Page 73 of Song of Her Siren

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Tari

IPACED BENEATH RADNOR’Sand Isa’s long shadows, wringing my hands. The noonday sun was almost upon us. The girls were whining that they were hungry, and so was the acorn in my belly, vacillating between making me want to either gorge on a feast of tarts or vomit in the bushes.

Triss whimpered, too, ignoring Radnor and Isa as they scolded her to hush.

“Please let me teleport us to the castle for some tarts,” Aurora pleaded, hands clasped in a prayer pose. “I can bring us right back?”

I stopped pacing long enough to give her what I hoped was a stern look. “We’re not leaving Uncle Helian and Aunt Shiri.” I knelt beside her, taking her hand in mine when she pouted. “Please be a good girl and play with Triss and Ember.” I motioned toward Ember, who was sitting atop the hatchling, pretending as if they were soaring through the air.

When Aurora made another whine of protest, Isa hovered above us with her long, snakelike neck.Go, Goddess. We’ll be here.

“No.” I stood, dusting dirt off my skirts with a scowl. “They might need me.”

As you wish. Isa heaved an audible sigh before resting her head on her paws like a hound curling up beside the hearth.

I turned from her while chewing my nails to the quick. Where were they? I felt uncomfortable in this forest with so many places for demons to hide. Its dense foliage and humid air reminded me of the jungles in the Fallax Islands. To make matters worse, we had swarms of unwelcome visitors. As a green witch, I’d prided myself on the ability to communicate with nature, getting furry and feathered creatures to bend to my will. Not mosquitoes, though. I wasn’t entirely convinced they hadn’t migrated from hell with the demons. I swatted a mosquito on my neck, thanking Isa when she blew back the bugs with her smoke. If there wasn’t the matter of me needing to breathe, I would’ve asked her to keep smoking them away. Viciously scratching at the welts forming on my arms, I cursed the bugs. I hadn’t had to deal with this many bugs since leaving Fallax.

Radnor turned to us with a snarl, his voice ringing like a death knell in my mind.It’s taking them too long.

Ripples of unease cascaded down Isa’s jagged spine as she sat up.What do you want to do?

Radnor shook his scales.What can we do?

“I can go down there,” I blurted.

No, Goddess.Eyes narrowing, Isa arched back.You must stay here with us.

Throwing my hands in the air, I resumed my pacing. “It’s driving me mad that I can’t even communicate with them through thought.”

Neither can we, Radnor answered.It’s the Thunderstone blocking our thoughts.

I glared down at that cellar doorway while the midday sun beat down on the back of my neck. “Maybe they’re lost.” I chewed my lip while trying to listen for any signs of life beyond that door.

How long do those lights of yours last?Isa asked.

I turned toward her, a hopelessness slicing a blade through my chest. “I’m not sure.” I had only recently learned how to make them. What if the lights had gone out, and my mate and sister were trapped in the dark? I wrung my hands together again. They should’ve been out by now. “What if that flesh eater killed them?”

Isa arched a scaled brow, giving me the same expression she gave Triss when she was about to scold her.What does your heart tell you?

I clutched my chest, feeling the heavy pounding of my heart beneath. And though it beat wildly like a rudderless wyvern, it was still whole and strong, and Iknewthey lived. Tears watered my eyes as I peered up at my dragon. “They still live.”

Perhaps they are lost and need us to help them find the way, Radnor said.

“How?” My voice broke on a plea, desperation ringing in my words.

You were a green witch before you became a white witch, Radnor said as he hovered over me with his long, snakelike neck.Call to the creatures to help you.

The creatures?

The fireflies! Closing my eyes and opening my hands, I projected a silent plea through my mind. The magic was slow to manifest at first, but then it came on a slow trickle. Finally, a gush of white light shot out of my hands, swirling through the air before falling upon our heads like rain.

Aurora and Ember giggled and danced in my magic that painted the air in stardust.

“Find them,” I whispered. “Find Helian and Shirina and lead them back to me.”

The lights coalesced and then flew in a stream toward the cellar door before disappearing between the cracks.

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