1. Thea
Chapter one
Thea
Earth
A long time ago
T he blue of the sky was different here. In the Autumn Court, the sky was a darker blue with an overlay of dusky orange, making it appear more like the twilight hours on Earth. It was more than that, though. The stars shone brighter, as though you could reach out and hold one in the palm of your hand if you flew high enough in the sky.
Melanie and I had tried often enough as young children. Even now, many years later, she could on the rare occasion goad me into trying to catch the stars. Today, she’d taunted me into visiting Earth. I wasn’t opposed to sifting through the realms and coming here. It was her request to find men and lure them to us I found tiring.
“Thea,” Melanie said, flying back to me after she’d streamed ahead through the baby blue sky.
“Yes?”
“Down there.” She pointed. “A fisherman’s village.”
“I see it.”
“Let’s head there for a bit of fun. We can pretend we’re like Great-Grandmother.” She laughed and flipped into a dive from the heights of the sky to the coastal town below.
I hovered in the air. I was tired of Melanie’s antics, but as her sister, I had to support her. As the siren queen, though, I should talk to her about cutting back her visits to Earth. Humans weren’t the most welcoming to us, which was no surprise since we sang them to enthrallment. Most sirens used the men, then returned them to Earth. Some overused them and inadvertently killed them. There was only so much of our singing a human could take. Other supernatural beings endured more of our voice and were the better choice, but we could never stop singing to humans.
Melanie landed on the ground and lifted her head to the sky. I dove in a flash of my golden wings. The wind whipped back the long braid of my hair. I longed to let the tight braid down and fly with the fingers of the wind caressing my head. As I landed on the ground, I snapped my wings into my body. Some humans ran when they saw our wings because they recognized who we were and how our singing would affect them. Melanie had already concealed her wings and stared at the village with hunger in her gaze.
“Just one today, Mel,” I said.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“We’ll have fun with one. You know that.”
“I suppose.” She pouted her bottom lip in the way she had since she was a toddler. Only then it had looked adorable. Now, it was a ridiculous expression for a siren of her age.
“Of you go then.” I waved her toward the town.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“In a minute. I’ll give you the chance to choose first.”
Her pout disappeared as she sneered. “I don’t need you to treat me like I couldn’t win a man over you.”
I slowly folded my arms over my chest as I stared at her. She couldn’t win a man over my song. As the siren queen, my voice was more powerful, more alluring, in every way more than hers. Even though she was my twin and made from the same two people, a siren queen, and her fae mate, our powers were vastly different. As the child born first, I’d received more power.
Melanie spun in a whirl of red silk and disappeared inside the tavern. Moments later, her voice echoed through the building. Damn her, now every man in the building would be under her thrall. I charged into the tavern. Melanie sat on the piano singing a sultry song about lovers. Every head turned her way. Not one man could look away from her thrall.
I stomped over to her and grabbed her arm. “I said one.”
“There are only five here and I couldn’t pick.” She waved her arm at the men.
Couldn’t pick? Did she think me a fool? She’d purposely sung to all the males, so they’d all be hers. That wasn’t what upset me, though. It was her lack of respect for what I’d said since I was her queen.
She grabbed both my hands. “Please, Thea,” she pleaded. “I didn’t mean to. They were all so handsome and the pianist started playing. My voice slipped out.”
I softened slightly. She was my twin. How could I stay mad at her?
“Have your fun then. I’m heading back to the Autumn Court.”
I left her to the men, the village, and Earth. Outside, I flared my wings, launched myself into the air, and traveled back to the Autumn Court.
The Autumn Court
Raelin, my handmaiden, sat across from me before the fireplace in the library. The flames crackled the dry timber, sending glowing embers into the chimney. I flicked the page in the leather-bound book, not paying attention to the words.
Melanie strolled into the library and flounced on another chair. “Are you mad at me?”
Raelin closed her book and hurried from the room.
I laid my book face down on the table and said, “No. I’m disappointed.”
She frowned. “But it’s what we do.”
I placed my hands on my lap. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to choose a mate.”
“What?” She sat up in a hurry. “Why?”
“Mother chose a mate, and she was happy. I want to be happy like her and Father.”
“But luring men to us with our song makes us happy. Why would you give that up?”
“I can sing to my mate so I wouldn’t be giving it up,” I said. “Don’t you remember hearing Mother’s voice drifting through the castle when they were on their night walks?”
“Yes.”
“She kept singing even after she had a mate. I will too.”
“But then you won’t come with me to Earth and sing for men.”
“No, I won’t. I’m tired of those visits anyway,” I said, sitting back in the chair.
A calm peace descended on me now I’d told her my plan. I’d discussed it with Raelin first before Melanie arrived back in the Autumn Court and she’d been most enthusiastic about my decision to choose a mate. Siren rarely chose one man to keep. My decision shocked Melanie, but as the queen, I needed to produce heirs to the throne. It was my duty to keep our lineage reining.
“How will you choose?” Melanie stood and paced over to the fireplace.
“Only the best will do.”
“Obviously.”
“I’ll hold a contest with many trials to determine who will be my mate.”
She turned her back to me and stared into the fire. “You’ve thought about this.”
“I have.” I stood and watched the tight muscles of her shoulders contract with each deep inhale.
My sister might not agree with my decision, but she’d have to live with it.
“I’m the queen. I need to produce an heir to the throne. It’s what Mother and Father would have wanted, too.”
She turned to face me. Shadows from the fire flittered over her face. Her lips spread into a smile.
“Of course,” she said. “They’d want you to be happy too.”
“I’m happy the way I am.”
She dropped my gaze and walked from the room. I settled back in the chair and picked up the discarded book. It didn’t matter how many books I read, I still couldn’t find the reason my father had died, but I’d keep searching for the rest of my immortal life. One day I’d discover who killed him, and when I did, I’d get vengeance for Mother.
One day soon, I’d have a mate of my own. A tingle of excitement filled my stomach at the notion of a man to call mine.