Kraken and Pirates

I told the siren Aurora the full truth about the beaver clan’s unexpected presence in the secret garden—how I’d stumbled upon their gnawed coral tunnels, their stockpiled tools glinting in the dim light, and the hushed plans they whispered about seizing the Eternal Life Stone. I described their sharp, chisel-like teeth marks on the silver sea trees and the faint scent of pine resin they’d brought from the surface, a telltale sign of their intrusion. After she heard it, her face became extremely indifferent, as if the news barely stirred her, and her beautiful, iridescent eyes stared unblinkingly at the glowing coral arch ahead, lost in intense thought. The current emergency—beavers plotting to steal their most sacred treasure, pirates lurking just beyond the reefs—did not give her much time to hesitate. But the siren Aurora is an experienced and capable queen, her resolve forged through decades of protecting her clan. Even if mortal danger loomed close enough to taste, it was difficult