Page 138 of Song of Her Siren

I couldn’t get to Ivar in time with a blade lodged in my gut. Without thinking about my own life, I jerked the blade out of my gut and hurled it at Ivar’s back. The snap of the other dragon’s neck rang through the air like a clap of thunder as he fell limp in Radnor’s mouth. Blade sticking out of his back, Ivar cried out as he fell to his knees with a grunt, then face-planted in the dirt.

Blood pooled around my fingers as I held my hand against my gushing wound, a futile task. I staggered toward Radnor but fell short of my goal. I fell against another rider, blinking up at a Fae who looked too much like me as he lowered me into the dirt. Had I died and left my body?

“Hang on, Prince,” the Fae whispered while placing his hands on my wound. My world spun and then darkened.

* * *

Tari

AFTER FINN’S LAST TEARShad been spent, he returned to us, falling to his knees on the beach. The girls crawled into his lap, and I sat beside them, holding his hand in mine. After a time, the girls grew restless and climbed from his lap. I instructed them to feed the rabbits oats from their hands, and then I rested my head against Finn’s shoulder. We stared at the sunset for a long moment before I was startled by Radnor’s voice in my head.

Witch, where are you?

On the beach.Butterflies swarmed in my stomach at the urgency in his tone.Why are you calling me, Radnor?

Helian’s wounded. Come quick.

I jumped to my feet, calling to my dragon. “Isa!”

She landed hard on the dune behind us, Triss fluttering above her head.Let’s go.

I slipped the sack with the rabbits back over my head while explaining to Finn that Helian had been injured. He scooped up the girls, running with me to Isa. She flew as fast as a speeding arrow, her snout cutting through the wind. After flying across the dunes, we were caught in a maelstrom of dragons like angry bees swarming a fallen hive. Isa snapped and blew fire at dragons who came too near us, trying to avoid their sharp tails and wings while also herding Triss through the swarm. We finally landed in a camp nestled among the sandy dunes.

Agitated dragons crowded around each other. I spied Radnor in the center of the mayhem, snapping at other dragons who came too close while shielding something beneath his wing.

Helian.

My heart caught in my throat, and I prayed I wasn’t too late.

I patted Isa’s scales. “I don’t want the girls caught in the middle of this.”

And I don’t want Triss to get hurt, either, she answered.If you can manage without me, Goddess, I will take them flying.

I gritted my teeth, determination fueling my movements. “I’ll have to.” Then I whispered to Finn, “Isa is taking the children.” He nodded his agreement and gave the girls a quick hug before jumping off Isa. I slipped out of the saddle, tightening the rope around their waists. “Girls,” I pleaded, my tone urgent, knowing each second wasted could cost Helian his life. “Can I count on you to hold on to Isa?”

Aurora pouted. “We want to go with you, Mommy?”

“I know.” I cupped their cheeks. “But it’s too dangerous for you. I need to save Uncle Helian before it’s too late.”

They both nodded their understanding, and I slipped off Isa, using my wind to lure me into Finn’s arms. He’d already shifted into a big, hulking beast, snarling at any riders or dragons who came too close. The rabbits went still inside the sack that hung in front of my chest.

I gaped at the sea of dragons, hundreds of them crushing in on Radnor while hundreds more still swarmed the skies above us. This wouldn’t do, but how could I make them move when I didn’t have Shiri’s siren magic? I didn’t think the dragon army would be happy with me if I turned half of them to ash.

Finn let out a wolf’s whimper. “How do we get through them?”

I watched Isa fly far enough away that she and the children wouldn’t be in danger. “Hold me,” I said to Finn while pressing my back against his broad, furry chest. “I need your strength.” The moment his warm, thick arms encircled my waist, I felt his love surge through me like a shot of venom, and I summoned my magic, envisioning what I needed to scare away the dragons.

Finn held on to me when I knelt on the ground, letting my magic sink into the soil. White magic shot from my hands, winding through the earth like flooding tributaries and disappearing beneath the dragons’ paws. They let out startled squawks, jumping into the sky when the ground shook with violent force. A giant tree that looked much like the one I’d grown in Fachnan’s castle, sprouted from the earth, its branches stretching even higher than the tallest dragon, drooping over Radnor and a smaller golden dragon who looked like she could’ve been Isa’s little sister, the only two dragons who remained on the ground.

Radnor and I locked gazes, and I read the urgency in his eyes.

Dragons angrily squawked above us as Finn towered over me in his monster form. We hurried across the sand, nearly stumbling over a dragon rider’s corpse. His bald head had been crushed, his brains leaching into the dirt. His body was flattened like an oatcake, as if a giant had stomped on him. So this was what happened to a rider who didn’t get out of the way of dragons. I recognized Ivar, the captain who’d led the attack against Lupine, and I didn’t know if he’d been killed by the crush of dragons or the broken blade wedged into his back.

Finn let out a howl, kicking the lifeless body.

“Come on,” I pulled him onward, latching on to one meaty pinky finger. The ground heated my feet even through my boots and stockings, and I worried Helian had overheated among the crush of fire-breathing dragons. “Helian needs us.”

We passed beneath the shadow of the massive tree, its flowery branches swaying above us like a ship’s billowing sails.

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