Page 118 of Rise of the Siren Queen
“Fuck.” The word came like a gunshot.
Rage blurred my vision. My blood ran cold even as white-hot rage surged up my throat. Lorenzo. That greedy, bottom-feeding bastard. He wanted to gut the sea. Pry open its secrets. Her secrets.
Aetheria.
My grip tightened. The glass in my hand creaked.
I’d kept it together for the last two days. Barely. Training. Testing the limits of my power. Choking on grief. But now? Now I was burning.
And her name exploded in my mind like a detonation.
Iryen.
“For now,” my mother continued, distant, “your father has delayed the request. But it won’t hold. Not for long.”
“Then I’ll make it permanent.”
She fell silent. I was already pacing.
Thoughts raced through my mind. Only one solution will be definitive and unquestionable. It will be tricky, and I’m going to hate every step, but her safety and the safety of her people are at stake. And I will do anything to ensure that she remains protected.
“I’ll buy the damn island. Petition the Senate. Enforce maritime sovereignty. Lock it down.”
My father had pulled every string in politics for years. I had no intention of letting those ties rot. Even if it means giving in to what I fought against for years. Even if it means selling my soul to the devils in suits—if it means becoming one myself.
“I’ll tell him to start the paperwork,” she blurted. Then, softer: “Adrian…”
“Talk to Malia.” I blurt out, not ready to talk with her more than necessary.
“What?”
“She deserves to know what she is. What we are.”
Silence.
Then, finally, she said, “I will.” And the line went dead.
I stared out the window, heart still thundering, breath uneven. The idea of legislation, ownership, barriers, permits—it should have overwhelmed me. It didn’t. I welcomed the chaos.
Because if I couldn’t have her, I’d settle for protecting what she loved.
Her kingdom. Her people. And her secrets.
She was mine. Whether or not she likes it. Whether it killed me.
And if the world thought Erinyes was untouchable before, wait until they saw what I’d do for the woman who shattered me.
I would burn my empire to the ground if meant keeping her safe. If it meant keeping her alive.
Hell, I would destroy the fucking government just to have her.
I never belonged here. Not really. Not in the penthouse, not in the luxury, not in the lie I wore like skin. The company, the name, the legacy—all it ever did was fill a void. Until her.
And now?
Now, all I had was that void. That hole in my chest where my heart used to be.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t fuck function.
