2. Mystery

Sienna could always hear when a storm was brewing.

The music of the sea was always changing, with melodies that floated lightly like the sea spray, and the rolling harmonies underneath that mimicked the waves as they approached the shore. And yet, grounding the upper voices were the deep bass notes of the still water underneath, the continual progression of currents that remained constant no matter the state of affairs above the surface. It was one of the things Sienna loved about the water—from day to day, moment to moment, there was always something new and yet familiar and comfortable at the same time.

The change was subtle, as heavy storm clouds began to gather in the distance and the winds started to shift. Here and there a dissonant note appeared in the harmonies, slowly creating and building a tension that would only be resolved when the storm had spent itself. As Sienna walked along the pebbly beach, she could hear just the faintest hints of notes suspended where they should have fallen. She tilted her head and brushed her long, coppery red hair away from her ears as she strained to listen.

It"s probably still a few hours away, at least. With a western wind, it won"t build quite as quickly.

She let her eyes drift over the gray-blue waves to the darkening horizon. Unlike in the Summer Court, where the sea was a sparkling aquamarine that twinkled and glittered until it met the brilliant band of clear blue sky, in the Winter Court everything was muted. There were days of sunshine, but they were few and far between, and the ocean was a darker, more contemplative shade. The waves were higher and the sea foam colder, but there was a wild beauty in it that kept drawing Sienna back--though she supposed that could be due as much to the naiad blood in her veins and song in her soul as anything else.

She walked leisurely, soaking in the music of the waves and breathing deeply the salt-tinged air. A small satchel of woven seagrass hung from her left wrist, half-full of shells and bits of polished rock and sea glass, and she added to it as she ambled along the shore. A large, conical shell caught her eye, eliciting a gasp of delighted laughter. Sienna scooped the shell up and brushed the dirt from its swirled surface before holding it up to her ear as she had often done as a child.

The song of the sea, loud and resonant, played in her ear. She closed her eyes, savoring the sound. The day this shell had been formed must have been a rare, clear one—the music was full of sunshine and dancing, rippling waves, with not a discordant note to be heard.

The song called to her heart, and Sienna instinctively tried to sing along. She could hear in her mind the place where her voice would fit in, where the notes would create a layer of harmony that she could use to pull the water to her bidding.

She could hear it in her mind, but instead of the music flowing easily from her throat, she was forcing her voice out in a strained, rough bark that rivaled a seal.

Tears burned her eyes, both in frustration and at the pain that sliced through the back of her throat. She wound up her arm and hurled it over the water, watching with grim satisfaction as it splashed and sank beneath the waves.

Light laughter sounded from behind her. "Remind me not to play against you in a game of oar ball."

Sienna turned at her friend Devri"s voice in time to see the long-limbed, graceful Siren gliding across the pebbles. Her long, diaphanous skirts flowed behind her in the wind, and her arms were bare despite the later-afternoon chill in the air. The seafoam green of her dress set off her golden blonde hair and sun-kissed skin to perfection. How she managed to achieve such a glowing complexion with the bleak, overcast skies of the Winter Court, Sienna would never know. Her own skin was pale and covered with freckles, and she tended to burn to a crisp with the barest hint of sunshine that broke through the clouds.

"What are you doing here?" Sienna greeted her friend with a hug before looping their arms together. It still took an unusual amount of effort to get the words out, and her voice was hoarse and ragged, but it didn"t pain her as much as her attempts at singing.

"Scouting you for our team at the next picnic." Devri laughed musically. "I think you"ve been holding out on us." She refrained from commenting on the state of Sienna"s voice, for which she was grateful.

Sienna rolled her eyes. "I don"t play because Erik and Doryss are always the team captains. Doryss still thinks I"m just as uncoordinated as I was when we were children and Erik..."

"Erik is a fool and wouldn"t know a good thing if a squid hit him in the face with it," Devri interjected staunchly. "And just for that, I think you should be on our team. I want to see his face when you get him knocked out of the game."

"Aren"t you supposed to be more supportive of him, now that he"s your brother"s business partner and all?"

"Pfft. Whatever agreement he made with Doryss happened after he broke my best friend"s heart. Besides, why would I trust him to keep his word as a partner when he was so quick to back out of an engagement? He can go sail on a rotting ship for all I care."

"Devri!"

"What? You"re far too nice about it, Enna." Devri stopped and spun to face her, pulling her arm free to set her fists on her hips. "That man promised to marry you. He said that he loved you, and at the first sign of difficulty, he backed out. I don"t care if he is an elf or not. A fae"s word is supposed to mean something."

Sienna wrapped her arms around her middle, shrugging. "I"m just a Naiad. The social pressures from his family were heavy enough before the accident. Now that I can"t even access my Natural magic..." Her voice trailed off as a hard, sharp lump lodged in her throat, and she blinked away the tears that once again threatened to fall.

