17. Jump

Asearing headache was the first thing that Sienna noticed as she regained consciousness.

The second was that she was lying on something hard and cold.

She blinked, slowly bringing the world into focus. Gray rock flickering with the light of a burning lantern met her eyes on all sides. The smell of the sea and the sound of the waves confirmed her location. She was in the cave.

She tried to lift a hand to her pounding head, then froze when she realized her hands were bound. With a rush, the happenings at the Festival came back to her—Erik, Casper's identity, his hasty exit, and…

Erik.

"Ah, you're awake." As if summoned by her thoughts, the elf in question appeared in her field of vision.

She scowled at him and used her elbows to push herself up to a seated position, realizing as she did so that her legs were tied together as well.

Casper was right. It was Erik the whole time.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" If she got him talking, perhaps it would buy her a little time. Hadn't Jem said that he knew they were moving the music at midnight? How long would it be before they arrived? She twisted her wrists against the ropes that bound her, trying to work them loose.

"We're here for you to experience your final moments."

Sienna rolled her eyes and shook her head, the action sending a line of pain shooting through her temples. "And you said I was being dramatic."

"Oh, I'm not being dramatic," Erik answered ominously, crouching down in front of her. He brushed the hair from her face, the tender action completely at odds with the malice in his eyes. "You're going to die here. I'm making sure of it this time."

This time.

Her veins filled with ice as the implications of his words registered in her mind.

He chuckled softly. "You're surprisingly difficult to get rid of, though I suppose it was my mistake the first time in sending a Siren to find you. I should have waited another fifteen minutes."

"That was you?" At this point, Sienna was numb to the betrayal, instead absorbing his confession with a calm objectivity. "But why?"

Erik looked up and around at the rough stone that surrounded him. "This spot really is perfect. It's enough out of the way that ships can come and go without being seen, and yet close enough to Nivem to be easily accessible. I really can't thank you enough for showing them to me."

She deadpanned, "You wanted me to die for showing you the caves?"

"I needed to ensure your silence on the subject. It was trouble enough that Daland and Devri knew, but neither of them had any reason to come anywhere near this place without you. And once you were out of the picture, it was unlikely anyone would even remember the caves' existence."

"Why?" Sienna repeated, closing her eyes. "Why go to all this trouble? It's just music. Murder seems like a rather extreme option."

Erik rose and began pacing the floor. Water was starting to lap at the entrance, reminding her that the tide was rising. "It's not just music, Enna. This is so much more. The human realm has music with powers that we can only dream of. They can create chaos with a single chord, a spirit of discontent with a mere overture. The magic of their music is so powerful, even in their own realm a ballet was capable of causing a riot."

She blinked at him. "And that's what you want? Magic that can manipulate emotions? It's been done before, Erik."

"But not like this. Our feeble attempts are like wooden swords against cold, hard steel. Our composers are too limited, the laws too strict. Humans are under no such compunction. They have no qualms about experimenting and exploring the limits of what music can do."

"What you're describing doesn't sound like music. It sounds like noise."

"Perhaps to a good little fae with your sensibilities." Erik wrinkled his nose at her in disdain. "But music is magic, and magic is power, and this is a power unlike anything we have before."

Sienna's wrists were growing raw from rubbing against the damp rope. The stubborn knots were not budging. "Let me guess, power is lucrative?"

He laughed gleefully. "Incredibly so. You would not believe the price that people are willing to pay to gain the upper hand. But more than mere riches—though I will admit those are compelling enough on their own—the real wealth comes in connection and influence. I have inside access to nearly every high-ranking family in all four courts."

She read between the lines. "You have blackmail."

"That's such a nasty word. I prefer to think of it as insurance."

"I can't believe I ever thought you were marriage material." Sienna shook her head.

"If it's any consolation, the feeling was entirely mutual. You were a means to an end, nothing more."

I can't believe I was so blind, so enchanted by a handsome face and pretty manners that I missed everything hidden under the surface.

The words he spoke were the same words he had chosen when outing Casper. And yet, in comparing the two men side-by-side, Sienna could see just how different their attitudes had been.

Erik had never looked at her with even half the admiration she saw in Casper's eyes. He concerned himself with her world only insofar as it impacted his. The elf knew how to use flowery words and charming smiles, but they were all false. Casper's gruff responses and grumpy exterior might be a facade as well, but rather than hiding depravity, they were protecting a heart that had been battered and bruised. Erik expected others to serve him; Casper went above and beyond to serve his crew.

