Page 125 of The Throne Seeker (Vallorian #1)

And what was worse was she could tell he wasn’t even trying his hardest.

Despite her speed and agility, he pushed her back. Every strike she blocked forced her to retreat further. She was so focused on him, she overlooked the large fallen tree behind her.

She tripped, landing on the forest floor. Zareb would have reprimanded her for making such a foolish error.

He could have ended her right there and then, but for some reason, he seized the fallen tree instead, hoisting its weight like it was nothing more than a feather, about to set it on top of her so she couldn’t escape.

Onyx reared his head into him, knocking the siren back with such force that he flew a few feet into the air and back into the dirt. The siren rolled once and then halted his momentum by digging into the dirt with his hands. He glared up at the beast, his violet eyes glowing with irritation.

Rose was on her feet in an instant, lunging for the arrow.

But the siren was too quick. He knocked her back with one blow of his arm, forcing her onto her hands and knees.

The next moment, Roman was there. With lightning speed, he slashed at the siren with his sword. Striking with all his strength, Roman managed to stand his ground against the siren despite his injuries, his rage providing the fuel his spent body needed.

Her siren beamed with pride, but Rose had no time to dwell on his heroics.

With the siren preoccupied, she searched for the arrow among the dense bushes. At last, she spotted it—and luckily, she also found the half-empty vial. She quickly grabbed them both.

She spun back around just in time to see the siren knock Roman’s sword out of his hands, swinging at him with such remarkable speed and power she was sure he could chop a tree down with one blow.

Roman avoided his sword, but each swipe came closer and closer to slicing him open.

He was going to die.

Rose’s siren surfaced like a volcano erupting from the depths of Vallor, her power swelling within, taking over her limbs. She refused to lose him—not when her mother had just risked everything to save him.

She charged at the siren, stepping between them, blocking the siren’s sword with her own with a loud crack.

The siren faltered backward in surprise.

Rose advanced, her muscles now somehow stronger than his. How that was possible, she didn’t know. But she channeled every ounce of the power flowing through her body, swinging her sword again and again as she steered the siren away from Roman.

At last, one of her strikes landed with enough force to momentarily weaken his arm.

She seized her opportunity, and with her hand that held the arrow, she plunged it into his exposed chest. Before he could react, she shoved her sword through his heart for good measure.

The siren faltered, stumbling back as he looked down at his chest. His eyes widened as blood dribbled down his torn clothing. His starry violet eyes flashed back to her, their beautiful color dimming with each passing moment.

He fell forward, but not before he grabbed her arm, dragging her to the forest floor with him, bringing them both to their knees.

“Listen to me,” he begged, his raw voice taking her aback with its pure sound.

“I was sent to kill Tristan and Roman… and anyone else you love… to lure you out. He… he wants to isolate you so… so you’ll leave…

” He struggled to take a breath. “Keep your ability to talk to creatures hidden; do not tell anyone else. Do you hear me? Not a soul…” He gasped.

“Protect your mind at all costs… Save us all.”

He leaned forward and kissed her.

She was hit with a surge of power as he unlocked his guarded mind to her.

A vision blinded her—memories. It was him among the trees, on the balcony, kidnapping the seer, cradling Rose’s unconscious body, the kiss he’d stolen the night Rose went missing before the third challenge, how he lured the sea beast into a snare—he revealed it all to her.

The vision shifted. She found herself in a dimly lit room resembling an underground library, where stone shelves were intertwined with trees, roots, and flowing streams. Yet, large windows revealed only an expanse of blue sky. She had never seen anything like it.

As quickly as the visions came, they left as the siren’s lips fell from hers. His violet eyes dimmed and rolled back. He landed on the forest floor with a heavy thud.

Rose scrambled backward like she was afraid he might come back to life.

Breathless, she stared at his lifeless form in a mix of terror and astonishment. Something didn’t feel right. His tone… what he’d just revealed…

She raised her fingers to her lips, his magic still tingling there. Through his touch, she felt as if he… as if he had cared for her, cared about what would happen to her after he was gone. The bastard had just admitted to trying to kill everyone she loved.

So why couldn’t she help the terrifying feeling she’d just made a grave mistake?

Within seconds, Roman was at her side, crushing her into his arms. “Are you alright?” He clasped her face with his hands, searching for wounds.

She nodded… then shook her head as she grappled for him, burrowing her face into his shirt as she dragged him closer.

His chest heaved from his heavy breaths. “What the hell happened? Who is he? Where is Lord Barron?”

“That was Lord Barron… Or at least pretending to be. He was a siren, Roman. He was in plain sight this whole time.”

His brows scrunched together. “How?”

