Page 32 of The Seer

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Pissed didn’t beginto describe Narissa’s mood. Odessa had tricked her, which was a rarity in itself. Stuck in a high-voltage prison, her only option for freedom was to shape-shift into her Siren. Yet doing so would make her vulnerable to her aunt’s attack.

“I swear, this time, I’m going to snap your turkey-wattled neck, you beak-nosed?—”

“Such language, Narissa.” Odessa’s disproving tone was followed by a tsk-tsk. “My dear sister raised you girls better than that.”

“Don’t you dare mention my mother, you magic-stealing, prune-faced—ahhhh!” The shock was instantaneous, and Narissa spasmed as electricity coursed through her body, mentally cursing herself for being caught unaware. She entered the house knowing Odessa wasn’t to be trusted, yet she fell for her staged fall like an unsuspecting newborn.

“Manners, girl. If you fail to keep a civil tongue, I’ll fry it out of your head.”

As she lay on the ground, taking stock of all her limbs and praying to the Goddess she hadn’t wet herself, Narissa swore a silent oath that she’d murder Odessa the first chance she got. No way was that horrid wench living to torture another person!

She swiped her wrist across her mouth and wiped away the drool. Simply performing the gesture fueled her rage, but she needed to keep her Siren contained. If the creature felt threatened, she’d emerge. Though she’d always suspected hers was stronger than Odessa’s, they’d never been pitted against each other. And she was trapped at the moment, allowing her aunt the advantage and to syphon magic.

Her only hope was Taryn and Creed. They knew where she’d gone, and if she didn’t return by nightfall, they’d send someone after her. Narissa didn’t dare dream Creed would care one way or the other. Yet he answered to Damian, and he’d feel compelled to save her if only to stay in the Aether’s good graces. It seemed Damian Dethridge was the only person Creed maintained a healthy respect for.

Creed.

She should’ve never distanced herself to keep her position at the Authority. All these years later, she still hadn’t discovered who’d set him up to take the fall for the break-in at HQ. Perhaps their relationship had been unearthed, and whoever was responsible purposely kept her in the dark—if only to cover their ass.

“Why so sad, dear?” Odessa taunted. “Your cousins will come for you.”

“I hope they don’t. Then you won’t get your hands on Bloodstone’s necklace.”

“You and Fintan were inseparable as children. You’re the closest thing he has to a sister. He’ll come,” her aunt assured her, and the unwavering confidence scraped Narissa’s nerves raw.

“Last I checked, he was in stasis, so it’s doubtful.” She shrugged and cast Odessa a pitying glance. “Your pathetic attempts to preserve your life are—ahhh!” Gritting her teeth against the pain, Narissa prayed she wouldn’t stroke out or suffer a heart attack from so many electrocutions.

“Sadistic bitch,” she muttered.

“Would you care for another jolt, girl?”

With a shake of her head, she moderated her tone and asked, “Why do you want Fintan’s new necklace? What good will it do you?”

A rare vulnerability flashed across Odessa’s visage before she quickly pasted on her standard arrogant expression. “That’s none of your concern.”

“I beg to differ, sugar. It concerns me greatly since you practically hog-tied me and slapped butter on my backside for this little barbeque.” She deepened her Southern drawl to annoy her uptight aunt. “Why, the only thing missin’ is an apple between my teeth!”

Odessa’s lips tightened. “My intent was never to torture you, but you can’t keep your smart mouth shut long enough to see reason.”

Narissa studied her for a long moment, for the first time seeing her aunt’s underlying sadness. Having lost her only sibling, she was no stranger to grief and loneliness. Was that what Odessa was feeling? The pain of losing all her family and having no one left to care about her? She’d chased off Brenna a few years back, and living conditions had to have been terrible if her sweet-as-pecan-pie niece had bolted. A more loyal person didn’t exist than Brenna.

“What is it you want, Auntie O?” Narissa asked tiredly, feeling three times her forty-seven years. She’d lost too much to their stupid Sullivan “gifts.” Her twin, her mother, friends…Creed. Shaking off her melancholy, she sighed. “Tell me so we can be done with this. You want my magic? Fine. If you can take it without killing me, it’s yours.”

Odessa’s shock held her immobile, and her response was drastically different than any Narissa might’ve anticipated.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with ya?” Odessa dropped her upper-crust accent and adopted the Irish dialect of her youth. “Are ya a feckin’ eejit, then? Ya don’t go offerin’ your magic up—ever! And certainly not without a payoff, ya daft?—”

Compressing her lips, Odessa clomped away, her cane tapping out her agitation.

“Sure, and that’s one way to clear a room.”Fintan’s voice in her head surprised Narissa so badly, she almost did what her aunt’s shock treatment failed to do and wet herself.

“Holy crispy critters!” she hissed.

“Keep your words contained inside your mind, yeah?”he warned.

“You surprised me. I thought you were in stasis. And don’t forget, if she concentrates, she can tap into our thoughts. We all share a connection, sugar.”

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