Page 28

CHAPTER 27

“W hy would you believe that?” Micha asked.

Taryn swatted away the question, irritated that he believed she was that stupid. “Don’t play games with me, dude. I’ve had a long twenty-four hours and want to go home.”

He studied her, watching, waiting. But she’d be damned if she knew why.

“Are you expecting me to figure all this out?” she snapped.

“I’m sure you could if you thought about it long enough and provided you had all the information.”

“Well, I don’t. Is it a family grudge? Did he piss in your Wheaties as a kid? Because that sounds like something Fintan would do.”

“Ouch, Taryn-Taryn. Sure, and it hurts you’d think somethin’ so vile of me.”

She tried not to react—she really did—but against all odds, Fintan was there, inside her dream state or whatever the hell this place was. Their bond simply reappeared, like a snap, and through their connection, she could feel his palpable relief.

“You might as well welcome him to the party, Taryn. He should be aware of the stakes.”

“What stakes?” Fintan asked, stepping from the shadows.

The urge to run to him was as strong as she could ever remember having, but she couldn’t trust that his spirit’s presence was real and not some trick. Not yet.

“Micha Forsyth, yeah? My half-brother from da’s side?”

Other than a sneer, Micha didn’t respond. His disdain, more than anything, convinced Taryn that Fintan was truly there.

“What took you so long?” she asked him.

“I was brokering the peace between my Siren and boss, so it took a wee bit to realize you were in danger, love.” He flashed a grin, and she couldn’t prevent an answering laugh.

“We’ve both stepped in it now,” she warned. “Apparently, I’m to be used as a weapon against you.”

“Not a weapon,” Micha corrected. “The fuse to his bomb, and we control that fuse. If we hold you, he has to keep it together and continue to do as he’s told. He can start by turning over Bloodstone’s necklace.”

Fintan was taken aback, as was Taryn.

“And if he doesn’t?” she asked.

“We’ll take you out of the equation. Permanently,” Micha said coldly. “We’ll break him one way or the other.”

Fintan’s cold rage was instantaneous, and all his sweet Irish charm went out the window as he stepped between her and Micha. “You keep sayin’ ‘we’ as if you’ve an army at your back, boyo. But Taryn has an army at her side. The primary being Damian Dethridge. You may know him as the Aether, yeah?”

“Damian is contracted to the Authority and serves the Fates. He’ll do as he’s told.”

A bark of laughter escaped Fintan. “Have ya met the man?”

Leaning around him, Taryn held up a hand. “Uh, I think you should check your facts, dude. He’s agreed to consult. He’s not contractually obligated to anyone.”

“But this isn’t about Taryn, is it?” Ardghal’s deep, lyrical voice rang out. “It’s about you, Micha Forsyth, descendant of the original founders, and your hatred of those different from you,” he concluded on an accusatory note.

“No!” And for the first time, Micha displayed true anger. “No,” he said more calmly. “This is about order. There are rules, which the Aether and his motley crew of Sentinels refuse to follow.”

“What rules have they ignored?” Taryn demanded. Challenging the man who held the key to her metaphysical cage wasn’t smart, but Damian wasn’t present to defend himself. She’d be damned if she let anyone malign him.

“It doesn’t matter, Taryn,” Ardghal said soothingly. “It never did. Elizabeth’s family members have always sought a reason to crucify those who weren’t human. You’ve the look of her brother about you, Forsyth. He always wore that pinched expression, as if his shoes were too bloody tight.”

Taryn grinned. Call her warped, but if she were forced to be stuck in a mental prison, she was glad to have Fintan and Ardghal to defend her.

“You hybrids are all alike,” Micha sneered. “You believe your power gives you the right to do whatever you want.”

“Ah, so we’re finally getting to the heart of the matter,” Ardghal said silkily. “Does your hatred of Sirens stem from Fintan’s father straying from your mother’s side? No? Not the forbidden affair between a spy and his target?”

The inquiry-turned-taunt was so smooth, Fintan jerked, but he remained silent as Ardghal joined their group.

The Siren prince narrowed his eyes. “I can only assume it goes farther back, and the Forsyths taught you to hate from birth. Their fury was mighty when they learned what I was and that I’d married Elizabeth.”

“Your children were an abomination!” Micha shouted, warming to his cause. He pointed to Fintan. “They still are.”

“You shut your whore mouth!” Taryn shouted, enraged by his prejudice. “Fintan is all that is good and beautiful in this world. His music was legendary, but your stupid Authority ended his career to make him a slave to their desires. Like a fucking trained monkey, telling them the future so they could manipulate the magical community.”

