Page 111 of Rise of the Siren Queen
“He’s back?” she asked slowly. “And punishment? What are you talking about, Iryen?”
I winced and pulled back, wiping my face with trembling fingers.
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “He’s back.”
I straightened, though my spine felt like it might snap from the tension coiled inside it. I met her eyes and forced the next words past the tightness in my throat.
“And not just that,” I continued carefully, deliberately. “Elora and Ronan caught him meeting with Thalor.”
The silence between us stretched. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then, like a shadow slicing through calm water, I added the part that made my stomach twist. “They found proof… Thalor was involved in my parents’ murder.”
It hit her like a spear.
Her mouth parted, but no sound came. Her eyes widened—sharp, luminous—and then her expression shattered into something primal. Something venerable. I’d seen her angry before, but not like this. Not in this silence. This stillness came before the storm.
The temperature dropped.
I sensed the change in the water, subtle at first, then biting. Ice bloomed around us, thin, web-like tendrils crystallizing near our tails. Her pupils contracted, serpentine and lethal, and the current twisted around her like it could barely contain her wrath.
It scared me. Even though she was my grandmother, even though I loved her, she was terrifying when angry, and anger didn’t even cover it. She was the Queen of Aetheria—she could break the ocean if she willed it.
I reached out, gently placing a hand on her arm. My fingers brushed her skin—cold, tense, trembling with the urge to destroy something. Anything.
“Grandma,” I said, keeping my voice low, grounding. “I know how it feels. The betrayal. The fury. But Ineedyou with me, not lost to it.”
Her power pulsed, thick and furious, but she heard me.
The cold receded. The icy strands dissolved into softer currents, the water warming again, but her gaze didn’t soften. If anything, it sharpened, glinting with restrained vengeance.
She was still furious. But she was with me.
And right now, that was enough.
“Tell me about the punishment.” Grandma said, her voice clipped with authority. “We’ll deal withthemlater.”
I swallowed the bitterness at the back of my throat, the taste of divine interference lingering like poison. “Sienna delivered a warning. From the goddess herself.” The words scraped out of me like broken coral. “If I defied her… there would be consequences. Not just the pain of separation. Something worse.”
I laughed, hollow and sharp. “And she kept her word. My punishment isme. My powers…I can’t control them.”
Grandma’s expression sharpened into something deadly calm. “What can you still control? Or are all your powers unrestrained?” Her tone was firm, strategic. Calculating. “This is serious, Iryen. If Thalor senses any weakness, he’ll be on you like a blood-starved shark.”
I didn’t need the warning. I’d already felt that blade at my back. Thalor would tear into me the second he caught a scent of vulnerability. And Draven, gods. The thought of him beside Thalor made my skin crawl. How could they haveeveraligned? What kind of game were they playing?
“My healing abilities and hydrokinesis are still stable,” I said, jaw clenched. “But the rest, they’re spiraling. It’s like trying to cage a seaquake with a whisper.” It was a relief that I wasn’t completely powerless.
“Even with the crown?” She asked.
I hesitated, fingers brushing the bare place on my head. I felt the absence of the crown like a phantom limb.
“Especially with the crown. It amplifies my magic. Right now, it would just make things worse. I can’t risk wearing it, Grandma.”
Her brows knit. “I know, child, but it will raise questions.”
I knew that all too well. They had eyes all over the palace and my movements always observed, but I’m tired of everyone undermining me. Let them whisper. Let themwonder. I don’t care. I’ll give them something to be afraid of.
I’m not some naive girl anymore. No one will ever manipulate me again.
