Page 163 of Song of Her Siren

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Shiri

Nephilim. That’s whatMalvolia had said the giant winged beast was, a demon monster determined to destroy the city. Malvolia and I hit the beast with our black trails of deadly smoke, but our magic wasn’t strong enough to kill him. Freya had blinded him in one eye, but he still had the other and was actively trying to break down the seawall, punching it with meaty fists while waves slammed into his back. He would only stop to rub the bloody eye that Freya had pecked, giving the mages time to regroup and hit him with more cannon fire, though the projectiles did little against a beast the size of ten dragons.

Just when I thought all hope was lost, a dragon’s roar rent the air. The clouds parted, revealing Radnor flying above the Nephilim with my sister, Helian, and Aurora on his back.

The dragon banked hard when the demon monster tried to hit him with a stream of fire. I quit fighting, too stunned to move while Radnor dodged the creature. My heart hit my stomach when the Nephilim jumped into the air, flying after Radnor. The dragon shot upward like a missile, then flipped and flew right after the giant.

“Look out!” I screamed when I saw a ball of fire racing up the Nephilim’s throat, though I knew they couldn’t hear me.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as a ball of white magic flew out of Tari’s hands, hitting the Nephilim in the face. Then the dragon vanished, and the giant fell into the water, standing there with a slackened jaw. Its wings fell off first, crumbling into the sea and turning to a scattering of dust on the surf. The giant threw back his head with a howl, though his cry was silenced when his head slid off his neck, crumbling into the sea next, the rest of his body turning to ash in the wind.

I clasped my hands together with an overjoyed cry of relief. Tari had done it! Cheers rose up among the ranks, and I sagged against Nikkos. But my relief was short-lived when Blaze let out a sharp whistle, pointing to the widening crack in the seawall as water began to pour out of it. Any moment, the wall would break, flooding the city.

Hearing my name, I spun around. Tari had appeared on the ramparts with her three mates and the children.

I ran to her, taking her in a fierce hug. “Thank you, sister.”

Blaze grabbed my shoulder, pulling us apart. “Sorry, but we don’t have time.” He pointed to the crack in the wall.

“Take me there,” Tari blurted.

Blaze swept her into his arms and flew her to the seawall.

Finn and Ash each held a child in their arms, watching Tari from the edge of the wall while Helian stood between them, surreptitiously casting wary looks at Malvolia.

Much to her credit, Malvolia didn’t so much as glance in Helian’s direction.

My breath hitched as I watched my sister grow a wall of vines as thick as a dozen dragon’s tails out of the ground. They snaked around each other, creeping up the wall until the flow of water slowed to a trickle.

The mages on the ramparts let out cheers. I caught my aunt’s stoic eye when Blaze flew Tari back to us.

Malvolia quickly bridged the distance between us, splaying a hand across her heart while bowing to Tari. “Thank you, Tarianya.”

My sister smoothed out wrinkles in her dress. “No need to thank me.” She motioned toward the rest of the Fae on the ramparts. “We all have one purpose now, regardless of our quarrels in the past.”

Malvolia flashed a tight smile. “Of course.”

Tari brushed past Malvolia, as if she were an aggravating grain of sand stuck in the sole of her shoe, then she quickly strode to the wyverns resting on the other end of the bridge. Both wyverns had been hit by the giant. Firemages had retrieved Enso from the water and Freya rested on the wall, whimpering while Enso licked water off her leathery face.

Tari knelt beside them, healing tears in their wings and cuts on their sides. Then she stood, wiping blood off her hands while showing no signs of fatigue. Strange. Normally, my sister would’ve needed to rest after this.

I hugged Tari again before pulling back and clutching her shoulders. “Sister, aren’t you tired?”

She tilted her head. “No. My magic is stronger now.” She nodded toward Helian while speaking to me through thought.The most amazing thing happened. Once Helian claimed his position as alpha, my magic magnified.

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