Page 146 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Perhaps Amolie could deliver a message from the other side. Witches are known for their ability to speak with the dead.”

“They are?” Ursula blurted out.

Calliope crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the two with suspicion.

“Yes, I’ve never heard this about witches. Then again, I’ve not spent much time on land or in their presence.”

Taking a deep breath, he collected his thoughts, trying his best to keep his pulse steady. He had to commit to this lie.

“Yes, they are. And Amolie here is one of the finest.”

Amolie pulled back her hood.

“My king is too generous with his praise.”

Calliope’s mouth twisted with concern.

“I should take your beloved’s head for what she did to my sister.”

Tharan’s heart clenched in his chest.

Calliope held out a hand for the siren’s song, and he gently placed it in her palm.

Running her webbed fingers over the smooth stone, she whispered something under her breath.

Tharan and Hopper exchanged knowing glances, hoping this would be enough to quell the sea queen’s rage.

Suddenly, Calliope’s head snapped up.

“This is enough for now.”

Tharan’s shoulders relaxed.

“So you’ll give me Aelia and Baylis back?”

A devious smile cut her macabre face in two.

“Oh, precious king, you have so much to learn.”

Tharan’s heart sank.

“You’re not going to give her back, are you?”

An evil cackle echoed through the old wooden building. Calliope moved closer to Tharan. The scent of the sea lingered on her skin. Leaning in, she whispered in his ear, “I never had her, but if I find her before you do. I will skewer her and her sister’s head on a pike in my throne room.”

Before he knew what he was doing, Tharan clasped his hand around the queen’s slippery neck.

“You lie.”

Her eyes went wide as she struggled for air.

Power rippled through Tharan like lightning in his veins. Ursula and the queen’s guards drew their blades, but the Hunt blocked their paths.

Tharan lifted the queen into the air. A green flame flickered in his eyes. He could end her here. He could take control of her kingdom and install a proxy of his choosing.

“Where is she?” he said in a preternatural voice drawn from the depths of his magic.

Calliope grasped violently at her neck.

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