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Page 17 of Shattered Galaxies (Tears of the Siren #6)

Lorcan

“I need to see it.” My voice was a soft whisper in the darkness of the jet cabin as I stared down at the familiar violin case painted black with a jade green L. Inside was a black lacquered violin, delicately built with a scroll-carved body.

But not in one piece. Despite my men’s efforts during our realm-hopping travels, we hadn’t found a way to repair it.

And now that I’d found Beryl’s violin? I needed to face the truth. My old instrument was gone, and I needed to accept a new one.

The case opened with a soft click, and my eyes stung with frustration. The once-beautiful violin was now a mangled mess of snapped strings and splintered wood. It had been sacrificed to bring down Black, and though that had been a victory, it still felt bittersweet.

My fingers traced its ruined shape, memory tugging me back to the day Cormac and I bought it along with a piano for our performances. That violin had been a small beam of sunlight in the darkness that consumed us during those years.

“Thank you,” I whispered to the violin, running my fingers over it reverently. After a long exhale, I looked at the other case, which I could no longer ignore. It was a standard case that the boys had tracked down, but inside lay my grandmother’s instrument, a family heirloom imbued with magic.

So why did it feel so wrong, then?

I wish I could blame it on feeling unsettled after portal travelling out of the Druid realm, but that would be a lie.

It had been a relaxing morning, filled with brunch and discussion of what was to come.

Valentina had sworn the realm’s allegiance to the cause, and I didn’t doubt her.

The woman had shown me that, despite the dark nature of her magic, which was intertwined with the essence of the earth itself, it could be used for good.

For betterment. I hoped that one day I’d have that same level of clarity and confidence.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news. Milo expressed to Zander, Adriel, and myself that the search for information about my stalker had been unsuccessful—something that bothered my men greatly.

It bothered me as well, but for a different reason.

I wasn’t concerned about my own safety; rather, I was worried about who he would go after in anger.

In jealousy. We would continue our search, but it felt like we were on some unknown timeline. Like a clock ticking down.

Still, I couldn’t exactly claim that had made it a stressful morning.

We’d been given a personal escort to the portal, and when we arrived back Earthside there’d been the slightest surprise of the time change, but it was otherwise uneventful.

I didn’t love that we’d lost nearly a month of time in one evening, my phone alerting me it was now the start of March, but the world hadn’t been destroyed in that period of time, so I guessed we were still good?

No, this wave of emotion was all about the violin in front of me. It felt like a betrayal to use any other; the fragments of my magic still whispered off my old one. With hesitant hands, I reached over and grabbed the secondary case, slowly opening it.

Aged dark wood, protectively coated in faded varnish to preserve the single line of ancient runes painted onto its surface.

It was simple, far less modern than the one I’d played for years, but I could tell by the tightness of its strings alone that it would perform beautifully.

It was a handcrafted instrument, obviously made for Beryl to play herself.

So then why had she left it there?

Gently lifting the older violin, I placed it next to my broken one, looking between the two.

Closing my eyes, I felt an overwhelming sense of grief at the idea of no longer playing mine.

My magic sparked against my fingertips, and a warmth grew throughout the room, wrapping around me like a comfortable blanket.

The tiny stars that made up my essence threw themselves toward the violins, trying to protect them… or maybe to mend them.

The door to the primary suite opened, interrupting the moment.

“Lorcan.” Draven’s voice held a note of surprise that snapped my eyes open.

Floating in the air before me was a violin. Not the one I’d mourned, not Beryl’s heirloom. This was something else entirely. A fusion—familiar black lacquer decorated with ancestral runes. Familiar, but evolved.

My power vibrated off of it, and I eagerly reached for it, feeling a sense of familiarity infuse me. It was my violin, reborn.

“How did you fix it?” Draven crouched beside me, concern flickering in his gaze as he noticed the neon tears I hadn’t realized were falling.

“I didn’t,” I breathed. “I think…I think my magic used Beryl’s violin and merged them. I had my eyes closed the whole time; I didn’t even know it was happening. I’d been so sad at the prospect of losing my violin…”

And now it wasn’t something I had to be sad about. My violin was better than ever.

