**After six years**
The sky over the Forbidden Ocean looked heavy, like it was about to pour any second. Heavy clouds hung low, and the ocean below kept crashing hard against the cliff. Wave after wave slammed into the rocks with a loud boom, then slid back down with a hiss, dragging bits of sand and stone with it.
The wind rushed through with a sharp whoosh, carrying the taste of salt on the tongue, cold and damp against the skin.
Hardly anyone dared to come near this coast, for whispers spoke of things older than time that lived beneath these waves.
A figure appeared at the base of the cliff. She moved slowly over the wet rocks. Her cloak dragged behind her, heavy with water, the wind pulling at it until her hood finally slipped off, revealing an ethereal beauty. Long silver-blonde hair whipped across her face, sticking to her skin as she pushed it aside.
When she lifted her head, violet-silver eyes, shining like gemstones, looked ahead, gaze fixed on the raging ocean.
Isaldora.
She didn't hesitate as she stepped into the water. The tide reached her knees, cold enough to bite, but she didn't react. She bent down and pressed her fingers lightly to the surface of the water.
The ocean rippled in response to her touch.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment—and vanished into the air.
When she opened her eyes, she stood far beneath the ocean, yet the water did not touch her. The roar of waves above was muffled, distant, as though sealed behind a wall.
Around her stretched a world the ocean had kept hidden for centuries—dry, silent, and ancient. Not many knew it existed, and no living soul had ever set eyes on it. It was a sanctum to the beings living here, protected by strong magic and bound by unbreakable vows.
The sirens' lair.
In their world, sirens were more than just a mythical story. More than their beauty, it was their voices that made them dangerous and cunning creatures. They could lure anyone, man or beast, to their death merely with their song.
Yet, for all the unease and threat they stirred, making them an outcast, no one had ever found their home. That secret was guarded by the ocean itself, hidden in waters too deep to reach and cloaked in spells that kept it unseen and forgotten.
Even though this wasn't her first time here, Isaldora still felt that pull—the strange calm that hung in the air, like the water was trying to soothe her. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply.
"You don't seem like the type to come back this soon."
The smooth, amused voice broke the silence coming from behind her.
Isaldora turned, and there she was.
Lyna. Leader of the sirens.
Tall and graceful in her human form, she carried herself with the easy confidence of someone who knew her own power very well, which she did. Her dark hair hung damp over her shoulders, and her skin had that faint, almost shimmering quality that marked all sirens, as if the sea itself had left its signature on her. She was beautiful in that dangerous way only sirens could be.
"Guess I need another favor," Isaldora said with the faintest hint of a smirk, without beating around the bush.
Lyna arched her brow, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "Of course you do. I'd be more surprised if you came all this way just to see me."
Isaldora didn't bother to return her smile. She just held her gaze, steady and unblinking, looking bored.
The smirk slipped from Lyna's face, replaced by a more serious look. "What kind of favor can I help you with this time?"
Isaldora stepped closer, her voice low but deliberate, the faint curve of a smirk widening at her lips. "I want your skills to lure prey."
Lyna's eyes lit up instantly—sharp and delighted, her feral side stepping forward. Sirens lived for the hunt, for the pleasure of watching the unsuspecting fall.
"Mm, that's rather tempting," she purred, her smile turning predatory, pearly-sharp teeth catching the light. "Though I won't be the one feasting…" Her expression softened into a pout before her gaze narrowed with curiosity. "But I am curious—why use human girls to entertain when we sirens could do it more effortlessly without even batting an eyelash?"
"I have my reasons," Isaldora replied with a light shrug. "Besides, we don't want the prey becoming cautious, now do we? You sirens are… too intimidating; besides, you easily lose control."
A glimmer of something darker flickered in Isaldora's eyes. "But when the time comes for you to actually feed, I promise you'll be the first to know."
Lyna's lips curled wider at that, unmistakably pleased. "I'll be waiting."
"So, that's an agreement." Isaldora tilted her head slightly, her tone smooth with the faintest trace of tease. "Should we sign another contract?"
She clearly noticed the change in Lyna's face which was immediate—her smile vanished, and a sharp hiss slipped past her teeth. "Don't insult me. You've already bound me in blood. There's no need to twist the blade of distrust."
Isaldora concealed her smile; she clearly meant to tease the siren, and adding to her satisfaction, Lyna was clearly oblivious to it.
Sirens were prideful creatures, and they lived by it. They would bend the seas before they bent their honor. And Lyna… Lyna had already sworn her loyalty to Isaldora. That much was unshakable. Still, she didn't tend to Lyna's pride with an answer. Instead, her smirk deepened only.
"I'll take my leave then, I have an important conference to attend."
She turned away, ready to vanish, but Lyna's voice cut through the quiet.
"Queen of Aetherwyn,"
The words stopped her mid-step.
The title hung in the air between them like a shard of glass.
"You should know, we sirens don't break our word." Lyna said, her voice low but steady, "We can be treacherous, yes— but never to those we've sworn ourselves to. Our oaths run deeper than blood… older than the tides themselves." There was pride in the way she said it.
Isaldora listened to her quietly.
"Betrayal to an enemy is sport. Betrayal to the one we serve…" her voice thinned, almost dangerous, "…is death to us." Lyna lifted her chin slightly, conviction anchoring every word. "Aetherwyn knew that. And so do you."
Isaldora glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Lyna's across the stillness.
"I know," she said quietly after a moment. The ocean lapped gently around them, its roar filling the silence. "But I don't trust anyone anymore."
The wind tugged at her silver blonde strands. Her voice dropped, flat and stripped of warmth, her eyes turning ruthlessly hard.
"And I'm no queen."
The air seemed to shift—and in the next moment she was gone, swallowed by the night and the sound of the ocean.
Lyna stood in the quiet that followed, her expression impossible to read.
After a moment, she stepped to the water's edge. Without hesitation, she dove into the water, breaking the surface with barely a ripple. The ocean closed over her, and she vanished into the depths like a shadow sinking out of sight.