Eve turned to look at her arm and ran her fingertips on the blue scales. A small frown appeared on her face, and she said, "I did. I used more than I usually do."
This wasn't the first time where her scales had appeared even after the use of the bath salt. But it was only because her body was craving for salts when she was young and until now she had better control over it.
"The siren side in you has been contained in you for a long time and seems like it wants some time out too," Vincent pointed, noticing the golden outline around the blue scales.
Sensing the seriousness in Vincent's words, Eve asked him, "Is there a way to shut that side permanently? To choose to be a mermaid and not a siren?" She was grateful to her mother and she respected and loved her, but she doubted being a siren was good. Especially when she had almost stabbed Vincent in her subconscious state.
"There is something you need to know, Eve," Vincent said, pausing for a second before he continued, "Let us get you dried and clothed first and then talk about it."
Once Eve was dressed and her golden blonde hair was drying up, Vincent sat her on the couch and took a seat next to her. She said, "You are worrying me, Vincent. Did you find something about the dagger in the Council?"
"The dagger is a gift from the Sea goddess Nerhys to her daughters," and silence fell after Vincent's words.
"So there's more than one dagger?" Eve asked him, and Vincent gave her a nod. They had one dagger, so where was the other dagger?
"That's right. But to be precise, there were two daggers, one given to each daughter. One to the mermaid, one to the siren," Vincent replied to her, and Eve's eyebrows furrowed. He continued, "King Gauntlet had promised his favourite son, a marriage to the Sea Goddess's daughter. The mermaid. These daggers, don't kill just the King's bloodline, but is also a means to destroy the one who possesses the dagger."
"Nerhys gave her daughter's weapons that could kill them?" Eve asked Vincent in surprise.
"Seems like it. Or that was what the person who wrote it. It could be a misinterpretation, but that is what I have found. The good news is that King Gauntlet's favourable son was from the Moriarty bloodline."
Eve felt a sigh of relief. This meant if she was truly the reincarnation of the Sea Goddess's daughter, she was promised to marry Vincent, and she smiled. They were destined to be together and her heart warmed. But then her smile fell as she rewinded what Vincent said. She asked, "You have bad news too?"
Eve stared into Vincent's eyes, wondering what else he had found out about. She then heard him say,
"It is about the mark that I have left on you. The reason why one of the wings keeps disappearing is because of the siren daughter. She was marked by the other son, as she couldn't have the one her sister was going to marry."
For a moment, Eve was too stunned to speak a word. She asked, "W--what does that mean? I mean, if there are two sisters, I am a different person and the other... the siren..."
"They were twins, Eve. The siren and the mermaid sisters," Vincent revealed to her and Eve's face turned pale. "In some weird, twisted sense, the mermaid as well as the siren came to take the same vessel. Which is you."
"Oh, God..." Eve whispered under her breath.
Vincent pulled out the book from his coat that he had brought along with him from the Council. He opened a particular page and handed it to her. Eve stared at him for a second before her eyes looked down to read the book. She heard Vincent said,
"If you read the third paragraph, it says that the siren was the last one to die. And before she died, she swore to take revenge for the pain and anguish that was caused. For stealing the love from her."
"So the siren side... is the other sister. And the mermaid is another sister..." Eve murmured, wondering where it left her own identity. She asked him, "Why water though? The mark disappears only when it is underwater."
"It is often said that the sirens belong more to the water than the mermaids do. Mermaids are favoured on the lands, because of their docile character. It is the siren's way of telling that you don't belong to me, but that she belongs to the descendant male of the Sullivan family."
"But it doesn't make sense... I mean, I have spent time with Noah before, but the siren side never came up to greet him," Eve reasoned.
"It is possible that the siren side has been dormant until now. Until I marked you as my own, that has woken up from her long slumber, and though she exists in you, she hasn't taken over your. Only unconsciously until now," Vincent explained to her. But that meant there was a possibility that the siren could take over her senses. He said, "We will head to the royal castle tonight. There's no point wasting time, because it speaks about the golden moon. It is the time when witches and other entities draw energy to create sacrifices. Right now, we are racing against time."
"Maybe we should talk to Noah about it?" Eve asked Vincent with a look of worry in her eyes. Noah was her dear friend, and Vincent was the love of her life. If things could be solved through words, they could avoid future disasters.
Vincent replied, "I visited Woodlock before coming home. Noah hasn't been home since noon and the servant said he didn't know how long it would be before he returned. Without telling where."
In Woodlock town, the sun had set, and a curtain of darkness had been drawn on the sky. In one of the room's of Sullivan's mansion, the burning logs in the fireplace could be heard crackling.
The door opened to the quiet room, and in stepped James Sullivan. He said,
"Someone stole the mermaids and the sirens from the pond. The magistrate has no clue and none of the guards were left alive. All dead."
"I told you that you should finish it sooner," said the person who sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. "What happened to being meticulous?"
James walked towards the couch. He said, "I didn't expect it. It won't happen again. I have sent Noah to take a look at the other place where the sea creatures have been caught, and I will be going to the West myself."
"I was hoping to have supper with Noah, and now I will have to wait. The Moriarty's boy was here today," Lady Hilda said, taking a sip from the glass of her wine. "Asking for Noah. Saying he had to speak about the document that Turner wanted him to look at. The last time he somehow made it alive. Even though I sent the best men of mine, they were all killed. Butchered in pieces. We cannot take a chance."
James sat on the couch, taking the glass from the woman and sipping it. He said, "I will take care of it."
"We need to find the siren-mermaid quickly. Time is very little," Lady Hilda said in a dull voice. "Something isn't right James. How did the butler disappear so easily without a clue? It's as if someone knows."
James placed the glass to the side and raised his hand to hold the woman's chin, "These are little setbacks, which we were unprepared for, darling." Hilda stared into James's eyes, and then pushed his hand away from her chin. He asked her, "What's the matter? Jeffry isn't home."
"I am not in the mood, James. First you bring me bad news, and then send Noah out when I made plans with him. He feels distant lately."
James softly chuckled and replied, "It is probably because of Anaya's missing presence in the mansion. I will go find it myself, see what the Council is doing to help find our missing butler. The Sullivan's will have power, Hilda. We were meant to have it," leaning forward, he kissed her lips before getting up and leaving the room.