"You certainly know how to make a girl feel special," she drawled.

"Don't take it personally. In fact, you ended up costing me a lot more time and energy than I was prepared for."

"I'm sorry my death didn't go as planned." She tilted her head. "Was it you those other times, as well? You obviously do not have a future as an assassin."

His face curled into a snarl. "The Dutchman was a complication I did not foresee. He's been a thorn in my side since the beginning. First, by going after my ships, then by pulling your father from his watery grave, and then by acting as your own personal guard dog."

Every time she thought she had reached the bottom of his schemes, there was more. "Why hurt Papa? He's never been a threat to you."

"Ha. He's nearly as much trouble as you are."

"Wait. He knows about all of this?"

That would explain why he was so adamant that I stay away.

"He stumbled upon our little operation shortly after your ‘accident,' but was thankfully more than willing to keep quiet about the whole thing so long as I kept my distance. I was already tired of the situation, and assumed correctly that the fear of something happening to you would be enough reason for him to keep you under control, so I broke off our engagement and all contact with him. It seemed like a nice, tidy end to the problem." Erik pounded the cave wall angrily. "I should have known that with you, nothing would ever be that simple.

"I had a deal worked out with the previous lighthouse keeper. We had a system of signals that he would use to help guide ships to and from the caves. It was a setback when he died, but I was more than prepared to offer the same deal to whoever the new keeper might be. Then that pesky half-breed of a queen had to go and give the position to you.

"Daland has been accommodating so long as he feels you might be threatened, but he's gone fishing far too often to be entirely convenient. I filed the petition hoping that someone in this Court would still retain the sense to do something about it. When it became clear that the queen's bias was ordering the outcome of the situation, I decided that the next logical step was simply to remove you both. If only either of you would actually die when you're supposed to."

The waves were lapping at her feet now, and Sienna's bravado was beginning to waver.

Almighty, help me. I need Casper. Or Jem, Or someone.

Erik looked down at his boots, as if surprised to see the water had come so far. "Well, as lovely as this chat has been, I'm afraid I must be going."

Desperation finally overtook her system. "Erik, stop!" she pleaded. "Think about this. You can't possibly believe you're going to be able to just get away with murder. Celesta isn't going to just ignore my death. She's going to be suspicious."

"Not when the truth is revealed that you were so overcome with heartbreak and shame over having abandoned your ghostly love that you threw yourself into the sea. It's a pity that he won't even be able to come and visit your grave."

Her stomach twisted. Erik ducked down and set one foot outside the cave, then seemed to have a second thought. He turned and knelt down in front of her, grabbing for the ropes around her wrist.

"Just to be sure," he explained as he tightened the knots there and at her ankles. "You do have a frustrating habit of getting away. This time though, I don't intend for there to be any chances. I will return myself with my men to confirm your death and dispose of the body. Farewell, little Enna. Don't worry, I'll leave the light for you. I would feel compelled to tie a gag around that smart mouth, but, well…we both know that your magic won't be an issue."

After one final tug on the rope, he was gone.

Sienna tugged against the ropes until her wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding. The icy sea water continued to rise. She managed to roll over to the wall and use it to stand, buying herself a little extra time, but it was only a matter of hours before the water was deep enough to cover her head. With her arms and legs bound, she was unable to swim or tread water. She would be dead weight at the bottom.

And then I really will be dead weight.

A mixture of tears and hysterical laughter escaped her at the dark joke.

When I do die, this is not the way I want to go. Almighty, please.

"CASPER!" she yelled, wincing at the sharp pain in her throat. "JEM! DEVRI! Can anyone hear me?"

She knew it was useless. Devri was at the Festival, and Casper had left, presumably taking Jem along with him. If they did come, it would be to catch the smugglers at midnight. She would be long dead by them.

The water had risen to her waist, and she leaned her head back against the wall in exhaustion.

I guess this is it.

She closed her eyes. Salty tears streamed from her eyes and mingled with the cold sea water. On the bright side, her skin was so numbed that she could no longer feel the rope burns. She forced her breathing to slow down.

If I'm going to die, I'm going to make it count. If Jem and Casper are here later. I need to find a way to let them know what happened.

Taking a deep breath, she dropped down into a squat in the water, feeling around for the loose rock that had been absolutely now help in sawing through her ropes, but might suit her purposes now. She gripped it between numb fingers, thankful that Erik at least had not tied her hands behind her back. and slowly scratched out a message on the wall:

"As dear old Mormor used to say, trust no one, especially yourself."