"You"re not "just" anything. And you know that all those ideas about elves and their Creative Magic being better than those of us with Natural Magic is a lot of rot. We"re just playing different parts in the same orchestra."

Sienna gave her a weak smile. "You"ve been talking with Celesta again, haven"t you?"

Devri linked their arms again and pulled her forward to continue their walk. "It never ceases to amaze me that you are not only on a first-name basis with the Queen of Winter, but that she regularly comes to visit. Just a Naiad? You"re practically a lady of the Court."

"We were friends as children. I used to accompany Father when he would transport the late King Maeth to visit Celesta and her mother at the royal residence near Autumn. She was half pixie, and I was a Naiad in a home full of elf children, which meant we were almost always left alone together."

Devri squeezed her arm. "Their loss," she answered stoutly. "But Enna, I am only going to say this once today, so please listen carefully: You are so much more than whatever that fool made you believe. His words are about as useful as the notes from an out-of-tune violin. If I weren"t bound by Siren laws not to use my voice to bring harm to another fae, I would make him throw himself into the sea. But just because he"s too blind and misguided to see your worth doesn"t mean the rest of us are. You are beautiful, inside and out, with the kindest, most loving and loyal soul that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You're bright and funny and have a deliciously snarky side that comes out every once and a while, and I hate that Erik made you feel like you need to hide that all away."

Tears sprang to Sienna"s eyes once more, though this time for an entirely different reason. Her friend"s fervent praise was almost loud enough to block out the echoes of Erik"s words that had been simmering and festering in the back of her mind since he had called off their engagement six months before.

Almost.

"I"m an elf, Sienna. I was willing to make an exception for your Naiad blood before, but your magic is gone. I know you"re not so selfish as to expect me to remain in a relationship where we will be so unequally tied. I need a wife who can stand as my equal."

"Darling, do you really want to spend the rest of your life wondering what others are whispering behind your back? Knowing that they"re speculating what kinds of actions you must have taken to coerce me into marriage? No one will believe that I married you for your looks alone, and without your voice, you can"t even access your magic. I"m doing you a kindness. That isn"t the kind of life you want."

"You"re thinking about him again, aren"t you?"

Devri"s tone was dark, and her perfectly symmetrical face drew together in a frown.

"No," Sienna answered quickly, shoving the words back into their box.

"Good. Because he"s not worth another of your thoughts. You are too good for him, and we can only be thankful that he spared you the pain of finding out his true nature after the two of you were already tied together."

Sienna nodded wordlessly, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

I want to believe it. I want to believe it was for the best, but Erik hurt more than just me when he broke off the engagement.

"And that"s why you"re going to come to the Midwinter Festival, and you"re going to dance with every man who asks you."

Devri"s words finally registered in her brain. "I"m—I"m what?"

Her friend patted her hand. "You need to move past him. What better way to get him out of your mind than dancing with some handsome young fae?"

A flash of panic and anxiety caused Sienna"s heart to hammer in her ears. "I don"t know, Dev. I don"t think I"m ready for that yet."

"Fine, you don"t have to dance. But I still think you should come. It will be better than sitting alone up in that lighthouse like you do every other night."

"It"s part of the job. Besides, I"m not actually up in the lantern room all night. I"m at home in the sitting room."

Devri gave her a flat look. "Yes, that is much better," she responded drily. "Sitting alone in the bottom of the lighthouse."

"I"m not alone; Papa is usually there with me."

The Siren let out an exasperated sigh, but the smile playing at the corners of her mouth indicated it was all for show. "Well, as long as your demanding social calendar allows it, will you please consider coming? It won"t be nearly as fun by myself. I don"t understand half of these new traditions or why we"re doing them. Whose idea was it to bring trees indoors and decorate them with ribbons and lights?"

Sienna chuckled, relaxing at the change in topic. "I believe it stems from Celesta's desire to make Alex feel at home here."

"Ah. It's a human tradition, then." Devri wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's just…not fae. Humans don't even have magic in their realm."

Sienna bristled. "And not having magic is a bad thing?"

Devri's eyes widened as she comprehended the implication of her words. "Of course not! But even if you can't access your magic right now, you were born a Naiad. You're fae. You understand magic."

"So does Alex; that's why he was brought here in the first place."

"Well, yes. I admit that he's got more sense than I would have expected a human to have. But why bother incorporating all these human traditions when the faerie ones were perfectly fine?"

"Likely because Celesta is trying to give Alex a way to remember his home. He left everything behind to stay with her. If you were in his place, wouldn't you want something to remind you of here?"

