Page 83 of The Seer

His bark of laughter sounded remarkably like a barely held-in-check sob, and he closed his eyes against the agony. Losing her a second time was so much worse than the first. At least before, he knew she was living her best life somewhere in the world.

“It’s all my fault,” he admitted raggedly. “If I’d just stayed away like the ancestors ordered… if I’d have ignored Peter…”

“She’d have still found my amulet,” Ardghall said, stepping from the shadows of the hallway. “And Taryn was always destined to be involved, Fintan. She was my wife in another life, remember? Souls always orbit around each other, crossing paths until destiny is fulfilled.”

The weight of guilt and grief crushed him as he stared up at the grim face of his Siren.

“She’s dead, then?” he asked hoarsely.

Ardghal’s mouth curled on one side, and humor lit his sea-bright eyes. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

Fintan’s heart skipped a beat. It resumed with a clunky thud, hammering so strongly, it felt like it would come through his chest wall and land at his feet. He surged upward, knocking into Narissa. When he scrambled to help her, she waved him away with a laugh. “Go on, Fin. Claim the girl!”

He took the stairs two at a time and ended up beside Ardghal in four bounding steps. “Where?

“Your bedroom.”

But before Fintan could leave, Ardghal stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“She’s in a stasis. It was the best I could do—for now.”

Joy abandoned him, and his knees weakened. “I don’t understand.”

“She’s in a transformation process. From death to life, and human to Siren.”

“What?” Fintan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His hands grew shaky, and acid burned his belly. “Siren? Ya cursed her?”

Ardghal flinched as if slapped but recovered swiftly. His cold expression edged toward hostile.

“We are of royal blood, boy, and you’ll do well to remember that.”

“Sure, and it’s still a curse,” Fintan spat. “She wasn’t born to this and doesn’t deserve to constantly battle a power-hungry beast to avoid becomin’ a demon.”

“The demon curse is activated when a Siren steals what isn’t theirs and murders to get it. The purest-hearted rarely cross the line.”

Fintan shoved him. “But you did, didn’t ya? Tales of your ruthlessness abound.”

“I won’t deny my history, but until you know the why of it, keep your judgment in check.”

Ardghal never raised his voice, but Fintan could feel the power of the Siren prince pulse through him, as he had in the cavern. Denying the unspoken command to submit burned him on a cellular level, but he didn’t flinch as he locked gazes with his liege.

After a minute-long standoff, grudging respect shone in the other man’s eyes.

“You’re a stubborn bastard, I’ll give you that,” Ardghal muttered.

“How do we undo?—”

He held up a hand, cutting Fintan off. “We don’t, unless you care to carve her heart out yourself. She’s one of us, now. It was the only way to save her.”

Fintan cursed himself for a fool. Why had he left her? Ardghal wanted his wife back at all costs. Hadn’t he repeatedly tried to claim Taryn as his?

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” he accused. “To make her the perfect princess to your princely self?”

“If she loved me, as she loved you, perhaps I might have,” Ardghal admitted. He sounded tired as he said, “But my Elizabeth turned from me in the end and left me to die in that grotto, not realizing I couldn’t, not truly.”

“Ya once said I was you, reborn, but we’re split souls. Who am I to her, then?”

“You’re Fintan Sullivan. The Seer and love of her life.” Clapping a hand on his shoulder, Ardghal shook him. “Stop this foolishness, Fin. She’ll need you to guide her through the rest of your lives.”

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