The carriage came to an abrupt stop and Noah was the first to step out. Selen glanced at the duke and noticed that his face was tense and that he seemed constantly on alert. Noah knocked on the door of a medium-sized wooden house.

She took a deep breath. Her power had a weakness, and she knew it well. Layla had made sure to tell her: her power was ineffective against the descendants of Artheris, and ignorance was its greatest weakness. There was little chance that Noah was a descendant of Artheris, but if he was, she would have no choice but to rely on the duke’s strength.

“You may come in,” Noah told them when the door opened.

The duke stepped forward.

“You will only enter after I make sure there are no traps,” he said to her. “At least one of us must remain capable of acting.”

“If that’s the case, then I should be the one to go in, and you will wait until I tell you to enter,” Selen replied.

The duke gave her a doubtful look, but Selen pressed his hand slightly as if to tell him to trust her. He finally nodded and she entered after Noah.

“I truly don’t understand why you’re both so suspicious,” Noah said to her. “If I had wanted to harm you, I could have done it much earlier and in many different ways.”

“So according to you, we should just follow you nicely into an unknown place after you refused to answer our questions?”

“I admit that when you put it like that… But I didn’t refuse to answer your questions, Selen. I’ll simply answer them when the moment is more appropriate.”

Selen was about to respond when an old man came out of one of the rooms in the house.

“Who told you to come in?” he suddenly shouted. “And what have you brought back this time?”

“Oh come on, don’t be so grumpy,” Noah replied as he grabbed the old man’s arm.

“Who? Me? Grumpy? You’re the idiot who spends all his time in the capital far away from the one who raised you. Ungrateful brat,” he continued to shout.

Noah tried to appease the old man while the latter kept yelling louder and louder, pushing him away. Strangely, Selen eventually realized that the two of them actually enjoyed these quarrels.

“Um… excuse me,” she said to interrupt them.

The old man suddenly turned his attention to her.

“It’s a woman!” the old man exclaimed. “May the Saint and all the gods be praised. What could have possibly driven you to want this idiot, my daughter?” the old man asked while grabbing her hand.

“She’s not here for that,” Noah replied.

“What do you mean not here for that… Take off that ugly cloak so I can see your face… Oh Lord, she’s beautiful. My daughter, thank you for wanting this—”

“I said stop,” Noah shouted as he pulled her hand away from the one the old man was still holding. “They’re here because they want you to take them somewhere.”

Selen was about to ask a question when the door suddenly burst open. With everything that had happened, she had forgotten that the duke was waiting for her signal to enter.

“What’s going on here?” the duke asked.

“I knew it. No woman would want a scoundrel like you,” the old man said with a sigh before walking into another room.

“That man is the one who will take you where you want to go,” Noah informed them.

Selen wasn’t very convinced.

“Sit down. I’ll talk to him,” Noah told them before going to join the old man in the room Selen had identified as the kitchen.

“Is he telling the truth?” the duke asked.

“I don’t know, but we don’t have any other choice.”

While they waited quietly in the living room, a violent argument broke out in the kitchen. Selen heard the words “selfish,” “never,” and “cursed place.” After a few minutes they came out of the kitchen and she saw that Noah was carrying a teapot with cups while the old man brought biscuits.

“Help yourselves,” the old man said as he sat down in front of them.

Selen thought with a bit of amusement that Noah truly looked like a maid while he served them tea. She didn’t know what kind of relationship Noah had with the old man, but one thing was certain: the old man clearly had the upper hand.

“So you want to go to the Island of Sirens?” the old man suddenly asked.

“The Island of Sirens?” Selen asked.

The old man let out a contemptuous snort.

“You don’t even know the name of the place you want to go to?”

“There is no mention of an island on our map,” the duke replied.

“That’s normal, because few people have ever seen it. But believe me, there’s a damn island out there. Cursed, or inhabited by sirens… or maybe both.”

“Why do you say there are sirens in that place?” Selen asked, not believing the story at all.

The old man sighed and looked out the window in front of him. He seemed absorbed for a minute before collecting himself.

“I heard them with my own ears. They were screaming horrible things and pulling our ship toward them like a magnet.”

The old man shook his head as if trying to get rid of bad memories.

“There’s nothing good waiting for you there. Many people like you, who believed they would find treasures or whatever, tried their luck there. None ever came back. You’re young. Don’t risk your lives for nothing.”

“We are not going there for treasure or adventure,” the duke replied.

“I told you they have a good reason to go,” Noah said to the old man.