Devri sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Sienna, now fully invested in the argument, continued. "And besides all of that, this whole idea that the kind of magic—or lack thereof—one has determines their worth is exactly what led to our Court being mismanaged for so long. Stahlmaus wouldn't have been able to keep Celesta from her crown if not for the deep-seated idea that elves and their Creative Magic are so superior to the rest of us." Her voice cracked and tears gathered in her eyes again as she remembered Erik's cruel words at their parting. "If we treat humans as inferior just because they come from a realm without magic, then we're not any different. In fact—"

A gentle touch from Devri interrupted her. "Enna, I already said you were right. You don't have to keep convincing me."

Sienna let out a hesitant, wobbly laugh. "Sorry. I don't even remember how we got to this topic in the first place."

"I wanted you to come with me to the Midwinter Festival."

"Right. I'll think about it."

A dazzling smile lit up the Siren's face, and Sienna hastened to add, "But I'm not making any promises."

"I'll take what I can get." Devri turned from her and looked out over the water, holding a hand over her eyes as she scanned the horizon. "Look! I think Doryss must finally be getting back." She pointed to the faint outline of a fishing vessel.

Sienna followed her hand, gasping as another shape caught her attention. She grabbed Devri's arm. "Dev!" She pointed to where limp, dark sails and a blackened hull floated eerily over the waves. Stories of the Flying Dutchman had been around for longer than she could remember, but she had never once seen the ghostly ship herself. It appeared to be drifting along the surface, accompanying the small fishing vessel but not pursuing.

Devri paled. She turned on her heel. "I'm going to the harbor."

She was flying across the sand before Sienna could formulate a goodbye. She waited until Devri was out of sight, lifting a silent prayer that all would be well. While she and Doryss had never been particularly close, she cared about him for Devri's sake. As she continued her walk along the shore, she kept an eye on the dark ship. While the rumors spoke of a terrifying, ghostly captain who delighted in chasing down, boarding, and then plundering ships, it was rare for the Dutchman to actually come ashore.

It would seem strange for Doryss and his crew to be a target. He's a fisherman, not a merchant. Why would a ghost need fish? And besides, even with all the fear surrounding him, I can't think of a single one where anyone actually died.

The ship disappeared into the horizon before Sienna arrived at the tide pools that had been her destination. She wound her way between the pools, keeping a keen eye out for pretty shells or rocks to add to her collection. A rocky promontory jutted out into the water ahead of her, the landmark that usually marked the boundary of her ramblings. Drawn by a burst of melancholy nostalgia, Sienna pushed forward, carefully traversing the slippery rocks until she drew near to the cliffs.

With the tide low, she could see the algae-covered edges of the caves that extended inward towards the mainland. When she was younger, Sienna and her father had once gone exploring and found that, though the entrances were covered when the tide ran high, there were certain passages that climbed high enough to remain dry. Though once a frequent haunt, it had been nearly a year since she had returned.

There were simply too many memories trapped inside. Adventures with her father, romantic picnics with Erik, Erik proposing.

Her accident.

Choosing the closest opening, Sienna placed a hand on the slimy, slipper rock and ducked inside, blinking her eyes quickly to help them adjust to the dim light. She only had to bend at the waist to make her way through the opening, but Erik and her father had to crawl through on their hands and knees. She looked over her shoulder at the water line. There were still a few hours left before the caves would be submerged.

After a few feet, the ceiling opened up high enough that she could stand. She let her memories carry her forward watching her steps by the thin beams of light that streamed valiantly through tiny chinks in the walls and ceiling. The sloping floor was still familiar under her feet; little had changed in the last year.

In the cave, anyway.

She passed through a particularly narrow section that widened into a circular space nearly as large as the front room of her cottage. The air smelled damp and musty, and a line of moss crept up the wall, following the path of the sunbeams that filtered in from above. Sienna froze and her eyes widened in surprise as she stepped into the cavern.

Rather than the empty space she expected, wooden crates were stacked in haphazard rows. Sienna approached with slow, careful steps and circled the pile. The crates were all weathered and gray and stamped with the same name: Hollander"s Emporium.

Standing on her tiptoes, Sienna tried to peer between the wooden slats on one of the topmost containers but could see nothing in the limited light. She dropped back to her heels and bit her lip, considering.

I could try to pry one open and see what"s inside...but is it really any of my business? And what if it"s something dangerous? I can"t imagine a lot of good reasons for hiding away a bunch of boxes in a cave. For that matter, who would have left them here? And are they still close by?

As the disconcerting thought ran through her head, Sienna quickly backed away and looked over her shoulder towards the dark exit.

I should leave now, in case they come back. I"ll tell Father when I get home. Surely he"ll have a better idea of what to do.

The journey back through the cave and out the grotto took much less time than her inward trip, and Sienna practically ran the short mile from the tide pools back to her cliffside cottage. Her chest burned from the exertion and her throat felt raw and scratchy from breathing so deeply. She forced herself to slow to a walk and catch her breath before encountering her father. Nothing she had to share of mysterious caches would register in his mind if he were distracted by her labored breathing.

