Page 170 of Song of Her Siren

Malvolia’s lips pulled back in a snarl. “That mate tried to poison your daughter.” She paused, tapping her chin. “Oh, wait. It wasn’t Tarianya, so you don’t care.”

Rage clouded my vision as I raised my fists. “You dare!”

Marius jerked me back as snakes of Malvolia’s smoke slithered toward me.

“Your Highness!” One of the mages standing on the tower above us called down. “He carries a child.”

When I gave my sister an accusatory look, Malvolia signaled to her archers. “Hold your fire!”

A few minutes later, a grimy firemage with tousled auburn hair and torn trousers clumsily landed on the ramparts, carrying a winged boy who appeared a few years older than my grandchildren.

“Lord Geoffrey!” Malvolia stalked toward him like a dragon about to pounce. “I thought I told you never to show your face in my city again.”

The mage set the child down and bent over, clutching his chest. “My Queen,” he said between heaving breaths, “demons have overtaken the northeastern coast.”

“What?” Her eyes widened before she shot the gray witches an accusatory glare. “When?”

He wiped sweat from his brow. “Two nights past.”

Malvolia crossed her arms, impatiently tapping her foot. “How many?”

“Thousands,” he answered, his voice cracking. “We are all that’s left of Maiden Rock.”

I clutched my throat, thinking of my cousin Felicity. She’d been just a toddler when I’d last seen her. Now she was no more. Yes, I’d been angry with her for how she’d treated Shirina, but did that mean she deserved to die? I smiled down at the frightened child with the smattering of freckles and wide eyes who clutched the mage’s leg. He must’ve been their son.

“Does the demon mistress lead them?” Malvolia asked.

His shoulders slumped, his haunted eyes reflecting his crushed spirit. “I-I couldn’t tell who led them.”

“What else can you tell me about the army?” She didn’t bother hiding the impatience in her voice as she waved away a servant who approached Geoffrey with a bucket of fresh water and an empty mug. “Do they have any weaknesses?”

“They can be blown back by wind.” He visibly swallowed as his eyes filled up with tears. “Felicity was able to push them back before...” His voice trailed off as he swiped tears from his eyes. “They are ghouls that fly as shadows and destroy everything they touch, turning all to ash.”

“Fly?” I blurted.

He nodded. “Many are winged. Some walk. Some slither like snakes.”

“Elements,” I breathed, my knees quivering with fear. “We are all doomed.”

“No,” the child said, a strange confidence in his voice for one so young. “The white witches will save us.”

Malvolia sneered at the child. “I doubt even my nieces can stop an army of shadows.”

“They can.” The child lifted his chin, his bottom lip quivering. “I have seen it. They will defeat many waves and many kinds of demons.”

“My son is a powerful seer.” Geoffrey protectively squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “He warned us about the demons. If he says it, then I have faith it will come to pass.”

“But we have only Shiri,” I said, looking from Geoffrey to the boy. “Do you know when my other daughter and the dragons will arrive?”

The boy nodded. “When the last tree falls.”

The last tree? Did that mean the ghouls would flatten the expansive forest surrounding Thebes? Hundreds of thousands of trees?

“I must leave you now.” The wildness in Geoffrey’s eyes startled me. “Please keep Teddy safe, and he will tell you what he sees in his dreams.” He fell to his knees, jerking Teddy into his arms, a sob escaping his throat while he held the child tight. “Darling boy,” he murmured while stroking the child’s messy hair. “I’m so sorry. Please be brave.” He kissed Teddy’s head, his lips lingering as tears streamed down his face. Then he stood and marched toward the edge of the ramparts.

“Where are you going?” I called at his back. I hoped he wasn’t fool enough to leave his child to go fight demons by himself, for it was a suicide mission without Tari to help us.

“To join my mate and brother,” he called over his shoulder without breaking stride.

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