Page 92 of The Seer

“You never call me just Taryn, you damned idiot. I was worried Micha stole your body or something equally outrageous.”

Her smile was luminescent as she held out her hand, and Fintan was quick to grab it.

“What are we doing down here,aoibhneas mo croí?”

“We need to work in harmony to open Ari’s treasure trove. I want those fuckers at the Authority stopped.” An evil grin curled her lips. “And if we can make Micha pay in the process, even better.”

“You’d be the perfect Siren ruler, love,” Ardghal replied. “You’ve only to say the word, and?—”

“Zip it, Ari. I’m Fintan’s.”

With a chuckle, the Siren prince gripped her other hand. The water separated, granting them access to the boulder they approached.

“This is it,” he said. Glancing down at her, he raised a brow. “Do you recall being Elizabeth, or do you need assistance?”

“What would that entail?”

He grinned. “A kiss.”

“If it’s from anyone but me, she’ll not be rememberin’ shite,” Fintan growled. He’d damned well find another way to break the spell hiding their treasures.

Taryn laughed. “We needed to work in harmony, remember?”

“Work, not snog.”

“Would it help to know you’re my favorite snogger?” she teased.

“Sure, and that’s grand. But just so ya kin, you’ll not be snoggin’ anyone but me,” Fintan said with a warning glare.

“He’s a sore winner,” Ardghal quipped. “Come, we need to get this done.”

Releasing Fintan,Taryn stepped up to the first boulder and examined it.

“Here goes nothing,” she murmured, pressing her palm flat against the surface.

Ardghal placed his hand over hers, and she gasped as his collective magic, Siren and Demigod, flowed through her. The churning water picked up speed, toppling over itself from the center outward. It was a living entity, like his life force prior to latching onto Fintan to be reborn.

Bolts of blue and white streaked from all the stones at once, twisting together and forming a helix around their bodies. As the coil lit, so did the symbols on the remaining stones. One by one, they ignited, climbing to the top of the boulders, displaying ancient ancestral runes known only to purebloods.

Taryn didn’t know what they represented, but she didn’t need to. This place recalled her spirit from her time on earth before, and it knew Ardghal.

The ground rumbled, and she had a momentary pause, fearing they’d screwed up. But Ardghal’s smile was reassuring, and she held fast as the helix swirled around them, gaining speed with each spin.

“What now?” she hollered over the howling wind it created.

He didn’t answer, and his knitted brows concerned her.

“We need Fintan. He’s my other half, and this won’t work without him,”he relayed through their link.

As if he’d heard, Fintan was pushing through the coil to get to them.

“What does it need from him?” Her shout became a scream as Ardghal’s hand transformed into a claw, and he cleaved through Fintan’s chest, shredding his heart.“No!”

The wind died.

“No! No, no, no, no, no! Fintan!” Taryn dropped to her knees, catching his head before it impacted the ground. She couldn’t catch her breath and hiccuped her sobs.

“Why, Ari?Why?”

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