The Veiled Descendants

by Sophia Menesini

  ​Beck rolls his eyes. “I’m fine. We’re heading out soon.”

  ​“So are we, Queen Joana has informed us that Perses is attacking Oceanus, and soon.”

  ​Beck’s eyes widen and he crosses his arms over his chest.

  ​“What, why wasn’t I told?”

  ​“You didn’t return after your meeting; she came to find you after getting information from a Lycon informant. Apparently Perses is coming for Oceanus first, and Lycos has allied with him. Arethusa only has a month before he finishes us all off. She came to tell you, but you were gone. So she informed the Senate and I, and offered the people of Oceanus sanctuary. Perses will find the city empty upon arrival and we can only hope it will make him think twice before invading a city with two armies.”

  ​Beck takes in the information the best he can. Looking past Caius, he can see the Senate boarding the next ship over. He sees soldiers carrying his father’s body on board.

  ​“Father would have hated us abandoning the city.” Beck sighs, running a hand over his face.

  ​Caius chuckles bitterly. “Yes, but we don’t have the manpower to beat Perses, let alone the entire Lycon army; we barely have the means to withstand small battalions anymore. Oceanus has fallen, which is why we’ll need you to rebuild. So don’t die out there, hmm?”

  ​Beck laughs, but he can hear the sincerity beneath the sarcasm. He pulls Caius forward into a hug and ignores the advisor’s objections.

  ​“I’ll try not to,” Beck whispers.

  ​And for a moment, Caius hugs him back, whispering into his ear, “Find the fish boy, get what you need, and then come back and kill this elf for your father.”

  ​Beck pulls away and nods. “You got it.”

  ​Caius returns the gesture and bows to Beck.

  He walks away after that, and Beck continues to the gangplank to finally board the Veiled Duchess. As he nears the ship, he notices the two guards who were standing with Caius are now following him.

  ​“Um, soldiers, what are you doing?”

  ​The female soldier, who Beck recognizes from the Iron Serpent, the woman who fired one of the killing blows into the sea serpent, steps forward.

  ​“Senator Caius gave the orders, sir; we are to protect you with our lives.”

  ​Beck starts to object, but when he looks past them, he can see Caius standing at the end of the dock with two more soldiers. He points at both of them.

  ​Beck sighs and nods.

  ​“Alright. Just, you’re not going to be following me around all the time, are you?”

  ​The woman grins. “We’ll try not to, Governor.”

  ​Governor. Now that’s going to take some getting used to, he thinks, and he allows them to follow him up onto the Veiled Duchess.

  Chapter 10: The Queen’s Pirates

  Jo

  After speaking with Thetis for a more in-depth, first-hand account of her knowledge of the elf Perses, Jo finishes packing her things.

  She ponders everything Thetis relayed, and for the first time since she took the throne, she feels a small flare of despair.

  Perses has Ceto and the entire Lycon army behind him, not to mention supernatural creatures from the realm of the gods. He may not be an immortal, but his power rivals one.

  Jo has to take a seat as her breath leaves her. She can’t help but wonder if she’s leaving her people to die. That when she returns from this far-fetched journey Arethusa will be no more than ash and smoke. But then she’s reminded of Shea, the woman she loves, connected to everything. She’d bet on her any day.

  She pushes her dark fears down and places her last piece of clothing in the chest.

  She’s just about ready, dressed in an Arethusian naval suit, when a knock sounds at the door to her personal chambers.

  She assumes it might be Thetis again, perhaps she has more to say, but after Jo cinches the buckles on her trunk, she answers the door only to find Rhea and Gaea on the other side.

  ​“My ladies, what is it?”

  ​Rhea and Gaea exchange sharp glances with each other, when finally Gaea sighs.

  ​“Your Majesty, we should be coming with you.”

  ​Jo laughs, stepping away from the door and leaving it open as she walks back to the trunk. She calls out to the guards stationed at the door to her chambers, and the two men venture in to pick up the large chest.

  ​“Take it to my carriage immediately, I’ll be down in a few moments,” Jo orders before finally turning back to face her old escorts.

