Chapter 35 Luka
LUKA
Lennox didn’t let go of me as Luce and Yemaya rushed toward us. Lennox stiffened, rising to stand and pulling me with her, both of us reaching for our weapons.
“What the fuck happened here?” Luce asked, her eyes scanning the room.
Yemaya held her hands up in surrender as Lennox glared at her. “I’m not a siren,” she said gently.
“She brought me here, Lennox,” Luce said gently. “When we found out you guys were missing, she knew it was Sidna, she led me here to find you.”
“My sister—she’s always been different. Strange.
She prefers to be alone. Which is why she has this residence.
We’re above ground now, in her secluded cabin.
Her preferred mode of fun is using her siren song to manipulate others to her advantage.
She’s been doing things like this since she was young. ”
“And you don’t do anything to stop her?” Lennox seethed. I could feel the rage radiating off her.
“You think I don’t try? The only person who can control a siren is another siren, and they are few and far between for this reason exactly. I take a tonic daily to ward myself from being compelled by my own sister. If I could stop her I would.”
“You could kill her,” Lennox offered.
“She’s my sister.” Yemaya’s gaze swung to Lennox. “I’m sure you can understand. Would you kill one of your siblings because they made questionable choices?”
“This is not the time and place to discuss this. Why should I trust you?” Lennox gripped her blade tighter. “Your sister used her siren abilities to force me to stab Luka. So sorry if I don’t blindly trust you.”
“Fuck,” Luce swore, her gaze bouncing around the room. “Are you okay?”
Lennox all but growled. “He is now because I somehow was able to overcome the siren song. But only after I stabbed my mate.”
I flinched. “I don’t know how she managed to overcome it, but she did. Sidna told her to stab me again, but she fought it and turned on her.”
I don’t know how, but she had. What I had told Lennox was partly a joke, that her love overpowered the compulsion, maybe that wasn’t what it was, but something in her was able to snap it.
I knew right away she was under some kind of spell.
Her eyes were not her own, they lacked their sparkle, and her movements were stiff, not fluid like Lennox’s usually were.
“So, I will not be trusting you blindly,” Lennox reiterated.
“Let me show you,” Yemaya countered before Lennox could argue.
Lennox’s shoulders stiffened as Yemaya took two slow steps toward me, reaching into her pocket and producing a metal mask.
“Put this on her.” I took the mask from her hesitantly, turning the form over in my hands.
“It’s magically enhanced, once it’s on her it nullifies her siren powers.
The clasp on the back can only be undone with this key.
” The silver key in her hand flashed before she threw it to Lennox.
“I always keep it on hand, it’s not the first time this has happened. ”
I met Yemaya’s gaze. “Put it on her so we can wake her up and ask her what the fuck she was thinking.” There was an edge to Yemaya’s voice now. Lennox tilted her head to look at the mermaid.
Lennox slipped the key into her pocket and reached for the mask.
“You put it on her.” Lennox held out the mask to the female.
Yemaya took the mask from Lennox’s hand and bent over her sister, fastening the mask over Sidna’s face.
“We need to get her back to Thalassa. Once she’s secured, we can question her.”
“No, I want her brought to Salacia,” Lennox countered. “Ceto and Alon will help deal with her accordingly.”
Yemaya said nothing, only dipped her chin as she stood next to her sister’s mangled form.
“Where are the rest of our friends?” Panic pressed against my sternum. They had been with us when Sidna started her siren call, where were they now? What had the siren done with them?
“I made them wait outside, whatever Sidna was up to, it only included the two of you. They were left in the antechamber unconscious.”
Declan appeared at the door, Nol and Nico behind him.
“Lucy won rock, paper, scissors; that’s why she got to come in, and we had to wait outside.”
“What the fuck happened here?” Declan’s voice was stern as he surveyed the room.
“Lennox stabbed Luka under the control of the siren song,” Luce said matter of fact.
“She did what?” Declan all but growled.
“But don’t worry, she resisted it before stabbing me again and knocked the bitch out.” I slung an arm over Lennox’s shoulder. “No offense,” I said to Yemaya.
“None taken. But let’s get out of here.” She knelt next to her sister, “Will someone help me carry her? It’s getting late and you never know what kinds of creatures lurk in these parts.”
Declan grabbed Sidna, throwing her over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
We followed Declan out the door, I brought up the rear, taking one last look at the room.
My blood still stained the floor in dark patches; we’d leave that for someone to clean up later.
Sidna, I hoped, she was responsible for it after all.
I resisted a shiver as my gaze raked over the cages.
What was Sidna’s intention? To keep us in cages and then what?
Or did she only want Lennox? Why would she try to kill me if she wanted me too?
I had a lot of fucking questions for Sidna when we returned to the surface. I closed the door behind me and joined my friends outside.
When I turned around, I found my friends frozen in place as they stared down a group of strangers.
“Who are you?” Declan asked firmly, shifting Sidna’s limp form on his shoulder.
“Who are you?” one of the males asked, him and his companion’s faces were all covered by black masks covering the top halves of their faces—masks that resembled the ones the Vanir typically wore.
For fucks sake.
“We’re here to pick up some packages, but it looks like we’re a bit too late.” He eyed Sidna’s unconscious body. “Or there was a miscommunication.” His eyes flicked across our group. “Which one of you is Sidna?”
Yemaya back straightened. “I’m her sister; what business do you have with her?”
The man hesitated; I watched as his hand moved to his thigh. “We’re here for a trade, and we had a meeting. She didn’t mention anything about a sister, or anyone else meeting to assist her.”
“Whatever business you have with her, forget it,” Yemaya said, her voice firm.
