Page 13 of Shattered Galaxies (Tears of the Siren #6)
Lorcan
“Your…brother?”
My voice couldn’t hide my utter shock. I mean, there’d been a lot to be surprised by in the last hour, from the fairytale kingdom that we’d walked through to the ghostly figures constantly floating above the palace.
Or even the intensity of the power here, the raw, unfiltered, ancient and natural magic calling to me in a way that I recognized despite it not being my strain of power.
If my magic and my essence existed within the sea and the stars, the druid realm fell somewhere between that.
I instinctively knew that Milo, apparently, was not the ruler of this realm.
He had magic that made it seem that way, but there was something missing—a darkness, a void that seemed to rest right in the shadows.
He was also Adriel’s brother.
What the hell? I mean, I could see it! They both had the same pale hair, but while my elven king looked like something out of The Lord of the Rings , Milo was like a dark ink spot. I couldn’t get more of a read on him than that.
“Yes, my brother,” Adriel said. “My father had an affair with someone from the Horde realm. Milo lived with us for a time; we grew up together in our younger years.”
Milo stepped toward us and continued the story. “I was kidnapped off the streets at a very young age. I wasn’t told much other than I’d been sold.”
“When I became old enough to realize what had happened—after our father died—I tried to find you. By then, it was too late. You’d been sent to Wicked Blaze.”
“Yes, I was,” Milo frowned, turning as the shadows revealed two people that had walked in a bit ago but had stayed to the side. Instantly, I recognized the woman as the ruler of the realm—the druid queen.
“Milo? What’s going on?” the woman asked, her icy eyes darting around the room.
She wore a casual gown that flowed around her dramatically, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders as a crown sat on her head.
The other man with her radiated shadowy energy but stayed in the back of the space, his observant eyes on everyone.
“Cupcake.” Milo put out his hand and drew her forward. “This is my brother, from before the orphanage. This is Adriel. He’s a king in the Elven realm.”
“Oh. Oh shit,” the woman cursed before her gaze locked with mine. I could feel that much like Nova, Gray, and Vegas, her power was strong enough to counteract my influence on her men, and I was thankful for that. At the same time, I couldn’t blame her for being cautious.
“And what are you?” she demanded.
“A siren,” I answered. “Adriel is one of my mates.”
The woman instantly relaxed, seeming to gauge truth in my answer. “I see… Well, I can’t imagine you came here for a simple family reunion. Where are you from?”
“Earth realm, and you’re right,” I said, squeezing Adriel’s hand. “We’re here for several reasons. To find something, to discover something, and possibly ask for your help, if you’re willing to give it.”
“Something big is coming,” Milo murmured to her, her gaze sharpening.
As she walked down the steps, I met the woman’s hand as she offered it. Despite being a monarch, I appreciated that she didn’t seem to expect the formalities that came with her crown—like bowing. I had a feeling that my siren would absolutely not tolerate that.
“Valentina.”
“Lorcan.”
“Walk with me, Lorcan. Milo and Brody will make sure your men are comfortable. I want to have a moment alone with you, if that’s okay.”
“I will be coming with,” Zander said quietly. “You won’t even notice I’m there.”
I highly doubted it, but I could tell the other men were relieved.
“Very well.” Valentina nodded and gestured for me to follow her to a side door.
“Lorcan—”
I turned to my men and offered a serene smile. “I’m fine, I promise. You’ll feel anything through our bond.” I could tell they’d heard me, but I wasn’t sure they were listening—not fully. Still, I didn’t hesitate to follow Valentina through the door.
Almost instantly, she flashed me a smile. “Sorry about that. My magic was defensive with you around my men. I wanted us to talk, but I didn’t think I could do it in there.”
“I understand. My powers aren’t something I can actively control—at least not in the way yours might work. It may seem like I’m reaching out to your mates, but I promise I’m not.”
“I believe you.” Valentina walked us down a long hallway, Zander silent behind us.
“I know when someone is lying—it happened all the time in Wicked Blaze. You’re not a liar, Lorcan.
You’re extremely powerful. You may not have the titles like your mates, but you are by far the most significant power source in that room.
Well, you and your mate who has a similar power signature.
