Page 29 of Rise of the Siren Queen
She stopped at the entrance, turning to cast one last glance over her shoulder. Her expression was unreadable, but there was somethingin it, something almost fragile before she masked it with that steady composure. “I won’t be long.”
And then, just like that, she was gone. The room felt colder without her. A quiet ache settled in my chest, and I stared at the empty doorway, wishing she hadn’t left.
* * *
As promised, she returned shortly, carrying a bundle of clothes. She handed them to me wordlessly, her fingers brushing mine for a moment. It was brief, but the contact sent an unexpected jolt through me, like a spark lighting up every nerve in my body. I swallowed hard, fighting the strange heat flooding my chest, and twisted away to focus on something, anything, other than that spark.
Concentrating, I forced myself to think about shifting back. But as I stood there, clothes in hand, a stray thought tugged at me. Where had she gotten these clothes?
The fit was decent, the fabric soft and well-worn, like they’d belonged to someone else. And just like that, the question of who crossed my mind, sharp and intrusive. Before I could stop it, an irrational flare of jealousy twisted inside me, hot and sudden. Some other man? She had access to someone else’s things?
I ground my teeth, trying to shove the feeling away, but it annoyed me, unrelenting. I forced myself to focus on pulling the shirt over my head, pretending it didn’t matter. Why did I care? Why was I letting this get to me? But no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the thought simmered beneath the surface, refusing to be silenced.
I finished dressing quickly, the shirt a little too loose, the pants a little too tight, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I wanted to be the only one to have this kind of access to her. I wanted to be the one she turned to, the one she trusted with this kind of intimacy.
That thought, that demand, pressed into my chest like a weight. This strange connection between us? I wanted it to be mine. Untouched. Unshared.
The jealousy twisted again, more insistent now, but I swallowed it down, unwilling to face it.
I turned to thank her, to say something, anything. But just like that, she was gone.
The silence that followed was suffocating. The absence of her presence pressed in on me, filling the room with an emptiness that felt almost physical. I stood there, staring at the spot where she’d just been, the clothes she’d brought me still warm in my hands. Her touch, just the briefest brush of her skin against mine, still lingered on my fingertips, sending an echo through me I couldn’t shake.
The irrational jealousy churned inside me, making me grit my teeth. I knew it was stupid, knew I shouldn’t care, but I did. It made little sense. None of this did.
The near-death experience. The transformation. The revelations.
I wasn’t supposed to feel anything beyond the shock of it all, but somehow, she had slipped through, weaving her way into the cracks I hadn’t even realized were there.
And now, with her gone, everything felt dull. The room felt empty, like someone had sucked the color out of it.
I ran a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling in my chest. I needed answers, needed a plan to get out of here, to regain some control. But her eyes, the inexplicable draw I felt, and our strange attachment, which intensified with every encounter, tangled every thought of mine.
A groan slipped from my lips as I shook my head.
This would not be easy.
8
Treacherous bastard
Iryen
Mate.
The word flashed in my mind like lightning, relentless and overwhelming. It was such a simple word, but it carried an importance far beyond my control. Fate, destiny, things I had always believed and my parents held sacred.
I couldn’t believe that he was my mate, a hybrid, no less. Of all the complications I could have shoved in my way, this was the one I didn’t need. Everything would have been easier if he wasn’t. My initial plan had been to free him immediately, without tampering with his memories, to let him return to his life none the wiser.
He couldn’t be my mate. I can’t do this. He is a stranger, an outsider.He is from Nyssaion, for goddess’ sake.
But now… now everything is different.
I used one-week as an excuse, a desperate move to buy myself time. Time to understand what I wanted and what needed to do. This bond between us wasn’t something I could simply ignore or walk away from. It was there, woven into the very fabric of our beings, pulling us together even if I disliked.
But my duty with Aetheria comes before anything, even the sacred mate bond.
“You have one week, Iryen,”I whispered to myself, the words sounding more like a plea than a command.
