Page 15 of Bound By Roses

Well, it’s not an answer, but maybe she can at least confirm the things I think I know. “A woman named Tess—I’m not sure if you know her—said she delivered me in secret here, in Marien.” Possibly in this very room, though I don’t say it. “Immediately after, she took me to Lunae to be with my father because if Erwyn found out about me, he would have known that both Evan and I were not his.”

Aurelia sighs. “Tess moved between Marein and Lunae freely. I did not know of your existence for some time, but when I found out, I felt for your mother. There was a change in her and losing her baby explained it. I understand why she chose her family. There are moments I wish I had done the same.” There’s a faraway look in her eyes now, and the anger that sparked inside me cools.

“Did you lose someone? When Lunae attacked?” I shouldn’t ask. This topic can’t be easy for her, or any of the sirens, for that matter.

“We all lost someone that day.”

“I’m sorry.” There’s nothing else I can say.

“It is not your fault.”

“That’s not why I’m apologizing. I’m just sorry it happened at all.”

Her eyes run up and down the length of me, as if only truly seeing me for the first time. “Your mother was kind, too. Si was the best of the three of us.”

“Si?”

She nods, and the faintest of smiles appears on her lips. “Our name for her. Si was the youngest, Mel was the oldest, and I was between them. The rebellious sister. It is funny to think that I ended up here, fighting for Marein, when all I ever wanted to do was leave it.” She shakes her head, as if willing a thought to disappear.

“What is it?”

“I just cannot believe Si was able to keep you a secret.”

“Because your mother was a seer?”

“Yes, but there are other reasons.”

I wait for her to find her words. She keeps teetering on the edge of giving me some of the answers I long for, so I’m not about to risk interrupting anything she wants to say. I doubt I’ll have another chance once we leave this room, and her cold demeanour returns in full.

“She was not only able to hide her pregnancy, but she delivered you here. Out of the water.”

“Sirens don’t normally do that?” That’s not something I’d ever thought about. Not that I’d known sirens still existed and that my mother was one of them.

“When two sirens have a child, it’s easier to deliver in the sea. We can do it on land, but it is harder. If a siren chooses a human or a dragon, it’s safer for the child if they are delivered on land. There is no guarantee the child will be like us. Evander was born at sea and nearly drowned. He was human, like your father—and like you. The fact that your mother delivered you on land with only the help of one healer and no one heard her…” She shakes her head again. “I wish she had told me. I am sure she feared I would tell our mother and she might have been right, but she should not have had to go through that without someone by her side. Your father was not with her, of that I am sure.”

My mind wanders to when Kaylee was born. Evan and I sat on the floor outside our parents’ chambers for what seemed like hours as our mother screamed. “I remember when my sister was born. It made me glad I would never have to do that.”

Aurelia laughs, though it sounds sad. “You may change your mind when it is your mate, though she may have an easier time, as you both are human.”

“Am I human?”

“The wolf in you is a curse. Even if it made a difference, at least you do not have wings. Si is lucky she fell in love with a human and not a dragon. Many siren women have died bringing a dragon into the world. As have their mates.” The way she says that last sentence makes me feel that the person she lost was her mate. If that’s true and she survived it, she must be more wounded than I realized. She lives only for her people now, and that makes her stronger than me. If I were to lose Abby, I would let the bond take me. Not even for my people would I endure that loss.

I don’t want to push her down that path, so I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Should I call you Auntie Aurelia?”

She doesn’t laugh, but I can almost swear her lips twitch ever so slightly.

“Absolutely not. Call me Aur—” She stops suddenly and sighs. “Your mother called me Lia. It… It would be nice to hear that name again.”

Lia? Like the journal? If that book came from Marein… If my mother brought it back with her to keep her sister close…

Oh, Gods.

I swallow the questions, attempting to force their way out. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Abby how that final journal entry ended. How Lia’s mate tried to take it all upon himself. Every last drop of his mate’s agony until his heart gave out. He’d dropped dead beside her at the same moment their son took his first breath.

Their son—a dragon.

CHAPTER FIVE

---