The king stood and walked around his desk. He leaned against the corner closest to Rylander and crossed his arms. “All three hundred men went overboard and—his words not mine—‘Have polluted his kingdom.’ For some reason, the sirens didn’t bring the remains back to their island. Poseidon is demanding this be resolved immediately, or he ‘will desecrate the land as land dwellers have desecrated the sea, with hydrological disasters the likes of which we’ve never seen.’ Again, his words not mine.” The king’s eyes rolled so subtly I couldn’t be sure I’d seen. “You both leave in two sunrises for your mission.”

My mind swirled. King Delphi knew Poseidon. Poseidon visited the kingdom of Cava to demand action. The gods had their hands in our quest. And if we failed, Poseidon would annihilate our kingdoms with his ocean. Something wasn’t adding up. “Why can’t the gods smite the sirens if they can smite our islands?”

Rylander twisted to face me. “The sirens are of Zeus’s lineage,” he said, breaking his silence to me. “Only the god and the muse whose pairing created the sirens have the ability to rid the world of them. Poseidon has no power over the sea monsters. Their father, the god Achelous, wants nothing to do with this and refuses to help.”

“So? What about the muse…” I tapped my bottom lip, trying to recall her name.

Rylander’s gaze dipped for a moment, watching my fingertip, then just as quickly bounced upward. I swallowed, trying to remember what I had been about to say.

“Calliope? What about her?”

“Yes, but the Siren Queen is holding her captive on the island,” Rylander added through a tensed jaw.

My brows furrowed. “And how do you know this?”

“Because I was born on Anthemusa, where Calliope is being imprisoned.”

I gasped. Rylander had lived with the sirens. He hadn’t been commissioned for this fight because of his skill. He knew them. This was personal. Which meant we might not make it out alive.

Chapter fifteen

Rylander

Lou hadn’t moved a muscle. Her mouth hung open. Part of me was thrilled I’d finally managed to shut her up. After her hot and cold reaction to me outside of the tavern, I had wanted nothing but her silence. That damn woman was more frustrating than all the gods combined.

Pivoting back toward the king, I asked, “Then we leave in two sunrises.” I stood. “Is that all?”

King Delphi scanned us a second time and shook his head. “Is there something I should know?”

The lingering taste of Lou on my lips made the knot in my stomach tighten as the memory of her turning her back on me fully took shape. I ground my teeth. “Nothing of importance.”

And with that, I left the room without sparing Lou another glance.