“Whore mouth? That’s a new one from ya, to be sure.” Laughter lurked in Fintan’s question.

“I’m tired and not all that creative at the moment. It was the best I could do.”

He chuckled, and the warmth of his amusement washed over her. It was bizarre how a person could spend just a few weeks in another’s company, learning their likes and dislikes, discovering the secrets of their body, memorizing certain aspects of their personality, only to miss all of it desperately when it was gone. That’s how she felt about Fintan and his humor. How, when they’d first met and for the short time they’d been lovers, she’d absorbed everything about him, celebrating each new facet of him.

But it had been fleeting, and she’d spent a lifetime trying to forget how he’d made her feel. Forever comparing him to others and being disappointed when they’d come up wanting. Perhaps that’s why she’d agreed to a date with Micha. Her brain had recognized the physical likeness, even though their coloring and personalities were vastly different.

Thank the Goddess a date with him had never come to pass.

The truth slapped her in the face. “You never wanted to date because you liked me, did you? It was to gain an advantage over Fintan,” she accused Micha.

“As if I could be attracted to anyone who’d given themself to a filthy hybrid!”

“You’d better hope this binding of yours holds, buddy. If I ever get free, I’m going to rip you a new asshole,” she snarled. “You’re going to wish you’d never heard of?—”

Ardghall stepped up beside her. “Calm yourself, love. Conserve your energy for what’s to come.”

“Is it to pop his head off? Because I’m totally down with that.”

A wicked grin flashed on his face, and Taryn could easily understand Elizabeth’s attraction to this princely man.

“You’re not a monster, Ari,” she said softly. “You never were. If Elizabeth was confused at the end, it wasn’t because of you.”

His eyes shone with adoration as he gazed down at her. “Thank you, Taryn.”

* * *

Damian stood on the lip of the grotto pool with Taryn in his arms. He hoped like hell that between her elemental abilities and new creature’s skills, she could pull herself out of her mental prison. As much as he believed the Siren prince had the right of it concerning the Authority, he needed more time before dismantling the entire organization and rebuilding it with incorruptible leaders. Basically, he required a foolproof plan with gods, goddesses, Fates, and his fellow Sentinels on board. If he couldn’t gain collective support, he and Ardghal might create a war among the magical community.

As Damian eased Taryn down into the water, he gave Sabrina a nod.

“All right, Beastie, lend her buoyancy as you did for Fintan and Ardghal.”

She swirled a finger in the water beside Taryn. “This will work, Papa. Don’t worry.”

Ronan O’Connor’s snort echoed from the opposite side of the grotto. “Sure, and we’re about to electrocute a pool-full of people with the power of two Aethers and a Guardian. How is it ya expect us to be calm, wee beastie?”

She lifted her chin and shot her Guardian a look reminiscent of Isolde, so confident of her gifts. Damian’s heart swelled with pride for his fearless daughter. But it also hurt from the aching memory of a young boy’s love for his beautiful, doomed mother. More and more these days, he thought of her and how he’d failed her by leaving her in the Netherworld. He should’ve found a way to free her by now, and as soon as he dealt with the corrupt council members at the Authority, he intended to.

Perhaps Ardghal could help him defeat the Darkness if it hadn’t already died off.

He glanced at Noah, who observed him solemnly. Undoubtedly, his brother understood, having gone through life motherless.

“One bolt for each of them, fellas,” Damian instructed. “The energy surge will trigger the sigils. Sabrina can channel the rest through Taryn’s link to the pool.”

“We got it, man. Let’s get on with it already,” Noah said with an eye roll.

“Bratty little brother making up for lost time,” Damian replied warmly, grinning when Noah laughed.

The three of them gathered molecules from the air around them, drawing electrical energy into the palms of their hands. Around them, the cavern echoed the crackle of power, and Damian gave a sharp nod.

“Now!” Beastie shouted, diving into the water.

For a split second, Damian’s fear overcame him. She wasn’t supposed to enter the pool, but he had to have faith she knew what she was doing as Oracle. Still, Noah and Ronan looked to him for confirmation.

He nodded. “Do it.”

The moment their bolts struck, the sigils flared to life in brilliant, shifting hues, illuminating the entire place and glowing like molten etchings on the boulders. The force of their combined abilities ran hot and fast up Damian’s spine. But it wasn’t just their power. What existed in that water was something more primal, perhaps more ancient than all theirs combined.

Siren magic.

