Page 65 of A Storm in Every Heart
“I’m worried about the son and his family,” I explain slowly. “It occurs to me that my accidental intervention could look like favoritism, and in that case, Florian might want to get rid of the embarrassment. Perhaps a trip out of their own kingdom might be a good opportunity for there to be an ‘unfortunate accident’ that mysteriously removes the threat to their line of succession.”
Magnus raises his eyebrows. “You care what happens to Florian’s bastard?”
I fight to keep my tone even. “Only so much as I care about what happens to any friend. He was a good guy. I don’t want him killed because I didn’t research the parentage of who I randomly chose to sit with.”
I hold my breath as Magnus looks down his nose at me. I wish I hadn’t come to him with this—I should have just swallowed my discomfort and asked my father about it. Or, better yet, I should have handled it myself.
“Fine,” Magnus says finally. “If you’re concerned that your friend will be harmed within the borders of Hydratta, I can take care of that for you. I’ll ask extra guards to watch him and his family…but I can’t control what happens when they return to Vernallis.”
I nod. “That’s good enough. Thank you.”
“Kastian,” Magnus calls after me as I turn to leave.
I stop short, startled. Magnus hardly ever uses my first name—not at least without a “Prince” ahead of it. I turn back around. “Yes?”
“While we’re discussing it, I should mention that this isn’t the first I’ve heard today of your new acquaintances.”
My stomach sinks. “I really didn’t know who Daemon was. I?—”
“It’s not the bastard prince I’m talking about. Who was the girl?”
My stomach sinks lower. “His sister, I think. Or, maybe a cousin?” I say, trying to make it sound as if I’m not sure. “She’s untitled. I’m not entirely sure how she ended up at this summit.”
He looks at me shrewdly, leaning over his desk. “But you spent a lot of time with her?”
My stomach churns. I suddenly feel as if I’m being scolded by one of my childhood tutors. “I think you must have been misinformed. There wasn’t anything going on that you should be worried about.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Do you know what that girl is?”
Beautiful.
Interesting.
Entirely too tempting.
“No, what do you mean?”
“Several courtiers reported to me today that you were spending time with a siren. That’s not a good idea. Not for you or for the future of this court. The sirens have abilities that would make any man behave against his usual nature.”
My eyebrows raise, not least because this is the first I’m hearing that Magnus has courtiers who report to him—aboutme.
Does my father know that’s happening? Did he perhaps put Magnus up to it, or is the advisor acting alone?
And all that aside, what does he mean Odessa is a siren?
“You have to be mistaken,” I say sharply. “I told you, she’s the Baron of Ashwater’s cousin. Her family is all Fae.”
“And how do you think sirens came to be?” he says, a note of condescension in his tone.
“I don’t know. I never thought about it,” I growl, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
Magnus sinks into the chair behind his desk and gestures for me to sit in an armchair across from him. I decline, choosing to stay standing.
He narrows his eyes at me, but continues his explanation. “The sirens are only ever born female, so in order to keep breeding they crawl out of the oceans and entice Fae males to father their children. Technically, all sirens are half Fae—though that half doesn’t often materialize.”
“Usually, the sirens return to the sea before their daughters are born and the spawn never know what life is like to live on land. Rarely, however, a siren is coerced or imprisoned on landlong enough for the baby to be born and raised among the Fae. Then, they become something altogether more dangerous.”
“More dangerous in what way?”
