Page 153 of Song of Her Siren

Desperation, Destruction, Regrets, and Redemption

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Tari

ASH AND FINN HAD Atearful reunion with Cassandra as she was leaving the dungeon. They told her everything that had happened in Caldaria, including Helian becoming king and the devastation of the shifter stronghold. She held her sons, crying with them before reluctantly pulling away, explaining that she had to return to interpreting the book of spells.

We continued through the dungeon, passing the cells where Wolfy and Ash were once held. I spied Arabella’s cell at the end of the corridor, tensing when she peered at us through the bars, her eyes widening. Our parents were in a more spacious cell farther down, with Drae’s cell just beyond that, separated from them by a thick wall. I dared not go near his cell, for I sensed his dark presence, like a heavy fog of depression.

I tensed when we reached my parents’ cell. I wasn’t looking forward to this encounter, though Father Derrick was depending on me. What if his soul was lost, and I couldn’t heal him?

When the guards unlocked the cell, my mother rushed from the bed, throwing her arms around me. “My darling girl.” She pulled back, examining me from head to toe. “Are you and your mates well?”

“We are.” I shared a look with Ash and Finn while wondering if Shiri had received a similar greeting. “Thank you.” I glanced around the room, which had more furnishings than before, including soft rugs, a buffet of food, and a warm hearth. “Shiri told me he doesn’t wake.”

“He doesn’t.” Mother’s depression radiated outward like a pulsing aura as she watched Derrick with longing. “Do you...do you think his spirit is gone?”

I refused to lie. “I’m not sure.”

I quickly crossed over to Wolfy, whose tail slapped the rug as he curled up beside the hearth, a big bone between his paws. Thankfully, he no longer smelled like sunbaked troll dung. I patted him between the ears, telling him what a good boy he was, which earned more tail slaps. Running my hands over his body, I regrew patches of fur and healed cuts and bruises. He thanked me with a big, sloppy kiss before lying back down on the rug and closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

“A servant brought Inretius flowers for you.” Mother motioned to a basket of dried flowers beside the bed. “Can you bring him back?”

I inwardly winced at the desperation in her voice. “I’ll try my hardest, Mother.”

My legs felt like deadweights as I trudged toward the bed. I gave Marius a weak smile before looking at Derrick. My breath caught when I saw he was as still as a corpse. I sat beside him, sensing no gentle rise and fall of his chest. I grasped his wrist, feeling barely a pulse. He was slipping away from us and might have already been lost.

Finn set the basket of flowers on the bed. “What do you want to do with these?”

“Place them on his chest.” I motioned toward my father while trying to remember what I’d done the time Helian had died. Ironic, for Derrick had been with me at the time, trying to convince me that my necromancy wouldn’t work. But it had, and I only prayed I could duplicate the spell.

“What else do you need us to do?” Ash rumbled, his deep voice a gong reverberating my bones.

I smiled up at him, taking his hand. “You’re doing it.”

My heart fluttered and my veins heated when he kissed my hand, love and adoration shining in his eyes.

“I believe in you, Tari,” he whispered.

Finn grabbed my shoulder, kissing the top of my head. “So do I.”

More magic heated my body, and an overwhelming sense of calm washed over me. I was the luckiest witch alive to have such amazing mates. I could do this.

I pressed my hands upon my father’s chest and closed my eyes, remembering the desperation I had felt when I thought Helian’s soul had been lost to me. I’d called him back, demanding he return to his body. Though I didn’t have the siren’s call, Helian had obeyed, waking up, much to my shock and relief.

“Father,” I loudly whispered while magic heated my hands and flowed into his chest. “I command you to come back to us. Return your soul to your body.”

I sat up on my knees and closed my eyes while envisioning my magic flowing from my hands into him. He had to wake. Hehadto.

In my mind’s eye, my world was cast in shadow, save for one flicker of light far, far away. I reached out to the light, beckoning it toward me. Slowly, the light grew bigger, pulsing as it neared me. Lurching forward, I grasped the throbbing orb in both hands, cradling it as if it were a fragile egg. I knew this was my father’s spirit, and I was the vessel between the living world and the afterlife that could bring him home.

“You’re coming back with me, Father,” I whispered to the orb, pleased when the light pulsed in response.

My eyes flew open, and I sucked in a breath, as if I’d been holding it underwater. I looked down at my father, who already watched me, a tired smile etched into his features.

A sob escaped me when I fell onto his chest, overwhelmed by relief. I’d done it. I’d brought my father’s spirit back.

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