  ​The two women are clutching each other, their arms linked, staring at the woman they raised with solemn expressions.

  ​“I’ll be taking some soldiers with me, but that’s it. Shea’s ship is already at capacity; I can’t ask her to accommodate two non-working hands.”

  ​“Then perhaps you should stay here; there is no reason you should go and risk your life on some fool errand. Perhaps we can find a compromise with Perses, find a way for Arethusa to survive diplomatically.”

  ​Jo shakes her head. “That’s not possible.”

  ​“How do you know?” Rhea cries.

  ​She takes a step toward Jo, and Gaea tries to stop her, but the old woman shakes her wife off, approaching the queen she considers her child.

  ​“Why should you risk your life? You’re the one who matters, not some street urchin—”

  ​“You will not speak of her in that way anymore!” Jo roars.

  ​She storms toward the pale old woman, staring down at her with blazing eyes. “Shea is to be my wife, and I will not have you speak of her in such a manner. I am going because my life is no more important than anyone else’s, if I die then another young daughter of the court will replace me! But I will not sit here, behind high walls, as my country, as Nereid, crumbles around me.”

  ​“But I don’t want you to die, you stupid girl,” Rhea shouts back with a choked gasp.

  ​Gaea goes to her, and Rhea collapses against her wife weakly. Jo wants to reach out to her, but she needs to make a point. She’s not their little girl anymore; she’s their queen and they have no right to question her judgments.

  ​“It doesn’t matter. It’s my decision. I am the queen, not you. I have no plan on dying anytime soon. But you must hear me—you raised me, but I am not your daughter. And Shea will be my wife and your queen consort, and you will give her the same respect you give me.”

  ​Jo turns on her heel, almost out the door, but Gaea’s frail voice calls after her.

  ​“She doesn’t deserve you.”

  ​Jo laughs harshly, a hand going to the door for support. “You’re wrong. It’s quite the opposite. And if you don’t like it? Get out.”

  ​She walks away, leaving behind the only two women she ever truly considered family.

  As she passes through the halls, an ache in her chest makes her stop suddenly. She leans against one of the many portraits scattered along the palace walls and takes a deep breath, her hands shaking after the confrontation. But as she pushes off the wall, she recognizes the portrait behind her.

  ​Queen Triteia’s gray eyes are staring down at her. Jo smiles, taking in one of her favorite portraits, admiring how the painter somehow managed to capture the laughter and light that used to be within those silver orbs.

  There’s a smirk hidden behind the regal smile, and Jo places a hand over her mother’s painted hands, folded on her dress.

  ​“What would you say? What would you do if you were here and in my place? Would you stay?”

  ​There’s no answer.

  There never is.

  Water trickles in the background over the open arch and moonlight streams through the waterfall, casting a glow over her mother’s beautiful face.

  ​“She’s amazing, Mom. I think you would have loved her. She’s got this smile like yours and her hair is like fire. Her eyes are so green, I feel like I’m lost in the forest when I gaze into them, but then there’s this spark of gold and it feels like actual sunlight. S
he’s so strong…” Jo is rambling, she knows this, and yet she can’t stop talking.

  ​Water frays at the edges of her eyes, small sobs cause her to tremble, and her throat falters like it’s closing.

  ​“She’s stronger than me.” Jo laughs, tears falling freely. “I’m scared. I’m scared of how much I love her. I’d give her the world if I could. I’d give her armies, a family if it would make her happy.”

  ​Her voice breaks off and her knees are trembling.

  ​“I miss you so much.”

  ​“She misses you too.”

  ​A voice speaks from down the hall, and Jo jumps. Instinctively, she pulls free the concealed dagger at the back of her waistline, pointing it at the stranger. But as Jo’s tear-filled eyes investigate the end of the hall, she recognizes the figure.

  ​“Venus,” Jo gasps.

  ​She sighs and puts the dagger away as the goddess approaches, her hands held up in surrender as she nods to the dagger.

  Her blond hair is in a high bun on her head and she’s wearing a flowing purple gown.

