Chapter 26 #2
“I was given impossible conditions to break it, and I’m almost out of time. So forget it, sweetheart.”
I kicked at an ebony bedpost, too frustrated and confused to even consider losing myself in the opulent comfort of the silken sheets and pillows.
A distant rumble echoed throughout the room, reverberating outside the window as rain pattered against the glass.
I pushed the window open, desperate for the cool sensation of raindrops, but the air was muggy, and the rain was tepid…
like the sickening warmth of blood droplets.
A shiver coursed down my spine as I retracted my hand and stared out the window, high above the country of my enemies.
Thunderclouds smothered the evening sky so not even a single moonbeam could worm its way down to reach me.
Far below the window, rain churned up the ash and dirt to create a complete mud bath surrounding the castle.
If I were to rip off those ridiculous silk sheets and tie them together to the bed, I might be able to climb down to the ground, but I could distinctly see shapes and shadows slinking about in the darkness below. Probably Mourner guards.
The entire world trembled as I took in the sights and considered my next course of action.
I gripped the windowsill as the stone shuddered beneath my feet, fearing that the very ceiling might crumble, but the castle stood strong.
It was over in a matter of seconds. A burst of orange liquid shot from the peak of the volcano in the distance, lighting the sky and the whole island with a pillar of lava.
The dotted flames dispersed throughout the city were nothing compared to the volcano’s fury.
A rap on the door pulled me away from the window. I held my dagger behind my back, but my heart swelled. Hopefully it was Rei, and he would tell me I was dreaming and that he loved me.
I opened the door. “Reiven?”
“Good evening, Siren.”
My heart sunk the moment I met Tamayo’s petrifying eyes.
“My nephew is still busy catching up with his siblings,” she said. “They’ve been apart for eight years, so they have quite a bit to say to each other. I supposed I should come and say hello to you in his absence. May I come in?”
I swallowed and backed away, but I didn’t answer. This woman…She was truly unsettling, and not just because she was a Mourner.
Tamayo laughed lightly and shut the door behind her. “Not to worry. I cannot harm you tonight, Siren.” She said it as though it were a pity.
“What do you want?”
“I just want you to know the truth, dear. Spirits know my nephew will only tell you half-truths, anything to get what he wants. That is sadly who he always has been, and it isn’t befitting a prince at all.
” She clucked her tongue and came closer.
“You seemed terribly confused in the throne room…What, did he not tell you who he was? That spilling your lifeblood is the key to solving every one of his problems, all of his agonies?”
“Aren’t you the one who put the curse on him?”
Tamayo flicked her finger at me, but instead of flames as I expected, only the shadows writhing beneath the sconces jumped towards me.
Pressure settled over me as the shadows wrapped around my arms and legs, squeezing tightly around the hand that clutched the Flamevein Obsidian knife.
The tendrils of darkness held my arm steadfast, no matter how I struggled.
Tamayo circled me slowly. “Of course I cursed him after what he did. That boy was rebellious and erratic. There was no controlling his temper or the devastation he brought with him everywhere he went. My fool of a brother and his wife couldn’t bring themselves to see any fault in their precious child…
Something ghastly had to happen to make them understand that Reiven did nothing but soil the name Miyasagi.
If he were allowed to become king, his lack of discipline would only spell disaster for our people.
Truly, it was a blessing in disguise, what happened to Jin. ”
Venom infused her every word. She clasped her hands behind her back and kept her chin raised, releasing the strange shadow-hold she had on my arm without even glancing my way.
The pearl-colored satin of her dress swished as she continued to circle me, like a shark patiently considering the best way to rip apart a wounded dolphin.
“Eight peaceful years have gone by, and now he thinks he can come back to wreak more havoc upon us. Do you think he’s going to spare you, Siren? ”
The walls of the bedroom closed in on me. I was trapped, restrained by the very echo of honesty in her voice. Thunder and wind and rain pounded on the castle, as if the world outside screamed for me to drop my knife and run.
“Did he trick you into believing he cares about you? Allow me to put his lies to rest for you, dear, because Reiven cares for no one but himself. The curse I placed upon him forbade his return to Ghrysim Isle without having completed his task of spilling a Siren’s lifeblood.
Disregarding such a restriction has deadly consequences, but as he so vainly said in the throne room, since he’s here to challenge Hell, the Fire Spirit protects him from the curse for now.
However…the moment he exits the Flames Below—if he has not dispelled his curse, he will die. ”
My mind had to work to wrap itself around her words. Is she saying that if he doesn’t kill me, Reiven will be executed by his curse, just for returning to this island?
Fresh horror descended upon me in layers, and Tamayo continued to make it worse.
“Even if he didn’t want to kill you, he’s ensnared in his own foolishness. His only options are to succumb to his curse or kill another. Which do you think he’ll choose?”
I clenched my fists and let my thoughts return to Reiven.
I told him I trusted him. Was I to renounce him less than a week later?
Was my faith in others truly that fragile after one tragic mistake with Vaetrik, despite everything Reiven had shown me?
Maybe I should have kept a wall of ice around my heart, but at that point, it was far too late.
Reiven and Ash had already melted my frozen heart, and I wanted nothing more than to trust in both of them.
More than anyone, I wanted to believe in Reiven.
I tried to keep my voice strong. “Rei said he won’t break the curse. He told me that he couldn’t do it, long before I even knew what the conditions were, and I believe him.” A cloud of anxiety lifted off of me the moment I said it, and warmth bloomed in my chest.
But Tamayo just shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t share your confidence.
Truthfully, the condition of a Siren’s lifeblood to lift his curse…
I meant it as an unattainable feat, to ensure he could never return.
Both of his siblings are more easily managed than he ever was, so I knew that with one of them on the throne, I’d be able to take care of our people.
But now, the well-being of all Mourners will be at stake when he kills you and regains his position and power. I cannot let that happen, Siren.”
She paused and considered me for one long moment.
Every shadow in the room grew long, stretching like black claws over me.
“Since I cannot destroy you myself, I’ll ensure that the fall doesn’t kill you.
But those sailors the pirate captain and Druinn general brought along…
Well, they are under no such restrictive obligations. ”
Ropes of pure darkness seized my limbs again and hurled me backwards.
Glass shattered as I crashed through the window, leaving tiny slices across my skin that stung in the harsh wind which accompanied my plunge from the castle tower.
The light of the window shrank so quickly, I didn’t have time to scream.
But true to her word, right before I hit the ground, the shadows in the air slowed my fall so I didn’t splatter out of existence.
The impact still stole the breath from my lungs, and as I lay stunned, a small crowd of Humans gathered around me.
They carried cutlasses and pistols, all of which they pointed right at me.
“Kill her quickly, so we can get that reward,” one of the pirates said.
I wanted to roll my eyes at their predictability. I had held onto my knife, but I couldn’t move to defend myself. Mud soaked through my clothing, caked in my hair and on my skin, weighing me down.
Maybe death is a simple kindness.
I managed to shut my eyes as someone leveled a pistol at my forehead. Hopefully, Hell for a dead Siren would mean an endless depth of the saltiest ocean water, and an eternity of floating without a care in the world.
A crack of gunfire split the air, yet I didn’t feel any pain. Odd.
“Step the fuck away from her.”
I couldn’t raise my head to see him, but my lips twitched into a smile, despite the bitter taste of mud. My favorite Human, the sweet boy that I had never heard utter a swear before, spoke again in that shockingly commanding voice.
“I said, step the fuck away from my friend, or I’ll blow all your damn heads off.”