Page 52 of When the Wicked Sing
“Stop—”
“You are forgetting who you are, Daxon!”
He bit his lip and struggled to keep his voice calm despite the instinct to yell right back. “Spiro.” He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves. “Protecting all of you is all I want to do. Just let me do that.”
Spiro shook their head and released a heavy sigh. Taking a seat at the long table, they regarded him carefully. “What’s the point of giving up your life if you don’t even remember what you’re trying to protect?”
Dax began to chuckle as he rubbed a hand over his face. Why were the idiotic gods punishing him?
“The past century has been all about keeping Kythera safe. To keep what’s left of our tribe alive. That’s worth every sacrifice I can make. And if it means giving up a life for myself, then so be it.”
The look Spiro gave him made his heart clench. It was time to go.
“Mari has agreed to keep Kythera secret. You’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Spiro nodded. “I trust her.”
“Storm’s on the way. We’ll leave tomorrow once it’s passed.” He walked toward the door. Spiro’s voice stopped him.
“What will happen to her when you get to Aurelia?”
Dax glanced over his shoulder and knew the moment Spiro saw the answer.
Without saying another word, he left the conference room, his fists tight as he walked back toward the clinic. The tension tightened his spine, making his shoulders and neck ache.
After everything he’d done, it was still not enough. He was always failing in some way. In their eyes, he should be home, embracing nature. Nature was not their shield; he was.
He didn’t need his tribe’s gratitude. He just needed them to understand and let him suffer without the extra burden of guilt.
As he stepped into the cabin, darkness greeted him. There was an empty plate on the table, the bed was empty, and Mari was nowhere to be seen. His gaze wandered to the slightly open door leading to the balcony at the back, and he spotted the siren sitting in one of the hanging chairs through the crack. She may look like a fae after what her mother did to her, but he knew that trapped beneath, she was still every bit a siren.
She was wrapped in a fur blanket, and her deep teal hair blew gently in the wind. The edge of the storm was nearing. He stepped out and sat down in the chair beside her.
She glanced at him, her face less swollen than when she’d been crying. “How are you feeling?” he asked gently.
She lifted a shoulder. “I have to accept what’s happened and find a solution. Letting it fester like an infected wound won’t help me.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it.”
“It’s the only way I know how.”
They fell silent and remained on the balcony until the sun began to set. The sky reminded Dax of a painting. The mix of colors coated everything the light could touch in a soft orange and rose hue.
When Dax glanced over at Mari, he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. All he saw was her. A pale gold light kissed her skin in the final moments before the sun dipped behind the mountains.
“Wanna take a walk?” he asked, praying she would say yes. He wasn’t sure why he needed to be in her presence, but something about her calmed him.
“In the rain?” she asked, glancing toward the misty forest.
“Yes. It’ll also be dark soon.”
She stood up, leaving the blanket in the chair. “Absolutely.”
Chapter 28
“Youknow,whenyouasked me if I wanted to take a walk in the rain and the dark, this wasn’t what I was imagining,” Mariana said as she struggled to get her feet out of the thick mud she was currently stuck in. The squelching sound of her boots echoed in the damp forest, blending with the steady patter of rain against the dense canopy above.
Water dripped over her forehead, down her nose, and onto her lips, leaving a cold, bitter taste. Her hair was soaked, plastered against her scalp, but at least her skin stayed relatively dry with the leather coat and pants she wore. The coat, a gift from Kenna, clung to her like a second skin, offering a small shield against the relentless elements.