Beneath the surface, Sabrina swam from stone to stone, grabbing and tethering the strands together. From his place above, she appeared as a human spider, weaving an intricate web. She’d yet to surface for oxygen, and he worried she might be pushing the limit. Trusting a child, even one as worldly as his daughter, wasn’t easy. They didn’t understand limitations like adults, and if they did, they chose to ignore them.

Eoin’s sister Dubheasa, Ronan’s mate and fellow Guardian, stepped up on the lip, prepared to dive in should Sabrina need saving.

“We’ll give her thirty seconds more,” Damian said, trying to keep his nervousness at bay for the sake of all involved. When Aether emotions rode high, everyone paid the price.

At the center of the pool, the three bodies floated, each aglow with the voltage feeding them. Taryn’s torso arched upward. Limbs dangling, head tilted back, and hair fanned around her in a silky cloud, she showed no signs of life.

“Please, Taryn. Come back to us,” he urged. How the hell was he supposed to tell his wife that her sister was in a permanent stasis, or worse, dead? Channeling his anxiety, he directed more force straight at her body and prayed it did the trick.

Tremors shook the ground beneath his bare heels, and a subtle hum rose from the rock itself, growing louder until it became a deafening throbbing one might associate with a pulsing packed nightclub. The vibration was vigorous, enough to awaken a sleeping soul, and he held his breath as he waited for it to recharge Taryn.

Come on, Taryn. Come on!

Sweat beaded along his forehead, escaping to run along his hairline and gather at the base of his neck. He didn’t dare shift his concentration off his objective, but he sensed Noah’s and Ronan’s struggles.

“She’s been in there too long, Dove!” Ronan cried. “Get the wee beastie out!”

“No!” Damian shouted, going against his fatherly instincts. “Let her finish. She’ll never forgive herself if she doesn’t wake her aunt.”

“And you won’t forgive yourself—or us—if she dies in the bleeding process!” Dubheasa snapped. “I’m going in.”

So saying, she kicked off her shoes.

“I’m ordering you to wait, Guardian,” he said.

Her expression was as distressed as Ronan’s. “Damian, please. Viv can’t lose both Taryn and her daughter.”

“She won’t.”

The sigils flared brighter than a solar flare, forcing their group to protect their eyes thereby breaking the current to the three bodies. The lights sputtered, dimmed, but held strong as Sabrina’s web rose from the pool’s depths to encircle Taryn and her two champions.

Beastie cut through the water faster than a water sprite, and her gasp was sweet relief. He blinked, dispelling his grateful tears.

Across the way, Ronan grunted and swiped an arm over his perspiration-dampened face. “Something’s holdin’ Taryn back, Dethridge, and I’m after thinkin’ it’s stronger than us.”

Damian nodded. “Yes. If I had to guess, it’s a spiritual anchor created by Authority bindings. They’ve done it before when jailing the strongest threats.”

And it was one more check in Ardghal’s column of Pros, and another reason to overthrow the institution they’d previously held sacred.

“She can break it,” Sabrina assured them. She hopscotched along the boulders, as if she hadn’t had the workout of her life, and plopped down by his feet. Sitting cross-legged like she had all day, she propped her chin atop her fisted hands and stared at Taryn’s body. “She’ll do it, Papa. Aunt Taryn is more stubborn than me .”

“Aye, and that’s pretty feckin’ stubborn, ya wee beastie,” Ronan agreed with a grin.

Damian huffed out a laugh and settled down beside his daughter to wait.

It felt like hours, but finally, a shadow shifted in the depths, causing the surface to ripple. Another two followed.

Taryn twitched. Not much, a mere curling of her fingers, then a flick of her wrist. The water around her began to swirl, gaining momentum until it was a rapidly churning whirlpool.

They all jumped to their feet, but Taryn’s body was sucked down within seconds. As Damina prepared to dive in, Sabrina clasped his hand.

“No, Papa. Wait.”

“Damian,” Noah called. “Look.”

Glancing in the direction his brother indicated, he sighed in relief.

Fintan and Ardghal were waking. They wouldn’t have left Taryn in limbo, this much he knew.

Across the distance of the pool, Ardghal met his eyes. “Take your family and clear out, Aether.”

“Taryn is family.”

“Granted, but she’s triggered Siren magic, and it’s best if none of you are here for this next part.”

Sabrina tugged on his hand. “It’s okay, Papa.”

Leaving before Taryn was fully awake went against the grain. Yet Ardghal had trusted him to care for them while they joined her in the metaphysical world. The least he could do is extend the favor and trust him in return.

With a nod, he rounded the others up and left.