Page 28 of Song of Her Siren

When my sister turned to me, expectant, I projected to her.Let them finish eating.

So we ate in silence, though Helian barely touched his food.

What’s wrong?I asked him.

I hate it here, he responded while crumbling tart crumbs between his fingers.

My heart ached at seeing him so uncomfortable, and I resented my aunt even more, because I knew her flirtations made him uneasy.Me too.

After we finished lunch, Shiri and I washed the girls’ hands and faces, then took them to the sitting room. Ash, Helian, and Drae stood casually by the hearth, murmuring to each other while casting furtive glances in our direction. Cassandra sat alone at the dining table, sipping tea while eyeing us over the rim of her cup.

Do you need my help?Ash projected to me, his deep wolf’s rumble echoing in my skull.

I’ll let you know, I answered.I don’t want too many of us overwhelming them.

The plaits I’d made in Ember’s hair were already coming loose, so my more competent sister brushed and braided her hair on the sofa. I reminded myself I was still learning how to be a mother, while Shiri had been doing it for the past four years.

I combed Aurora’s much shorter hair while she wriggled in my lap. Luckily, it only took a few swipes of my brush. She wouldn’t sit still for much more than that. After I released her, she slid off my lap and played with her toy dragons on the fur rug in front of the hearth.

“Can we talk about your time with the bad demon?” Shiri asked casually while tying ribbons at the bottom of Ember’s braids.

Ember pouted. “I don’t want to talk about her.”

“But, darling,” I pleaded, “we need to know everything, so we can make sure she never tries to harm you again.”

“Megaera is the mistress of all the demons and very powerful,” Aurora said softly while continuing to play.

I scooted off the sofa and sat beside her, smoothing my fingers across the soft fur rug. “Tell me more.”

She paused her toy dragon mid-flight to look at me. “She was the demon witch with three eyes and ugly hands.”

“A lamatsu.” Shiri sat beside me. “I remember from Malvolia’s book of demons.”

“She is the sister to the demon inside Arabella,” Ember said as she crawled into my lap while dragging her doll.

I wrapped my arms around my child, cherishing having her so close. My children acted more feline than wolf, choosing when to snuggle me and then pushing away when they’d had enough. “Does she care for her sister?”

Ember vehemently nodded.

Shiri and I shared a look.

Interesting, my sister projected to me.Now we have leverage.

Did I want to use the demon inside Arabella as leverage? That would put Arabella in the crossfire too. Though I loathed the bitch, I also owed her a life debt after she’d saved my children.

Aurora crawled over to me and made her dragon land on my knee. “We saw Thorin there too.”

“The mindspinner?” Shiri blurted.

Ember blinked up at me. “The old mage who was looking for Yaya.”

“He’s her prisoner?” I asked. After watching him being abducted by demon spiders, I doubted he was an honored guest.

Aurora sat in my lap, too, clinging to me as if she had seen a ghost. “The demon witch took his eyes and tongue.”

When both girls shuddered, I clung to them. “My poor darlings,” I whispered while rocking them in my arms. I feared they’d have nightmares for years after what they’d endured.

And the demon cut out Thorin’s eyes and tongue! A tremor rolled through me. Though I resented and loathed the mindspinner for everything he’d done to my family and the Fae, a blade of pity pierced my heart. I clutched my chest, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. If Megaera could so easily pluck out the old mage’s eyes and tongue, there was no telling what she would’ve done to my children.

---