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Aidan's brows furrowed, his voice full of authority. “You’re right. I don’t want my warriors lured to a watery death.”
Lerissa clutched the reins, her lips pressed together in indignation. “I told you, I’ve never killed anyone before. Not all sirens want to murder men for sport.” Then she shifted her gaze toward me. “Your lovers are both Tyvar, right? Have they killed any women recently?”
I shook my head. “Not since they pledged their allegiance to the Spring Court a few decades ago.”
Lerissa threw a hand up in the air and turned back toward Aidan, challenging him. “And there you go. Just because you’re a dragon doesn’t mean you’re a monster, does it? In the mortal world, dragons are mostly seen as villains. You can’t judge a person by what they are, it’s who they decide to be.”
I was impressed and noticed a faint upturn at the corners of Aidan’s lips, suggesting he felt the same. Lerissa continued to lead us down the path, a satisfied smirk spreading across her face.
“You sounded very wise with that last statement,” I said. “How old are you anyway?”
She turned to meet my gaze, her deep blue eyes glimmering in the sun. “I’m twenty-eight, the youngest and last of the Diawen line. None of the sirens have been able to get pregnant since my mother had me.”
That was interesting, and I could feel an underlying story behind it.
“I’m assuming sirens don’t age like normal humans?”
She shook her head. “No. I have much older friends, and we all look the same. Staying young and beautiful is an advantage of being what I am.”
“How many women are in your family?” I inquired.
A look of sadness passed across her face as if she was thinking of a memory. “I have my mother and three sisters, but my eldest sister chooses to live in the ocean. I haven’t seen her in over a year.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling genuine sympathy. “Why haven’t you seen her?”
She shrugged. “She likes the peace and solitude of the water. There are times when I like to disappear, too, and just swim for days on end.”
Out of all the stories I’d seen about sirens, they were made to look like mermaids. I was curious to see if that was true.
“Do you change form in the water?” I asked.
Lerissa lifted her brows and smirked. “Are you asking if I grow a tail?”
“Do you?” I countered.
She chuckled and nodded. “Yes, we are the mermaids you hear about in fairy tales.”
“Well, we’re far from one now,” Aidan said. We both glanced back to see him pointing off into the distance. “We’re almost at the Redcaps.” His gaze shifted to Lerissa and there was a hint of warning in his eyes. “Whatever you do, don’t piss them off. I don’t know what happens if a Redcap gets a taste of siren blood. You might end up with a huge mess on your hands.”
And I knew he meant that literally. The Redcaps were friends of my court, but they were still dangerous men. I just hoped they’d seen Bayleon and Bastian.
Chapter18
Lia
As we made our way closer to the Redcap village, Lerissa’s eyes widened with terror. “What the hell am I looking at?”
She gasped when she caught sight of their hulking frames, talons for hands, and pulsing red caps that dripped blood down their faces. They were an intimidating sight dressed in their heavy armor and iron-shod boots, and I was glad we had their allegiance rather than their ire. The Redcaps could effortlessly chase you down, even with all that weighted armor.
I hadn’t been this deep into the Mystical Forest in a long time. Aidan rode ahead and into the village, but I pulled on my reins, causing Prince Ashe to slow down.
“Seriously,” Lerissa called out, slowing her horse down. “They look like goblins with blood running down their faces.”
“That’s because that’s what they are,” I replied.
Not only did they look scary, but they were fierce killers. The Redcaps congregated around Aidan and he hopped off his horse, his smile wide as he talked to them. They were our allies, and I knew they were in awe of Aidan since he was one of the dragon kings. But above all else, the Redcaps respected my mother. She was the one who saved them a long time ago and continues to help them to this day.
Lerissa swallowed hard and tensed, her knuckles turning white from holding the reins too tight. “So, is that blood dripping down from their caps?”
