Just like any other day in the past two weeks, Ashwin sat on the deck, watching the nereids. At first, he was cautious of them, expecting them to use their magic at any moment. Horrific images from a book he shouldn’t have read haunted him: the inside-out corpses of battlefields and the nightmarish forms of humans cruelly deformed by nymphs who’d spared their lives. Maybe because he found this book as a child in his father’s study, these horrors were imprinted on his memory so well.

  However, the days passed, and the nereids did not harm humans. In some ways, they reminded Ashwin of apes - the same disdainful glances, as if they were looking at something abhorrent, the same way to leave humans wandering around the deck without confinement or restraint. Although, unlike apes, nymphs did not make any effort to talk to their captives. They talked among themselves, and sometimes Ashwin wished they would not. The sounds they made were harsh and high, and the most neutral ones reminded him of the echoing rumbling heard in the distance from the horse’s hooves.

  Getting tired of watching the nymphs, Ashwin turned and leaned over the side of the vessel. The flippers of the sea creature that carried them were visible through the water. He watched as they rose and fell. From time to time, the creature would slow down considerably to eat plankton or sleep. This led Ziana to comment on the practicality of using animals to cross oceans, although she didn’t look disappointed. For his part, Ashwin’s heart almost leapt out of his chest when the beast stopped for the first time. He thought it meant the nymphs would finally deal with them. Now he only felt vexed at these constant false alarms.

  Recently, the teen’s mind wandered around. He thought about Adwita and the meeting he missed, about the possibility of meeting his father again. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore the topic raised by Ziana, it kept coming back. 'I wonder how Zaris is doing? I hope he and the troop are fine,' Ashwin sighed, and buried his face in his hands. 'Will I ever see them again? What will I say to Scarface if we meet?'

  He jumped when someone touched him on the shoulder.

  "Jeez, what an emotional boy you are," Ziana gave him a lenient look.

  "I’m not a boy," snapped back Ashwin, trying to hide the relief he felt when he realized it wasn’t a nymph who was interested in him.

  As if his thoughts were written on his face, Ziana nodded toward the opposite side, saying, "See that dark spot in the distance? It looks like we’re finally arriving at our destination." The girl pulled Ashwin closer and whispered in his ear, "Don’t be in the clouds and stick close to me. I still have a saber."

  The teen recoiled and grumbled, "Don’t tell me what to do. I’m not stupid."

  It was true that the nymphs didn’t take away the knife and saber. They just confirmed humans didn’t have firearms. For the past few days, Ashwin has figured out a few things about the nymphs. The books described them as arrogant creatures. But only after spending time with them, the teen came to the conclusion that they close their third eye around humans deliberately as a gesture of detest. And their disgust for humans extends as far as allowing them to keep the sword, to emphasize that it is a useless weapon against them.

  The sea beast abruptly stopped, and this made Ashwin grab the girl’s hand. He let go of her as soon as he caught his balance. Their destination was still far away. The teen glanced at the nereids. Most of them were resting inside the hut-like structure at the back of the deck. The one who was on duty grimaced and waved his hand. A stick that was piercing the sea beast’s shell turned a little, forcing the animal to continue swimming and even speed up.

  Ziana stayed beside him. Before they came aboard the Nereids’ vessel, she even gave the teenager her knife. However, Ashwin couldn’t bring himself to shake off her recent advice. ‘If we were against a single nymph and had a surprise attack, then maybe it could work,‘ thought the teen, watching as the nereids emerged from their shelter one after another.

  He was trying to examine the land they were moving towards when the nymph approached them. Without warning, the nereid a sack on Ashwin’s head. When the teenager recoiled and reached for the sack with his hands, the nymph said something. Ashwin couldn’t distinguish any familiar words he had heard in the past weeks, but the angry tone was clear enough.

  Their captors didn’t harm the humans, apart from preventing them from seeing and pushed, urging them to move. Understanding their reasons for their actions didn’t ease Ashwin’s nervousness. When he stepped on the unsteady platform, he couldn’t suppress the memory of how the pirates had thrown a corpse overboard. The teen exhaled as his feet touched solid ground. The sack was too thick for him to see through, so he focused on the surrounding sounds.

  Ashwin, expecting to hear the cacophony of seabird screams, found the surroundings too quiet. The sound of waves, footsteps, and cargo being dragged over the ground dominated everything else. As time passed, he began to hear insects rustling nearby. He even stepped on one that couldn’t get out of the way quickly enough. The squishing sensation and crunching of the chitin shell made the teen grimace and shuffle his sole to clean it of the bug’s remains.

  After climbing a rocky path for a while, they finally stepped inside the building. Compared to the cliff, the floor had a softer texture, and the sounds and light were less intense. But the change that astonished Ashwin was the smell of food. During the time they were traveling with nymphs, their diet comprised their captors’ food. It included raw fish and dried seaweed. But now the teen’s stomach was aching from smelling the sweet and spicy aroma of cooked dishes. Without hesitation, he lifted the bag off his head.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The humans were left alone in a round room. Their captors were nowhere to be seen, nor were the doors or windows. From the shape of the room, Ashwin had a feeling that they were inside a stone sphere. It was empty, with no decorations or furniture except for a round table full of dishes and two wooden chairs with no backs. A crystal ball hung in the center of the ceiling, emitting a white light. With nothing, visibly holding it to the ceiling, the teen instinctively retreated, anticipating a possible fall.

