News about Syryn's revelations began to spread like a disease that mutated every time the baton was passed to another person. This unexpected twist exploded into their boring lives and gave them more fodder for gossip.

Grifan had heroically defended the honour of the human when his loyal followers chose to act like beasts. Despite Drevin receiving Syryn's affections, it was the younger brother with unrequited love who ended up coming to Syryn's defence. Grifan who had been spurned as a rapist was now praised as a hero.

"I told you, didn't I? My son was innocent!" Concubine Shaye crowed from the top of her lungs at every opportunity that presented itself.

"No! He wasn't in love with a human boy. Grifan was a gentle and talented mer who planned to marry a kind, well-bred mer lady," she told another concubine. "Mixing blood is a disgusting act of betrayal of our people. I can only imagine how perverted one must be to lie with a dirty human." Drevin was denounced by the concubine without categorically being named.

The slandered prince was at the moment spending some time with a siren who was keeping a low profile.

"So that's what they're saying about me," he halfheartedly complained to Enkansh. "I haven't even kissed him on the cheek yet they make up wild stories about how I've already separated his legs."

Enkansh laughed at the prince' sour expression. Drevin never cared much for the rumours that went about the palace but this time, many lines had been crossed. He hadn't even tasted the honey but they all accused him of emptying the pot. It was unfair, and the reason why he was avoiding Syryn till the rumours cooled.

"It's your own fault for sneaking into his room every night. What do you do when you're alone with him?" The siren asked without hiding his curiosity.

"We hug," Drevin flippantly replied. "That's it."

The siren's jaw dropped. "You hugged him?"

"It's just a hug! Only us mers would make such a big fuss about a casual touching of male chests."

The siren narrowed his eyes at the prince. "Syryn has corrupted you. If it was only a hug then you wouldn't be sneaking off to him every night."

"That's because he needs the hugs," Drevin refuted. "Humans are comforted by the embrace of their friends and families."

"And I'm supposed to believe that your kind heart bore nothing but selfless intentions for hugging him. Really Drevin, I wasn't born yesterday," the siren derisively replied. "Try again. This time, make it sound a little more selfish. Maybe then I'll buy what you're selling."

Drevin turned away from the siren who never spared his feelings. That was why he had befriended Enkansh. He wasn't one to play games or mince his words like every other ass kissing mer that crossed paths with the prince. Syryn was the same. The human spoke his mind and it was the reason why Drevin liked him.

"Alright, you got me. I like the hugs. You have to try them, Enkansh."

"I'll pass."

"No, really," the silver-blue mer attempted to grab the siren who evaded his hug. "Come here!"

Enkansh put a wide berth between him and the hug addicted prince. It was still too personal of a touch for someone like him.

"Someone is here," Enkansh said to the prince, grateful for the interruption.

It was Syryn. The mage floated into the mer's room and occupied Drevin's bed without permission or preamble.

"Some friends the two of you are," he grumbled. "Why have neither of you visited me during my hour of great tribulation?"

"Syryn, I'm sorry," Drevin sat next to him and poked at a cute round toe. Human feet were just as fascinating as hugs, the merman discovered. "You attract too much attention so I wanted to stay low until it all settled down."

"And you?" The mage asked the siren. "What's your excuse?"

Enkansh folded his arms and shrugged. "We're not friends."

That upset the mage. And an upset Syryn wanted to upset the siren that upset him.

He nodded. "You're right. Friends don't know the taste of each other like we do."

"What are you talking about?" Drevin asked while looking between the two.

The siren glared at Syryn.

"What have the two of you done?" The prince asked again, looking faintly scandalised.

"We swallowed a little bit of each other. It was Enkansh that started it though."

Drevin's fingers froze where they were tugging at Syryn's little toe. Enkansh leapt out of his nest of soft seagrass and cushions.

"You-" The siren hissed at Syryn. There was no way out of this conversation without taking damage. As far as the siren was concerned, Drevin didn't need to know that his attack on Syryn had resulted in a bitten-off ear lobe. On the other hand, Syryn was leading the merman towards an equally dreadful conclusion.

"What?" Syryn asked the siren whose words were stuck in his throat. "There's no shame in what we did. It was the heat of the moment that caused it. Or do you regret it now?"

Enkansh was shocked by the man's shameless words.

"Is this revenge for not visiting you?"

"Revenge? No, this is me telling you that I don't regret what we did. When I think about the way you manhandled me and forced my lips open, I get all excited. But then again, you were also very rough."

The hole just kept getting deeper and deeper. Drevin was a fascinated spectator whose eyes got rounder and rounder as Syryn kept talking.

"Enough!" Enkansh could only shut him up. There was no way to refute Syryn when there were no lies to deny. He was defeated by the clever human who twisted the events of their fight into a lascivious tryst that sounded dirtier than the rumours about Syryn and Drevin. So this was the pain that the prince was going through, Enkansh thought with regret.

Syryn's lips made an amused arc. The siren was so easy to rile up.

"I have been betrayed," the silver blue mer declared. "Why did you hide this from me Enkansh? Did you think I would judge you for it like the other close-minded mers?"

It wasn't like that, Enkansh wanted to say.

"Enkansh, why didn't you tell me?"

The siren was cornered.

"Because it's not a big deal," he spat out angrily. "He said I taste like piss," Syryn added with dismay. "And that hurt me because I know I taste good. Enkansh just doesn't want to admit he liked it. I'm not even sure why he would bring up the taste of piss, unless..." Syryn let his words hang in the air like a knife over the siren's throat.

The shock painted on Drevin's face threw Enkansh into a fluster. "I don't know what piss tastes like! I was just ugh... Syryn!" The angry siren turned towards the evil human. That was what he was - a spawn of pure evil.

"Attack me if you dare," Syryn said as he propped his head up on an elbow.

The siren was smart enough to back out of Syryn's new trap. Anything he said or did gave the human more material to work with. So with an unresigned heart, he left Drevin's room - fuming and choking on words he couldn't say.

"You're just as mean as I am," Drevin said after the siren had departed. He didn't believe that anything sexual had happened between the two. Enkansh would have come clean at Drevin's questioning. He could tell Syryn was messing with the siren.

"Eh, he's easy to bully."

The silver-blue mer lifted Syryn's foot and examined his ankle.

"So what really happened between the two of you?"

The mage smiled enigmatically. "Wouldn't you like to know?"