Blood of Sirens: Book 13 of The Witch Fairy Series (12 page)

I let go of the Siren and step back.  “You really did help the Merpeople capture Irena.”  Zyrene is sobbing and has curled herself into a fetal position on the chaise lounge.  She nods her head as she is crying too hard to form words.  “When Irena was freed, she found you and your family.  She tortured your husband until you agreed to do this.”

Finally, Zyrene can form words.  “He begged me not to give in.  But I had to.  She would have killed him.  I slipped away last night when he was finally at rest.  Irena promised he would not be hurt again unless I failed.”  Her sobbing washes away any other words she wanted to say.  That’s okay, she’s said enough.

Dagda and Kallen are both looking at me in awe.  I hate it when they do that.  “She’s here to do exactly what you accused her of doing,” I tell them both.  “The whole idea was for her to get inside the palace and once the circaea wears off, she is supposed to start singing up close and personal.  To you both.”  I should probably be angry with Zyrene since she is here to attempt the seduction of my husband, but I can’t muster it.  She’s only a pawn in Irena’s sick game of power and revenge.

Kallen runs a hand through his hair in frustration.  “Let me guess, her husband dies if she is not successful.”  Since he wouldn’t be able to hear me over Zyrene’s growing grief, I simply nod my head.

“Please,” Zyrene chokes out.  “Please help him.”

Help him?  We can barely help ourselves.  What does she expect us to do?  Dagda is asking the same thing.  “Other than committing suicide, what could we possibly do to save your husband?  I am sorry, but the lives of all of my people are on the line.  I will not sacrifice them for the sake of one.”  That was harsh.  Realistic, but harsh.  As much as I would like to save her husband, I won’t do it at the expense of Kallen or Dagda.

“Zyrene, do you know where Irena and the others are?” I ask.

The Siren shakes her head.  “No.  After Irena came for me, she left me with her underlings while she began her attacks here.”

“Why did she wait to send you here?” I ask.  The Sirens have sung two nights already.

“She knew it would be risky sending me here.  She hoped it would not be necessary.”

Fair enough.  “I can’t let you sing tonight,” I inform her. 

Nodding, Zyrene whispers, “I know.”

“Sire,” Naja says strolling briskly into the room.  She stops, trying to get a handle on the situation.

“It is about damn time,” Dagda complains.  Naja isn’t fazed by his outburst.  She’s too busy staring at the Siren.  “Get her the hell out of here.  Throw her in a cell.”

Naja heads straight for the Siren, grasps her arm and pulls her from the room with very little regard to her fragile state.  I would protest, but I’m not a huge fan of Sirens at the moment.  But, I do send my magic out, capturing Zyrene’s voice before she can even think about singing.  I wish I could do the same thing to the rest of the Sirens, but I need to find them first.

When they are gone, Kallen asks, “Do you really believe she is telling the truth?”

“A partial truth, at best,” Dagda replies.

I raise my hand up.  “Um, truth seer.  Yes, she’s telling the truth.  Or, at least, most of it.  Is what she said possible?” I ask.  “Are the Sirens strong enough to win a war with the Fairies?”

Dagda runs a hand through his already messy hair.  The Fairy really needs a shower.  I won’t mention that, though.  “I do not know.  If what Zyrene said is true, they have had centuries to train warriors.”

“Wouldn’t the Merpeople have noticed?” I ask.  After all, training warriors isn’t something you could hide very well when incarcerated.

“You would think,” Kallen mutters.

Brows raised, I ask, “Are you suggesting the Merpeople may have ignored their training.”

He nods once.  “If they were confident enough in the security of their imprisonment, they may not have seen the harm in letting them do as they wished.”

“We need to discuss this with the MerQueen,” Dagda says over his shoulder.  He is already walking toward the door.  He glances at his watch.  “We are meeting in ten minutes in my office.”

“We’ll be there,” I assure him.

Arie is dumbfounded.  “War?”

“Indeed,” Kallen responds.

Arie dismisses the idea.  “This is ridiculous.  The Sirens are not strong enough to win a war.”

“What about the ones incarcerated with them?” I ask.  “Are they strong enough?”

She thinks for a moment.  “It was impossible to release their slaves from the Sirens’ magic.”

“Is that a yes?” Kallen prods. 

Kai answers for his wife.  “Yes.”

I frown in his direction.  “How do you know?  You didn’t go near them while they were in captivity, did you?”  Captivity.  I sound like I’m speaking of tigers or bears.  I guess in reality, Sirens are just as dangerous.  Maybe we could put them in a zoo for safe keeping.  In soundproof cages, of course.