“This is a good thing,” Draven said, not quite a statement. I nodded, wanting to reassure him.

I felt like I’d known the fallen angel forever, but in reality we hadn’t been together for long.

I knew that he was not only still piecing together who I was, but who he was in this much more modern society.

In times like this I could feel him gauging my reaction, wanting to give me the comfort or surety I needed—even if he wasn’t used to that.

“Is everyone getting up?” I asked, switching the topic as I placed my repaired violin in its case with careful movements.

“Yes, we are an hour or so out from the private airport.”

“I would’ve never guessed that the phoenix queen would be in France.” Though I didn’t doubt Desmond’s intel or Zander’s ability to gauge power centers while star traveling.

“I know, especially since the Dreki realm is where the dragons reside,” he agreed, standing and pulling me up and against him. “But apparently, she and her mates decided they’d rule from Earth and act as a liaison between other supernatural communities and the Dreki realm.”

That sort of made sense.

“Hopefully they’ll be as open and accepting as Valentina and her husbands,” I said with a small sigh. “Still so frustrating that we couldn’t find anything on our stalker. They’re positive there wasn’t anyone who was sent to Earth?”

“They can’t be completely positive since the portal is open, but apparently Dimitri runs in a lot of the less ‘noble’ groups of the kingdom, and there hasn’t been a trace or suggestion of it. And Zander didn’t sense the stalker’s presence anywhere within the realm.”

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that shit at all.

“But I’m surprised you’re even thinking about that,” Draven said, touching my jaw so that I looked up into his lavender eyes.

His grounding presence soothed me, and when I reached up to touch my necklace, his wings extended out, wrapping around me.

I relaxed into him before answering honestly, knowing what he was implying.

“I don’t know how to feel about seeing my mother.

For so long I assumed I didn’t have parents that cared, and later I assumed no one could care about Cormac or me.

So to know I had a mother that actively loved me?

Died to protect me? And a grandmother that’s possibly still alive? It makes me feel…fucking weird.”

Draven chuckled, but it was soft and filled with understanding. His lips brushed the top of my head. “I can feel that. I can feel all of the emotions going through your beautiful head. I want to help you somehow, but I’m at a loss on how.”

“This,” I said softly. “I love you holding me like this.”

A rumble from his chest and the way his arms wrapped around me further had my heart beating with contented happiness.

Thinking about his words for a moment longer, I continued, “I worry about you too. I don’t want any of you to suffer because my magic is leaking through our bond.

I’m used to the…depravity that comes along with hearing others’ desires.

I would never wish that upon my worst enemy. ”

Well, maybe that was a bit debatable…

“Don’t worry about us,” Draven assured me. “All of us will willingly carry any piece of your burden we can, I promise you that. Your power isn’t corrupt or wrong by nature—it’s beautiful and unique. Just like you.”

Damn this man.

My eyes stung as I looked up at him. “I love you, Draven.”

He inhaled and pressed his forehead to mine, closing his eyes to savor the moment.

“Saying that I love you can’t encompass the intensity of how I feel.

I suffered for nearly two thousand years in Broken House, and I would do it all again—for longer—if it meant eventually meeting you.

You broke the chains that were wrapped around my soul. ”

I swallowed because I knew he meant that literally. Draven had not-so-quietly expressed in passing that he thought it was because of me that his tenure in Broken House had been cut short. I had no idea how that was possible, but I would’ve done anything to ensure he’d be able to leave as well.

Wrapped in Draven’s arms, we stood there for what could have been seconds or hours, completely absorbed in one another.

My magic hummed happily in his presence, and I found his touch—the pressure he put on me as he secured his arms around me—cathartic.

His solid heartbeat thumped under my ear, and the feathers of his wings rustled in the air conditioning of the jet. I could have stayed there forever.

Eventually, a knock at the door broke the spell, Cash’s voice letting us know we’d be landing soon.

Turning toward the bed, I cradled my violin, surprised by its new weight.

There was power in it now—thicker, denser, as if it remembered more than I ever could.

The strings practically thrummed at my fingertips, and I promised myself that as soon as I had a bow, I’d play.

My violin had been broken and remade.

Maybe the same was true of me.