Page 70 of Castor

“They will.” Naida gave a warning look to Bellamy.

“Sirena is expecting you.” Lysandra turned toward the trees. “Follow me.”

Chapter Fourteen

Kyo

Torches lined the path as we walked along the sloped terrain. Sirena’s two-story cottage sat on a hill overlooking the ocean. Nearing the house, I saw three females standing at the edge of the hill facing the water. They turned at our approach.

“Sirena,” Naida said, dropping to one knee and placing an arm over her chest.

“Stand, my friend,” the tallest of the group said before embracing Naida. Wavy red hair cascaded past her shoulders and down her chest, braided in places, and her light green eyes were lined with dark lashes. “Fate has brought us together again at last. You must tell me about your handsome Zale and how he fares. But first”—her stare moved to us—“I would like an introduction.”

“Well, you know me,” Baxter said with a cocky little curve to his lips.

“Indeed. I do. Still sporting pink hair, I see.”

Baxter combed his fingers through the pink strands. “Pretty, right?”

Sirena ignored him and looked at Alastair. “I’m Sirena, leader of this clan of warriors. Who are you, and why have you come here?”

Naida had sent word that we would be coming, but she hadn’t given a reason why. Better to discuss those things in person.

“I’m Alastair.” He introduced the rest of us, referring to me as Castor’s companion instead of revealing my true identity. “We’ve come to discuss an alliance.”

“An alliance?” Sirena’s dissecting gaze wasn’t even aimed at me and it still made me a bit anxious. “What for?”

“Asa, the son of Lucifer, has arisen, and he’s building an army. He’s following in his father’s footsteps and plans to make the world bow to his rule.”

“And you wish for us to fight alongside you to stop him?”

“Yes,” Alastair answered. “We believe he will reach out to Nephilim to join his army.”

“But you were one step ahead of him and got to us first.” Sirena walked toward him, expression hard. And then she smiled. There was a bit of malice behind it. “I’ve been itching for a good fight.”

“That was easy,” Bellamy said, and then he looked at Baxter. “Why couldn’t you have been so cooperative when we first asked you?”

“Don’t talk to me.” Baxter’s nostrils flared.

“You sound like a child,” Bellamy responded.

“Youbothsound like children,” Naida snapped. “Stop bickering.”

Baxter sighed and moved away from Bellamy, while Bellamy crossed his arms like a defiant little boy. It was kind of funny, but I tried not to laugh. Drawing any attention to myself probably wasn’t the best idea.

“I have one condition if we are to be allies in this war,” Sirena said to Alastair. “You are not my commander, and you do not give orders to my warriors. We will fight alongside you as equals.”

“Agreed.” Alastair held out his hand.

Sirena clasped it in hers and shook. “We will discuss it further in the morning.” Her gaze moved to Raiden. “I hear your stomach grumbling all the way from over here. That won’t do. I refuse for my guests to go hungry. Come inside and we’ll find you something to eat.”

“Told you,” Naida said to Raiden.

He grinned and followed Sirena into the cottage.

Instead of gathering around a table to eat, once the food was prepared, Sirena led us into a sitting room that had couches and large cushions on the floor. Open windows let in moonlight, and there were lamps scattered throughout. The cozy, spacious atmosphere and fresh air was welcomed after being stuck on a plane all day.

Raiden wasted no time before scarfing down grilled fish and fruit. It didn’t even look like he breathed. He just inhaled the food as if it were oxygen.