  While Ashwin looked around, the girl went straight to the table. Unlike him, Ziana didn’t even try to fight the craving. She sat on the chair and started filling her plate.

  "What if this is poisoned?" blurted Ashwin, the first question that popped into his head. He was following with his gaze as the pieces of meat formed a pile on the girl’s plate one by one.

  "Please... If they wanted to kill us, they wouldn’t have wasted their time and food bringing us here," she said.

  Whether her argument was unshakable, or his hunger was too strong, Ashwin joined her at the table. At first, he was modest, but soon he tried the dishes one after another. The taste reminded him of Kean cuisine, with subtle differences. It was as if someone were trying to replicate a dish they had only heard about, mixing the right ingredients strangely or replacing others. Still, it was far superior to what they had been eating for the last month.

  He was about to ask Ziana’s opinion, but he choked on a piece of crumbly vegetable.

  "Don’t rush. It’s not like food is going to run away from you." The girl grinned and grabbed a jug near her. Before offering it to a coughing teen, she opened the lid and sniffed the contents. And immediately happily exclaimed, "This is alcohol!"

  Forgetting all about the teen, Ziana filled her mug and took a sip.

  “It feels like some kind of homemade wine. It has a rather pleasant taste,” she shared her observations immediately.

  "I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself," Ashwin grumbled. His mood worsened even more when the girl filled another mug and pushed it towards him.

  "I can’t drink," the teen rejected her efforts. "You know I haven’t come of age yet. I’m only sixteen."

  "Wow, how law-abiding of you," Ziana laughed and finished half of her mug in one go. "So, when you want to show off and play an adult, you are already sixteen, but in case of breaking rules, you play the card of being still a minor. Super convenient and sneaky, I gotta admit."

  "The only sneaky one here is you," Ashwin said, turning his gaze away from the girl. He concentrated on the food, though he was eating slowly and carefully this time.

  "This is surprising," continued the girl, generously filling her mug. "I never thought they’d share this with us."

  Despite being upset, Ashwin asked, "Why?"

  "Because nymphs value alcohol," Ziana whispered in his ear, wrapping her arm around his neck. "They use it to see into the future. Or at least, they think the visions they get when under its effect are valuable."

  "Well, some people also think they have good ideas when they’re drunk," said Ashwin.

  With a burst of laughter, Ziana released him, exclaiming, "Yeah, true!"

  Finally, cheering up and smiling, the teenager extended his hand to add another serving to his plate-like dish, but the table moved. This made both humans stand up and cautiously watch it. The piece of furniture, still full of dishes, moved towards the farther wall, moving its legs like an animal. A stone wall revealed a hole for it to pass through and let in the nymph.

  Unlike those who brought them here, this nereid had aquamarine scales and a navy-colored membrane on its head crest. Ashwin remembered that the nymphs who traded with the pirates were also like this. However, this particular nereid was larger than the others, making the teen think it was a male. It also wore white loose clothes that reminded him of a cloak wrapped around its body and forming folds. Thinking that Ziana wasn’t sober enough to make quick decisions, the teen stepped forward, but she instantly pulled him back by the hand. She didn’t look drunk at all.

  The nereid proceeded to the chair and sat down. He wasn’t acting aggressively, and even his third eye was open. Without waiting for them to join him, he spoke first.

  'I’m glad to have guests. And I hope you enjoyed the food.'

  Ashwin stared at the nereid. It was the first time he had heard a human speech from the nymphs. But what startled him even more was that the nereid’s mouth was still closed.

  'I’m talented enough to speak with my mind,' answered the unspoken question the nereid. 'You can call me Cao Cao.'

  "What?! That’s nonsense!" hissed Ziana. "How dare he mock our culture?!"

  "That’s rich, coming from you. Now do you understand how I felt hearing your name?" Ashwin couldn’t hide the triumph in his voice.

  But the girl grimaced. "You are such a petty brat."

  "I’m not a brat! I’m already sixteen!" retorted the teen with indignation.

  "Yeah, that’s exactly what a brat would say."

  The sound of a metal ring interrupted their bickering. Recovering their attention, the nereid stood up. It was then that another pulled a chair into the room. Both Ashwin’s and Ziana’s eyes were fixed on the person in the chair. It was a middle-aged woman from Kean with long black hair and pale skin. Her oval face and dark brown eyes seemed familiar to Ashwin. But only glancing at Ziana, he understood she was the first one to recognize the woman.

  "Wang Dongmei," the girl whispered, barely audibly. With a much louder voice, she asked, "What is the hero of Nereid’s war doing here?"

  Now everything was clear. He saw her portrait in one of the books. Ashwin looked again at the woman. She looked older than her portrait, but it was definitely her.

  'She is also my guest,' replied the nereid, who called himself Cao Cao.

  "I would like to confirm this from her," said Ziana. Her hand was right next to the saber’s handle.

  The nereid blinked, covering his third eye for a moment with a thick eyelid.

  'She can speak only through me. Her vocal cords have been destroyed.' His mouth opened, revealing his bare, sharp teeth in a ridiculous smile. 'We couldn’t let your strategist flap her tongue freely or write secret letters. This was the first punishment before the execution.'

  Only now did Ashwin notice that the sleeves of the woman’s shirt were empty. Her hands were cut off. Before the teen could say anything, or Ziana could move, the nereid stated, 'I have been captivated by her for a long time. And thus, she is alive and well treated. The same goes for you.'