He rushes towards me.
I draw the rune in the air on impulse. I don’t have a clue what the runes will do, just that the right one tingles, burns, or feels cold depending on the situation. This is a gift from the one who sired me; even my mother didn’t understand it.
The rune explodes in the air with a flash of ice.
And a pissed-off Grim slams down onto the kitchen table in front of us. I hear the explosion of wood and the chairs breaking and hum in regret. I liked that table. It was nice to lie on.
“Oh, shiiiiiit!” Lirin whispers, and I can hear the Sirens rapidly back peddling.
I cock my head to the side, feeling the Grim get up, his tail lashes, slamming into cupboards, his growl growing in volume.
“I’m going to eat you all!”
I throw my head back and laugh.
“PUPPY! No eating!” Becky’s voice slides into the air around us. I cock my head to the side, wondering how she made her voice come from everywhere. Neat trick.
The Nightmare King slides out of the shadows, unseen by the stunned Sirens. But I would feel the King in any darkness. He is too powerful, too deadly. Stix has the intelligence and dangerous aggression to make him a fierce foe. We have never had to fight each other, and I hope that day never comes.
Ice spreads across my skin as the Fae Prince appears. A wild thrill of terror skitters up my spine, a voice deep inside urging me to run, a fear that I recognise as Wilder. I don’t know them well, but I know that the Sirens are as old or older than them and twice as dangerous. What people have seen of them here has only touched the surface; they could boil the oceans if they wanted.
And then she arrives, with her mix of all their worst traits and the sharp tang of the omega in the air, something that has been growing increasingly strong in my wild scent. Sharp, bitter fear slices through me, but I push it deep, refusing to be drawn into it. I will not fall into the omega trap. Never.
The hand leaves my nape.
The glass doors shatter and Diablos, stinking of sulfur and cum, drags his musky human mate into the house with him. We have crossed paths a few times. I am aware that they have been hunting me, but so far, I’ve managed to evade them all. Until now. Oh, well, the cat’s out of the bag. That’s another fascinating human saying. Why would you put a cat in a bag? Sounds like a deadly and stupid way to get killed.
I let out a wild giggle.
I can feel everyone’s attention snap towards me.
“Who stole my Grim?” Becky thunders, her nails drag along the wall as she walks inside, carving her fury into the drywall.
No one says anything. So much for chivalry.
I clear my throat and shrug. I open my mouth and close it, trying to come up with a plausible explanation.
Nothing comes to mind.
So, I just raise my hand and point at the Sirens. “They made me do it.”
Five snarls of pure rage hit me, and I laugh again.Oh, this is fun.
Something dark approaches, something bigger and more frightening than anything that has come before. It’s like a distant danger, a threat; it gets louder and louder in my head until I can’t feel anything else.
I turn to the ocean, listening as salt hits my face.What is that? Ooh, ooh, this is really exciting!
“Who summoned him?” Ronit hisses.
“I didn’t,” Canto says with eerie calm.
“No,” Brio expels the word in a rush.
“Wasn’t me,” Lirin murmurs and moves away from the Grim.
“You think I did?” Reed hisses.
What is that?I move closer, dancing across the space, unable to stay away.
