Page 60 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)
ODESSA, PRESENT
I leave the bathroom an hour later, clean, but no less miserable.
The dress the soldier left on the floor just inside the door is a bright blood-red, which feels like something of a bad omen. Ugh, this is no time for superstition.
I tug the dress over my head and step out of the bathroom, only to stop short. My eyes fly wide.
The soldier is gone. In her place, a tall, blonde man stands at the window, his back to me. I open my mouth, but before I can get a word out, he turns and smiles at me. “Odessa. You’re somehow even more beautiful now than you were the last time we met.”
A shiver of fear and revulsion travels down my spine.
Magnus Von Bargen looks almost exactly the same as I remember him, except now I’m fully aware of what kind of man he is and he looks all the more disgusting because of it.
Magnus must be from Thermia originally, because he’s tall and blonde like most Thermians, with flinty blue-gray eyes that look harsh no matter his expression.
Like all Fae, his face is smooth and young-looking, but his features are unmemorable—neither handsome, nor ugly.
Most importantly, he doesn’t have any cotton in his ears. Arrogant idiot.
“I’m surprised you didn’t take any precautions to prevent me from compelling you, especially after being so careful with your guards.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Did it not sound like one? Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough.”
To my surprise, Magnus laughs. “Age has been good to you. I can tell you’re going to be everything I hoped for.”
My eyes narrow. The way he’s talking, you’d think we had met before, but we never did. I know he saw me because I heard him talking about it, but Magnus and I have never actually been introduced. Strange.
I shake off my confusion—it’s not important right now—and take a large step closer. I look directly into his cold eyes, letting the note of persuasion infect my tone. “Take me to Kastian.”
Magnus’s eyes remain focused. “Not right now. You and I have so much to discuss.”
I try again, pushing even more persuasiveness into my voice until I’m almost singing. “You want to take me to Kastian and then set both of us free. Nothing would make you happier.”
He yawns. Yawns! “You may keep trying if you like. I can wait however long it takes for you to understand that you’re powerless against me.”
I set my jaw. I suppose Magnus might have the strongest will of any man in Ellender, but I doubt it. “How is this possible?”
Magnus smiles. “I’ll tell you if you sit down and have something to eat. I had the servants bring up some food and wine.”
My eyes land on the tray of fruit and pastries on the bed, which I hadn’t noticed until now. My stomach growls loudly, but I don’t move.
It’s probably poisoned.
Clearly aware of where my mind has gone, Magnus reaches for the tray himself and snatches a grape, popping it into his mouth. Then he takes the large decanter of wine and pours himself a goblet.
“To you.” He toasts me. “And to our upcoming union.”
I scowl. “What union? You can’t honestly think I was ever going to marry you.”
“We’ll see,” he says ominously. “Please sit down. You eat, and I’ll talk.”
My eyes dart to the tray again, and finally the growling in my stomach makes me relent. I sit on the edge of the bed and take a jam tart. It’s delicious, and I hate myself for giving in so easily.
Magnus smiles, watching me with a hungry look in his eye. “I’m sorry that this is your welcome back to Hydratta. I’d planned for it to be more elaborate than this.
Oh, I’m sure he did.
“How did you know where to find me?” I ask.
“We got word that some mercenaries from Solistine had attacked your train within hours of the incident. Of course, I immediately sent ships out to look for you. One of them spotted the ship from Solistine sinking, and a group flying away toward the mainland. I had all my guards mobilized within hours. I must admit I was surprised to realize who you were traveling with. What happened to my emissary?”
I pause with another bite of pastry halfway to my mouth.
Magnus’s face is a neutral mask of innocence, but I’m not fooled.
Even if Connell hadn’t told us that Magnus orchestrated my first kidnapping, and I didn’t already know exactly what sort of man he is, I would have known immediately that there was something off about Magnus from his eyes alone.
They’re cold and emotionless even when he’s smiling.
I put another pastry in my mouth and chew slowly, giving myself a second to think. Then, making the split-second decision not to reveal that I know he planned my abduction, I swallow and clear my throat. “He was killed on the train…unfortunately.”
“Oh my.” Magnus’s face falls. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He’s not sorry. I don’t know why or how, but I’m certain that Magnus wanted his emissary removed and decided to kill two birds with one stone by having the pirates murder him during my abduction.