For some reason, Kai is offended by my question.  “I did not need to see the proof personally.  I have trusted underlings who reported to me on a regular basis the goings on of the Sirens.”

“A little sensitive?” I mutter under my breath.

Arie’s face has become a blank page.  I suspect Kai didn’t share this information with his wife.  Boy is he in trouble.  “If there was need for concern at the time, I am certain Kai would have dealt with it.”

“There is going to be a fish fry tonight!” Taz exclaims from across the room where he’s trying to get to a plate of cookies on a side table.  His stubby little legs keep him from being a real threat to the baked goods.  “My mouth is watering already.  I wonder how much meat there is in a Merman’s tail.” 

I ignore Taz, but he might be right.  Arie is making excuses for Kai but it’s obvious she’s stewing on the inside.  I would hate to be him tonight.  He may be hand-delivered to the Sirens if the emotions spurting from Arie’s pores are an indication of things to come. 

“It seems there was need for concern,” Dagda points out.  “I am curious why you have not shared this information since their escape.”  His green eyes are riveted on Kai and it’s not difficult to read his emotions, either.  He will gladly help Arie deliver Kai to the Sirens.

Kai, of course, is on the defensive now.  “The Sirens have never declared war in the past.”

“Preparing warriors was a good indication they were planning to start,” Kallen observes.

“In hindsight, yes, you are correct,” Kai admits.

As much fun as putting down Kai can be, we are not accomplishing anything.  “Enough with the hindsight.  Can we try a little forethought now?” I push.  All eyes shift from Kai to me.  “We need to rally the female Fairies, let them know what they are up against.  It’s going to take them a minute to wrap their heads around the idea that they are not only facing the death of their males, but they are then going to be attacked and forced into war.  And who’s to say the Sirens won’t make their move when
all
the males are asleep tonight?”  There is a stunned silence.  Wow, am I really the only one to think of that?

Kallen reaches for my hand.  “You are correct.”  He turns to Dagda.  “We need to protect the village tonight.  You, me, Kegan, we should all be there.”

Without realizing I’m doing it, I squeeze Kallen’s hand until his fingers turn white.  “I don’t like that plan.”

“Squeeze any harder and I’ll have Fairy Fingers to go with my fish tail,” Taz informs me.  “Maybe Tabitha will whip up a good tartar sauce for me.”

Dagda considers for a moment.  Finally, he says, “I do not see another way.  Xandra, Arie, you will be here to protect the palace.  Tana and Isla, as well.  You should be able to hold off any attackers.”

I shake my head.  “No, bring everyone here.  It’s not safe to have you guys in the village.”

Kallen pries his fingers from mine and touches my cheek.  “There is simply not enough room to bring everyone here.  Nor do I believe everyone would come.  They will not want to leave their homes and businesses unprotected.”

“I don’t care about their
stuff
,” I say petulantly.  “I care about you guys.”

“Xandra,” Arie says quietly.  “Your mate loves too deeply to be taken this evening.”

“Would you risk Kai’s life?” I ask.  Too late, I realize the stupidity of my question.  With how pissed she is at him, I think she would gladly risk his life. 

“Yes,” Arie whispers.  Not the emphatic yes I expected, but still the response I knew was coming.

I want to argue more.  I want to rant and rave and threaten to keep Kallen by my side with magic if I must.  But, that would be selfish of me.  I need to suck it up and act like I’m the Princess of this realm.  I know Tana will be just as worried if Dagda goes to the village, but she will handle it with poise and grace.  I don’t really have either of those, but I can at least acknowledge that it’s our job to keep the Fairies safe even if that means putting our own lives in danger.  “Fine,” I grumble.  “But I don’t like it.”

Kallen leans forward and kisses my cheek.  “Noted,” he says softly.  He adds, “I love you and I promise to be careful.”

“You better.”

“I believe it best if I make the announcement to the village myself,” Dagda says.  “News like this should come from the King.”

Standing, Kallen says, “I will inform Kegan of the plan and meet you outside in five minutes.”

“Kegan is not going to be happy,” I tell him.  “He wants to research.”

“Alita can organize the effort without him,” Dagda says.  He stands, as well. 

“I will contact my realm and ascertain if there are bodies to spare to bring here.  We can monitor the shores,” Arie says.

“That leaves me to what, sit here and babysit?  I think Isla and Tana can manage that without me.” I want to do something a bit more helpful than that.  Like search the archives myself.

“You need to work with Tana and Isla to contain the situation here.  There will be panic when word gets out.  Males will want to go home to protect their wives and children,” Kallen says.  “You must not let them.  Many will die tonight if they are not under your sleep spell.”

I nod because I know he’s right.  I’m still going to be petulant about it.  “So, babysit it is, then.”

