Chapter 59: Chapter 59
POV Gray
"I've found it," Lilith said, causing me to immediately turn and look in her direction. Without waiting any longer, I approached her and asked for an explanation.
"Tell me," I said. After almost four days of patiently waiting, Lilith had finally returned from the Ocean territory with good news.
"Have you found out who's been using the Siren poison?" This time it was Brenda who asked.
"Yes, over the past few weeks, there's only been one person who appeared to be using that poison, and it's the Siren who was previously expelled from the Ocean," Lilith replied, making me raise an eyebrow as I looked at her.
"Don't tell me they're a fugitive Siren?" I asked, making Lilith raise her eyebrows in response.
"Yes, call it whatever you want, but the good news is, I know who it is," Lilith answered.
"In that case, tell me. I don't want to waste any time. I need to find Aurel," I said, my impatience clear as it had been over a week since I couldn't reach my mate, driving me nearly insane if Brenda hadn't constantly reminded me.
"She's Loma, the only Siren recently using the Siren poison, and because she's from a Clan that doesn't reside in the Ocean like us, it's hard to pinpoint her whereabouts right now. She hasn't returned to the Ocean territory for several weeks, even though the king has imposed new rules," Lilith said, making me rub my face roughly. I dreaded the idea of having to search for that Siren.
"So, what do we do? Isn't there a way to track her?" I asked, causing Lilith to shake her head.
"It's not easy; she doesn't stay in one place, and she often ventures into the human world. It's challenging to determine her exact whereabouts," Lilith explained, making me sigh in frustration as I glanced in Simon's direction.
"Isn't there any way to find her?" I asked, causing Simon to lower his head, seemingly unable to offer another idea.
"In that case, let's search for her in the Immortal world. If that Siren has taken Aurel, there's a good chance she's already there. Besides, we've obtained evidence that Aurel has crossed into the Neutral dimension," I suggested, making Brenda almost protest, as it wouldn't be feasible for her to let me go and create chaos there, as it would surely reach Wentira.
"I won't accept rejection. I should've gone alone to search for Aurel in the Immortal world before," I said, making Brenda rub her face roughly.
"What Gray is saying is right. Don't worry; he won't be alone; we'll be with him, and you're not letting him go, are you?" Rex asked, making Brenda look at her soulmate as if she couldn't stop what we were about to do.
"Alright, then, but you all need to control yourselves. Don't cause trouble; if that happens, it will definitely complicate things for Aurel. We don't know who's been keeping her all this time, and we mustn't reveal ourselves openly," Brenda cautioned, and I nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry; I won't stir up trouble until I find Aura. But I can't promise the same once I see her and discover who's been hiding her all this time," I said again, leaving them silent. They knew how hard I'd been holding back my emotions while waiting for Aurel's whereabouts. We didn't wait long; we immediately set out.
We crossed the Neutral world, visiting several territories except Wentira. I didn't want to draw Alpha King's attention. If he knew, he wouldn't sit idly and would intervene in my affairs.
"Why are we here?" Stella asked as we stopped at the border between the Neutral world, Plantae Territory, and Wentira Course.
"We can inquire with some forest fairies about Loma's whereabouts. They should at least have some knowledge if they've seen Loma," Simon explained, making me scan the surroundings.
"In that case, why wait? Let's ask them," I said and dashed into the Plantae Territory. There were many living plants there and a few small fairies hiding as if they weren't used to outsiders being in their territory.
"Can I meet someone here?" Simon asked, realizing that the fairies were just hiding and scared.
"Don't worry; we just want to ask about someone. We won't cause any trouble," Simon said again, finally making one of the fairies fly around us. The others followed suit, and it turned out there were so many fairies that we hadn't noticed initially.
"Who are you looking for?" one of the fairies, larger than the rest, asked.
"Have you seen a Siren entering your territory or heard any news? She's one of the Sirens previously banished from the Ocean territory, her name is Loma," Simon explained, making the fairy fall silent.
