Page 149 of Song of Her Siren

“Damn that bitch!” Geoffrey punched the air, flames sparking off his fists. “If she’d honored her word and let us out of the tower before it came crashing down, Steffan would be whole!”

He was right. Malvolia had made me a bargain, that she’d let us out of the tower if I helped Shirina strengthen her magic. I’d kept my end of the bargain, and then the bitch left us to rot until the day the dragon’s roar shook the structure’s foundation. Steffan had thrown himself on top of me when the walls came crashing down, and it had taken hours for the guards to free us. Malvolia didn’t offer us a green witch. She simply sent us away with nothing but the shredded clothes on our backs.

It had taken a week for Geoffrey to fly us home. The trek normally took three days without the added weight. Then we were almost home when Steffan had come down with a fever, and we were forced to rely on a peasant healer to save him with homemade poultices. I would never forgive my cousin for the way she’d treated us, simply because I’d wanted to inherit the throne, not for myself, but for Teddy. I knew our son would’ve made a wise and fair ruler. Tears blurred my vision when I thought of all I’d been through and how close I’d come to losing Steffan.

My injured mate patted his knee and held out his arms to me. “Come here.”

I dug my nails into the sides of my chair, wanting nothing more than to curl up in his arms. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I withstood the weight of the tower.” He chuckled. “I can handle my wraith of a mate. If I die today, unchained and with my mate in my arms, I shall die a happy Fae.”

I stood, wiping the tears from my eyes before gently lowering myself onto his lap with a frown. “How morbid, Steffan.”

“Not morbid, my love.” He squeezed me to his side. “My eyes have been opened.” His eyes hazed over as he stroked the side of my face. “I will never waste another day wanting more, when I have all I need right here.”

My eyes fluttered at the feel of his fingers caressing my skin. How I’d missed his tender touch. “You’re very right.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, frowning at the limp wings hanging down his back. “I see that now too.” Though I didn’t think it too much to ask that my mate’s wings were healed.

“Your cheeks are flushed,” he said while cupping the side of my face. “Have you been gardening?”

“Teddy helped me plant the memorial stones for our parents in the garden today.” Those stones had been long overdue. I still felt ashamed for the many years I’d disrespected our parents’ memories, especially knowing that they suffered in the afterlife because of it. That was what the child spirit-talker, Ember, had told us. I prayed our parents had found peace now, and I would pray every night from hereafter for their forgiveness.

Geoffrey fell into his seat and took a long sip of wine. “He’s quite the helper.”

Steffan’s eyes lit up with pride. “And so precocious.”

“He’s grown so smart over the years,” I said, my chest warming at the thought of his sweet smile and inquisitive eyes.

Shadows eclipsed Geoffrey’s eyes as he flashed his fangs. “And we were too busy serving that bitch to notice.”

“Geoffrey read him a storybook before bed,” I said to Steffan while tightening my hold around his neck, “and he fell asleep in my arms. When I think of all the nights we missed putting him to bed...” I trailed off, trying my hardest not to let my hatred for Malvolia overshadow the love I felt for our son.

Steffan rubbed warmth into my arms, flashing a weak smile. “We can make up for lost time now that we serve Malvolia no more.”

I nodded, swiping more tears from my eyes.

Steffan loudly cleared his throat. “Teddy’s nursemaid told me something interesting today.”

Huh. I didn’t remember him visiting with the elderly nursemaid. Then again, Teddy and I had been so focused on planting those memorial stones. “What was it?” I asked.

Steffan fixed us each with a dark look. “He has the gift of sight.”

The gift of sight? After serving Malvolia’s coven alongside Lady Veronica for so long, I knew exactly what he meant. Our son could see the future. My heart ached at the thought. I wasn’t so sure the gift of sight was a gift, for Lady Veronica carried too heavy a burden. She masked her pain well enough with all that feather collecting, though I knew her conquests were only a distraction from the nightmares that plagued her.

I peered deeply into Steffan’s eyes, praying he’d been mistaken. “How can she be sure?”

The look Steffan gave me made my veins solidify in fear. “He knew when we were locked in the tower and when I was injured.” He visibly swallowed, his voice rattling. “He told her when we were coming home.”

“Elements,” I breathed, too shocked to say more.

“The visions come to him in dreams.”

I clutched my throat in horror. This was far worse than Veronica’s gift, for it was clearly more powerful. Veronica’s visions were usually more vague, and she had to coax the mists to reveal them to her. To have such a power without relying on mists was rare, indeed.

“Oh, our poor son.”

“Don’t pity him,” Geoffrey said. “It is a rare gift. His magic will be useful to the queen, and she will have no choice but to reinstate our standing in society.”

I gaped at my mate. He couldn’t be serious. “What care I for our standing?” I asked, my voice turning shrill. “This gift is a curse and too much for a child to bear.”

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