Kallen pulls me to my feet.  Placing his hands on my cheeks, he says, “You are saving lives, not babysitting.  If it was not for you, hundreds would already be dead.  You are the most important part of our plan.”

I don’t know about the most important part, but he’s right.  I am doing more than babysitting.  I know that.  “I hate this.”

He wraps his strong arms around me.  “We all do.”

Dagda slaps his thighs with his palms before standing.  “We have a plan, then.  If you will excuse me, I need to find my Queen and High Chancellor and bring them up to speed.”  He strides from the room.

Arie and Kai stand.  “We will be ready for whatever comes.”  Without a glance at her husband, Arie leaves the room.  Kai trails after her, his head high but his shoulders slumped. 

Kallen still has his arms wrapped around me.  With a finger under my chin, he lifts so we are staring into each other’s eyes.  “There is absolutely no danger of me falling prey to the Sirens,” he assures me for the hundredth time.

I sigh and hug him tighter.  “I know.”  I don’t really, but I know how much he believes it.  “It’s just, from what I’ve learned, no one has ever eluded the call of the Sirens.” 

“Then no one has loved as deeply as I,” he responds.  He dips his head and kisses me in a way that erases ninety-nine percent of my doubt about him and Sirens.

Burrowing deeper into his embrace, I murmur, “I love you.”  After a second, I force myself to step back.  “We have work to do.  We should get started.”

Kallen nods.  “Are you certain you are okay?”

I shrug.  “As certain as I can be at the moment.”

Lacing his fingers through mine, we leave Dagda’s office.  We part at the Great Hall with me going up the stairs and Kallen going in search of Kegan.  After I talk to Isla and Tana, I need to check on Alita.  She is not going to handle the news of Kegan going to the village any better than I did with Kallen.  But, Kegan has loved her since they were kids.  Surely, she has nothing to worry about.

I find Dagda and Tana in the sitting room in the private family area.  Tana is wiping a tear from her eye and I pretend not to notice.  I would back out of the room but they have already seen me.  Straightening her shoulders, Tana says, “Come, we have much work to do.”

“Isla is on her way.  She was handling a minor crisis but should not be long,” Dagda informs me. 

“Okay.”

He pulls Tana close and whispers something to her.  I try not to be icked out when she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him like she’s performing mouth to mouth resuscitation.  If this kiss is any indication, she’d make a great EMT.  When they start to get handsy, though, I can’t take it any longer.  I clear my throat loudly.  Twice. 

Finally, Dagda un-suctions his lips from Tana’s and smiles at me.  “Love is not only for the young,” he informs me.

“Pretty sure public displays of affection are, though,” I counter.

He chuckles.  “Perhaps you are right.”

“Thank god, I would have gone blind if I had to watch them feel each other up like you and the wanker do.”  I nudge Taz with my toes.  It’s not really a kick.  Even if he does curl up into a fetal position and shout curses at me. 

“It was barely a nudge,” Felix chides.  “I would be happy to give you something to equal your reaction.”

“When are you sending this hound from hell back to his rightful place?” Taz demands.

I smirk down at him.  “Are you kidding me?  I’d keep him over you.”  Insulted, Taz slinks away to pout.

“If you are done conversing with your Familiars, I believe we have a war to prevent,” Isla says dryly as she breezes into the room.  “I suggest we inform the male Fairies as soon as possible.  If they find out from any other source, the panic will be exponentially greater.”

“How about if we don’t tell them and I put a circle around them so no one else can, either,” I suggest hopefully.  It’s going to be a mess when word gets out that the Sirens plan war.

“As favorable as that sounds, I suggest you conserve your magical strength.  You have considerably more to place under your spell this evening,” Isla reminds me.

Yes, every male Fairy for miles around.  Piece of cake.  Uh huh.  “About that,” I start.  “I am going to need some of your magic and Tana’s to pull this off.  In the Centaur realm, I pulled from others to create a spell big enough to put a village to sleep.”

Isla considers for a moment.  “Perhaps it would be best if you left me from the equation.  If you are weakened from doing the spell, at least one of us should be at full power.”

I’m tempted to suggest she do the spell and I stay at full power, but that would be petty.  “Fine.”  Tana doesn’t look thrilled to have her magic siphoned, but she doesn’t suggest otherwise.  I think her mind is too focused on Dagda at the moment to really care what happens to her.  Not necessarily a good thing.

“Can I at least magically seal the exits?” I ask.  “There is going to be mass panic and I don’t want to have to chase each Fairy down individually.”

Pursing her lips for a moment, Isla finally says, “Agreed.”  She adds, “Wait until we are about to make the announcement.  We do not want to panic anyone early.”

