“I know.” She hesitated, her eyes downcast as she smoothed her palms over her shimmering scales. “But it’s time we fix that. I’ve been hearing rumors.”
“Rumors? In Saltgrave? Tell me if you hear anything about a food upgrade.”
Sirena scowled. “Marin, listen to me. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you. Truthfully… I’m afraid to. I don’t want to be in here alone. But you deserve to know. It could change everything.”
I raised my eyebrows, fighting the urge to laugh in the face of her obvious concern. Nothing ever changed here. But unlike me, Sirena had been assigned to a more populated section of the mine, where prisoners sometimes caught scraps of rumors from the outside and the stories that circulated within.
Sirena checked the passage again before speaking. Her voice lowered with urgency. “They say Tivara’s magic is getting stronger. It’s only a matter of time before the kingdom falls.The queen is desperate.”
I hung my head. “This is my fault.”
“You were tricked. The blame lies with the witch. But there is something you can do. You might be the only one who can save us.”
My gaze lifted to hers. “What do you mean?”
“I heard there’s a way to turn Tivara’s power against her by using some kind of relic. But it’s unreachable for our kind.”
“What kind of relic?” I asked, already hating the glint in her eyes.
“I don’t know. Just that the queen can’t find it, and she’s running out of time.” Sirena’s gaze sharpened, pinning me with a shrewd stare. “The warden in the mines knows more.”
I scoffed. “Nothing in Saltgrave is free. You know that. Information, even rumors, comes with a cost. And the warden? She deals in absolutes.”
I shook my head and swam away from the bars, seeking a reprieve in the shadows.
“Marin—”
“No. What you’re suggesting is too much of a risk. Remember the inmate in the south wing? And the two in the east? Anyone who makes a deal with the warden is left worse off. And even if that wasn’t the case, I have nothing left to bargain with. Not unless the warden wants a cursed pearl that only works on me.”
I slumped against the wall, remembering the time I’d tried to pass it to Sirena. It had pulsed in my hand; the visions fighting their claim over me until it touched her skin and went cold. The only magical item I had worth anything was tied to my blood. Ironic? Yes. Useless? Even more so. I buried it in the sand and never lookedback.
“We can think of something else! This could be your key out of this place. Know your worth, Marin. You’re a treasure hunter. You were made for this. With more information, you could offer to find the relic for the queen and trade it for your freedom. Don’t you want your life back? Don’t you want revenge?”
Revenge.The word was like a siren song, luring me toward her trap. Sirena knew me too well.
“I could sway you with my song…” The glow at her neck pulsed faintly, then dimmed. “But I won’t. This has to be your choice. Promise me you’ll think about it. You deserve a second chance. A life beyond these bars.” Her voice wavered. “Both of us do.”
It still felt impossible, but I nodded anyway. Sirena really believed I could do it. Save a kingdom. Save myself.
I wasn’t so sure.
But maybe she was right about one thing. I had been trained for this. There’d be poetic justice if the skills I’d honed under the witch’s tutelage became the source of her undoing.
A spark flickered inside me, determination, emboldened by the thought of retribution.
I had to try. And that meant bargaining with the warden. No matter the cost.
Chapter 12
The warden watched thesnaking line of inmates from inside a whale’s ribcage at the mine’s entrance, her figure framed by ivory bones. Her gold scales shimmered between them like bars of treasure locked inside an ancient chest. She wore her black hair bound in thin netting, and her breastplate was forged from broken shells.
She ruled the mines by force and fear, but there were whispers of her deals and the ones who’d taken them. They weren’t mercy, just tokens she took to feed Saltgrave’s soul, and likely her own. I was sure the cost of her information would be worse than Sirena imagined.
But I had nothing left to lose by trying.
As we neared the cage of bones, Sirena nudged me in the ribs. We would have to leave the line and fall to our fins in the sand, our shackled hands high over our heads. If the warden was willing to hear our request, she’d grant us entry. If not, we’d be thrown into solitary with the heathens.
I was already condemned to the deepest part of the mines. I didn’t relish more punishment.