She scanned the lighthouse as she approached. The afternoon was growing late, and the lantern flame was just becoming visible again as the sun began to set. In just another hour or so, it would beam brightly over the water, announcing the presence of land and rocky shoals with a strong, unwavering light. She noted the freshly painted sides with a sense of pride and satisfaction. The lighthouse had been in a state of disrepair when she and her father, Daland, had been named caretakers, and it had taken many long, arduous hours of scraping, hammering, and painting to get it back into working shape.

The cottage attached to the base of the tall, white lighthouse was small but cozy, with white-washed walls and a steep roof. Flower boxes hung under the shuttered windows, which had been opened to let in the mild warmth of the afternoon, and a carefully tended stone pathway wound its way up to the red front door.

Having sufficiently composed herself, Sienna called out with a cheerful voice as she entered. "Papa, I"m home."

Her father"s bearded face looked up from his book. He occupied his usual chair in front of the hearth, which danced with the flames of a bright, crackling fire. Her chair, smaller and covered in a light, floral pattern, sat across from his. A basket full of mending sat near its feet, and a small table beside it was covered with her sketching and watercolor supplies. The floor was blanketed in a thick woven rug of variegated blues and greens. A third chair stood to the left of hers, an empty reminder of the mother she had barely known.

"You were out late today," Daland commented as he marked his place with a ribbon and set the book aside. He rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and leaned forward. "Is something amiss?"

Sienna slipped off her wet boots and padded to the opposite side of the house. Rather than a proper wall, a small rectangular table and chairs divided the sitting room from the kitchen, and Sienna could maintain a clear view of her father over her shoulder as she rinsed her hands in the washbasin and stoked the cooking fire back to life.

"Not particularly. I saw Devri." It was better to start with a safe, neutral topic before admitting that she had ventured back to the caves.

"Oh? How is she?"

"She seemed in good health. She wants me to join her for the Midwinter Festival next week." She put a kettle of water onto the fire and pulled out a loaf of bread and cheese.

Daland perked up at this. "Are you going to go?"

"I told her I"d think about it. I don"t want to leave you alone."

He waved her concerns away. "I"ll be fine, Senta." The old nickname brought a fond smile to her lips as she sliced the bread into thick pieces and held them over the fire to toast. "I might be an old man, but I"m perfectly capable of handling this place by myself for one night."

Sienna hummed noncommittally. "I"ll think about it," she repeated. She kept her movements slow and nonchalant as she continued. "I visited the caves today."

She could feel her father"s sharp, narrowed gaze from across the room. "What? Why?"

She shrugged. "I was over by the tide pools and just decided to go in. But, Papa, I saw something strange while I was in there."

"What was it? What did you find, Senta?"

Sienna jumped at the sound of Daland"s voice just in front of her. She had been so focused on keeping her hands and voice measured that she had missed him crossing the room. She looked up into the sea green eyes that were a mirror image of her own. Her red hair, fair, freckled skin, and short stature were all thanks to her mother, but her eyes proved her as her father"s daughter. Daland"s gaze was intense, and a crease formed between his blonde brows. "What was in the caves?"

Sienna"s eyes widened. She had not expected this level of response. "Jus—just a bunch of crates. They were all stacked together in the middle of one of the dry caverns. It looked like they were all from the same place—Hollander"s Emporium, though I can"t think of anywhere with that name close by. Maybe it"s from one of the other Courts? Autumn is close enough."

Daland"s face had gone noticeably hard. She could see the place near his temples where the muscle twitched as he clenched his jaw. His next words were clipped. "Leave it be."

"But, Papa—"

"I mean it, Sienna. Promise me that you won"t meddle with this. In fact, it would be best if you didn't go near the caves at all."

Sienna frowned, twisting her mouth in confusion. The smell of burnt bread hit her nostrils, and she quickly pulled the toast from the fire. "Papa, what is going on?"

Daland sighed. His face cleared, and he pulled her by the shoulder to press a kiss to the side of her head. "Don"t worry about it, Senta. It"s nothing."

"It certainly doesn"t seem like nothing. Wait. You"re leaving now?" She knew that it was one of his regular fishing nights, but their current conversation felt far from finished.

He was already beside the front door, shoving his arms through jacket sleeves and pulling heavy boots onto his feet. "You saw the storm coming in; if we leave now, we'll be able to grab a catch before the weather turns. You"re alright taking care of the light?"

"Of course." She blinked, still trying to make sense of everything that had transpired since she walked in the door.

Daland gave her a sharp nod. "I"ll see you in the morning. I love you, Senta."

"Love you, Papa. Stay safe." The door was closed behind him before the words had finished leaving her lips. Sienna sighed and looked down at the burned toast in her hands. It was a sad dinner for an evening home alone.

"Maybe Devri is right."