Syrena searched her face, her voice barely a whisper when she said, “It was the only way to save you.”
Amid the haze of confusion and pain, Kaelypso stirred within Esmyra. It wasn’t necessarily a thought she was pushing through, but a primal feeling rising from the goddess within her. A fierce, unspoken whisper that screameddon’t trust her.
The warmth in Syrena’s eyes suddenly felt off.The softness in her voice echoed in her ears, but beneath it all lurked a tension, a hidden edge that set Esmyra’s skin prickling.
Her heart thudded unevenly, torn between wanting to believe Syrena and a stubborn, growing suspicion that gnawed at her from within.
“Please say something,” Syrena croaked out.
A cold resolve settled over Esmyra’s chest, and she swallowed before she met her sister’s stare. “Thank you for saving me.”
“I’ll play along until we figure out the full extent of what’s happening.”She wasn’t sure if she was more-so trying to convince Kaelypso or herself.
Syrena’s lips curved faintly, almost triumphantly, as she reached out and gently peeled back Esmyra’s sleeve. Her jaw fell open at the sight. She had grown used to the odd, swirling marks of Kaelypso in place of her runes, but now something entirely foreign marked the skin of her wrist.
Dark, intricate marks twisted, burned into her flesh like an onyx, silver, and gold brand. It depicted two intertwining sea serpents, one with its head above a crescent moon, and the other above a radiant sun.
Syrena lifted her arm, revealing a twin mark to match. “These are the brands of our soul bond,” she explained softly.
“They mark you both as bound,” Azarian interjected. “Your fates intertwined forever.”
Forever.Esmyra couldn’t breathe. This was absolute insanity.
“How?!” Kaelypso screamed in anger.
“How did you even do this?” The words left her in a whisper before she looked up at them both, gritting her teeth as the goddess’s anger pulsed through her. “How did you know how to do this? And what kind of magic even is this?”
A slow smile crept up Syrena’s lips. “We thought you might be curious about that.”
CHAPTER 18
Syrena
The question seemed to still the air between them, a silence settling in the room aside from the subtle buzz of merlights.
This was something Syrena wasn’t sure sheeverwanted to reveal to her sister. But once those pesky marks came into play, their hands were tied.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, her gaze flicked toward Azarian lingering on the other side of the room, silent and watchful.
“Azarian is a witch,” Syrena admitted. “Or someone I believe the realm now refers to as a High Priest.”
Esmyra’s head reared back, eyes bulging as they flew to where Azarian stood. “Come again?”
Syrena forced herself to ease her face into a soft smile, instead of showing the annoyed scoff that ached to slip. “There’s still so much you don’t know.”
“Aye, and whose fault is that?” Esmyra shot back.
Syrena’s eye twitched as she tried to rein in her aggravation. “Your darling father’s if you would like honesty,” she growled. “There’s a reason Azarian has remained first in command all this time. And it’s not due to him being an avid warrior.”
She noted Esmyra’s eyes going distant for several seconds, as if she was speaking to Kaelypso the way she did with Naerysa.
Esmyra’s stare drifted to Azarian, her eyes trailing up the fin-like ridges on his forearms. “Were you human before?”
“Remember. You cannot lie about this. Kae will know,” Naerysa reminded her in a hiss. It seemed the goddess also noticed Esmyra appeared to be speaking to Kaelypso in her mind.
Azarian looked at Syrena, and she gave him a subtle nod.
“It’s time she knows.”
