We trekked closer and closer toward the borders of the citadel, and I glanced up at the sky and looked at the familiars disguised as a flock of seagulls. They were flying not too high above us, but they also kept enough distance to not seem suspicious.
I hate this, Alexander said in my head, and I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath. I feel like an idiot.
“I know,” I muttered. “I’m not exactly having a fun day in hell, either.”
“Is Alexander also bitching about his new appearance?” Akira chuckled, and when I looked at her, it was so strange to see her with her black, glowing eyes and scaled white and pink skin. “Because Damien won’t shut up about it.”
“Yeah, he’s constantly complaining,” I snickered.
No, I’m not, Alex argued back.
I laughed, and it still felt strange to hear my own voice sounding like a high-pitched cackle.
Finally, we ended up at the giant gates of the sea-stone kingdom, and I looked up to see if I could spot any guards on watch, but I saw nothing except for a dangling white rope coming from a towering pillar.
“What’s that for?” Marina asked as she squinted and looked up.
“It’s a bell to alert the guards that we want passage,” Vanessa sharply responded before she tugged on it.
A giant ringing sound echoed through the sky, and the gates slowly parted open as soon as the sound reverberated through the air. A cluster of soldiers slowly emerged from the large, parting gates, and they carried spears in their hands and garbed themselves in silver and scaled armor. They wore heavy helmets on their heads with a seashell placed right in the center, but I could still see their glowing eyes and fishlike skin beneath their visors.
“Are you returning from a journey?” one soldier asked as he took a step away from the others and approached me, and then he looked at the other women. “Are these your wives, sir?”
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation. “We traveled to the red sands in search for…”
Sea-glass, the woman from my mind echoed suddenly. The kingdom is in short supply of it.
“Well?” the soldier asked in a high-pitched but impatient tone.
“Sea-glass,” I said with a long, dramatic sigh, “but I’m afraid we didn’t come across any. We will perhaps try again in the morning.”
“Well, at least you tried,” he replied before he turned to the other sea-like guards and nodded in their direction. “Let them pass. They’ve been to the red sands, and I’m sure they’re weary from also crossing the woodland.”
“Very much, so,” Vesta purred in a sweet voice, and when she spoke to the men, they couldn’t take their eyes off her. “Thank God for your kindness, sirs.”
“Of course, radiant madame,” the head guard replied, and all the men bowed at once.
I knew if this were any other situation, Akira would start bursting into laughter, and when I looked at her, it was apparent she was using all her willpower to keep a straight face.
“Come along now, my faithful and holy wives,” I said with a forced smile. “Let us not waste any more of the guards’ time.”
“Yes, husband,” the women, including Vanessa, responded, and I knew it probably killed her inside to say it, but she knew she had no other choice.
We passed by the guards, and I could feel their glowing eyes on us as we swiftly entered the mysterious kingdom with our seagull familiars flying over our heads. When we stepped past the gates and into the citadel, it was clear this was a bustling and overly crowded holy kingdom. Dozens of villagers gathered in the cobblestone streets and open marketplaces as we headed deeper through the heart of this ocean-creature dwelling realm, and the smell of spiced meat, fish-smelling skin, and other mysterious odors filled the air as we tried to seamlessly blend in.
“Unholy fuck,” Akira hissed under her breath. “There are so many people.”
“Make sure you look like you’re a part of the market crowd,” Vanessa instructed as people shouted, laughed, and called each other over. “Appear as if you’re interested but not intrigued enough to purchase anything. Also, keep your hoods up. We are far more beautiful than any of these women here, and we cannot draw too much attention to ourselves. Cole, can you carefully check the compass and make sure we’re going the right way?”
“Yeah,” I whispered as I discreetly took a peek at the relic around my neck, and the needle was pointing steadily north, down a long road filled with more and more market booths, pubs, brothels, and warehouses. “Follow me and stay close.”
I tucked my compass underneath my shirt and discreetly studied everything around me. Akira was right. This place was absolutely packed with all kinds of strange fish-like people, and none of them were attractive, even for them. I continued to look around, and I spotted children with teal-toned skin and glowing eyes dressed in white peasant dresses or overalls. They were playing in the streets, and they wore heavy wooden crosses on their necks. As their mothers tried to chase after them, I looked closely at the different market booths, and sheer canopies drooped over the tables to protect the vendors from the sun. I realized there was the same, strange purple meat for sale on every stall, but they all came in different forms. Some were shredded, while others were cut into neat cubes, and some were dried or cooked on skewers.
“That stuff you’re looking at is called bubalus,” Morgana
