Page 16 of Bound By Roses

ABBY

With Quinn and Erwyn gone and the air of the room much calmer, I survey the damage with a heavy sigh. Their fight only lasted a few minutes and hadn’t strayed too far from one half of the room, but if their goal was to destroy this place, they certainly accomplished it.

I lean forward and grab one end of the toppled table, meaning to right it, but find it’s significantly heavier than it looks. I’ve gained a lot of muscle since I first fled Lunae—training with Quinn will do that—but I can’t help the flush of embarrassment that warms my cheeks when it’s evidently not enough. Quinn made it look so easy when he flipped this. I’m not even sure it’s worth it, considering the splinted spear-hole in the dead center of it. It’s more than likely the sirens will dispose of this.

I glance around and notice more than one pair of eyes watching me with disapproval. I have to remind myself that the looks are more likely because of who I am and not the struggles I’m currently experiencing.

Great first impressions, though.

“Hey,” I call over to the closest one; a young man, probably in his mid-twenties. I wonder for a moment how he escaped being rounded up and taken to Lunae with the other children, as he’s about the right age. He’s shirtless, and I can’t help being reminded of the Marked. If it weren’t for his lack of scars, he could easily pass for one of them. He’s scrawny, and despite the small rippling of muscles down his arms, he doesn’t appear to have much substance elsewhere. He’s beyond thin, his stomach curving inward and the shadows of his ribs prominent against the golden tone of his flesh. “Can you give me a hand?”

The man hesitates, his studious eyes never leaving mine. There’s a distrust there, and I can’t blame him. I’m a Daughter of Lunae. The eldest princess of the kingdom that massacred his people and stole his friends and possibly siblings away, forcing them into a life of servitude. I can’t even say he looks as if he’s had it much better. He certainly appears just as hungry.

After a tense moment of debate, he closes the distance between us and grips the other end of the table. Without a single word of warning to me, he lifts his end and I hurry to match his speed with mine.

“Thank you,” I huff as soon as the table is righted.

His response is in a language I don’t recognize. All sirens have an accent, but this is the first time I’ve heard one of them use a word that wasn’t in the common tongue; and judging by his tone and the glare he gives me, it wasn’t friendly.

“Something tells me that doesn’t mean ‘you’re welcome.’” As soon as the words leave my lips, I realize I should have just let it go. The man storms towards me, one hand clenched at his side and the other pointed accusingly.

“Do not speak to me,” he hisses, finger just inches from my face now. “My sister is dead because of you.”

“Your sister?” I can barely get the words out.

“She fought and died while I cowered within these walls with the others who could not stand against the witch you led here.”

Imelda. Only those who couldn’t be influenced by her fought, and twenty-nine were lost. This man’s sister included.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“Her soul did not even make it to the veil before the wraiths devoured her. I will never see her again. In this life or the next—thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry.” What else can I say?

“Sorry?Sorry?” He takes a step closer and I brace myself for an impact that never comes. Two other sirens appear behind him, each gripping one of his arms and pulling him away from me.

“Tak, stop,” one of them says. “She is not worth it.”

The man who’d spoken pulls Tak away while the other shakes his head. “No one wants you here. Go home.”

“I’ve never had a home,” I mutter as they leave me. And that’s the truth. I was born in Lunae—the rightful heir to the throne, some would argue—but that place has never felt like home. Homes are meant to be warm and welcoming. A place where you find unconditional love. Rosewood came close, but even that didn’t feel like my place. I thought maybe Marein was the missing piece of the puzzle, but I feel just as lost here as I did in Lunae.

At least Teagan seems to have found a place here. She’d swam out of sight just as Petra darted from the room, and as much as I’d like to reunite with my friend, she’ll need some time alone with her mate. The thought has me wishing Quinn was here. We’ve only been separated for a short time, but even the minuscule distance is tugging on our newly formed bond.

I distract myself from the thought by moving deeper into the room, meaning to clean up more of the mess. Broken plates and bits of sea-glass litter the floor in a multi-colouredobstacle course. I scan my surroundings for any sign of a broom but instead spot a young child crouching low to the ground, gathering something. Without thinking, I hurry forward.

“Hey, be careful!”

His head whips around and there’s fear in his eyes. Genuine fear of me. When he backs away, there’s no glass in his hand like I’d expected. Instead, he has small pieces of fish and bone that must have clattered to the floor along with the shattered plates.

A woman with a baby held protectively against her chest puts herself between us. “Leave us be. Please.” Her voice wavers and becomes clear that she’s afraid of me, too.

“I just didn’t want him to cut himself.” I glance around her to the child who can’t be older than ten. “You can’t eat that. If there’s glass—”

“This is not the palace of Lunae. We cannot afford to waste food.”

“I know as well as you do what it’s like not to have enough to eat. Just…wait a minute.”

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