Page 61 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

“You misunderstand,” Magnus says, invading my increasingly panicked thoughts. “I’m not bonded, I just can’t have children. It’s one of the reasons I’ve felt no need to take a wife before now. I have no concerns about having an heir.”

My brow furrows. I’ve never heard about siren magic not working on infertile men, but I guess it makes sense since all of those other exceptions are true.

Only, Magnus has a daughter—Lyra—so what’s going on here?

“If you never wanted a wife before and can’t have an heir; and it’s not about the alliance with Vernallis, why would you suddenly want to marry me now? ”

“Are you familiar with the history of land-born sirens?”

I blink, startled by his suddenly businesslike tone. “No.”

“Allow me to educate you. Many years ago, before you or I were born, this continent was one large kingdom. The king lived in the north, in what is now Thermia, and didn’t often worry about what was happening in the south, so eventually the people of what is now Hydratta wanted to break off from the rest of the kingdom and govern themselves. ”

“That’s nice,” I hiss, “but I don’t really have time for a history lesson.”

“You have time for whatever I want from you. You’re not leaving this tower any time soon,” he snaps, his true personality showing for just a moment before he covers it with a saccharine smile.

“As I was saying, Hydratta decided to become its own kingdom, but then suddenly the king who ignored them didn’t want to let them go, so he sent soldiers from the capital to force Hydratta to surrender.

What the soldiers didn’t know was that the new rulers of the island had anticipated this and they had a secret weapon.

Their new queen was the daughter of a siren who was captured by a fisherman. ”

My stomach lurches as if I might be sick. I think it’s the word “imprisonment” that’s getting to me. I always assumed that my mother stayed on land because she chose to, but this other ancient siren was obviously not given the same choice.

It seems like, if Magnus has his way, I won’t get a choice either.

Magnus carries on with his story, unbothered by my darkening expression. “Due to her mother’s imprisonment, the siren queen was born on land and raised to be loyal to the Fae. So, when the soldiers marched on Hydratta, she used her powers of persuasion to send them all marching into the sea.”

“That’s horrible,” I snap. “And it has nothing to do with me.”

“I disagree. See, over the years, there were many attempts to breed landlocked sirens for their powers, but the practice was difficult and dangerous. Most who tried it ended up becoming obsessed with the sirens they tried to hold prisoner and dying. Eventually, history forgot about what the sirens could do, until I saw you, and I knew that the legendary first Queen of Hydratta could be reborn.”

“You’re insane,” I bite out, “and whatever you’re imagining isn’t going to happen. I’m not staying here. Maybe I can’t compel you, but there’s a hell of a lot of people in this castle I can affect.”

“You could, but you won’t, because you know if you do that I’ll murder Kastian and make you watch.”

I suck in a breath, unable to hide my horror, and Magnus pounces on my reaction.

“But it doesn’t have to be that way, Odessa.

We could work together, you and I. Just think about it for a moment.

Can you imagine the possibilities of a ruler with the ability to influence anyone and everyone?

Picture a queen who could ask her subjects for anything and they would be happy to oblige.

There would be no unrest in the kingdoms, no need for wars, no pointless diplomatic arguments. ”

“There would be no independent thought, you mean,” I bite out. “But there’s an obvious flaw in your fantasy. What about the women and men like you? They wouldn’t be affected.”

“I’ve read accounts from men who believed that with enough selective breeding and training from an early age, a siren could be taught to influence women as well as men.”

“You’re talking about us like prized racehorses bred for speed.”

“That’s not an unreasonable comparison,” he says thoughtfully.

I shake my head. No. No, this cannot be happening.

“I’ll never do it. I won’t marry you, and I won’t influence anyone on your behalf. I’d rather die.”

“You’re not going to die,” he says dismissively. “But Kastian will if you don’t come around.”

A lead ball drops into my stomach—cold, dense, final. Magnus is right: I would do almost anything to keep him from hurting Kastian. Except, will what I do even matter?

Magnus had planned to kill Kastian as early as a hundred years ago. He killed his family. Clearly, no matter what I do, he’s not going to let Kastian walk free.

Daemon is coming, I remind myself.

If they don’t hear from me, then Daemon and Alix will know something is wrong. They’ll come to rescue us. I just need to make sure Magnus doesn’t kill Kastian before then.

“If I marry you, will you let him go?” I ask, hating how my voice shakes but unable to stop it.

Magnus doesn’t answer right away. He just stares at me, eyes cold and flat.

I grit my teeth behind my closed lips, trying not to betray my anxiety. I don’t even need him to agree to let Kastian go—he’d be lying anyway—I just want him to have a reason to keep him alive until Daemon gets here.

“Yes,” he says finally, lip curling. “After the wedding, and after you’ve written to your family in Vernallis to tell them it was your idea, I’ll let Kastian go. I expect you to make your loyalty obvious. If you don’t, you can watch him die through the windows of your new palace.”

I let out a long breath. I know that’s what I wanted to hear, but it didn’t do much to alleviate my anxiety. I also know that I’ll never actually marry Magnus. I would walk straight into the sea before I’d ever let him touch me. Still, agreeing out loud feels like a defeat.

“Fine,” I say. The word comes out raw, gutted.

“Good girl.” He flashes me a genuine smile and reaches out and pats my cheek. “Don’t look so sad. You’re going to make such a beautiful queen.”