“Well, what’s done is done. “He shrugs, putting on an expression of false humility. “I’d rather focus on happier things, now. I’ve brought you here, as I’m sure you know, because I want you to be my queen.”
I choke on my pastry. Good gods, this man is insane! He’s trying to ignore the fact that his soldiers kidnapped me and he won’t tell me where Kastian is, and move straight into wedding planning? “You’re out of your mind. I was never going to marry you, and I certainly wouldn’t now.”
“See, I think you will. You’re not the only one who knows how to persuade someone, and you’ve conveniently already told me whom I need to threaten to ensure your cooperation.”
My heartbeat pounds against my chest, and the pastry falls from my hand onto the bed. “You can’t. Forget about me, if you hurt Kastian, then Daemon will never agree to ally with you.”
“I don’t know about that. I think he still might, once I’m married to his cousin.”
“If you believe that then you don’t know anything about him or about me. You’re going to be in for a rude awakening.”
“I think your cousin could be persuaded when he learns how happy you are here, but if not, then it’s no great loss.”
My brow furrows. “I thought you were only doing this for the alliance.”
“Actually, I think you misunderstand. The alliance would be an added benefit, but this is really about you. I’ve had you in the back of my mind for many years now.”
I look up. “What? Why?”
“Because you’re a land-born siren; the first one I’ve ever seen outside of historical accounts and portraits. You have no idea how useful you could be to me.”
Nausea washes over me and my chest burns with an odd combination of disgust and anger.
Of course it’s only because I’m a siren.
He’s like a collector—like every other vile man that taught me to hate how I looked from far too young an age.
Who taught me to flinch every time someone called me beautiful.
Magnus takes advantage of my silence, walking over to the bed to look down his nose at me.
“I’m not a monster, Odessa,” he continues.
“I don’t want to force you into this. I’d rather have an obedient queen.
Someone who knows how to keep the peace—someone who understands what’s at stake and that you sometimes have to do unpleasant things for the greater good. I believe that person could be you.”
I make a noise in the back of my throat somewhere between a growl and a scoff. “You don’t want to force me, but you will.”
He looks sad, like I’m the problem here—I’m the one being difficult and putting him in a position he doesn’t like. “Unfortunately, I want this too much to let you ruin it.”
“I’m ruining your plan because I won’t just bend over and happily let you rape me?”
His nose wrinkles and his lip tips up in a sneer. “I think you’ll find you’re very happy to obey me when the alternative is watching your precious prince bleed out on the stones in front of this castle. Or perhaps you’d like to see what I’ll do to your cousin when he arrives?”
I bare my teeth. “That’s not much of a threat when I know either one of them could kill you without even trying.”
“Would you like to test it? Do you really want to know where Kastian is now? He’s in my dungeon, waiting for me to decide what to do with him.
If you like, I could have him brought up here right now and we can fight it out, but I’ll warn you, he's already been fed enough sedatives to knock out a dozen trolls. I doubt he’ll be in the best condition to fight. ”
I swallow, trying to force my heart back down from my throat. My voice shakes with anger, but I push past it, infusing my tone with more persuasion than I’ve ever used before. “Throw yourself off this tower.”
Magnus shakes his head wearily. “Let’s not do this again, Odessa. Your powers cannot affect me, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can focus on what’s really important.”
“How is that possible?” I demand.
“Surely you know there are some exceptions to the siren powers. Like so many other things in nature, the siren song is really only intended to carry on the species. It’s no different from a ram growing horns to fight off other males, or the Fae’s wings appearing around their bonds, to warn anyone else to stay away. ”
“What’s your point?”
“Siren compulsion doesn’t work on women or children, non-compatible species, like trolls or dragons, direct relatives of sirens, or anyone who is soul-bonded—since they would be physically unable to betray their bond.”
“So you’re bonded? Then why would you want to marry me, you shouldn’t be able to?—”
I break off mid-sentence. What I was going to say was: “you shouldn’t be able to consummate it,” but I can’t make myself say it. Even thinking about that is revolting.
Actually, come to think of it, I can’t consummate a marriage either—it’s said that to betray a soul-bond is painful enough to kill you. Would that still be true if he forced me? Probably. That might be painful enough to kill me regardless.