Chapter 37
Elva
Iwatched from the shadows as the traitors hurried away.
Something had felt off; I noticed it when I had seen her in Tyndorf.
She’d been louder and more boastful than usual, a feat I hadn't thought possible. When she found us again, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.
Coral had always been a troublemaker in Konvern, even when we were children.
She disliked authority, preferring to do things her way.
It never even occurred to me she may have been exiled too, the same as I had, but now, seeing the dejection in her eyes and frustration on River and Talia’s faces, I knew she had.
Whether the others might have left with her willingly or had been cast out, I couldn’t say for sure, but I knew they were driven by desperation.
They were clearly in a worse situation than my brothers and me, otherwise they’d never have sold out a fellow siren, even if they disliked Leifur.
Njall’s head swiveled nervously as Coral prodded him along the path.
I knew I’d been discovered, but I wanted to see what they’d do next.
Sirens had a particular way of moving when we traveled in groups—never more than three abreast, with our best seer leading and our best listener at the rear.
Of all the casts, warrior sirens were the stealthiest, and Coral was indeed a very silent hiker.
But I was better. They weaved around bushes, trees, and mounds of earth, trying to throw me off the scent, but Coral had made a crucial mistake—she’d touched what was mine.
After years of sleeping side by side, I knew Sindri’s scent.
I’d smelled it on her at the camp, and I could still get a whiff of it now.
Not only did I smell Sindri, I could also smell Leifur’s blood on her, and Njall’s arousal was mixed with Talia's.
No one touches what belongs to me.
I kept my distance and followed them.
After more than an hour of walking in circles and backtracking, all of which I presumed was a failed attempt to lose me, the group found their stride again and made some headway toward whomever it was that Coral was meeting.
Despite everything, I was still undecided: should I reveal myself to the trio of sirens alone, or spare them and deal with the humans they planned to sell Njall to? In the end, the prince decided for me.
Njall stumbled and fell again, unable to keep up with the sirens’ relentless pace with his hands bound behind him.
His face slammed into the ground, making him cry out in shock and pain.
Coral cursed and yanked him up by his collar.
Blood streamed from his nose as he struggled to maintain composure, but he was suffering.
River joined Coral in trying to hoist Njall to his feet, but he'd had enough and refused to cooperate.
All three shouted at him, and Talia even kicked him in the hip, but he would not yield to them.
Finally, Coral drew her sword and took a step toward Njall.
As tensions escalated, I seized my opportunity.
My first dagger deftly sliced across Coral's knuckles, causing her to drop her weapon with a shrill cry.
The next dagger soared through the air so quickly that by the time River pulled her bow from her back, the string was already severed.
Talia unsheathed two of her daggers and took a fighting stance, though the tremble in her left hand and her heaving chest betrayed her fear.
“Elva? If you show yourself, I won’t fight you.”
Talia had always been the smart one in the group. I emerged from the shadows, daggers at the ready.
Her daggers thudded to the ground, and she retreated several steps. “I won’t fight you. Take what you want.”
I rolled my eyes. How she’d made it through training to be a warrior siren, I'd never know. Coral and River gathered behind Talia, and I eyed them both, knowing they couldn’t be trusted.
“Untie him,” I commanded, gesturing toward the battered and bound Njall.
Talia obeyed me, but was interrupted as River lunged toward me with a sudden ferocity.
I was caught off guard; I'd been expecting Coral's attack, not her's. I pivoted and slammed the heel of my hand into River’s chin.
She screamed, toppling into Talia, and they both crashed to the ground.
Coral tried to capitalize on the chaos and moved for me, but Njall had gotten to his feet and lunged at her with all the force he could muster.
With blood spurting from her nose, the siren clutched her face and let out a horrific wail.
I extended my claws and sliced through the rope binding Njall’s wrists, then pushed one of my daggers into his hand. “Go,” I ordered, but he hesitated, eyes darting between the wounded sirens and me.
“No,” he replied.
“I don’t have time to argue with you.”
“Then don’t.”
