As we walked towards the sound, the allure of the music became harder to resist. I struggled more fiercely in Arine's arms, but he continued to hold me tightly. "She's getting worse. We must be close." Sure enough, up ahead a man was lying on a rock in the distance, singing loud enough to hear for miles.
He was in a human form, but you could see gills on each side of his upper body. He was only wearing vines that wrapped around his limbs in intricate curls, and he wore a thin golden crown that was only visible on his forehead. He was wearing gold necklaces and many rings which made him look like a sea warlock. His hair was blue, and his eyes were a deep green with slits for pupils like a snake. The sight of him made me calm down and mesmerized. 'He's almost as beautiful as Ikko in the moonlight. His skin is shining, and his voice is amazing.'
Ikko then walked up beside him with his hands in his pockets. "Can you shut up?" He said in a very casual tone. The siren stopped singing and sat up from the rock. The moment he stopped I snapped out of the trance and felt dizzy. Cienar smiled at Ikko, revealing that all of his teeth were pointed like Sython's were. Although, Cienar's teeth were more needle-like, and all of them were the same length, as opposed to Sython's, whose canines were longer than the rest. "Ikko. It's been a while since I last saw you. What brings you here?" Ikko crossed his arms. "We're looking for The Book of Souls." Cienar's smile faded. "We?" He looked behind him at Arine and me. "Huh. I never thought you would work with a fairy and a-" Arine put me down from his shoulder and my eyes met Cienar's as soon as I looked up. His eyebrows went up in surprise. "A human?"
His smile returned and he stood up. "And a lovely one at that." But before Cienar could take a step closer, Ikko pushed him back. "Don't even think about it." Cienar raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start caring about humans? They're nothing but food to you." Ikko crossed his arms again. "True. But this one is weirder than the others. It's enchanting." Cienar turned to look at me again. "I see. She is very beautiful, isn't she?" I blushed and Arine stepped in front of me with a glare. Ikko sighed, annoyed with Arine's attempt at intimidation if I had to guess. "We're off subject." Cienar looked back at Ikko with a small evil look in his eye. "I'm sorry, old friend. But I will not help you until I get a closer look at that goddess in human form."
Everything he said made me shudder. Ikko's eyebrows creased as he responded to Cienar. "Fine. But you touch her, I kill you." Arine stepped aside with shock. I could tell what he was thinking. 'If he was that strict, then why didn't he kill Arine a long time ago?' I grew tense as Cienar stepped in front of me, studying my face. "How unique." After a few seconds, Arine's impatience rose. "So, you got a closer look. Now will you tell us where The Book of Souls is?" Cienar smiled. "Yes. It is a long and dangerous journey which only my father and I know the safest way through, and you won't make it halfway without being killed."
Arine's expression changed to confusion. "That... didn't help." Ikko walked up to Cienar from where he was standing before. "What you're saying is, you have to come with us in order for us to survive?" Cienar nodded. "Though, being a prince, there would be many responsibilities I'd be missing out on. You would have to make it worth my while in return for leading you to the book." Arine's annoyance ever increased. "What do you want now?" Cienar turned to me. "Something simple really. All I want is a kiss from you." My eyes widened and both Arine and Ikko's mouths dropped.
Arine pushed him away from me in response. "No way!" Cienar crossed his arms and turned away from us. "Fine. Good luck dying." I hesitated for a moment then called out for him. "Wait! I'll do it!" Then both Ikko and Arine stepped back, baffled. "WHAT?!" Cienar turned around with a smile and Arine looked at me with concern. "But, I thought you said you weren't going to kiss anyone again. Plus, he's a jerk!" I sighed while looking at the ground. "Your sister's in trouble. I said I would help you and I plan to do so. No matter what."
His expression was at a loss for words as I walked past him and up to Cienar. He smiled down at me. "It has to be good. Only if I like it I will help you-" I then immediately grabbed him by a vine on his shoulder and pulled him down, passionately pressing my lips against his, running my fingers through his hair with my other hand. I pulled away after a moment, wiping my mouth with my arm as soon as I could. "How was that?" I asked. He stared at me blankly. "Wow..." I smiled. 'I might've picked a thing or two up from Sython...'
I turned to Arine and Ikko who were staring with surprise. Arine covered his face to hide the sudden blush. "That's not fair! Now I want to try it!" Ikko crossed his arms. "You and me both." I became annoyed. "Hey! Don't even think about it, perverts! This was a one-time thing!!" Cienar laughed and walked over to the rock he was lying on and pulled a staff from behind it. "Let's go." Arine uncovered his face. "Okay, who do you want to fly with? Me or Ikko?" He said while repeatedly pointing to Ikko.
Cienar turned to them with a face of stone. "Neither. We're walking." Arine's expression changed to surprise. "What? Why?" Cienar then turned and began to walk away from us. "There are dragon riders and demons patrolling everywhere. Apparently, The Demon King is looking for something. It would be best if we didn't run into any more trouble than we needed to." I then rushed up beside him as Arine and Ikko followed behind. "The Demon King is looking for something?... What is he looking for?" I was tense but I couldn't help but wonder.
Cienar was about to answer when Arine crossed his arms. "Probably another victim. That sick bastard thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's the most powerful being on the planet." I sighed while looking down. 'Of course. I'm such an idiot. What would possibly make me think that there was even a slight chance of Sython looking for me?'
We walked until we entered a clearing in the trail that revealed clear blue skies and the beaming sun overhead. Cienar was in the lead with his staff which was filled from top to bottom with carvings and beads hanging from the bracelets wrapped around the upper part of the staff. "Past this clearing is an enchanted jungle. They should rename it because enchanted jungle sounds too peaceful. It should be called The Jungle of Death. So stay close or die."
I didn't like the sound of that, but I was determined to stay brave. After a moment, I looked behind me and saw that Ikko was gone. I stopped suddenly as I noticed that he hadn't followed us past the end of the forest where the shade was. 'That's right. He doesn't walk in sunlight and there's no shade around this entire clearing.' He was standing there and began to turn away when I ran back to him. Cienar and Arine stopped walking to see where I was running to but I barely noticed.
I ran up to Ikko and took his hand. "It's okay. I promise not to look! It's just for a little while until we reach the jungle!" He sighed. "It's not just that. Every time I show my true form, I feel the hate for myself get worse seeing that I've become the very thing I stand against." I looked up into his eyes. "And what is that?" His eyes narrowed down at me. "A being who is considered higher than everyone else because of how they look."