"A siren?"

Donovan raised a brow when both Leonardo and Cora joined him in his private study uninvited. He reclined in his chair, arms folded across his chest, whilst his gaze remained steady and sharp on his brother. Acheron and Lothar stood behind his chair as though the three of them were already in the middle of a discussion before they got interrupted.

"And you claim to have seen it– where, exactly?"

"Cora saw it as well," Leonardo said quickly, hoping his brother would take him seriously for once. "There's something in those waters. And from all I've read about sirens, they're not exactly the kind of fish one hopes to have a pleasant swim with."

Cora gave a firm nod in agreement. "He's right. There's also a trench near Mariana- deep and ancient. Sirens are said to dwell there because of the deep dark waters, and it helps with their stealth. If you observe the map ...."

She moved closer to the table, her fingers skimming the parchment as she traced the jagged line from the Mariana trench to their current region.

"We're somewhere around here," she murmured. "Which would mean… they swam all the way to these shores? That shouldn't be possible– unless something forced them out of their domain."

"But why should we be terrified of Sirens?" Acheron asked, unable to hide his skepticism. "They're just oversized fish, aren't they? If they try anything stupid, we'll just turn them into stew."

"It's not the sirens you should be afraid of," Leonardo murmured. "It's their voice, their song. For now, we ought to alert the others and instruct the helmsman to steer clear of the waters where we last saw them. If they're venturing far from dwelling, who knows how many lurk beneath the surface already?"

Donovan leaned forward, propping his cheek against his hand. "If it truly was a siren, we're far too deep at the sea to outrun whatever stirs below. What, I wonder, lured it this far out?"

As if summoned by the question, every gaze turned to Acheron. He immediately threw his hands up in protest. "Now hold on– don't pin last night's madness on me. How was I supposed to know a siren would be drawn to the music? They weren't even meant to be on these parts."

"So what do we do now?" Lothar asked dryly. "Sing lullabies and hope they find us boring or what?"

"If only it was that easy," Donovan straightened in his seat, the air tightening around him as he made his decision. "We take precautions," he said. "Lothar, inform the crew to prepare for dusk. There's going to be a quiet spread through the ship tonight. No music. No humming, and no idle chatter during nightwatch. They're drawn to sounds, especially human voices, so we're going to have to stay quiet. I want everyone briefed without the unnecessary panic. Tell them it's a precautionary protocol."

"If I may, Alpha?" Cora spoke up, raising a finger to catch his attention. When he gave her the go ahead, she said what was in her mind with utmost confidence and certainty. "We'll be needing more crushed salts. They have components that can keep those creatures away from the ship. If we can't stop them from circling, we can at least stop them from boarding. We've got a few hours at best and we can use that to our advantage. Sirens strike better during nightfall. I'm not saying they will, but if things go awry, it's better if we're well prepared for it."

Donovan considered her words with a quiet hum of approval. Even Leonardo found himself quietly impressed. Maybe he truly had been worried for nothing after all. He knew if he ever admitted it openly, that the young northern woman was smart and dependable, she would seize upon the praise and never let him hear the end of it. Far better, then, to bury his admiration than offer it up to such a proud creature.

"Archer," he heard Donovan say. "Rotate the watchmen every hour and ensure they use earplugs. Tell the deckhands to line the hatches, the mast, and every door with whatever the young lady suggested. It must be done before sunset."

Acheron simply nodded in response. Donovan's attention shifted back to Cora, and she immediately lowered her head purely out of respect, and the fact she couldn't hold his gaze at all. "You know the trench better than I do. Draw me a copy of the map you traced and have it sent to me as soon as possible. If they've come this far, I need to know where they'll surface next— and why."

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?" Leonardo asked, realizing he's the only one left out without a role. He watched as his brother gave it some actual thought, then said evenly,

"Assist Cora, in case she needs anything," he silenced Leonardo when he sensed he was about to protest. "That'll be all. I need more breathing space in my study, so the rest of you can get out."

He dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Leonardo felt the intense urge to punch his brother squarely in the face for reducing him to Cora's errand boy, but he knew better than to try it. Donovan could be merciless when he chose to be. He'd let Esme deal with him on his behalf.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship, Esme stood with Atticus, Revana, Orion and Althea. Atticus, donning gloves, had just resurfaced with a small glass bottle carefully filled with seawater.

Orion hoisted him back onto the deck, and when he regained balance, he handed the bottle to Esme with a proud smile.

"Here you go, Luna."

"Thank you for your wonderful service Atticus," Esme said warmly, also accepting it with gloved hands. "This will be useful for my project."

"Project?" Althea asked, curiosity flickering in her voice as she tilted her head. "What are you busy working on?"

Esme glanced down at the bottle instead, the seawater catching the light. "I want to find the cause behind the darkening sea," she replied. "It's not as if I have pressing duties at the moment– so this is something I'd like to investigate in my free time. I'm going to see if I can create the dark water. I happened to have thought of something and decided to test it out."

"Are you certain about this?" Revana asked, her brows furrowed. "Tampering with poisoned water could prove dangerous. And I doubt Alpha Don would look kindly upon it?"

"I'll speak to him myself," Esme replied quietly. "I know the risks as well as how to avoid them– I'm no child. But I need to do something. My fingers can't stay idle."

"If you were able to recreate Neville's vaccine and improve the effectiveness of the Lycobane serum," Althea chimed in, a hint of cheer in her voice. "Then this should be well within your grasp. Were it anyone else, I'd be concerned, but I trust in your knowledge when it comes to these kinds of things. What are your plans? Maybe I can lend a hand!"

While Althea eagerly stepped forward to offer her assistance, Atticus's gaze was fixed on a faint shimmer beneath the water. He crouched at the edge, squinting as he tried to discern what lay beneath the surface, but at the end, he shrugged it off and assumed it was a trick of light.

Acheron, who had been making his way toward the group to warn them about the sirens, stopped in his tracks. His expression shifted as though he sensed something was terribly wrong. He looked at the water below, trailing the edge toward where Esme and the rest stood. A faint shimmer rippled beneath the surface, drawing his attention, and his instincts prickled when a sudden chill ran through him like a thunderbolt.

"Everyone, step away from the edge!" Acheron called out, already running toward them. Esme and the others barely had time to process his words, but their bodies moved on instinct as they instantly shifted back away from the edge. But it was already too late to move farther.

The surface of the water broke into a violent splash, and a monstrous, half-fish, half-human creature lunged upward, its claws slashing toward the closest who was Althea. Sensing the danger, Althea screamed, stumbling back some more- but not fast enough. However, Acheron had grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way before she was caught.

The creature's claw missed her by inches—- but to everyone's horror, it found Acheron instead. In a blur, it seized him, dragging him beneath the churning water before the others could even blink, let alone react to what had happened.

"NO– ACHERON!" Althea shrieked, immediately rushing to the edge. The others followed, their cries of panic filling the air.

"ACHERON!!"

But the water had already closed over him, leaving only ripples and silence in his wake. Esme immediately locked eyes on the spot where he had vanished, her breath catching as the water slowly began to darken, a shadow blooming outward from where the creature had dragged Acheron.

The dark waters?