Page 177 of Song of Her Siren

Chapter Thirty

Tari

Ipaced the battlements, the cool northern wind blowing back my hair and bringing with it the pungent smells of the ocean. Worry gnawed a hole in my gut while I wondered why the attacks were coming in stages. Poor planning by the demons, or was the point to wear us down, so we’d be too weak to fight the bigger threat? Ash had left me to lead the stunned shifters into Thebes. Drae stoically watched over Shiri as she slept on the ground between Nikkos and Blaze. This had all been too easy. Where were the shadow demons that had attacked the eastern coast just a few days ago?

I held my breath, unable to relax as the sun slowly set over the horizon. I had a sinking feeling the shadows would come with the night. The trembling in my limbs didn’t subside until I saw Ash emerge below the castle walls, hundreds of shifters following him. They looked thin and dirty, but otherwise whole. Other green witches would have to heal them while I focused on the next threat.

The stars twinkled in the sky by the time Ash returned to me with his father, Adrean. I remembered the shifter king, for he was the one who’d recruited me to help him take down Fachnan. I was glad now that we hadn’t battled Fachnan then. My magic hadn’t been strong enough.

Ash was smiling ear-to-ear as he escorted his father toward us. “Tari, you remember our father, King Adrean?”

“I do.” I recognized the shifter with the missing eye and burn scars on one side of his face and chest. Magic tingled my fingers, and I repressed the urge to heal him, remembering how he’d refused my healing powers before, saying the scars were a reminder of all he’d lost.

I went to shake his hand, but he took me in a tight hug. “It’s so nice to see you alive,” he whispered in my ear.

“I’m glad to see you’re alive too.” I squeezed him back. “It has been a trying few years,” I said as way of explanation.

“Ash told me everything.” He pulled back, grasping my shoulders in a fatherly gesture. “Your parents lied to me.”

I tensed at that, fearing he’d want revenge, and I was so tired of fighting. “I know they did.” My heart faltered as I shared a look with Ash. “They deceived me too.”

“I don’t blame them now. I was too obsessed with revenge to see clearly.” He flashed a lopsided grin, revealing missing teeth on the burned side of his face.

Relief washed through me that he’d forgiven my parents. One less battle I’d have to prevent.

“Ash told you about Fachnan and the other dragon rider leaders?” I asked.

He nodded.

“I-I hope it’s enough for you,” I stammered.

“It is.” His shoulders fell, weariness reflecting in his one eye. “What I want now more than anything is to send these demons back to hell for good and to spend my final years in peace with my sons and grandchildren.”

I clasped my hands to my heart, emotion bubbling up in my throat as I shared a smile with Ash. “That would make us all very happy.”

Radnor landed on the ramparts with a roar as Isa flew erratic circles above him. Helian jumped from his dragon, jutting his sword toward the ocean. “Tari, something’s coming.”

Dragons flew past us in a blur, fear reverberating in their roars while they shook water onto our heads. A pale mist turned darker as it drifted in from the ocean. My heart leapt into my throat when I saw the shadowy sails moving toward us through the fog.

Holy Elements! The shadow demons were here.

“This is it,” I said to Helian and Ash. “The real war is here.”

Ash braced himself beside me, his mouth set in a hard line as the wolf flashed in his eyes. “You can defeat them, Tari.”

Standing beside Malvolia, Arabella began blowing back the fog with her wind magic.

Cassandra hurried to me, clutching the demon book of spells to her chest. Her cheeks flushed when she saw Adrean, though she said nothing to him. The shifter awkwardly coughed into his fist, taking a big step back from his former lover.

“How do I defeat them?” I asked Cassandra, my voice laced with desperation.

She nervously flipped through the pages. “I found no spells in here for repelling shadow demons. The books says they are former humans turned into ghouls, then killed and made into a ghost army.”

So that’s what happened to the humans. Elements, what a horrible fate.

“Fuck!” Helian blurted.

Cassandra gave her son a sharp look before turning to a dog-eared page. “I did find this line repeated several times in the book.” She cleared her throat. “Only light can drive away darkness.”

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