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As soon as I stepped outside, more Tyvar swarmed around me. They took my dagger, sword, and bow and arrows, but I knew I had other methods of fighting. I already had a plan in mind. However, that plan wasn’t going to work when I saw where they were taking me.
The men guided me to the middle of the village, where a post similar to the ones Bayleon and Bastian were bound to stood, only instead of ropes, iron cuffs were waiting for me. My mind was racing, and I frantically tried to devise another plan. I couldn’t use my magic if I was restrained with iron.
Rogan grabbed my arms and pinned me against the pole while the other Tyvar secured the iron shackles around my wrists and ankles. The metal burned my skin, and the pain was unbearable, but I kept my temper at bay. Rogan clutched my chin and pointed at the circular area in front of me where other Tyvar started to gather around.
“You’re going to have the best view out here,” he sneered. “And I’m sorry about the iron. It’s just a precaution. We can’t have you interfering.” He leaned down, his lips just a breath away from mine. “When it’s all over, I’ll let you go home. Unless you want to spend some time with me.”
“How can I when you’re going to be dead,” I fired back.
Rogan burst out laughing and stepped back, his eyes roaming over my body. “Suit yourself.” He nodded at the men around me. “Stay close and make sure she doesn’t escape.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to concentrate on my magic. The iron was like a barrier that kept my power concealed inside of me in its own prison. I had a plan and it was going to work, only now, I didn’t know if I could fight through the iron. I’d never had to do it before. But now, there was no other option. I had to.
Chapter21
Lerissa
Iwatched through the door as the four men led Lia away, shackling her with iron cuffs to a pole in the middle of the village. Even though I was far away from her, I could hear the iron scorching her skin, the sound making my stomach roll. But through all of that, Lia kept her chin high, not showing an ounce of pain. As for the rest of the village, it was quiet, save for the occasional breeze rustling a few leaves.
“Lerissa, dear. Come. We have much to discuss.” Diawen’s voice, sweet like honey and strong like a gust of wind, pulled my attention away from Lia.
She grabbed my hand and guided me out of Bayleon’s home to a small hut in the corner of the village. Inside was warm, and the glow of the many candles cast a yellow hue around the room. I saw a long, red gown draped over the side of the bed, and Diawen gestured to it.
“I was going to change into that, but I think it’ll look lovelier on you.” She came up to me and ran her fingers over Lia’s dark green leather warrior uniform I was wearing. “You might fit in more wearing the gown than this when we go back to the mortal realm.”
I stared at the dress, then back at her. Her hair was perfectly coifed, and her dress was sleek and black down her youthful-looking body. She had to have been hundreds if not a thousand years old and didn’t appear to be over twenty-five. Our eyes were the same shade of blue and our features were eerily similar; it was as if I was looking at a mirror image of myself.
“I don’t understand any of this,” I said.
Diawen sighed and clasped her hands in front of her, her eyes softening in a motherly way. She gestured to the bed, and I hesitantly sat while she knelt before me, taking my hands in hers.
“Over the years, I’ve watched you and the others in our family,” she began. “Our line is the most powerful of the sirens, and yet I knew there would come a day when one of us would have the potential to be as strong as me. You were the one who sensed my power through the realms. No one else has been able to do that.”
“What does that mean?”
She smiled and her eyes twinkled. “You’re special, Lerissa, and I want you by my side, where you’ll be safe.” With that, she let my hands go and rested her palms on my cheeks. “As soon as things are done here, we’re leaving.”
“You mean when Bayleon and Bastian are dead?” I said it more as a statement than a question.
Diawen dropped her hands from my face, her lips pursed. “You disapprove.”
She got to her feet, and I thrust my hands in the air. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve lived my entire life with humans, following their way of life. So, killing isn’t something I’m used to. The first dead bodies I’ve seen was when Lia shot the two Tyvar in the head with arrows.”
Diawen’s eyes narrowed, her face lit with a strange energy. “You’ve never killed anyone? How is that possible in the mortal realm? I come across over a dozen humans every day that I wouldn’t mind luring into the sea.”
I shook my head. “My mother was against it and taught my sisters and me only to use our magic when needed.”
Diawen smirked, her lips curving upward. “And yet, you used your magic to open a portal into this world. Something tells me you want to explore all possibilities.” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “You are from my line, Lerissa. I have magic that goes beyond normal siren powers, and I know you do, too. I know you’re stronger than you’ve let on.”
There were things I’ve kept inside of me, secrets I haven’t told a single soul. Even my own mother and sisters didn’t know. If word got out, I would be hunted down by every magical being both in the mortal world and the Land of the Fae. I had to protect my secret; it was how I gained the upper hand in the world. Even with my all-powerful grandmother standing before me, I wasn’t stupid enough to tell her the truth.
“What you told Lia about the curse, was it the truth? Does killing you mean that all the Tyvar will die as well?” I asked.
Diawen’s eyes darkened. “No. That was a lie. I knew Lia wouldn’t sacrifice her men.”
“Is there even a cure?”
“There is,” she confessed, closing the distance between us, “but you’re not going to want her to find it.”
