Page 37 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

The metal table beside them burst upward, slamming into Dax. He landed on his back with a grunt onto the dirty stone floor.

Mariana’s heart seized as everyone around them ran screaming.

She reached for the bone dagger at her hip—

What felt like claws reached up behind her and gripped her arm, stopping her.

A creature made of swirling darkness with bright red eyes slithered out. It pulled Mariana forward with a force she didn’t expect, wrapping its dark tendrils around her neck in silent warning.

“What is this thing?” she gasped, raising her hands to rip it apart, but her fingers only clawed at the air. There was nothing she could do to make it stop.

The blond male shrugged, still smiling.

“A gift from the Matriarch,” he said as Dax stood up, seething with anger. The stranger’s eyes slid over to Mari. “To find and transport you to Aurelia. Now . ”

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Dax ground out, unsheathing the long blade strapped across his back that he’d brought from Kythera. The polished steel glinted under the light, promising a swift death for those who met its sharp edge.

“The Matriarch has grown tired of waiting. She wants her,” he said, pointing at Mariana, “transported to Aurelia by tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks for the reminder, now back off and get out of here,” Dax ordered darkly.

The fae shook his head like he had sad news. “I have my orders. Don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be.”

Dax glanced between the fae and Mariana. She could see it then, the way he struggled.

“Who’s the Matriarch?” she asked Dax in a low voice.

The male stepped toward her and looked down at her with the grayest eyes she’d ever seen. They were completely devoid of color.

“She’s someone you never want to disobey. My name is Cyrus.” He held out a sun-kissed hand as though he expected her to shake it. When her glare never left his face, he dropped his hand with a ghost of a smile.

She turned back toward Dax, who seemed torn with indecision.

“Daxon?” She heard Rufus call out from the bar, but instead of answering him, Dax tightened his grip on his weapon like he desperately wanted to use it. But something held him back. Something he wasn’t telling her.

“You know what will happen if you don’t come with me. I have horses ready,” Cyrus said, leaning a hip against the fireplace. With a smirk, he added, “Or we can do it the fun way: tied up and dragged behind. Your choice.”

Dax growled. His brows were low over his rage-filled eyes.

Mariana didn’t understand why he wasn’t acting on that rage.

“Dax?” she whispered. When his gaze slid to hers, she gave him a pleading stare. His jaw tightened. He slowly exhaled before sheathing his weapon.

Her chest tightened at the sound.

“Fine,” Dax relented, “we’ll go with you. But she stays close to me. Let her go.”

Cyrus lifted himself from his lax position. “I don’t think that—”

“Now!” Dax shouted, making her jump.

Cyrus begrudgingly flicked a hand, and the shadowy creature disappeared.

Dax marched over to her and lifted her face to his. “You okay?”

“What are you keeping from me?” she asked softly, and when he averted his gaze, her stomach squeezed.

“This is all very touching, but we need to get moving.” Cyrus gestured for them to follow. Dax took Mariana’s hand and apologetically pulled her toward the door leading outside.

Rufus lifted an eyebrow at Dax, who just tipped his head toward him and placed the cellar key on the bar.

They left the inn and approached two horses secured to a post.

“We’ll follow you. She rides with me,” Dax stated, his mouth set in a firm line .

Cyrus smirked, glancing between the two of them. “Fine, but don’t be surprised when she stabs you in the back—or in the balls.” He lifted himself onto his horse with ease.

Dax lifted Mariana by the waist and placed her on the horse before climbing to sit behind her.

As he settled in, his chest pressed against her back, and his hips fit snugly against her.

Mariana struggled to steady her heartbeat.

She wasn’t sure if it was from how close he was or that he wouldn’t answer her question on who he was working for.

“What in the burning stars is happening?” Mariana whispered harshly to him as he guided their horse to follow Cyrus.

“Nothing has changed,” he replied quietly against her ear. “You’re still going to the royal family.”

“Then, who is the Matriarch?”

“It’s just a name,” he breathed. “She won’t hurt you.”

The fact that he even needed to say that made her scared. She tried stomping on that fear, telling herself that no matter what, they were on their way to Aurelia, where her sister was imprisoned. She should’ve been elated to know she was getting there faster, and by sunrise, she’d be hugging Astra.

She held onto that hope like a lifeline as they traveled through the dense, dark forest. Having never been on a horse before, she fidgeted and was uncomfortable within the first few hours.

Dax kept telling her to calm down and eventually settled a reassuring arm around her stomach.

Trapped—she should’ve felt trapped. Instead, she pulled it closer around her.

Dax leaned his head against hers, keeping a tight grip on the reins, and held onto her until pale light brightened the sky into a deep violet hue .

Wait—

It wasn’t dawn lighting up the sky. It was the fae palace.

Her breath caught at its magnificence.

Its walls were illuminated from the ground up, making it appear taller and more massive.

In contrast to the darkness, its presence was striking.

Eminence and power radiated from it like it was made to house the gods.

Perhaps it was a tribute built for them, a temple, in case they ever decided to visit the world they’d left behind.

Astra was in there. It was still far, so far away. And yet Mariana felt the impending force of what was to come strike the breath from her lungs.

She tried focusing on her sister. She could already feel Astra’s willowy arms wrapping around her, embracing her in love.

Mariana’s throat tightened, and she couldn’t fight the few tears that escaped her closed eyes.

She missed Astra more than she could ever explain, and all she wanted was to make sure her sister got to hold her daughter again.

Luna would be over the moon; her smile would brighten their dark world.

That was all Mariana wanted. But it was only the first step.

Seraphina’s amulet had to be found and kept safe from the fae king.

There was no way Prince Helios could return; war would destroy the last of her sisters, and with so few left, she feared their existence would be wiped from the world.

As soon as the amulet was hidden within the walls of Salus, Mariana could breathe, and the council could form a plan.

The impressive fortress imprisoning her beloved sister beckoned, its impenetrable white walls and guarded towers taunting her.

She gazed at the spires that reached so high into the sky that the tips brushed the dark clouds.

She stared at the massive illuminated dam separating the palace from the city.

It was difficult to gauge how tall it was, but she assumed it was more than a ten-story drop to the canal below that fed into the sea.

Two massive sewer drains spewed water waste into the waves where the sea met the cliffs.

Mariana shook her head at the disrespectful contamination.

“You alright?” Dax asked from behind her.

She swallowed and nodded, keeping her gaze steady on the palace until it disappeared behind the forest as they descended a hill.

“One hundred and twenty-two,” she whispered. She licked her chapped lips, her voice was strained when she said, “That’s how many sirens are left in the world. More than half of them cursed murderers.” She lifted a shoulder. “But they’re all my sisters. They’re all I have left.”

Dax must’ve known how difficult this was for her, for he stayed silent behind her, listening intently rather than interrupting her thoughts.

“I don’t even know if there will be anyone left by the time I’m supposed to—” Her voice cracked, and she gulped down the fear attached to the words she’d almost spoken.

—by the time I’m supposed to become their queen.

“There hasn’t been a youngling born in Salus since I was born.” She shook her head at the absurdity of that statement. She was the youngest siren alive.

And it was her destiny to save them all.

“I have to save her,” she murmured. “I have to save Astra and bring her home. ”

Dax tightened his arm around her, and she held onto it as she rested her head against his shoulder. Her eyes closed, accepting the weight of exhaustion and stress.

Dax stayed silent. He just pulled her closer and didn’t let go.