The man scoffed. “No sure luck. We had a deal.”
“I am your High Queen, I demand you to forget it,” Lennox said, stepping forward.
The male’s eyes gleamed as he narrowed in on my wife. “Exactly who we were looking for.”
I pounced before the male could even look in my direction, my blade slashing across his chest.
He cried out, grabbing at his wound as chaos ensued.
Declan deposited Sidna by the door and took off into the fray with the rest of us. Even Yemaya pulled a long, curved knife from underneath her dress.
I turned back toward the male whose chest I slashed; he had regained his bearings and roared toward me with fury burning in his eyes. I dodged the ark of his sword, hitting him in the back of the arm, his sword fell to the ground as he swore.
I summoned vines, directing them to wrap around his legs as I landed a punch to his jaw. Blood spurted from his mouth as he tripped, tumbling to the ground with his restricted legs. I kept one eye on him as he tried to crawl away—he wouldn’t get far.
I looked over my shoulder, finding Lennox smiling as she withdrew her weapon from a light-skinned female, her body falling to the ground.
Her gaze landed on mine, a vicious smirk widening across her blood-splattered face. Goddess, I loved her. My beautiful, vicious creature.
The fighting around us died as Lennox and I looked at one another. “I’ve got one alive,” I said finally, my gaze not leaving Lennox’s.
“Bring him inside,” Yemaya directed.
“No, we need to get the fuck out of here. We take him and your sister and go back to Salacia now. We need to question them and figure out what the fuck is going on.” Declan’s tone allowed no room for debate.
I turned back toward my bound captive. He had gone oddly still, he no longer tried to scurry away.
I kicked his foot. “Hey.” His head lolled to the side, his gray eyes wide and unblinking.
I swore, bending down to examine him further. “He was alive.”
Lennox knelt in the dirt at my side. “What happened?”
I took his chin in my hand, moving his head from side to side. Foam leaked from his mouth and dripped down his chin, green flecks dotted the substance.
“Poison,” Lennox murmured. I searched through the Vanir male’s pockets, in the top pocket at the top of his black vest I produced a sprig of a leafy plant.
“Dec,” I called, rising to stand. “What is this?”
I dropped the plant into his open hand. He pinched it between his fingers before bringing it to his nose. He sniffed it and rolled it around in between his fingers.
“Nights Vane,” he said finally. “The plant is lethal when consumed.”
“The Vanir are getting smarter,” Nico concluded.
“We need to move faster,” Luciana added.
“Has your city had any other connections with the Vanir? Any run ins?” I turned my attention to Yemaya as Lennox spoke.
Yemaya shook her head. “No, I promise. I first heard of them from your letters and speeches. I don’t approve of my sister’s actions.
I don’t know what she would gain from giving you over to the Vanir—or how she got in contact with them.
I’ve never even heard of any of them residing in Thalassa, not a murmur. ”
“She had to have been in contact with them for a while,” Nol said. “Otherwise how would she have been able to set this up so quickly?”
Yemaya’s face fell. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I never meant any harm to come to you. How can I repay you for my sister’s actions?”
“Your sister’s actions do not reflect on you,” Lennox said.
“You have been nothing but accommodating to me since we arrived this morning—you have shown nothing but kindness and support.” I loved seeing this side of her—when she fully fell into her role as queen.
“I would still like to ally with you if you’re willing.
But I will be leaving it up to Ceto and Alon with what is done with your sister once we question her.
If it were up to me, I’d kill her for what she tried to do, which is why I’ll leave her fate up to the kings. ”
Yemaya nodded her head in understanding, “Thank you for your grace, Your Highness.”
“Lennox, call me Lennox. I think we’re well past pleasantries now.”
I wrapped an arm around Lennox’s shoulder, placing a kiss on her head, finding a spot where blood wasn’t splattered.
“You slayed the enemy by our side,” Nico said, “I think that means we’re friends now.”
“What can I do to repay you?” Yemaya asked.
“Get your troops ready to come with us, as soon as possible.”
“Done,” Yemaya said without question. “I can have those who will rally with you prepped and ready to go the day after tomorrow.”
“Explain to me again what happened.” Alon was silent beside Ceto, who continued to look between all of us.
We had returned to the place instead of going back to Thalassa, Yemaya and Declan had returned from depositing Sidna in the dungeon while the rest of us filled in the kings on what had happened since they left us in the underwater city.
“Sidna, the siren bitch, used her siren call to lure Luka and I into her clutches and forced me to stab my mate before attempting to trade us to the Vanir. What part don’t you understand?”
“I understand it all I just—“
“I thought you had Sidna under control,” Alon cut in, his gaze was icy as he glared at Yemaya.
“I thought I did but—”
“There is no excuse, your sister will face trial for her crimes. Conspiring against the High Queen is a dangerous crime.”
Yemaya looked at the ground. “I understand, Your Majesties.”
“I’m sorry,” Ceto offered.
“You knew about Sidna, that she’s a siren?” Luce questioned.
The kings nodded. “All known sirens are documented in our court. They are a dangerous species, we try our best to keep a tight leash on them but—”
“There is only so much you can do,” I finished for them.
“Exactly,” Ceto agreed.
“We don’t hold Sidna’s transgressions against you,” I told them.
“Speak for yourself.” Lennox crossed her arms over her chest.
“Lennox.” I gave her a stern look.
She sighed. “But I might be able to find it in me to forgive you. But I demand to be kept in the loop about Sidna’s trial. I want to know her fate.”
“Done,” the kings agreed.
Lennox nodded. “If this is settled for now, we will see you all in the morning.”