The first thing that Rowan did upon reaching the shores of Hide harbour was to ask around about sightings of Syryn.

The anti mage knew that there was still time for Syryn to return but he couldn't rest easy. Something was wrong and he knew it like the way seasoned sailors knew when a storm was arriving.

The blond went to every ship and spoke to every captain. He came away with similar replies that, yes, there had been a man looking to travel to coop island. None of the sailors had taken Syryn to coop island. It was a dead end.

He went through every drinking den, every place that offered food and bed at the harbour. Another dead end. None of the businesses had seen the mage or talked to someone looking to visit coop island. Another dead end.

Rowan was frustrated because the possibility of being lied to was not out of the realm of his expectations. Nobody liked being associated in any way with the infamous island. To make matters worse, Syryn had worn a disguise and it was a plain forgettable face at that.

The anti mage came to an easy decision. He had to get Artemus involved. If there was anyone capable of tracing Syryn's whereabouts, it was the dark-eyed anti mage.

___

Syryn brooded in his room for days. Drevin and Shali both tried to cheer him up but the mage was a lump of rock they couldn't move.

After their futile attempts, Enkansh surprisingly showed up to Syryn's room.

"I heard you've been a wet blanket," the siren told him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," came Syryn's insipid reply. He wished he could tell someone about his predicament. "Why are you in Silisia, Enkansh? Is it something you can't tell me?"

The siren shrugged. "My parents did something that enraged the ruler of the siren kingdom. My whole family was executed but I ended up escaping with a maid. Long story short, the maid was caught and killed, but one of the guards chasing after us pitied me. He abandoned me far away from home where I eventually drifted and was caught by mermen. That's how I came to be in Silisia."

It was another tragic story of children suffering because of the decisions made by adults. Syryn's tone softened. "How long ago did this happen?"

"It happened eight years ago."

"You told me that Silisia has a purpose for you. What is it?"

"Why don't you answer my question first, Syryn? What's gotten into you?"

"I miss home," Syryn told the siren. "I want to leave Silisia."

Enkansh crossed his arms and looked at the human contemplatively.

"What?" Syryn asked him.

"Do you want to run away?" He asked in a low voice.

Syryn wondered if it was a trap. He wanted to believe in Enkansh but it wasn't easy.

"I want to. Don't you also want to leave?"

The siren nodded. "If I do though, I might get captured and killed by other sirens. Silisia is my prison but it also protects me."

Syryn figured it wasn't a problem if Enkansh lived on land. He could use the transformation amulet and blend in with the humans.

"What if you came with me to the surface world? Will they sense that you have left the ocean?"

"No," the siren shook his head. "But I'm not a human. I have never walked amongst humans. It seems almost as dangerous for me to live amongst your kind."

Syryn snorted. Sirens were the predators, not the other way round. But humans with their powerful magic and weapons were dangerous in large numbers. He conceded to that.

"You know, I am not sure if I have a home or a family up there. But if you promise not to eat anyone I care about, you are welcome to stay with me. If it turns out that I don't have family, I'll at least have a friend in you."

The siren made a face at Syryn's sappy dialogue.

"Ask Drevin. He'll be more excited than I am about leaving Silisia."

"I did. He's ready to go. But he doesn't know I'm planning to run away." The mer prince had unswervingly obeyed his King's order to never stray to the surface again. Syryn doubted that Drevin would leave without permission. Nevertheless, he had to ask.

"Do you think he'll tell on me if he knows I'm planning to run away?" Syryn asked the siren.

But what about saving Silisia? If the mer kingdom was in trouble of some kind, Syryn was dooming all the mers and it didn't sit right with him. He hadn't asked for the sage's pearl but if he intended to take its powers then wasn't it only fair that he help the mers in some way?

"Drevin won't say a word. But are you really planning to run?"

"I'm not sure. I want to. But I think I have unfinished business here, Enkansh."

Syryn belatedly remembered his dark spots. He had to get them treated by a human healer.

"And does that have anything to do with the prophecy about you?" Enkansh asked.

Syryn sighed.

"Maybe."

"I don't know what to tell you, Syryn. Do what's best for you," the siren said. "If the prophecy is true then it will come to pass. It isn't a path that you must consciously tread. The prophecy will happen whether you make a decision A or a decision B, so go with what your heart tells you to do."

The siren's words comforted and yet dismayed him at the same time. Enkansh was telling him that he couldn't avoid his prophesied fate and that nothing he did was going to change the final result. Syryn couldn't accept it. But there was also a freedom in letting go of making kingdom saving decisions. It meant that Silisia's good fate was not contingent on Syryn making the right decisions. It gave him the freedom to do what he wanted to.

"Thank you," he told the siren. "That helped."