“This way,” Hush instructed. The two of us followed her, and after walking for twenty more minutes, Audrey finally spoke up. I looked over at her, realizing that Audrey didn’t exactly look like a Chosen One destined to unite realms. She wore a hoodie, just like me. Her hands were casually tucked into the pockets of it.
“We should go to Queen Ada first?—”
Hush cursed and shoved both of us behind her, reaching for the blades strapped to her thighs.
“What is hap—” I didn’t need to finish asking my question, because in front of us, appearing at a speed I couldn’t catch with my human eyes, were five siren guards. In front of them stood Leon, with an excited grin that made my blood run cold.
“Well,” Leon chuckled to himself, rolling his wrist that carried a sword. “What do we have here?”
Chapter 22
Leon’s smile was just as gross as the first time I saw it, back on my boat.
The three of us said nothing, not even when the siren guards fanned out and started to surround us. Weapons drawn. Masks up. Audrey’s fingers started to flex, and Hush rested her hand on the hilt of one of her knives.
“How interesting,” Leon continued after lowering his mask to speak. “That one of Ilia’s top generals is wandering the base of the Fjellenheim Mountains with a halfling and a human.” I didn’t realize how high up in rank Hush was, but I couldn’t say I was surprised. “The halfling specifically attempting to disrupt the peace our prophesied protector has fought so hard to maintain, no less.”
That was a very inaccurate and one-sided view of events, but I didn’t think it was in my best interest to try to educate him. Hush and Audrey said nothing, so I copied their tactic. I slid my gaze over to a siren guard to my right, staring at his lifted sword, as if he were worried that I would strike him first. Because my green hoodie, jeans, and sneakers gave me no ability to hide a weapon on my person, I determined this guard to be a completedumbass. I gave him a pitiful look, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
“It’s disappointing that my sister was right.” Leon shook his head in mock disappointment. “I didn’t think you would be stupid enough to conspire against our king,” he said to Hush. The black-haired siren who sneered at me at Bandthral came to mind. “When Amber suggested that someone from our guard was working against our own people, I brushed her off. My unit here can confirm that the only reason we’re even patrolling this area right now was to prove she was wrong—unfortunately,” Leon sighed. “Now I must tell her she was right. Do you understand how frustrating that is for me?”
It wasn’t easy to focus on what he was saying while keeping a constant eye on his unit, with their weapons ready to strike.
Leon sighed dramatically as he strolled up to us, and I internally rolled my eyes at how much this man loved the sound of his own voice. “I hate losing bets to Amber. She’s insufferable about it.” But then Leon looked down at Hush, who didn’t back down from his approach, “However, I can’t lie and say I won’t enjoy dragging you to the Gravhune.”
My heart sank in my gut, and right as Leon nodded toward his unit, hands were on me. I was thrust to the ground. I blinked, disoriented, and tried to stand up. But something cold and hard was pressed at my neck.
Freezing, I realized it was a blade.
“Van,” Audrey gasped from nearby. She was thrust completely to the ground, hands behind her back. Three guards were on top of her, one of them holding her hands into fists, keeping her from using her gift. The shrubbery twitched around us, struggling to listen to her command and help us, but they must have learned her weakness the night of the robbery. Without the use of her hands to direct her powers, Audrey couldn’t strike.
Hush was also on the ground. A guard had his knee on her back as he gripped her hooded head upward and held a knife to her throat as well. I, however, was on my hands and knees with a knife to mine.
“You know where the missing females and children are, don’t you?” Leon asked all of us this with disgust, but again, we stayed silent. “This is what happens when females are given too much authority.”
“Oh my god,” I spoke up, making Hush and Audrey throw me panicked looks. “Are you seriously making your inability to convince a woman to fuck you, everyone else’s problem?” I realized as soon as the blade touched my skin that I was probably fucked. Audrey and Hush were strong enough to fight their way out of this, but even though I’ve been training, I hadn’t been trained on how to get out of this specific position. I would most likely die.
If that was the case, the least I could do was buy my friends time.
Leon turned his glare on me, stepping away from Hush to drop to a crouch in front of me.
“You think I’m worried about a human’s opinion?” Leon murmured, low and threatening. “Unlike many in our realm, I don’t have the slightest interest in reproducing with the likes of you.”
“Oh no,” I deadpanned. “I’m devastated.” That earned me a threatening press of the knife against my throat, an attempt to remind me of the danger I was in. I was fully aware, but I’d be damned if I let theseloserslet my last breathing moments be moments of fear.
Leon opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.
“So easily manipulated by a human, are you?” A deep, melodic voice echoed in our clearing. The hairs on my neckrose, a bass note in the melody that constantly filled the air in Hyvenmere, thrummed.
Leon and I both turned to the side to see Drustan standing there, in the same dark leather all the other sirens in the unit wore, hood and mask down, frowning at us with a lifted red eyebrow. Audrey cursed from her prone position on the ground.
“Your highness,” Leon smirked, then tipped his head in my direction. “Do you see what my unit and I have found?”
“I do.” Drustan strolled through the clearing, shoving his hands in the pockets of his tactical pants, studying the three of us pinned under several guards. “How disappointing.”
“Fuck you.” I spat at the prince, unable to control my anger. The last time I saw him in person was on my boat, after he tried convincing me that he genuinely wanted me. The next time was me watching him snoop throughout my room and steal my condoms. Now, here he was, looking like he genuinely didn’t give a shit that his supposedmatewas being held at knifepoint.
“Unlike Leon here,” Drustan smirked as he addressed me. “I’m more than willing to accept the invitation if you keep offering it.” Leon’s brows jumped at his prince’s words, before he turned to study me more intensely. He took the knife from the guard on top of me, using the flat side of the blade to tip my chin up, as if he was inspecting me.
