Page 160 of Song of Her Siren

I bit my lip, clinging to him while trying to drive out the darkness and doubt that crept into my soul.

My breath hitched when the ground shook so hard that I nearly tumbled from Nikkos’s lap. I gaped at my mates. “What was that?”

A horn sounded, followed by another and another, along with the ricochets of cannon fire. We were under attack!

Blaze grabbed my hand, pulling me onto the balcony. He swept me into his arms, and we launched into the sky, only to dodge flying, fiery projectiles. What in Element’s name? I looked over Blaze’s shoulder, panicked when I heard Nikkos crying out behind us, a burst of fire lighting up his feathers. But he kept flying behind us, waving Blaze forward as we ducked and dodged the projectiles that I now realized were firemage body parts! A wing, a leg, a head!

A roar sounded above me, and Blaze flew in such a blur that I only saw a massive troll-sized shadow hurl past us, hitting the ocean with such a tremendous splash, it sent a giant wave of water over the seawall. Firemages launched into the sky, carrying witches with them. The wall of water wasn’t as big as the one that Tari’s magical bomb had caused, but it was big enough to wash a knee-deep surge toward the castle.

I clutched Blaze’s shoulders as we landed on the battlements. “Drae!”

“The castle foundation is solid.” His mouth was set in a grim line as he set me down. “He might get his feet wet, but we have bigger problems right now.”

Nikkos landed beside us with a grunt, his wings smoking.

I stumbled toward him. “You’re hurt!”

“This is nothing,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at his flaming feathers. “Trust me, I’ve been burned worse.”

Blaze snatched a bucket of water and threw it on Nikkos’s back before putting out the rest of the flames with his hands.

Malvolia was at the other end of the ramparts, waving us forward with a scowl.

Blaze and Nikkos took my hands, and I choked on smoke and ash as we hurried toward her. She was surrounded by several firemages, including my fathers, plus my mother and Lady Arabella. Wolfy ran circles around them, barking at the sky as firemages chaotically swarmed above us like hornets that had escaped a fallen nest. This wasn’t good.

“What’s happening?” I demanded.

Malvolia motioned toward the ocean. “We were attacked by a winged giant.”

I clutched my gut, praying the contents of my stomach didn’t come hurling back up. “A-a winged giant?”

Marius grimaced. “That breathes fire.”

Blaze let out a string of curses.

Malvolia clutched the side of the wall while scanning the smoke-filled skies. “But my army was ready. We hit him with cannon fire.”

Arabella jutted a finger toward the seawall. “The water is boiling!”

Wings pinned behind him, Marius peered through a long, brass spy-lens. “If it smashes the wall, the city will be flooded.”

I gave Blaze a helpless look. “What about Drae?”

“What aboutus?” Malvolia shrieked.

“Quiet!” Marius hollered while holding out a silencing hand. “It’s coming back.”

The sea bubbled and boiled, and then a giant creature rose from behind the seawall. This thing was twice the height of the trolls that had attacked Abyssus, and it had black bat wings! And the stench! It smelled like a canyon of troll dung. I clutched my throat, holding my breath when Enso and Freya flew around the monster, squawking while trying to attack its head. When he swatted one of the wyverns, sending it careening into the ocean, my siren magic surged through my veins, swelling my chest.

“Monster!” I hollered, my siren voice reverberating across the sky like a clap of thunder. “Stand down!”

He flashed a mouthful of rotting teeth with a roar and puffed up his chest. When I saw the bright orange ball shoot up the column of his throat, I knew what was coming next. He let out a terrifying roar, a stream of flames pouring from his mouth.

I screamed when Blaze spun me around, shielding me with his wings, though his poor feathers weren’t fireproof. I expected us both to be turned to ash, but the flames bounced off the curse chamber that Malvolia held above us, veins popping in her forehead as she strained against the giant’s powerful and deadly breath.

“Your siren voice isn’t working!” she snarled.

Though I wanted to say something salty to my aunt, I thought better of it, considering she was holding up the wall that saved me from being turned into a piece of Fae coal.

---