The Siren’s Hoard: Tale of the lost shipwreck
Calypso paused as his eyes got clouded with memory. "But it was a trap. One by one, the men started throwing themselves into the water, thinking they were going to find riches. But instead, they were dragged under, never to be seen again. I watched as the sea turned red with blood. I hid below deck, terrified. When I finally came out, there was no one left but me. They had taken everything—the crew, the ship, and nearly my life."
Anya narrowed her eyes. "And you expect me to believe that? Sounds like the kind of story old men tell kids to scare them."
Calypso’s gaze hardened. "Believe what you want. But I survived. I saw them with my own eyes. Maybe you think it’s all nonsense, but you didn’t live through what I did. And if you go looking for them, you’ll end up like the rest—dead."
Anya scoffed. "That’s just a story."
Calypso chuckled darkly. "Is it, now? Let me guess—you’re Larkspur’s kid, aren’t you?"
Anya blinked, taken aback. "Yes, I am. How do you know?"
"Figures," Calypso muttered under his breath. "Larkspur was another captain that ventured in search of the siren’s hoard and never came back. He and his crew. No wonder you came here." He paused, staring at her with a mix of pity and amusement. "You don’t believe me? Fine. Go out to sea, find them for yourself. But no one’s going to join your crew. Not for something as dangerous as this. And definitely not for a woman." He spat the last word with disdain.
Anya’s hands clenched into fists. "I don’t need anyone’s help."
"Maybe you don’t," Calypso said with a shrug, "but it won’t matter. The sea doesn’t care if you’re brave or foolish. It takes what it wants."
———————
Anya Larkspur had lost her father to the same magical creatures she had refused to believe in. Determined to uncover the truth behind his disappearance, Anya defied the wishes of her friend Jack Swade and set sail alone following the map of the treasure guarded by “mermaids” that her father and his his crew set to find- The Siren’s hoard, braving the treacherous Seven Seas to find her father's lost shipwreck. Her lonely quest takes a startling turn when her fishing net ensnares something impossible—an injured merman. With this strange and dangerous ally soon turned lover, Anya’s journey deepens into a mystery far darker than she imagined, testing her beliefs, survival, and unraveling more secrets of the sea and answers to her missing father’s lost shipwreck