“A good reason? You think I’m going to risk my life again to go there just because they have a good reason?” the old man exclaimed as he stood up.

“My sister has disappeared,” the duke said, standing up as well. “We’ve been on her trail for days, and from what we know she is on that island. I’m well aware of the risks involved, but I am willing to do anything to find her.”

“If she’s there, I don’t think she’s alive,” the old man replied.

Selen saw the duke’s face turn into a mask of fury. She stood up as well to defuse the situation.

“We have proof that she is alive, so either you agree to take us there or we will leave,” Selen said firmly.

“What are you talking about? Of course he’ll take you there, right grandfather?” Noah asked.

Selen did not see any resemblance between them, but she did not dwell on it.

“You asked me, so yes, I will take them there. But only because you’re coming with us. I know you very well. If you want to drag me into this story, it’s because you have something in mind.”

Noah laughed at the old man’s words.

“What are you saying in front of our guests? They already don’t trust me, and you’re only making it worse.”

“That’s one of the most intelligent things you’ve done so far,” the old man told them. “I raised him, and look how he thanks me. Barely one visit a year! Never trust ungrateful sons.”

“That’s enough for today, grandfather. Go get some rest. We’ll leave tomorrow morning at dawn,” Noah told him.

The next day, as the first light of dawn appeared, they were already on the deck.

“This is the ship we’ll be boarding,” Noah told them, pointing at a magnificent vessel docked nearby. “However, only you and I will respond to the captain’s orders since no sailor agreed to follow us.”

Selen glanced at the enormous ship in front of her. She knew Noah was wealthy, but this wealthy? Using such a beautiful ship to go to a place famous for making people disappear, she thought as she stepped aboard.

Four hours had already passed since they raised anchor. Selen stood on the deck, contemplating the sea, while the duke and Noah assisted Noah’s grandfather, who was directing their small crew. She didn’t know why, but she felt anxious about this mysterious island and what it might contain.

“Having fun?” Noah asked as he walked by, shirtless, ropes in his hands.

“I was until a few seconds ago,” Selen replied, turning her back to him.

“We should be able to see the island soon, according to grandfather. You should go join him. He told me we shouldn’t stay separated,” he said before continuing on his way.

Selen reluctantly left her small corner of peace to join Noah’s grandfather when a lightning bolt of incredible violence exploded above them. She knew that the weather at sea could change suddenly, but could it change this much? She looked up and realized that the blue sky without a cloud had been replaced by an almost violet sky. She ran to reach Noah’s grandfather.

“What’s happening?” she shouted to be heard.

Another lightning bolt tore through the sky and the rain began to fall.

“This is what happens when you enter a cursed place,” he replied.

Selen saw enormous waves crashing violently against the ship. Are we going to die here? she wondered.

The duke appeared in front of her, shirtless as well and soaked to the bone.

“We have to do something or we’ll sink,” he shouted to the captain.

“As if I didn’t know that,” the captain replied. “I was sailing ships before your parents even imagined how to conceive you.”

While the duke and the captain continued arguing, Selen suddenly felt a dull pain in her chest and had to struggle not to fall to her knees. That was when she heard them…

“Kill them… they must be killed…”

“If you go… you won’t come back…”

The pain was so intense that she didn’t even realize she was screaming. The voices kept speaking and Selen had to fight with all her strength to maintain control of her consciousness. After what felt like hours, she finally managed to open her eyes and realized that the duke was holding her in his arms.

“The sirens got you, little one,” the captain said.

Noah handed her a glass of water which she drank entirely. She glanced at the others. Was she the only one so affected by these voices?

“You heard them too, didn’t you?” Selen asked.

“Of course we heard them. You’d have to be deaf not to hear them. It’s the sirens, I’m telling you.”

She stood up and nearly collapsed, fortunately leaning on the duke’s shoulder to stay upright.

“Are you sure she isn’t a siren?” the captain asked. “I feel like the storm disappeared when she started screaming.”

Noah burst out laughing.

“She would make a very pretty siren, but I’ve never seen a fish tail sticking out of her dress,” he replied while still laughing.

Selen truly didn’t see what was so funny about this situation. She didn’t understand the sudden pain or all those voices. What the hell is happening, she thought, out of breath.

“Land in sight!” the captain shouted.

Selen looked in the direction the captain indicated and indeed an island was appearing on the horizon. As they approached, they realized that several shipwrecks were stranded along the island. She swallowed with difficulty. It was clear now. Either they would leave this island alive… or their ship would become just another one among those already there.