And I welcome that and you to my kingdom. ”
“I’m honored to be here. I know there’s a lot to explain about why we came?—”
Valentina reached out and squeezed my hand. “Not yet. We’ll sit down all together—my men should be here when we discuss that. Let me show you around before we talk of cosmic wars.”
“You know?”
“I can feel something changing,” she said as we walked onto an open-air pathway. “I could feel the pull, and Milo kept having visions. I don’t have details, but your journey couldn’t have led you here if there wasn’t a damn good reason.”
Valentina stopped and motioned to the land before us, stretching in a great valley that filled with sunlight as if responding to her attention.
“This realm is my true home. Ours , really—me and my men. So I need you to know that whatever is coming—whatever you need to tell us—will be met with open ears. I have children that I want to see the future of this realm.”
Children? I shouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was a mother, but the concept of having children was mind-boggling to me right now.
It made me hope that—with what Valentina had implied she’d gone through at Wicked Blaze and then becoming the ruler here—I had a somewhat peaceful future on the horizon.
If we survived the end of the world, of course.
“If you don’t mind being separated from your men for a time, I would love to show you a particular place,” Valentina said. “There’s a garden—the Gairdín Spiorad —that we’re known for.”
“Interesting name,” I said, motioning for her to lead us forward. “What’s special about it? Besides being beautiful, I’m sure.” Everything was so damn beautiful here.
“It’s a spirit garden,” she said with a small, excited smile. “You can reconnect with deceased members from this realm.”
Oh. Interesting.
“I would love to see that.” I infused my voice with as much interest as possible, because not only did that sound objectively fascinating, but if there was a place that held a composition piece for this damn song…well, it sounded like a great place to start.
The two of us—three, if you included the literally silent Zander following protectively—made our way through three floors of the castle at a leisurely pace.
We easily fell into conversation, her disposition wry and sarcastic while still holding a grace fitting of a monarch.
I learned more about the realm as she spoke of wondrous beauties and flesh-eating villages.
I’d never been so fascinated by a place, and I made a promise to myself that if we went on vacation after this, it would be here.
I was very tempted to bring up how we both had multiple men in our lives since Nova and I had bonded over it, but I had a feeling Valentina didn’t think twice about it.
We were discussing her journey from Earth to Wicked Blaze when we walked past a dark hallway.
A trickle of energy caught my attention, and I came to a stop.
A subtle tug—not fully physical or spiritual—threaded through my being and reflected through my bond with Zander. I turned to meet his gaze, and he gave a small nod, clearly having felt it as well.
Valentina glanced between us and tilted her head. “What did I miss?”
“What’s down the hall?” I asked. “Both of us felt something. Something called to us. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
Valentina studied me for a long moment, then turned toward the shaded path. “Come with me. The garden is this way. It’s not the main entrance, it’s my personal one, but obviously the garden has already connected to your presence.”
I knew she wanted her men to be around when we talked about the reason we were here, but I couldn’t help but give her a bit of information.
“We’re looking for a piece of a composition—a piece of a weapon, if that makes sense. Our power allows us to sense when it’s near.”
“That’s fascinating.” Valentina frowned as we reached a stone door. “I’m not sure if you’ll find what you’re looking for in the garden, though. Still, I want to take you to the center—that way if there’s anything that calls to you, it’ll be easy to find.”
Her final words faded slightly as I stared in awe at the garden—if you could even call it that.
It was a solarium that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions, a hedge maze with gorgeous blossoming flowers growing brightly under the fractured light spilling through the space.
Ghostly white figures appeared in the periphery of my vision, but they otherwise ignored us.
Not Valentina, though.
No, the garden reacted to Valentina in a way that was almost unreal.
Plants flowered under her touch as smoke and vapor wrapped around her limbs.
Sparkles of magic danced off her fingertips, and I watched as she slowly controlled the growth and eventual bloom of a flower before tucking it into her pocket, saving it.
“How do you do that?” I asked. “I feel like you’re so powerful, but you control it so easily—it’s insane.”
“When you use your magic, you have to imagine it rooted somehow and then let it grow from there. You pull from the sea as a siren?”
“And the stars.”