Page 63 of Liar Witch

“Stop!”

I roll my eyes and toss my hair over my shoulder to look back at the startled warriors.

“You should have gotten out of my way rather than wasting my time.”

Cassandra and Alexandra catch up to me when I’m halfway up the steps to the longhouse, Cassandra still giggling.

“Goddess, they’re still yelling.”

I shrug and glance back at the chaos I’ve unleashed.

“I’ve had enough. I agreed to play by your rules, but I’m not about to put up with assholes abusing their authority for kicks.”

“An interesting way to describe my warriors doing their jobs.”

The cool, critical voice comes from just above us, and I look up even as Alexandra and Cassandra drop to their knees.

This woman is so close in looks to Alexandra that she could be her twin. Her dark hair is slicked back in warrior braids, decorated with golden beads that clink against her armour with every move. Her arms are covered in those siren tattoos, and her eyes are a cold, unflinching grey that stands out from the warm bronze of her skin.

“Nilsa Dunn av Coveton, may I present our mother, the Empress Athena of Marisang. Ruler of all sirenae,” Cassandra says, voice muffled by the way she seems to have glued her head to the floor in her bow.

Athena greets me with a haughty look, which lasts barely a second yet manages to convey a lifetime of mistrust, irritation and dislike all at once.

“Will you not bow, witch?”

I smirk with enough irreverence that I actually succeed in shaking her frown for the slightest second. I’m sure that will get people talking.

“Priestesses are only required to bow to their Goddess,” I reply, feeling immensely grateful for that.

Bowing to this woman is the last thing I feel like doing right now.

Her thin lips purse in a slight scowl. “Of course, it’s been so long since I’ve had dealings with your kind I must have forgotten how stubborn you are.” She turns on her heel in a swirl of beaded braids that almost hit me in the face as she moves. “Come, witch. Allow me to present my only son.”

She leads the way up the final steps to the huge feasting tables laid out in the open hall. We pass between groups of sirens turned silent by my arrival, and I note with curiosity that all of their males appear seated on cushions by their feet rather than at the tables with them. None of the males have food or drink, and none of them dare to glance up as we pass.

They just look... peaceful. Like waiting on their knees is all they want. And their women clearly dote on them. Each male is being treated with bright smiles and careful affectionate touches.

All except for the male seated at the foot of the great throne at the end of the hall.

Every muscle in Klaus’s body is tense, like he’s physically fighting to stay put. He looks so different, so much brighter than the rest of these males. He’s alone, on display and miserable.

His fists clench harder as I approach.

“Nilsa Dunn av Coveton, I present my son, Niklaus Sirenae Regis.”

Opal leaps from my shoulders at the name and slinks across the small space separating us until she’s brushing against Klaus’s knee. I brought her for a reason, but that’s apparently forgotten in the face of her curiosity about the final member of my harem.

“He’s not petting me,”she complains.“This one is going to need more training if he’s going to match up to your vampire.”

I give her a small meaningful look, and she sighs.

“Right, go grab some hair. You know, if I get a hairball, I’m coughing it up on your pillow.”

The rest of her whining trails off as she realises I’m not paying attention to her. My focus has narrowed until all I can see is Klaus as I hold out the box I’ve carried around half of Marisang and silently pray that he likes it.

“I know this isn’t a traditional gift,” I begin, placing it just in front of him. “But it reminded me of you.”

Chapter Sixteen