Page 60 of Siren's Kiss & Feral Beasts
“I should’ve never run from him,” I say to the open room. It’s a beautiful cell, I’ll give them that. With pearl accents, soft sea-silk bedding, and polished stone finishes, the room is bright and airy with a sophisticated feel.They pamper with appearances and neglect everything else.To the right, there’s a small eating area where plates of old seaweed bread and kelp crackers await me, while to the left, there’s the powder room. Not much else outside of the bed, and anything of entertainment value has been removed to help me reflect on my wrongdoings.
I move carefully from the bed to the chair, not wanting to be caught unaware by Orion, who’s due for a visit. His daily lecture, and today, I’ll welcome him with a stone to the head if he tries to kiss me again.
Yesterday, the general cornered me in the powder room while I brushed my hair and earned himself a slap, then my ornate brush slammed against his temples. He didn’t like it and slapped me, re-aggravating my bruises, which I’m sure made him happy. Because the male ego, I’ve learned, is a fragile thing, and one word can send it into a tailspin of despair.
Victim blaming. Aggressor excuses.
Exhaling roughly through my nose, I try to find my calm before the interrogations begin. My fingers curl around the rock hidden beneath my dress, the only weapon I have to protect myself, and I sharpened it myself against the polished-stone table.
Its legs have just enough damage to be visible only if you really look at it, and they won’t.
General Orion glides into the room at exactly two in the afternoon, dumping another plate of crackers before turning to stare me down. Sometimes he’s polite. Others not so much. Today, I can tell it’s going to be the latter. “Where’s the stone, Nerissa?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answer, voice even. Face calm. My eyes meet his steadily, and I refuse to flinch. “You might want to be more specific.”
Frustration ripples from him; he slams a hand on the table, sending all the uneaten bread and crackers to the floor. His sneer game is strong, too. “This is not a game, Princess. Where the fuck is the Cordis Lux? You’re grandmother?—”
“Correction—my grandfather. Get the facts straight.” The silence that follows is thick, suffocating, and I let it settle around me like a familiar cloak. Unbothered.Weeks of this, and I’vestopped counting. Giving a single fuck.“Come back and see me when you have a better pitch, because right now, all you’re doing is pissing me off, Orion. For once, be man enough to be honest and tell me what you need it for. What ourkingis truly after.”
“With me, it would’ve hurt less. Have it your way.” He leaves the room, and silence envelops me again. I think of Kai and my mistakes, how much happier I could’ve been if I’d spoken up and asked for help. The aches in my body are a constant reminder of the separation. Especially when I refuse to share dreams with him. In our dreams, he sees me as I am, and I don’t want to worry him more than he already is.
Because I know what my expression will show.
Being without one’s mate is uncommon and comes with physical consequences; I hurt.
My soul. My body. My heart.
How could Grandma live like this for so long?
Months apart, and to me, it feels like death, while she put up with it for over a century. She played the martyr, and for what? At the end of the day, she’s still miserable without Ephraim. My mother would’ve understood, never held it against her mother, as she believed in the sanctity of fated unions.
Political alliances through marriage are a disgrace, unless both parties have been widowed.
He hasn’t forgotten me.
Whispers I know to be true. I’ve heard things. The water carries secrets like sacred whispers; they travel far and always reach an audience, and with nothing else to do, I’ve made listening an art form. During the day, if I grab a chair and drag it toward the only small window in the room, one so small I could never swim through, and wait…
The gossip begins.
From the markets. From palace employees.
I hear it all, and my alpha’s been busy looking for me. Destroying anything in his path, including the territories belonging to the vampires. Herds are being freed and the compounds burned to the ground, three in total so far.
I’m proud of him for that.
A thought that fades away when Naia appears. She looks fragile, worn down by her own battles, but sharp-eyed as ever. Still trying to read me like an open book, the problem is I’m no longer the same girl she knew from a couple of months ago.
“You…Gods, Neri. They took you,” she whispers, and I’m not quite surewhoshe’s talking about. Who is they? Because from where I’m sitting, she’s part of that mess.
“Yup.” Flat, my voice is lifeless and tired, but steady. “Here I am.”
Naia swallows hard and her eyes grow glassy. “I’m sorry, Neri. So fucking sorry.”
“And yet you helped them?” Accusatory? Yes. Am I going to apologize for it? Absolutely not.
“You don’t understand…he…fuck!” She swallows hard, rubbing a hand down her tired face. “Orion did a partial claim to keep me by his side. I can’t deny or resist him. It’s literally impossible and he knows this, uses it against me, and I hate myself because I still love him.” Naia’s lips tremble. “He’s my mate.”
“How did you betray me?” My tail becomes legs before I realize what’s happening and I’m pacing the room, back and forth, as I wait for the answer. “What exactly did you do?”