  ​“Well, you’ve certainly changed in the past year,” Venus jokes, but Jo doesn’t laugh.

  ​Instead she wipes her eyes and squares her shoulders against the goddess of love.

  ​“I’m marrying a pirate, I figured I should learn to be more prepared and able to protect the ones I love,” Jo responds curtly.

  ​She curtsies to the goddess and attempts to move past her, but Venus stops her with a hand to her shoulder.

  ​“She does miss you, you know.”

  ​Jo stops, mostly out of confusion, and turns back to the other blonde until they’re facing each other.

  ​“I’m sorry?”

  ​Venus steps closer to Triteia’s portrait, leaving Jo in the middle of the hallway. She looks up at the regal queen with a soft smile, folding her hands in front of her much like Jo’s mother.

  ​“Your mother,” Venus tells her. “She does miss you.”

  ​“How could you possibly know that?” Jo scoffs.

  ​She turns to leave again until she remembers who she’s talking to. Sheepishly she walks back over to Venus and stands beside her in front of her mother’s portrait.

  ​“I can remember the day the match was made. The day your mother was born, the love from Lady Catherine, well…I could feel it all the way in low town. She loved Triteia with the very essence of her being.”

  ​Jo chokes on her breath. “Wait. You’re saying you were here, in Arethusa? When my mother was born?”

  ​Venus laughs. “Darling, I was here when Doris was born. Under different names of course, and different looks, but the Slippery Serpent has always been owned by a lady. I briefly became a man, the son of a previous disguise, for about ten years, but frankly I prefer my feminine form.”

  ​Jo attempts to absorb the information as Venus continues.

  ​“Before that, though, I lived on Olympus. But times changed. Gods fell, my husband.” Venus’s voice cracks, but she pushes through the obvious emotion. “Hephaestus was killed by another god after Zeus disappeared. After that, I left and maintained a human form for the past one hundred and fifty years. Lost a few of my abilities, but sensing love? I’ve always kept that one. And Catherine loved her child. Just as Triteia loved you when you were born.”

  ​Jo smiles at that, the tension in her shoulders releasing.

  ​“It was a different feeling compared to your father’s birth.”

  ​The smile falls away and Jo bristles. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

  ​Venus frowns. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. But, Jo—”

  ​Jo glares at her for the use of her nickname, and V quickly corrects herself, “Joana. I just thought you’d like to know that the day you were born…When he saw you for the first time, before the hate whispered in his ear, before the darkness edged into his heart—he loved you. He looked at you and he felt it because I could feel it.”

  ​Jo shakes her head. She doesn’t want to hear this.

  ​A memory surfaces in her mind from a year ago.

  ​“Did you ever love me?”

  ​“If things had been different,” he had answered, “maybe I could have.”

  ​Jo pulls away from Venus, a hand gripping her forehead.

  ​“Why are you telling me this?”

  ​“This isn’t what I wanted to say. I just, I’m the goddess of love—”

  ​Jo laughs angrily. “Yes, I know!”

  ​V stops.

  She takes a deep breath before continuing. “Your mother misses you too. That’s what I wanted to say. And you’re right, she would have loved Shea.”

  ​V takes a step past Jo, intending to leave her behind, but Jo grabs her arm this time and the goddess allows herself to be stopped.

  ​“What’s your game here?”

  ​“What?” Venus gives her a confused look.

  ​“Are you trying to hurt me, distract me? So you can get Shea back?” Jo snarls.

  ​V scoffs, pulling her arm firmly from Jo’s grasp.

  ​“Forget it.”

  ​V takes off down the hall but Jo can’t stop, all the emotions she’s feeling turning into one—anger.

  ​Jo goes after her, but V keeps walking, and Jo hurries to keep up.

  ​“No! Why are you here?”

  ​“I’m here to stop Perses, same as you. I just wanted to offer you some comfort. You seemed to be having some trouble back there, but it was my mistake.”

  ​Venus turns the corner and Jo realizes they’re at the door to the courtyard. She stops the goddess before she can leave.

