“How many soldiers do you think she bought with her?” His voice was filled with panic.
My hands yearned to reach out to him, to tell him—to plead with him to stay here. But I knew he wouldn’t.
Damien didn’t speak. He just stood up, my body still tightly nuzzled in his arms, as he looked outside the window. His beautiful gaze focused on the surroundings like he was sensing something we couldn’t.
Then his voice dropped to a whisper. “Alone. She came alone.”
Malakai’s hands stilled on the buttons of his pants, as Xavier stepped closer to the window.
“Alone?” Xavier asked. “Why would she?”
No one dared to breathe too loudly.
“I don’t know, all I sense is her magic.”
“I’ll talk with Sparrow. We need Seth here,” Xavier stated, storming out of the room.
I had so many questions, but none of them left my lips.
All I felt were Damien’s fingertips brushing over my back, my head resting against his chest. The candles in the room flickered as a gust of air swept through the room, and yet the windows were still closed.
And then… a ripping sound, like reality itself had been split open.
Was this the Veil of Carnivalland?
And suddenly, the last candle in the room went out.
The shadows of something dark had crept inside our home.
Chapter 39
Escorted by six of my best soldiers, Sparrow and Seth included, we made our way toward the saloon. I refused to let go of Gwendolyn’s hand, her fingers trembling slightly in mine, while Damien held onto her other side, his grip steadier than mine but with no less concern.
She begged Malakai to not come with us, but just like Damien and I, we were all desperate to protect her. So, he was reluctantly pushed behind us as we didn’t know what Leanan had planned. Furthermore, angels, for all their grace and might, were still far too naive for their own damn good and we couldn’t afford any more risk.
We had expected something different as we all strolled into the room. A trap maybe. An ambush. But certainly not her, standing alone in the center of the room like the final act of a tragedy.
Leanan.
Dressed in a black gown, resembling the color of her soul, if she even had one. Cold, endless, and brutal. I never knew how much I hated her until she came back.
For Lydia and me, she was everything a mother wasn’t. She never hugged us, never kissed us, never gave us her warmth.Instead of being a mother, she only aimed for power and despair and used her beauty and darkness to destroy.
She had raped Malakai for nearly fifteen years. Kept him hidden from Gwendolyn and almost destroyed the life of the woman I loved with every fractured piece of soul.
I had always known about Leanan’s powers, her connections to ancient wizards and forgotten spells. But I had never imagined she would take it this far. To use power not for creation, but for desecration. To bring my mate into the human realm through manipulation and the power of shadows.
It was almost like cruelty wasn’t enough for her, she wanted to destroy it.
Leanan was a monster in silk, and she had no idea that this time, she wouldn’t leave unscathed. Her beauty was somehow of a morbid kind, almond green eyes, small nose like a bird and raven hair skin. I understood that my dad was dumb enough to fool himself by her beauty, but I always hated that we shared the same eye color. It was like a memory of someone I never wanted to see again.
When we were children, Sparrow was terrified of her.
He never admitted it aloud, but I could see it in the way his body tensed whenever she entered the room. The way his eyes darted toward exits, his shoulders tightening as if bracing for something unseen. Leanan carried an aura like frost: heavy, lingering, and cruel. Almost ghoulish. At the time, I told myself it was because she wasn’t his mother. Maybe it was just jealousy, I thought; the quiet resentment of a boy watching his father bring home someone that wasn’t his mother.
But now, standing across from Leanan in the cold light of today, I knew better.
Sparrow’s fear wasn’t born of bitterness or jealousy. It was his siren blood making him follow only his inner instincts. Sirens were sensitive to what others cannot see. Not just the obviousemotions, but everything lurking beneath them. Their souls were tuned to frequencies of darkness that most of us never perceive.
