Page 26 of A Siren of Beasts

“Yes, you are, Song Bird, a magnificent monster,” he said in agreement, his eyes tracking my every moment as I approached him.

“Flattery will get you absolutely nowhere,” I snapped. “You’re the one who was watching me as we came back from the shore, aren’t you?”

He grinned, his sharp teeth bared in a feral manner. “Only to make sure you stayed safe, Song Bird. The queen’s offspring must be guarded with great diligence so she might free me from this madness,” as he spoke the black bled away and the white returned, along with the more gentle side of this monster. “She tried to save me but instead she just splintered me in two.”

The memory of the queen telling me she didn’t have the ability to save them echoed in my mind. Could this be what she was talking about?

“What’s your name?” I asked, feeling if we were going to have this deep of a conversation I should at least know that.

“I am Milin, but my darker side prefers to be addressed as Moreth,” Milin shared.

“Kezia,” I offered in return. “Were you there when the other ent tried to choke me? Your voice sounds familiar to me.”

“Yes, I scared off the one trying to hurt you. I would have liked to heal you but your death raven wasn’t too keen on the idea. Then again, anyone who meets Moreth for the first time never takes it well. He thrives off people’s fear and does everything he can to create a situation that will feed him. It seems my natural ability to gather my nutrients through the earth doesn’t suit him,” Milin expressed with a sigh. “He would never hurt you though, you’re too valuable to us.”

A loud banging on the door to the sitting room rattled the room, followed by a roar that made the earth itself shake. Quickly looking at Milin I decided he was secure enough for me to see what in the gods’ name was happening out there. When I reached the door, I noticed the metal doorknobs were glowing red like an ember. Even though Rhun didn’t want me testing my fireproof abilities I felt this was a reasonable moment to try. Grabbing the knob and smirking when nothing happened, I twisted it and stood back as I pulled it open.

Rhun tumbled in with Imp right behind him, Imp stepped on Rhun’s back as he darted into the room. Hisceas had the decency to pick Rhun up and set him out of the way before he entered. Rhun shoved off the guardian’s hold and looked around the room wildly before his gaze landed on me watching them all curiously.

“Zia,” he blurted, then scooped me up and snuggled me to his chest. “Thank the gods, you’re safe.”

“Was I in danger?” I asked when he pulled back enough for me to see his face. The scowl that was there told me I’d missed something. “What?”

“Zia, do you not realize that you’ve been locked in here for almost two hours? That fucking ent put a time lapse spell on the door when he snuck his way in,” Rhun explained. “I’ve never heard of an ent that could perform a spell like that, but Grieth was telling us something about how this ent was inflicted with the madness and now he has two personalities.”

“Ah yes, Milin is the ent and Moreth is his alter created by the madness,” I confirmed. “We were just chatting about all of that when you three started banging down the door.”

“That banging had been going on for an hour, Little Siren,” Hisceas interjected. “The spell finally wore off so you could hear us. The fastest way to break the spell is for someone on the other side to open the door.”

Rhun put me down and I spotted Imp with his wicked blade raised to Milin’s throat. He was saying something in a low enough voice I couldn’t hear, but I had a feeling he was telling Milin how he was going to kill him and eat his soul. Turning back to the other two, I looked them over to make sure they weren’t hurt but found them mostly furious they couldn’t get to me.

“Do either of you know how he got in with the spells we put up?” I asked. “Did I fuck it up? I wouldn’t surprise me having no clue how to do any of this.”

Hisceas reached out to me, letting his fingers comb through my hair. “No, you did nothing wrong, if anything those spells are stronger because of your added magic. Plus, it looks like you and your magic are getting along well if you’ve managed to manipulate the castle to do your bidding. If he’s been allowed in there has to be a reason, and it also means that he doesn’t wish you any harm.”

“Someone might want to tell the mighty feathered hunter before he guts the tree and eats its soul,” Rhun muttered, crossing his arms.

That of course would be left to me to do since I was the only person Imp would listen to in a situation like this. Letting out a sigh, I turned and made my way to where I’d left Milin hanging.

“When I’ve pruned all your branches I’m going to see if I can find what makes your eyes glow,” Imp said, letting his blade scrape along Milin’s cheek. “If I can’t find it, then at least I’ll have the answer to that question I’ve always wondered. Then I think next I’ll search for your cock, if you have one. Do you just grow it when you need it? Wait, your offspring are created from seedlings. Why would you need a cock?”

Milin had since been replaced with Moreth, who was just laughing at Imp like he was the most entertaining thing he’d ever seen. “At least I don’t kill whatever I fuck. Rumor is your cum is rather lethal, death raven.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t believe everything you hear, tree stump. At least I can come, what do you do? Shoot sap everywhere?” Imp shot back.

“Boys,” I cut in, drawing their attention. “While I hate to interrupt this incredibly informative conversation, I do have some questions of my own.”

“Don’t worry, Song Bird, I can grow whatever you need to be satisfied as many times as you need it,” Moreth informed me with a smirk.

Imp slapped the ent across the face, jerking Moreth’s head to the side. Amber blood appeared at the corner of his mouth but he just licked it clean and spat on the floor. “That was a cheap hit, Bird, you only get one of those because I don’t want to upset our Song Bird with your demise.”

Oh god now there’s two of them, I groaned. Before Imp could react I grabbed his arm and pulled him close to me. The talon shaped blade vanished in a puff of smoke and Imp pulled me to his chest, wrapping me in his arms. “Shiny, you get into so much trouble. I swear I can’t take my eyes off you. Any time I do you end up with strange monsters trying to take you from me. This is all very stressful.”

“It does seem I’ve become a beacon for trouble, doesn’t it?” I admitted, resting my head against his shoulder. “I know you’re not going to like this but I do have questions I need to ask Moreth, well unless Milin is the one who has the answers. How much of a connection do you share?” I asked the ent. “Are you completely separate or more like different personalities?”

“You mean, like if the sap of a tree I’m stuck living with is attracted to you, do I feel the same way?” Moreth asked.

“Milin thinks I’m attractive?” I questioned, feeling caught off guard by that.