Laurel

2:23 Sky

I had kept Auris away from the apartment longer than I had promised. It had proved a challenge. We could only play billiards for so long, before we had to move, or at least share the table with another team. But no matter where we went, we were watched or followed. It was to be expected, my kind were a boogeyman to the Fae, the evil Sunless who live deep within the earth, haven't been seen by any for centuries.

Even more rare than myself was the ancient elemental dragon, brought back from myths and history books in the flesh. I could at least be glad in knowing that our celebrity status might gift us with a swifter processing, so we could access the higher level members of the court. Where the answers Laurel needed would be if they were anywhere.

Several shifter women tried to throw themselves at Auris, and more than one made a pass at me. Desperate to get within our circle. It was obvious. I had grown up in a society focused on women manipulating each other. These poor guileless girls were pathetic. Submitting to men and doing their bidding without knowing the danger they walked towards. It was unnatural. I did not understand how a male dominated society worked. Women literally brought life into the world, they were like gods in that power, how could men dominate women like this?

We roamed the outer edge of the courtyard, stretching our legs, and making as though we enjoyed the night air. The courtyard walk at least gave us a chance to talk more. I was finally getting him to open up. He thought Laurel was related to the sirens and their temple, but he had only ever met one, and filled me in on some hidden secrets of the Fae society.

The endless sea was just beyond Lady Amalthea's territory, and was apparently the only known boarder with the celestial realm and actual divine beings. A siren could be of any Fae heritage, and blessed by a celestial being with the powers known to their kind. Or curse depending on how you looked at it. Their ultimate goal being to disarm, seduce and destroy any who try to cross the border between realms. Apparently early in Auris's life, all Fae had a peace pact with the Celestial such that enough daughters would be sacrificed to become sirens to maintain order. A pact which had been in place for generations, so all species bore the weight evenly.

All that changed when Auris came into his powers. Suddenly the dragons were more concerned with how their bloodlines might suffer if they had to give up any of their members. If a new Elemental Master could spawn from nowhere, who is to say what powers were gifted to the celestials by accident? Then no dragons wanted to give up their offspring, and the desire to keep children grew, and the number of Fae withholding their tributes grew.

The need for fresh siren hosts never ceased. Something had to be done. The Fae queen at the time had to make a choice, force all subjects to continue the pact as it had been for generations, or find another solution. It was a horrible choice. Titania's ancestor had elected to sacrifice one group to save the whole. Selkie had been a derided Fae species since the original Selkie. Blessed only by nature and the power of love with the ability to share a skin with a sealion, the Selkies lacked the protection of any god or goddess.

A race of only women, who could mate with any male Fae creating either more of their father's kind, or more Selkie daughters. They were unskilled at war and fighting. The selkie were peaceful people, living along the seashores, in harmony with nature and the ocean tides. But the main reason why Selkie were selected for sacrifice, those who controlled a Selkies skin, controlled that Selkie. Bound to remain close by their skins, they were easy to round up, and control. All The Fae soldiers had to do was locate each skin and take possession of it. So each and every Selkie, on every shore, was gathered, their skin stolen, and sent to the Siren Priests in offering. The priests could breed more Selkie easily, and all they had to do was maintain control of the skins and the enslaved Selkie could never leave the shore they had been brought to.