“He was a shapeshifter.” She lifted her head off of him, looking at the siren’s lifeless body. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“You can do that?” His eyes widened.

“No, at least I don’t think so.”

He couldn’t speak to me like you either, Onyx added, looking at the body with curious eyes as he sniffed him.

“Onyx couldn’t speak to him… Sirens must have different abilities,” she said as the realization set in.

Roman cautiously approached the body as he looked it over from head to toe. He lifted his arms and checked his pockets, searching down to his shoes.

He swore. “No talisman. I bet my money he was the one who stole it and hid it.”

She wiped her hair from her brow. “He gave the talisman to someone else, who took off with it. He wasn’t working alone.”

“Then there could be more.” His eyes scoured the woods around them.

She remained fixated on the lifeless body, the siren’s final words echoing in her mind. She couldn’t shake the feeling that, in some way, he had been trying to help her.

Her eyes searched his handsome face, still trying to make sense of it all.

It was then that she noticed an unfamiliar mark on his right forearm.

Her eyes narrowed as she bent down for a closer look, tilting his heavy, limp arm.

A large red scar ran the full length of his forearm, tracing the path of his veins… a bindrune—a beautiful dark mark.

“Come on,” Roman said, taking her by the shoulders and guiding her from the siren to her feet. “We should go.”

Rose wanted to go after the man with the talisman, but she had no idea what direction he’d taken. They could try, but her mother?—

Her eyes flickered with horror. “My mother.”

“She’s fine. She’s with Xavier. But… she’s not good,” Roman said as his bloody eye twitched with guilt.

Rose grabbed the small vial from her pocket like a lifeline. “We have this. This may just be enough to save her.”

Roman’s shoulders slumped in pure relief. “Thanks the gods. We’d better hurry, or Tristan will?—”

The devil himself cut him off.

“Tristan will what?” Tristan dismounted his horse and unsheathed his sword. He glanced at the siren, then at Rose, his eyes widening at the sight of blood smeared across her hands. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” She brushed herself off like she could wipe away the blood.

“It was him, Tristan. Everything. Lord Barron wasn’t Lord Barron.

He was a siren. He must have been pretending to be him for who knows how long.

He stole the talisman and gave it to someone else he was working with.

He’s riding on horseback, but if you hurry, you could catch him.

Cut him off before he can leave the woods. ”

Tristan’s face contorted with disbelief, his eyes going back to the siren’s body. “No. No, that’s not possible. Lord Barron was father’s most trusted councilman.”

“It’s true, Tristan,” Roman said. “Look at the clothes he wore, the sword he bears—the high council’s sun emblem. The siren was a shapeshifter and he wasn’t working alone.”

Tristan stared down at the body in shock.

“Now, do you see?” Roman asked. “She isn’t safe here.”

“She’s not going anywhere. If all this is true, she needs to be under constant surveillance,” Tristan said.

“Look at her!” Roman exclaimed, gesturing to Rose’s bloody hands and cloak. “This happened right under our noses. She’s not safe here. She never has been.”

“I promise you it won’t happen again,” Tristan said, seeking her trust.

Roman had had enough. He took a threatening step toward Tristan.

Rose stepped between them before Roman could kill him. “I’m leaving, Tristan. Whether you allow for it or not, I am leaving. I’m not asking for your permission. I’m not negotiating.”

Tristan’s ocean-colored eyes swirled as he leaned in closer. “You promised you wouldn’t leave.”

She withstood his waves. “We didn’t take the talisman, Tristan.

The proof is lying here on the forest floor.

And deep down, you know it wasn’t us. He may still be in the woods.

There’s still time if you take your men now and search.

I would do it myself, but my mother needs me.

” She swallowed hard as she gazed into the eyes of her fiercest protector—the man she’d once loved.

In many ways, she still did. That’s why she declared, “But you and I… we are done, Tristan. For good.” Without waiting for a reply, she climbed onto Onyx.

“Rose, wait!” Tristan pleaded, his voice breaking.

She ignored his desperate plea, his pain pulsing through her, prickling her veins as Roman followed suit, climbing onto Onyx.

“Rose, please,” Tristan begged again.

She nudged Onyx. His hooves went from standing to a gallop in a matter of seconds.

“Rose, don’t,” Tristan called behind her. He took a step towards Onyx’s retreating figure. “Rose… Rose! ”

The storm drowned out his cries as another clap of thunder roared overhead, this time so close it shook the ground.

Onyx sped back to the cliffs to retrieve her mother and Xavier.

“Is he following us?” she dared ask, too scared to look back.

Roman shifted, glancing over his shoulder. “No.”

She exhaled in relief, but soon an ache took hold in her heart.

She could have sworn she heard a ghost of a cry carry with the wind.