Page 74 of The Song of the Void

Maybe I should have been happy for him, that he was with his siblings again. But the younger boy glanced over at me and said, “Spilling a Siren's lifeblood was the condition to get rid of the curse, wasn't it?” He then turned a glare on Tamayo at the front of the room. “I hope you’re satisfied that you’ve driven your nephew to murder an innocent person. Witch,” he spat.

I felt cold. So cold I couldn't move. I shoved away memories of his lips on mine, his sweet words, his protection from Vaetrik, his decision to break the bond without my demand. Every confusing act meant to blind me to his real purpose for keeping me close. He was going to get everything he wanted at the expense of my life, and he must have been planning to do so since he first met me.

I fumbled for my knife and drew it.

Reiven carefully stood, keeping his scarlet eyes trained on me. “I know what the condition is, but she's no sacrifice, not to me. I won't be staying long, because I'm not breaking the curse.”

His aunt cackled. “Is that so? Our monstrous princeling ventured out into the world and befriended a Siren of all people. Well, I suppose you signed your own death warrant returning here, Reiven.”

“I know,” Rei said.

What the fuck is going on?

The entrance to the throne room opened with a scrape of stone on stone, and in walked the only two people who could possibly make the day worse. Shaddan and Vaetrik strolled inside with condescending smirks at the surprise on all our faces. How in the Mourner Hell did they get here after Reiven blew that massive hole in their ship? Nausea roiled inside my stomach.

“More outsiders,” Tamayo growled. Orange sparks flitted in the air around her, and the shadows tossed about the room loomed longer at her irritation. “I take it you two are also here to challenge the Flames Below.”

“Aye.” Vaetrik spoke up before Shaddan, and the Druinn general narrowed his eyes to slits.

Tamayo smoothed back her already perfect hair with a sigh, and the sparks and shadows retreated. “Very well. In accordance with the laws of our people, and the order of the Fire Spirit, those who come from afar to challenge the Flames Below are not to be harmed by a Mourner until their challenge is complete. You are under our care—for now, outsiders. We give you one night of protection here in the castle. Mind you cause no trouble, not even amongst yourselves, or if you do survive the Flames, you will not live to leave this place. Now begone.”

At her order, several guards that had followed Vaetrik and Shaddan inside the throne room motioned for us to follow them.

I shoved my knife in the air towards the one that approached me. “Stay away from me!”

I should have known not to come to this place. Maybe—maybe I can just run. Before he kills me, just like they said.

“Blue.”

I whirled and pointed the knife at Reiven as he came closer. The glowing red veins in the Obsidian dagger snaked beneath my fingers as I gripped the handle—a Mourner weapon in the hands of a Siren.

“Blue, look at me.” My hands, my whole body, trembled. I met his horrifying eyes with a glare, though his brows lowered at the betrayal he probably saw. “Follow them. Let me explain. I'll tell you everything now that I can.” He reached out to touch my cheek, but I recoiled. “Please…Zephra.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Everything I said to you on the island was true. Everything. Wait for me, please.”

Ashkade and Calinia hovered on either side of me from the moment we left the throne room. After following the guard to an empty bedroom in one of the castle towers, I begged them to leave and give me some space—I appreciated their concern, but their presence was stifling my already jumbled thoughts.

The moment they obliged me, I paced back and forth so briskly, it was a surprise I didn’t wear straight through the luxurious maroon carpeting. In one direction, I would consider the merits of slinking out of the castle, back to the ship to beg Lyneca and Captain Larsel to sneak me away from Ghrysim Isle. When I’d pivot and pace in the other direction, my thoughts would drift back to Reiven’s reply when I asked him how to dispel his curse.

“I was given impossible conditions to break it, and I’m almost out of time. So forget it, sweetheart.”

I kicked at an ebony bedpost, too frustrated and confused to even consider losing myself in the opulent comfort of the silken sheets and pillows. A distant rumble echoed throughout the room, reverberating outside the window as rain pattered against the glass. I pushed the window open, desperate for the cool sensation of raindrops, but the air was muggy, and the rain was tepid…like the sickening warmth of blood droplets. A shiver coursed down my spine as I retracted my hand and stared out the window, high above the country of my enemies.

Thunderclouds smothered the evening sky so not even a single moonbeam could worm its way down to reach me. Far below the window, rain churned up the ash and dirt to create a complete mud bath surrounding the castle. If I were to rip off those ridiculous silk sheets and tie them together to the bed, I might be able to climb down to the ground, but I could distinctly see shapes and shadows slinking about in the darkness below. Probably Mourner guards.

The entire world trembled as I took in the sights and considered my next course of action. I gripped the windowsill as the stone shuddered beneath my feet, fearing that the very ceiling might crumble, but the castle stood strong. It was over in a matter of seconds. A burst of orange liquid shot from the peak of the volcano in the distance, lighting the sky and the whole island with a pillar of lava. The dotted flames dispersed throughout the city were nothing compared to the volcano’s fury.

A rap on the door pulled me away from the window. I held my dagger behind my back, but my heart swelled. Hopefully it was Rei, and he would tell me I was dreaming and that he loved me.

I opened the door. “Reiven?”

“Good evening, Siren.”

My heart sunk the moment I met Tamayo’s petrifying eyes.

“My nephew is still busy catching up with his siblings,” she said. “They’ve been apart for eight years, so they have quite a bit to say to each other. I supposed I should come and say hello to you in his absence. May I come in?”

I swallowed and backed away, but I didn’t answer. This woman…She was truly unsettling, and not just because she was a Mourner.

Tamayo laughed lightly and shut the door behind her. “Not to worry. I cannot harm you tonight, Siren.” She said it as though it were a pity.