Page 29 of Siren in the Rain

He snarls and shoots fire at me that I have to bat away.

So feisty and fierce. I bet Haku could become a member of our team. He’d fit right in. Just like I know Shae will too.

“Anyone who attempts to kill Haku or break the magical bond between us will be cursed. That’s the only reason we’re still together. If my stepmonster could have used him against me, she would have.”

“She’s evil incarnate,” Haku grumbles.

“So your drake functions very much like a familiar would for a mage?” Cal asks, leaning forward eagerly.

Shae considers this. “Maybe? I don’t know much about mages.”

My heart aches. Shae has been closed off and isolated from the rest of Otherkind for most of his life. It’s not fair.

Haku gives a mini-roar that’s absolutely precious and I can’t help but grin.

“My tribe is linked magically to the Silverstorms. When we bond with a member of the tribe, we help our companions regulate their magic and can help boost their powers when necessary.”

Cal nods eagerly and strokes his chin. “Fascinating.”

Haku noticeably slumps. “But I haven’t been able to help Master Shae much because the collar dysregulated his magic.”

“It’s not your fault, Haku,” Shae says.

Cal’s eyes gleam with excitement. “Now that we’ve got that abomination off your neck, we’ll have to work on helping you learn to use your powers.”

Shae gives a tentative smile. “I’d like that.”

“Let’s get back to Shae’s story,” Dallas says, bringing us back.

“Right.” Shae winces. “A few months before my eighteenth birthday, when I came into my full powers, I began to experience the need to use sirensong. It’s not uncommon among my kind. However, sirensong has the ability to allure, seduce, even hypnotize humans in some cases. Margaret discovered it one day when I was alone in my room, singing to myself. Or so I thought. I hadn’t known she’d installed hidden cameras. Immediately, she intuited that this was something she could exploit and profit from.”

My hand stops rubbing his back when he tenses up again and I redouble my efforts in sending my soothing mojo his way until he relaxes back into my touch. SCSS for the win!

“Margaret hatched a plan with my father and stepsister. They would use my voice to launch a music career for Bella and make a fortune. No one would ever have to know that I was the real voice behind the scenes. But in order to make this plan work, they needed to be able to subjugate me and force me to do their bidding. Thus, they acquired the collar that enslaved me for the next seven years.”

Shae shakes his head, shame written all over his face. “I didn’t know their plan until it was too late. They attacked me while I was sleeping. Guards held me down and a mage fought Haku while Margaret put the collar on me.” He shudders. “It was over in a flash. The mage tried to use a killing attack on Haku and became a victim of the curse, losing his life in the process. I don’t know what happened to his body, just that the guards removed it when everything was over.”

“Fuck,” Cal mutters, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Before long, I was moved to an annex at the back of the estate. It was essentially a more secure prison, guarded and monitored twenty-four seven. If my life before was bad, it became ten times worse. My father, who’d made perfunctory visits when I was younger, stopped coming to see me at all, and Margaret had total control over me. I was a tool to help her achieve fame and fortune for her daughter.”

Ruby holds up a hand. “Wait a minute. You said your stepmom is Margaret and your stepsister is Bella? You can’t possibly mean?—”

Shae grimaces. “Yes—Margaret and Bella Divine.”

Harper’s dark eyes flash with understanding. “Now that’s a provocative twist.”

I look around the table in confusion. “Uh, what am I missing? Who are they?”

Everyone stares at me like I’ve suddenly sprouted a second head. Or maybe bear ears.

“Griff isn’t exactly up on a lot of current pop culture,” Cal explains to Shae while shaking his head at me.

I turn my gaze to Shae and find him studying me like I’m some interesting but disturbing bug under a microscope.

“You seriously don’t know about Divine Beauty or the pop star Bella Divine?”

“Nope.”

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