hundreds of feet overour heads and glistened like black jewels. Our ship coasted slowlythrough the wide cavern. Its heaving sounds echoing off the rocksaround us. The cavity was long; maybe a few hundred feet, but Icould see the bright lights and makings of some sort of grotto atthe end.
I peered downat the water below. No longer darkened with the depths of the sea,but now bright and alive with vivid, swirling colors of aquamarine.Like a fancy pool with underwater lighting. I gasped when somethingmoving under it surface caught my eye. Something… alive. I leanedforward and strained to focus. The long, curvy figure of a mermaidshimmered and took a solid form.
“Christ,”Henry whispered, his eyes glued to the creature. “I never thoughtI’d see one in my lifetime. I wasn’t sure they evenexisted.”
I said nothingin response. I recognized the flowy green tail, like that of a betafish, trailing behind the creature as it kicked. The magical beingturned over, exposing its belly and toothy grin. I knew for certainthen, that I hadn’t imagined being saved by the same creature whenI went overboard. Its hair, like long and thick strands of kelp,swirled in the water as the glorious thing darted away.
“We’redefinitely in the right place,” I said.
We coastedalong, slowly, in the eerie and echoed silence of the long cavern.But something