She knew Casper and Jem would understand what she was trying to say, and she could only hope that it was innocuous enough that Erik and his smuggler friends would pay it no mind.

The rock dropped from her fingers, as she rested her forehead against the wall. The water was almost to her shoulders.

Almighty, keep Papa safe. Don't let him mourn too much. And Devri. And Casper.

His face as she had last seen it flashed in front of her eyes. He had looked so completely broken and hopeless. Knowing him as she did, she was certain that he must be convinced that she would turn him away once she discovered the truth.

Let him know that he was loved. That he is loved.

A surprising sense of calm took over as she waited for death's inevitable arrival. She closed her eyes, shutting out the dim, flickering lantern and the sight of the rising water. The melody of the sea, so familiar that she often tuned it out, rose to the fore. She could hear the steady rise and fall of the melody over a cold, swirling tremolo. The notes flowed through her, practically begging her soul to use them as she once had.

It would have been so simple if she could only use her voice. She pictured the music in her mind, hearing it as she would have sung. She would have focused on the water around the ropes, weaving in a song of ice to freeze it. Then all it would take would be a few hard blows against the rock, and she would be free.

Sienna knew it was futile. but she also knew that Devri would be quite disappointed if she knew that Sienna had not tried everything before giving up. She rose onto her toes to lift her chin out of the water, took a deep breath, and started to sing.

The sound was scratchy and out of tune at first. Her voice cracked over notes that had once been as easy as sliding a warm knife through butter, and completely refused to sound the pitches at the top of her register. She changed keys, choosing a lower one, and tried again.

The longer she pushed, the easier it became, like getting a wheel turning after months of disuse. When she saw the ice crystals forming around the rope, she nearly stopped and wept for joy, but the rising water forced her to keep moving quickly.

The magic was rather sloppy—the ice varied in thickness, and it had trailed up and over parts of her arms and hands—but she had done it. She lifted her hands above her head and pounded her arms against the wall until the ice shattered, breaking the rope along with it.

With her arms free, she could at least tread water enough to keep herself afloat while she iced over the rope at her ankles. Then, taking a deep breath, she dropped underneath the water. It took a little bit of feeling about to find a rock large enough to break the ice, but finally her legs were free.

The water around her was completely black, the lantern having been drowned out several minutes before. She shot upwards from the floor and found when she broke the surface that there was just barely enough room for her to turn her head sideways and fill her lungs with one final breath before swimming for the entrance.

She had never been so glad to see the night sky as she came up, gasping for air. She paddled to shore, her muscles shaking with both cold and exhaustion. She sang as she walked, emboldened by her earlier success, and managed to magic most of the water from her clothes. The air was still cold, but she was no longer in immediate danger of freezing to death.

I need to find Papa.

She jogged the remaining distance home, bursting through the door with enough force that it slammed against the wall. Daland jumped up in surprise from his chair. "Senta! What is it?"

Sienna quickly closed the distance between them, wrapping him in a tight hug. "You're safe."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? Why aren't you at the Festival?"

"Erik," she answered darkly.

Daland paled. "What about him? What has he done."

She kissed him on the cheek. "It's a long story, and I promise I will tell you later. Right now, I need to find Casper."

"He left."

"What? When?"

"Just a short while ago. I saw the Petrel leaving the harbor when I went up to refill the lamp. What has Erik done, Senta?"

No. He can't just leave. Tomorrow is the eighth day. He won't be able to set foot on land for another seven years. Forget about the smugglers; I can't let him spend all that time believing a lie.

She spun on her heels, ignoring her father's concerned questions, and ran out the door. She raced to the cliff where the overhang had been, straining her eyes over the water. It was thankfully a cloudless night, and in the moonlight, she could make out the outline of Casper's ship, already well out to sea.

"CASPER!" she yelled, even though she knew he couldn't possibly hear her. Her heart dropped to her toes. By the time she ran back into town and found someone to borrow a boat from, the Petrel would be so far gone that she would never catch up before midnight.

She looked down at the jagged rocks protruding from the water below, mentally gauging the distance she would need to cover to clear them.

I can do it.

The music of the sea called, promising to catch her if she jumped. She could hear a chorus of voices in the back of her mind—Devri, her father, Jem, Casper—all yelling at her not to be reckless.

Sienna ignored them.

She walked back twenty paces, then turned around, tied her skirts up around her waist, sprinted forward…

And jumped.