He reeked of Talia, and I hated how much it bothered me. With a growl of frustration, I turned and stomped my boot down on Coral’s hand as she reached for her fallen sword. “You have one chance.”
“For what?” she spat through clenched teeth.
“Tell me the truth about what happened to my brothers ... before I decide you already hurt them and kill you.”
“We sold them,” Talia replied, voice trembling. “I’m sorry, Elva. We needed the money.”
I glanced at River. She wouldn't meet my eyes, and I knew it was true.
“When?”
“Two days ago,” Talia said, “to a group of guards.” Coral tried to shush her, but Njall had picked up her blade and held it to her face, silencing her.
Talia explained how they’d been discovered by the group of Huestur men who were hunting for me and Njall.
Coral knew my brothers and that I had been responsible for freeing the prince.
She'd been the one to rat us out. They took the gold in exchange for telling the men where my brothers were supposed to wait for me.
Their betrayal stung, but I understood why they’d done it.
Unlike them, my brothers blend in and charm others into giving us what we need.
Men didn't fear them; they didn't lose control in their presence. Mostly, guards would simply ignore us. Three female sirens traveling together would have none of those advantages. I didn’t want to punish them for what they'd done to my brothers, but I needed to know they regretted their choice—that it had been a last resort.
“Where are you meeting them?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes as each siren averted her gaze from mine. Njall had to press the blade harder against Coral’s cheek to get her to talk.
“How much?” I pressed on, arms crossed. “How much did they pay you to betray your kind?”
“Elva—” Coral began, but I threw a dagger at her. It whizzed past her cheek, slicing just enough to make her bleed. I knew it was deep enough to scar. Right now, I didn't care.
“A hundred gold pieces each. Not nearly enough,” River finally answered.
“Liars,” Njall spat. “They told me it was a thousand.”
My hands clenched into tight fists when I heard that amount.
At least they hadn't broken our code for some paltry sum, but a thousand gold pieces wouldn't last long, not with Talia and River’s tastes. Anger seethed within me. I opened my hands, and my nails quickly sprouted into claws. It was already the end of my third week, and that meant my siren was hovering near the surface. If I lingered any longer, she’d wreak havoc on them all, and while I would love to see Coral on the ground, begging for mercy, my priority had to be getting my brothers back.
I turned and headed toward the dark woods.
“You’re letting us go?” Talia asked, her voice laced with both relief and disbelief.
“Be grateful,” I spat in reply, eyes blazing in a mixture of anger and sorrow. “I should kill you all for turning on your kind, but we lose enough of our kin to other species hating us. I will not add to that count unnecessarily.”
“Thank you,” Coral whispered.
I headed into the dark forest growth with Njall behind me. Neither of us said anything until we found a disintegrating log to sit on and let us catch our breath.
“I expected you to have run off,” I said, breaking the long, awkward silence.
“I expected you to kill them. Guess we’re both surprised.”
I sighed and shrugged at him. “Killing my kind is harder than you’d expect. The pain lingers.”
“Is that the only reason?”
I shook my head. “River is loud. She’d have screamed and brought the guards to us.”
Njall regarded me solemnly and nodded, as if he understood all the conflicted feelings running through me.
I could have asked him if he wanted them dead.
It would have been the considerate thing to do, after what he had done to the captain for me, but my changing feelings for him were already getting me into trouble with my siren side, so I ignored it. But I should find out if he was okay.
“Are you alright? I mean, did they hurt you?”
He held his hands up, examining the damaged flesh on his wrists before looking at me. “I’ll heal.”
“Then let’s go free my brothers.”
Despite the dim morning light, we found our old camp, guided by the faint glow of dying embers.
By the time we got there, the sun had risen.
The knowledge that my brothers were being held by Huestur guards was infuriating and terrifying.
Leifur would be fine. He knew how to keep his mouth shut, but if Sindri said something stupid, it would get them both into trouble.
The idea sent me scrambling to pack our camp, shoving things randomly into bags without order or concern for what was mixed.
I startled when a gentle hand touched my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Elva?”