Page 76 of Rise of the Siren Queen
“To the exit. I assume you want to get out, right?” My tone was more guarded than before. He already knew about the mate bond. There was no need for him to see me any more vulnerable.
“But that’s a dead end. I tried going there. It doesn’t lead anywhere.” He grimaced as the realization hit him, recognizing that the cave indeed had an opening to the island.
I arched my brow. “Exactly. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it here.” I paused for a moment, giving him another glimpse into my world. “We put illusion spells to keep you trapped here. "
I watched him closely. His eyes narrowed, his head tilted, and his lips pursed as he absorbed my words. Glancing around the cavern, his fingers tracing the faint outline of the trident tattoo on his wrist.
“So… that’s why I didn’t find the cavern exit,” he murmured, unsure, my statement settling over him.
I didn’t respond to him. Instead, I moved toward the illusionary rock wall. Lifting my hands, I cut my thumb with a sharp rock and traced the blood into the wall, undoing the spell that concealed the entrance. My hands warmed, and I felt the familiar burn in my arms from the strain. My mind was foggy, drained from exertion, but Ipushed through, releasing the enchantment. The rock shone before vanishing.
Exhausted, I pressed myself against the warm brick wall, needing a moment to gather my strength before going on. He leaned beside me, his breath ghosting over my ear as he moved closer.
“Be honest,” he demanded, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “How much did this cost you?”
When I stayed silence a low groan echoed from him, his chest rumbling with barely contained frustration.
“I know it cost something. You said yourself the council ordered differently, and they didn’t know about the training or the oath.” He leaned closer, turning to meet my eyes directly. “How. Much. Was. It?” His voice was low and strained, carrying a dangerous warning in each punctuated word.
I considered keeping it from him. This was my burden to bear, after all. But I was tired. Exhausted from the endless lies, the treachery within the court, of my guilt. So, selfishly, I shared it with him, even though it wouldn’t change anything.
“Power,” my voice barely above a whisper. “It cost me power over the council.” I straightened, trying to hide the fatigue seeping into every part of me, but the truth was out now.
For a moment, he said nothing, just staring at me like he was trying to process what I’d just revealed. I saw his mind working, pulling at the threads of what little he understood about my world, my role, and how much I had truly given up.
He took a sharp breath, his jaw tightening.
“You gave up your power? For me?” His voice was strained, eyes blow wide, his thick brown meeting the hairline of his forehead. Surprised, I had surprised him and shocked. Maybe he didn’t expect me to go to such lengths, well, even I didn’t expect that, but it was done. And I didn’t have the strength to argue anymore.
“Not just for you. For Aetheria, myself and my crown.” My words felt hollow even as they left my lips. I hated the sound of it, the justification, the excuses. I’d always told myself this was my duty, but it felt different now, standing in front of him, exposed. “The council won’t see it that way, though. They’ll see it as treason.”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing now. “You’re telling me you gave them an opening? Something they can use against you? How do you know they won’t try to overthrow you?”
I flinched at his words. Because I had thought about it. Every day. “I don’t,” I admitted. “But I had no choice. The spell was necessary to keep Aetheria safe and going with you is to keep your identity hidden from them. If they find out what you are…”
His eyes met mine again, a storm brewing behind them. “Then what are they gonna do? Erase my memories, I would still be a hybrid.” His voice grew louder.
“No,” I said firmly, cutting him off. “They would kill you and for hiding from them, they would make me do it and it would kill me.”
Adrian stared at me, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Why do they have so much power over you? Are you not their princess?”
I closed my eyes, running a hand through my eyes. “Because…” I couldn’t speak about my past, my parent’s death, or how the council did nothing to bring the killer to justice, thanks to Thalor. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. “I can’t talk about it, not yet.”
Adrian nodded, his shoulders loosening slightly as the tension ebbs away. “Fine, but answer me this: what about you?” His voice softened. “Who’s protecting you?”
For a moment, I was speechless. The answer to that was nobody. Not really. I had allies, yes, Sienna, Ronan, Kieran, and Elora, but none of them could truly protect me from the burdens I carried.
“I protect myself,” I whispered, though even I didn’t believe it.
He stepped closer, his hand caressing my cheek and pushing a strand behind my ear as he looked down at me. “You don’t have to carry this alone, love.”
I forced a smile. The exhaustion creeping back into my bones.
“I’ve been carrying it alone for a long time.”
For a moment, we stood in silence, the tension between us shifting, growing heavier. I could feel the mate bond pulling us closer, and all I wanted was to give in again, but this was already beyond what I could handle for one morning.
Before he could close the gap between us, I cleared my throat, forcing some distance between us. “We should get going,” I said, my voice steady though my heartbeat was anything but. “I assume you sailed here?”
