Page 42 of When the Wicked Sing (The Leruna Sea #1)

Dax listened to Mariana’s rage from outside the door. Bangs and crashes soon followed as he listened to the pain he caused her. When her screams turned to sobs, he stayed until he couldn’t take it anymore and quickly walked away.

He headed for his living quarters on the other side of the palace, where all the palace servants stayed.

As soon as the door shut behind him, he looked around the space he hadn’t seen for weeks and sighed heavily. All he wanted to do was go back to Mari and explain himself, but nothing he could say would do any good.

Dax gripped his neck and walked toward the modest leather couch on the far side of the room before sitting down.

Big windows let in the sunshine that couldn’t mask the lifeless feeling in the brick-walled, tidy living room.

Dax had all the basics he could need: a desk stacked with paperwork, a bookshelf sparsely filled with books, a small kitchenette he never used, and a sitting area he hardly relaxed in.

Dax’s eyes traveled to the two doors on the other side of the room.

One led to his bedroom with a small attached bathroom.

And the other … He ey ed the padlock still attached to the door handle.

He didn’t have an inkling of desire to open that one.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d entered that room.

Though it was nice to be back in his own space, nothing about his residence made him feel at home. It was a place to escape and sleep. That was it.

Gripping his hands together, he leaned his elbows on his knees and thought of Kythera. He missed it already. The peaceful, serene forest. The calm silence—

His door flew open.

“I heard you were back! About time!” Kosta shouted as he walked in with an outrageous swagger that everyone loved. Dax shook his head and stood up, one side of his mouth lifting at his obnoxious friend.

Kosta’s informality was reserved for only when the aristocrats were absent.

Otherwise, he was a stern Lieutenant of the Royal Guard.

By the look of the steel helmet in his hand, his short, dark brown hair dripping sweat at the curling ends, and the smear of dirt on his tan face, Dax knew he’d just come from training.

Kosta was as dedicated as they came. He always worked hard to ensure the palace stayed safe.

He was an excellent fighter and had the intuition of a thousand-year-old monk.

Honestly, Kosta would’ve made a fine captain if he wasn’t so fiercely protective of his younger sister, Ophelia, who also lived in the palace.

Unfortunately, Dax knew what his friend would do if it came down to either saving her life or the royal family’s.

Thankfully, wherever Halia went, Ophelia seemed to be close behind .

Dax clapped Kosta’s outstretched hand and gripped it tightly before slumping back on the couch. Kosta took the opposite seat with a smug grin on his face. Dax lifted an eyebrow.

“So,” Kosta drawled. “What’s the siren like? You took longer to get back than I expected.”

Dax snorted. “You lost a bet, didn’t you?”

“Hell yeah, I did!”

They laughed, but Kosta’s eyes told Dax he wouldn’t let it go.

Truthfully, Dax didn’t want to talk about Mari at all, to anyone. He was trying to protect her, to keep curious eyes and minds as far away as possible.

Protective and possessive are two different things.

Clearing his throat, Dax shrugged and replied, “There were a few roadblocks along the way.”

“Well, I can’t wait to read that report.”

Dax couldn’t help grinding his teeth as he gave a tight-lipped smile.

“Agreed,” a melodic, feminine voice purred from the door, and both males stood up straight as Halia waltzed in. “Although, we don’t want any prying eyes to acquire such information. Perhaps we shall have a verbal debrief instead, Dax?”

Dax inclined his head. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Halia’s maple eyes shifted between them, making them both unsteady.

“Now that the siren is here, I want to make it very clear that this is to be kept strictly confidential.” When they both agreed, Halia smiled. “Good. Please excuse us, lieutenant. Dax, come with me. ”

Dax threw Kosta a look that said, S ee you later, if I survive this , and followed Halia to the door.

He kept his gaze straight ahead and not on the sensual sway of Halia’s hips, like he knew she’d hoped.

He wasn’t surprised by the act; Halia had made it clear over the years that she would’ve taken him into her bed whenever he liked.

Unfortunately for her, arrogance was a turn-off.

And despite her efforts to hide the truth, Dax knew who her heart truly belonged to.

Each click of her heels on the polished floor made him want to flee, but he continued following her to her study. Once inside, Halia shut the door with a soft click.

Although Halia gave off the impression that she craved Dax’s desire, the only person she truly cared about was the female dressed in white sitting in a burgundy velvet chair across the room.

Ophelia was a Seer and one of the last known descendants of General Minerva.

Though she reigned from House Spirit, she knew very little of her abilities other than the few things mentioned in ancient texts, since no one alive could teach her.

She mostly listened to spirits that told her the secrets locked behind closed doors or conjured the occasional spirit shadow, like the one Cyrus had said was a gift from the Matriarch, which had been pulled from the Veil by Ophelia.

She did anything and everything the princess asked of her.

Halia sat down at her grand, pale oak desk, detailed with gold lines, and regarded them with a scrutinizing stare. She gestured for Dax to sit beside Ophelia, and he reluctantly obliged.