"Some fairies came here a few months ago looking for medicinal plants. Can you describe her?" the fairy asked, making Simon look at Lilith because we didn't even know what Loma looked like.
"She's tall with slightly dark skin, and she has wavy red hair," Lilith described, making the fairy fall silent again.
"Does she have a mark on her forehead?" the fairy asked, and Lilith nodded eagerly.
"Yes, that's her. Have you seen her?" Lilith asked, hoping the fairy could provide some guidance.
"Yes, a few months ago, she passed through the Plantae Territory and met with a fairy in our area," the fairy replied, pointing in the direction where Loma had met the fairy before. We ventured deeper into the Plantae Territory until we reached an old, fragile-looking tree.
"Are you sure she lives here?" I asked, looking at Simon, who was scanning the area.
"I don't know, but let's follow the path they showed us," Simon replied.
"I'm sure she's here. We can try calling her," Stella said, circling the tree. Stella extended her hand, then took a piece of easily peeled bark, and that's when the tree immediately moved and came to life.
"What do you want? Why are you disturbing me?" the old tree asked, making me look up to see how massive the tree in this Plantae Territory was.
"Can we meet Sherman?" Stella asked, making the tree bark go silent, bowing its head to look at us.
"What's your business? Do you want to meet me?" the old tree asked, surprising us as the fairy mentioned earlier was actually a massive, ancient tree.
"Are you Sherman?" Stella asked, making the tree bark murmur.
"Yes, just say it; you've disturbed my rest. So I hope you won't waste your time before I go back to rest," Sherman replied.
"Yes, we're just going to ask if you've met a Siren named Loma before?" Lilith quickly asked, not wanting to waste time. She looked thoughtful before examining us.
"Who are you? Are you here to capture her?" Sherman asked, making Lilith shake her head immediately.
"No, no, I'm her relative; I'm a Siren too. It's been a long time since I last saw her, so I came with my friends to look for her. I know non-Sirens can't easily move in and out of the mainland like this," Lilith explained cleverly, making sure we had a valid reason to invite Sherman to join our quest.
"Her relative?" Sherman confirmed, and Lilith nodded without hesitation.
"If you're her relative, you must know where she is," Sherman said.
"I haven't met her. You know Loma isn't the type to stay in one place; she wanders everywhere. I was surprised when she reached your territory, let alone befriending an old tree like you," Lilith said, causing the tree to move its large branches.
"Who are you calling old? I'm just becoming more charismatic in my old age. Proof that I still stand tall among the newly grown trees," the old tree replied, making Lilith smile apologetically.
"You're a charismatic and increasingly beautiful tree," Lilith said, and we waited for her to get to the point.
"Just tell us where Loma is; we need to meet her soon," I said, wanting to cut to the chase.
"Are you a werewolf?" Sherman asked, looking at Gray with a cold gaze.
"Yes, so tell us where she is," I asked again, prompting Brenda to touch my arm, as if she didn't want me to cause trouble after Lilith had provided an excuse to the old tree.
"Are you the ruler of Wentira?" Sherman asked, making me raise an eyebrow.
"I can see from the aura around you. You're either a king or a future king. What's the ruler of Wentira doing looking for an exiled Siren?" Sherman asked, seemingly knowledgeable about the outside world despite residing in the Plantae Territory.
"She's taken my mate and I need to find her before she does anything," I replied honestly to Sherman, making him move again.
"In that case, you'll have a hard time finding her. Even now, I've been trying to contact her in every way, but she hasn't shown up at all. She should have been with me tomorrow," Sherman said, making me look at Brenda.
"What business do you have with that Siren?" I asked.
"She promised to give me Siren poison," Sherman replied, making me look at him with a questioning gaze, wondering why this old tree needed Siren poison.
"In that case, I'll wait here until the Siren shows up," I said, making the old tree look at me with a cold gaze, and I had no idea what was going through its mind right now.