Page 64

Story: The Siren

The magnetic pull pulsed stronger between her and Ashburn, ripping the air. His scent of rosemary and ice drifted to her, reminding her of the garden in Red Mansion, her old home. Lucienne held her breath, and Ashburn rasped.

“Sweet perfume of Nectar,” he whispered, his eyes glinting and dropping to her mouth, as if he wanted to kiss her. His hand clutched the bar of the gate until his knuckles turned while. A second later, hetore his gaze from her lips and looked into the distance. His eyes shifted to dark silver. “I’m trying to figure things out, just as you are.” His breath evened. “So how about we both play fair?”

“What do you propose?”

“We ask each other three questions and start getting some answers.”

“How will I know if your answers are honest?”

“Always suspicious of everything—one of the Siren’s famous traits.” A lopsided smile tugged the corner of Ashburn’s mouth, and Lucienne felt her heart fluttering. “You’ll have to judge for yourself. But ask carefully, Queen Lucienne, for you won’t get any more answers from me if you decide we are enemies.”

“I’ve told you, I don’t decide who my enemies are before they reveal themselves,” Lucienne said, but she wouldn’t admit to him that she had presumed he was her enemy. Didn’t he steal the power from the Eye of Time—her birthright?

But her impression of him had shifted since they met. She was still not sure if he’d be foe or friend, though in her book, he had become her intellectual asset, like the Eye of Time.No,Lucienne sighed,it’s more than that.There was an undeniable connection between them.

Keeping her expression neutral, Lucienne fired her first question. “What happened after you activated the Eye of Time?”

“It tricked me, and then forced me to activate it. I broke free, almost cutting off my own fingers, before it had me completely,” he said. “The next thing I knew I was trapped in an infinite world.”

He went to the quantum realm.Lucienne’s heart raced.Was it Eterne?“Go on,” she urged.

“It’s the loneliest place with absolute nothingness,” said Ashburn. “Time was dead there. I didn’t eat or sleep. I couldn’t rest. The only benefit was I could finally walk. But no matter how fast I ran and how far I thought I had gone, every time I stopped, I was in the same spot.” A shattered, hopeless look in his eyes made Lucienne want to cradle him in her arms, but she restrained herself. “I thought that wasmy eternal punishment, until I heard Violet singing. No one sings more beautifully than she does.”

Lucienne felt a sudden possessive jealousy.This is ridiculous,she thought. Why did she feel this way? Her loyalty belonged to Vladimir! Then an image came to her, like the rain of light slashing through her defense—Ashburn bent to kiss her, his lips warm and soft, and she arched her body at a sensual angle.

How enchanting! Lucienne realized the image was slammed into her mind by a force. It was like the sea sirens calling her again with their irresistible songs. Anger took over. She knew how dangerous the songs were. They’d make her lose herself. In her cold fury, she shattered the kissing fantasy like smashing a glass.

Breathing hard, Lucienne glared at Ashburn. Was he taunting her with his power? Well, she sneered, he didn’t know. He didn’t know that her lips—which tasted nothing like the “sweet perfume of Nectar”—would drop him to the ground in a heartbeat. She’d dare him to try.

“Is something wrong?” Ashburn asked, peering into her eyes.

Lucienne felt a tingling sensation in her head. She immediately shielded up. The prickle dropped. Had Ashburn just tried to invade her mind? She frowned, catching a predatory light flickering in his eyes, then his ravaging look gave in to amazement. Lucienne watched him intently and coldly, fortifying her defense. She couldn’t risk counterattacking him like she did Jed. Her grandfather’s warning “—one day you’ll meet a formidable opponent—” had come true.

“I’m sorry for your suffering,” she said, wearing an unreadable mask. “It’s a horrible fate to be stuck in that kind of eternity—bored to death, and death never coming.” But she didn’t feel sorry for him.

Ashburn nodded. “Violet’s singing reached me when nothing else could. I guess the connection between us brought me back.”

“Isn’t that amazing? The great love you have for each other could split time and space and break all the barriers.” Lucienne tried not to sound sour.

“I love Violet,” said Ashburn, his gaze on her intensified, “like a sister.”

Lucienne’s pulse quickened at his hot gaze, and his explanation pleased her. For a moment, she wanted to point out that Violet didn’t regard herself as his sister, but she bit her tongue. What was between Ashburn and Violet was none of her business.

The mesmerizing energy between them resumed, humming. Ashburn watched her expectantly, waiting for her to make a move. Lucienne, however, drew back. Ashburn looked like a little boy who was refused candy, but he quickly recovered. His liquid silver eyes sparkled in respect. “I believe you have the Eye of Time in your possession, but something blocks my sight of it. What’s blocking it?”

“Twilight Water, an object that’s beyond three dimensions,” Lucienne said reluctantly, and immediately tossed her second question to stop Ashburn from further digging into her family’s treasures. “How do you know about the Sirens’ affairs?”

“It’s nagging you that I know, isn’t it?” Ashburn said with a half-smile, and again Lucienne felt her pulse picking up. “You can put your mind at ease. The crazy Eye recorded every piece of garbage since the dawn of the human race. I’ve inherited the collective memories of billions of humans in my head, the living and the dead.”

Lucienne remembered the mass consciousness that almost swallowed her when she probed his mind. “So every Siren’s memories have become part of your collection, too.” She made it as a statement so it wouldn’t be counted as her third question.

“Except yours,” Ashburn said. “I guess the mark is shielding you. While it’s with you, I can’t access your memories.”

Thank God!Lucienne controlled an impulse to touch the mark under her midnight hair. “The Eye of Time gave you great powers,” she said drily.

“I don’t care about the powers. I don’t want them; not at this cost,” Ashburn said. “I have no ambition to rule the world, but that crazy son of a—wouldn’t listen to reason.” His eyes turned dark silver—agathering storm. “All of the Sirens craved these powers, but if you knew what the Eye of Time has in store for whoever it chooses, you and your ancestors wouldn’t be so eager.”

Lucienne looked at him through her thick lashes. “Convince me.”