Page 90 of Song of Her Siren

She gave me a dismissive wave. “I’ve already apologized to you and your mother for believing Thorin’s lies.”

I cleared my throat. “And what about Daminica?”

She opened her eyes, leering at me from beneath thick lashes. “What about her?”

The indifference in which she spoke about Daminica made my blood boil. I curled my hands into claws, very tempted to kill my aunt the same way she’d killed Djall. Wouldn’t it be fitting? I enunciated each word slowly. “You. Killed. Her.”

The bitch actually had the nerve to laugh. “She broke the law.”

“But did she need to die?” Emotion clogged my throat, and I mourned not just Daminica, but my aunt’s blackened soul. I’d been so foolish when last I’d stayed with her, for there had been a small part of me that thought I could change her, that she could become a kind witch once again. But no. She was born evil and would die evil. I swiped moisture from my eyes. “She was a healer, and a kind witch.”

My aunt reached for her wine again, downing the last of it before tossing the goblet in the corner of her bathing room. It clanked when it struck a pile of about a dozen other empty goblets. “She and Veronica kept secrets from me.”

“Aunt, I know you’re grieving, but—”

“You know nothing of my grief!” She shot up in the tub, water sloshing everywhere as black magic leached from her eyes. “You have three mates and a dragon familiar, plus a sister who actually loves you.”

And there it was. The root of her evil. She was jealous because she no longer had Flora’s love. It was the real reason why she’d killed Daminica, because the kind witch and Lady Veronica shared what Malvolia had longed for—a sisterhood.

“You think I’m not going mad with grief?” I clutched my aching chest, rage clouding my vision. “I still can’t get the demon out of Drae, and his soul could already be lost to me.” My voice cracked and splintered, mirroring the fissures in my heart. “I don’t know if Nikkos and Blaze are alive.”

She lay back in her tub with a disgusted snort. “You also have Ember and Aurora.”

“And you have two nieces, too,” I hissed, “but you’re driving Tari away.”

She sneered at me while snatching a wine bottle off the shelf. “Your mother has already turned her against me.”

I stared eye daggers into her chest when she flashed a smug smile. “And you don’t help by flirting with Helian.”

“I share my lovers.” She trailed her fingers down the side of the bottle like she was teasing a man’s penis. “Why can’t she?”

Realization struck, and I finally understood why she antagonized Tari. She wanted my sister to kill her, so she could join Mortimus in the afterlife. She had no right to take the easy way out while we faced these demons without her help.

I slowly unclenched my hands when I felt nails pierce my skin. “Helian is her fated mate.”

Slamming the wine bottle on the shelf, she let out another aggravated groan. “If you’re finished lecturing me, I’d like to grieve my familiar in peace.”

I repressed a curse while taking a step back. “Of course.”

“Close the doors behind you,” she said while grabbing the Helian penis off the shelf and spreading her legs.

I turned on my heels and hurried out of there before I saw what she did with that toy. I’d never been more disgusted by another Fae in my life, and I almost wished Tari would kill her and put us out of our misery.

* * *

Shiri

OF COURSE, MY FAMILYdidn’t wait around at the reception. I found them on the balcony at our suite of rooms. My mother and Marius were surprisingly there, along with Helian’s mother and her lover, Gadea. They sat beneath the moonlight, the cool northern air blowing back their hair while the dragons flew overhead.

Are you all right, Goddess?Isa called down to me through thought.

Of course, I answered, grateful she wasn’t still angry with me from earlier.You?

Bored, she answered while soaring in a slow circle.I want to kill demons.

You may regret that wish soon enough, I warned.

I’m tired of regrets. I’ve had nothing but regrets for twenty-four years.

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