Chapter 13

The mermaid laid sprawled on the floor, exactly how they left her, facing the wall. She seemed weak, like she could barely move even if she wanted to. The soft golden glow surrounding her was softer and paler than before. It was so faint that Aiden barely noticed it at first. "Aurelia?" He said in a quiet voice. Despite the soft way he spoke, she still nearly jumped. 

Slowly she turned, seeming to struggle to hold her own weight as she tried to prop herself up. "A-Aiden?" She looked at him with an unreadable emotion on her face. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was different than before. Instead of her usual sweet-as-honey sound, her voice was dry and broken. It sounded as weak as she looked. 

"Well, I got captured by pirates." He remarked. 

"Ah, I can see that." She said. Her eyes looked away nervously as she slowly pulled herself to the corner of her cell, the farthest away from him, and sat up against the wall. She did not say anything else as the elephant in the room left barely any space for them to breathe. 

Aiden was not sure what to say. What could he say? He was now trapped in a small room with the girl who tried to drown him just a few hours ago. He had no idea what was going on or what he was even doing. He had come back to save her, right? He was not even sure. 

He knew he came back because he sensed she was in danger. Now he knew that the danger was pirates, but it seemed like that was not all. So, what was his plan? Did he really intend to help her? Was that why he came back? 

He was not even sure what his own motives were. Even now that he was in the same room as her, he was still unsure. He felt hardened towards her and even part of him regretted going back for her. But whatever he felt for her did not matter now. He was now captured by pirates along with her and had to figure out how to escape. 

Rising to his feet, he paced around the cell, looking for anything that could be useful. Aurelia peered up at him with a confused look. "What are you doing?" She asked. 

"Looking for some way to escape." He told her. She tried to respond but her dry voice would not allow her, so she gave a short nod instead. The lack of light in the cell made it significantly harder to find anything he could use, let alone see anything in general. 

Suddenly a bright electrifying light brightened up the room, followed by a scream. Aiden's eyes snapped towards Aurelia to find her surrounded by a bright blue light that seemed to be sparking with electricity. Her eyes were shut tight, her face contorted in pain, as her fingernails dug into her skin. 

Panic seared through Aiden. "What's going on?" He shouted. "Are you alright?" She could not answer as the pain was too overbearing for her to do anything other than attempt to brace herself. Aiden grabbed onto the bars of his cell, trying to thrash it open so he could get to her. But although they weakly jiggled with his every harsh movement, they would not budge. He could only watch as she continued to cry out in pain. 

After several long minutes, the light sank back into the shell on her necklace and she crumpled back onto the floor, breathing hard. Her breaths were jagged, uneven and strained. At some points her breathing was so loud the sound filled up the room. Other times it stopped altogether for several seconds, making his panic spike. 

He waited helplessly for her to catch her breath, wishing he could do more. When her breathing finally calmed, silence filled the room. "What was that?" He asked. 

Since she was too weak to turn away from him, she instead closed herself off as she lay sprawled on the ground, dusty golden hair covering her face. The only thing that assured him that she was still alive was the rise and fall of her dainty shoulders as they slowly heaved up and down as she breathed. 

"That light, it was hurting you, wasn't it?" He said. She still did not answer him, so he continued. "It looked like it was coming from your necklace. I could sense that it hurt a lot." When she still refused to respond or look up at him, he sighed. "I just want to understand what is going on." 

The gentle sound of his voice made her curious. She had expected him to hate her and be hostile towards her. She was not expecting this. 

With a labored groan, she pushed herself up just enough to face him. Behind her curtain of golden hair, she looked up into his eyes. It was the first time she looked up at him like that since they were thrown into the cell together. "I am sorry." She said sincerely. Though her voice did not have the same enchanting and alluring sound as it previously had, he still found it attractive, but in a different way than before. 

"Will you care to explain?" He asked. He was not going to accept her apology until he knew what she was apologizing for or what exactly was going on. 

She was silent for several seconds then let out a long, heavy breath. "Yes, the current you just saw came from my necklace. It is used to keep sirens in line." 

"Why don't you just take it off?" 

"The shell necklace is the symbol of the sirens. Taking it off would be equivalent to rejecting my own kind."

"But if they hurt you-." He started. She cut him off.

"Only if I fail to follow orders. Like when I did not drown you."

"Oh." He gave what she said some thought. "So that is why you attempted…" He trailed off. "To do that." 

"I understand that does not excuse what I did." She said, "I also understand that you must hate me now." 

"I don't." He said, surprising her. 

"Really?" She asked, not believing him.

"Perhaps I should. But I don't." He said. "I am not even sure why, just as I am not sure why I came back for you." 

"Well, it was a mistake." She told him.

"Why do you say that?" He questioned her. 

"Look where it got you. Now you are trapped with the same mermaid you cannot trust. You should have not turned back." There was truth in what she said. He could not trust her. He had no reason to. And it most likely was foolish to have turned back for her. But he did and he did not take his choice back. 

"Why did you appear in my dreams?" He asked. She stared at him, appearing to be deep in thought but saying nothing. "Tell me, this entire time, were you leading me to you simply so you could drown me?" His facial expression was as firm as his voice. 

Her eyes softened. "No." She said, "The first time we met, that was not what I wanted. But as a siren, that is what we do." 

He shook his head. "I don't get you." 

She gave him a half smile. "I don't blame you."