  ​“We don’t need you anymore; we have Poseidon and Shea. You’ve said yourself you’re the goddess of love, what can you do?”

  ​V looks at her sharply, glaring.

  ​“Love and war have gone hand in hand for ages; trust me, if it comes to a fight, I can hold my own. You need to learn to trust me.”

  ​“You’re a liar. You lied to Shea for years, why should I trust anything you say? You don’t know anything about my mother or my father.”

  ​“Gods, Joana, can you even hear yourself? You’re yelling at the goddess of love, and your father-in-law to be is the king of the sea! I think you can safely assume that the rest of your religion is real too. Love doesn’t end in death; it’s the one true immortal thing in this universe. So when I say your mother misses you, I can feel how proud she is all the way from Elysium, and yes, you murdered your father, so maybe you don’t want to hear how he forgives you as he’s tortured in eternal punishment for his crimes—”

  ​The red anger has faded, and the tears have returned. Jo can feel the truth spilling from those words, and she can’t listen to it anymore.

  But Venus steps in front of the door, blocking her exit, and grabs the queen of Arethusa by her arms.

  ​“No! You will listen to me. Your Majesty, you are strong, just like Shea, but that temper of yours…You need to learn to trust and listen, or you’ll never be as effective as you want to be. I am not here to take Shea from you. Because, Jo, your romance has been written in the tapestries for centuries!”

  ​V relaxes, dropping her body back against the closed door, and when she releases her, Jo falls to the floor.

  ​“I am scared we are going to lose,” Jo whispers, kneeling.

  ​V laughs and it makes Jo look up at the lavender-eyed beauty. “We could. We could lose everything, but we’re going to try.”

  ​V pushes off the door, but as her hand lands on the wood, she turns to face it. Her brow furrows, and Jo can just make out a soft pink glow emanating from her fingertips.

  ​A throat clearing catches them both off guard, and Jo can only imagine how they look. V standing in front of the door and Jo kneeling before her. Jo scrambles to get up and comes face-to-face with Poseidon.

  ​Poseidon walks down the hallway, stopping in front of the two of them.

  ​“Hello.”

  ​“Hi,” Jo murmur
s, and V repeats the sentiment.

  ​“Everything alright?” Poseidon asks, taking in both of their appearances.

  ​V is still staring at the door with a frown, so Jo answers.

  ​“Fine, we were just heading out into the courtyard to ride down to the ship.”

  ​“As was I,” Poseidon responds, and then leans toward Venus. “Really? My daughter’s fiancée?”

  ​Venus turns sharply back to Poseidon with a glare. “That’s not what this was, you simpleton.”

  ​Jo stutters an objection, but Poseidon simply brushes past them both with a chuckle and opens the palace courtyard door to walk out.

  ​V shakes her head and Jo bites her lip.

  ​“Don’t worry, Shea wouldn’t believe it anyway if he said anything.”

  ​“Right,” Jo answers.

  ​V takes a step out the door.

  Jo thinks she can hear Shea outside talking to Poseidon.

  ​“Venus!” Jo calls.

  ​V stops and turns back to the queen.

  ​“Thank you. I—I want to be great. I want to be a good ruler, and I need to learn to trust. I just haven’t had a good track record with the people I was supposed to rely on.”

  ​“I understand that.” V chuckles, probably thinking of her own family. “I’m not the one you have to worry about.”

  ​V walks out the door entirely and Jo’s brow furrows at her last comment.

  She follows the goddess outside just in time to see Shea and Beck ride off through the palace gate together, leaving Poseidon in the dust.

  ​Jo stands beside Venus, who is looking fixedly after them.

  ​“You’re saying I have reason to be worried?” Jo says, looking in the same direction.

  ​“I’m saying your romance has been written for centuries, but you’re not the only choice her path could take. Learn to trust, Jo, because you may need to make some very important compromises to get what you want.”

  ​V gestures after Beck and Shea, leaving Jo’s side as the carriage pulls up in front of them.

  Suddenly, Jo has the urge to take off running after them on foot. But that’s ridiculous because Shea is hers.

  Isn’t she?