“I want the amulet secured as fast as possible. And I want you two to get Mariana to find out exactly where her sister went. ”

Dax held back a scoff. “Do you honestly think Astra would’ve kept anything that revealed the location here in the palace for just anyone to find?”

Halia shook her head and lightly threaded her fingers together in front of her. “Not just anyone. Mariana. She knew I was going to have her sister brought here, and I’m willing to bet she left her some indication about where the amulet is.”

“There has to be something in the library,” Ophelia noted softly.

“That’s where Astra was searching before …

” She let the rest of her words hang in the air.

Then she cleared her throat, and her eyes shifted with uncertainty between Halia and Dax.

“I’ll bring Mariana some food and get it started. ” She stood.

“Wait,” Dax blurted, and averted his gaze. “Just … make sure you don’t give her any meat.”

Ophelia gave him a small smile and a nod before quietly leaving the study with soft steps.

When they were alone, Halia stood and walked over to a tall mirror hanging above a burning marble fireplace. She ran her fingers through her hair as she glanced at him in the reflection.

“Speak freely.”

Dax heard it. The shift in her voice revealed that she was the cold-blooded Matriarch beneath her pretty golden exterior.

Whether that title had been given to her by her cohorts, her victims, or she’d bestowed it upon herself didn’t matter.

Halia was proud when she heard it whispered under people’s breath in the dead of night, like a prayer, or under the bright sun like a curse.

And it kept her illicit schemes secret from her father.

Two summers ago, when a diplomat was found murdered in his home, the Matriarch had been the primary suspect.

King Stavros ordered his spies to identify the culprit, but nothing was found.

The Matriarch was just a phantom in the wind and a slice to the throat when no one was looking.

Despite Halia’s claim that she wasn’t involved in the diplomat’s death when Dax asked her, he knew there had been a quarrel between the two before the incident.

Like everything the Matriarch got involved in, the truth was washed away along with the blood she hired someone to spill.

Dax bit the inside of his cheek. “Why did you send Cyrus and those goons after us?”

“You know why,” she said, keeping her eyes steady on herself as she reapplied her lipstick.

“One of them had widow toxin coating his blade. It almost killed me.”

Smacking her lips together, she placed the lipstick on the white mantel and finally met his eyes.

“But it didn’t.” Spinning, she walked over to him and touched his shoulder.

She tilted her head down to look at him from under heavy lashes.

“You know I’d never let anything happen to you,” she said sweetly.

Dax’s jaw tightened. “How much does Cyrus know?”

“As much as I want him to know.” She stepped away from him to look out at the glittering sea from a row of windows.

“You see, Daxon, I go to great lengths to ensure my trust is given to those who deserve it. And when I can sense that someone’s loyalties are not as strong as they should be, I’m required to test them. ”

She turned. The sly glint in her eye made Dax shift in his seat and avert his gaze. He knew what she was getting at, and all he could think was how to prove he was still loyal to her. Or had he already? The question hung heavy in the air, and Dax’s eyebrows lowered as what she said settled in.

He landed furious eyes on her. “You sent me to abduct Mariana as a test? ”

Halia walked over to him with the grace of a panther stalking its prey.

Each step of her gold and black stilettos clicked against the hardwood floor, reverberating in his eardrums. “I sent you to retrieve Mariana. After my other precious siren escaped so unexpectedly , I took a closer look at all those who claimed to be loyal to me.”

She knew what had happened. She knew what Dax had done and chose to punish him by capturing Mari.

Dax held his ground. He knew his importance to her. Otherwise, she would’ve just had him killed.

“You completed the mission, and for that, I commend you. However.” Halia sat on her desk in front of him.

When her dress parted, her exposed, long legs brushed his, and as she leaned in, her exotic floral perfume wafted toward him.

“I’ve learned that a wolf can follow its handler’s orders just as well as it can bite them the moment they turn their back.

” Halia licked her plump lips and fluttered her thick lashes like he’d seen her do countless times before.

“Tell me, Daxon, are you a wolf? Are you my wolf?” she whispered seductively.

He knew it was all an act, and she expected him to play his part.

He pushed himself off the chair and stood tall above her. Leaning in close, Dax tilted her chin with his fingers, and watched her painted lips part. “Don’t keep me in the dark, Matriarch. Otherwise, this partnership ends. ”

Dropping his hand from her chin, Dax marched toward the door, determined to leave.

Halia started cackling, making the hair on the back of his neck rise.

“You say that like you have the choice.”

Her words stopped him in his tracks. He stared at the door, wishing he could tell her to fuck off. But he couldn’t.

“Daxon,” Halia crooned. He reluctantly turned around, eyeing her where she lounged on the desk, her skirts still open, but at least she crossed her legs.

“Don’t forget why you’re here. You’re mine for as long as you want to keep your little village safe and sound.

” Her eyes glinted with the underlying meaning of her words: Obey or lose everything.