“Does she think you’re an idiot?” Taz snarks.  “Oh, wait, you are an idiot.”

“You are so lucky you’re across the room,” I say menacingly.

“I am going to assume you are not speaking to me,” Isla drawls.

“Nope.”

“Good.  I have not had a chance to speak with our new guest.  Do you believe she is credible?” Isla asks.  Both she and Tana turn to me.  They haven’t heard what happened yet.

“She’s here under duress, but I believe the warning she came to give us is credible.  There’s probably more to it than she knows, though.”  No way would have Irena let Zyrene in on the whole plan.  She already betrayed her once, pretty safe to assume she would do it again.

Isla shakes her head.  “If Irena sent her, she would have known we would detain her.  She will not be able to relay any messages back to her people.”

“Yeah, about that.”  I fill the two of them in on Zyrene’s role.

Isla shakes her head.  “Circaea?  Nightshade grows in practically every realm.  How could none of us know this?”  Her expression grows hard.  “If any harm comes to one Fairy because of her deception…”  She doesn’t finish her thought but I have a pretty good imagination. 

“I could chew her lips off so she can’t sing ever again.  I hear Sirens taste like chicken,” Taz offers. 

“We’re good, thanks,” I snark back.

“We should go downstairs,” Tana quietly urges.

“This is going to get ugly,” I groan, anticipating the male Fairies downstairs attempting a mass exodus from the Palace. 

“Most likely,” Isla confirms.  Sugar coating really isn’t her thing.

Tana pulls a small amount of magic to freshen her clothes and hairstyle.  Several strands had come loose from her elaborate bun when she was making out with Dagda.  Really?  She’s worried about her appearance with everything else going on?  “Ladies, shall we?”

I look down at myself.  Maybe she has a point.  The more put together we look, the more confidence we’ll exude.  I should freshen up, as well.  My long black hair is pulled into a ponytail and my jeans are a little dusty from spending the morning in the village.  The roads there aren’t paved since none of the carriages have wheels.  They float above the ground via magic.  Nah, I look fine.  Turning toward the stairs, I start walking.  “Let’s get this over with.”  Tana and Isla follow without comment.

The Great Hall is an explosion of sound.  Voices, both high and low, ring out all around us.  Some are jovial, some are angry and others are just plain scared.  Those are the smart ones.  Everyone in this room should be scared.  Not that I don’t believe I can put them to sleep.  They should be scared of what could happen while they are asleep.  I know I am.

We stop a few stairs from the bottom.  Magically projecting her voice like she’s holding a megaphone, Isla calls for quiet.  It only takes a second for the conversations to die down.  When they do, all eyes are facing us.  “Thank you,” Isla says to the crowd.  “I need everyone to gather around.  I have an announcement to make.”  Fairies fall into place around us.  When Isla speaks, people listen.  When the shuffling about is done, Isla continues.  “We have been informed that the Sirens have an even more nefarious purpose than originally suspected.  They are preparing for war.”

“War?” several people ask at once. 

Isla nods.  “Their plan is to weaken our realm with the deaths of as many males as possible and then strike out at the survivors in an attempt to overthrow the realm.” 

That’s not exactly what Zyrene said.  Zyrene spoke of total annihilation of the Fairy race.  A minor change in the details but a very important one.  I wonder why Isla is sugar coating it.  She’s usually more straightforward.  At least, she always is with me.  While she’s speaking, I pull magic and send it out in search of all the exits in the palace.  I hope it finds them all. 

“I have a wife and children,” a Fairy toward the front calls out over the growing murmuring of the crowd.  “What is being done to protect them?”

“The King and the Prince have gathered the most powerful guards and will be keeping the village safe this evening,” Tana assures him.

“What if they fall under the Sirens’ spell?” a Fairy directly in front of me asks.  He doesn’t meet my eyes as he implies my husband might not love me enough to not be tempted.

“I assure you, that will not happen,” I say more curtly than I should.

“I am not staying here while my wife and mother are in danger!” someone calls out and several others echo the sentiment. 

“If you want to be safe, you need to stay here,” Isla calls out.  “Your families are in good hands.  Your deaths will not keep them safer than they already are.”

“Why is the Princess using magic right now?” someone demands to know.  “What is she doing?”

Considering how much magic I’ve drawn, it’s not surprising the Fairies are feeling it.  “I am simply assuring your safety,” I call out.

“We are trapped here!” a Fairy yells from across the Great Hall.  “We cannot leave!”  He is pulling on the front door handle but it will not budge.  My magic is more powerful than his physical strength, even when he begins to throw his body against the door in an attempt to break it down. 

This is going to be a very long night.