Page 28 of A Siren of Beasts

I inclined my head, knowing she had more to ask.

“Why is it that you remember it but none of the others do?” she questioned.

“That will all be answered by the story I wish to share with you, Song Bird,” I explained, the pet name slipping out to my surprise.

The hell-wolf let out a warning growl, lifting his head and pinning me with a look like he was waiting for something to happen. Ah, now it made sense.

“Forgive me, was that something Moreth called you?” I asked, but I didn’t really need the answer with the way her males were looking at me. They were waiting for the twisted side of me to appear.

“You see, even though we are essentially two separate entities, some things either one of us feels strongly about become a shared thought. Moreth must truly like you if he feels that strongly about the name he chose for you,” I shared.

Kezia tilted her head as she studied me. “He told me that the one thing you two might actually agree on was your attraction to me.”

Of course the bastard would sense that from me. Why would the asshole tell her, though? The queen had told me I would be by her offspring’s side, that I would help her, guide her, and protect her from dangers. Never did she mention I would be one of her soul mates—I didn’t have a soul anymore. I’d given that up to keep my sanity, even if I would beg for the chance to have my soul connection with someone.

“To deny that you are a stunning female with an alluring aura about you would be foolish, when any male would scoff at me for even trying to lie. Kezia, you will have your soul mates and they will be exactly who and what you need, but I am not one of them. I was appointed by Queen Lixera and Mother Tree to be the bridge between the ents and the ruler of the other monsters who dwell in this forest. That is what I shall continue to be for you as well,” I expressed.

Her silver gaze stared at me, almost as if she could see through my mental shield and into my thoughts. With the guardian here I kept it in place since he was one of the strongest telepaths in existence. Even with my additional strength and magic from being grounded by our lands, it might not be enough to keep him out.

“You sound sad about that,” she murmured. “It also makes more sense why my song affected you so strongly. I seem to be able to bring people’s deepest desires to the surface when I sing.”

Hisceas’s gaze snapped to Kezia. “You sang for him, Little Siren?”

“Not on purpose, I wasn’t aware he’d slipped in or set the spell, but when I sing I lose all sense of reality. It’s like I’m transported to another world where my song and feelings come to life, swallowing me whole,” she explained, with a wistful sound to her voice. “It was one reason I refused to sing for just anyone, unless I knew how they would react. Some would become obsessed, while others would be enraged and want to attack me.”

Fascinating, I mused. The previous queen had been a monster unlike any before or after her existence. While like Kezia she appeared more human, the power she harnessed was immense. Our queen didn’t sing to manipulate her power, instead, she used a small harp made with the threads of fate. She could see the future and, in some cases, alter it slightly, but that was something she only did once and it cost her everything.

“It seems you have the power to manipulate emotions, but without your magic free to work with your gift it might have caused some backlash. All magic that is used gives, but it also takes, in a perfect cycle of balance. Humans were never meant to experience our magic, which might add to the poor reactions you experienced,” I offered, in hopes it might ease her worries. “Hearing you sing and apparently pull a song based on my emotions did nothing but bring me joy to hear your voice. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard before and I feel honored to have experienced it.”

“Pretty words, Sappy, but I’m going to need you to stop making advances on Shiny. You just told her you would be her guide and friend, so stop with the gooey emotions. That is reserved for me,” the raven whispered into my mind.

I jumped at the intrusion scrambling to check my shields, but found them intact. It would seem even if they couldn’t read my thoughts they could share theirs. The hell-wolf growled again and snapped his teeth at the raven, as if he’d heard what he’d said to me.

“While I agree with what you told the tree, she’s my mate as well, you birdbrain. I have more right than you to make sure Zia feels cared for and treasured. So stop trying to fucking cut me out.”

The raven in question just cocked his head to look down at the hell-wolf before flitting down to the armrest, turning his back on the wolf, and promptly shit on him. With a cackling laugh, the raven shot off with the hell-wolf right behind him, leaping in the air and snapping his jaw mere inches from his tail feathers. The raven darted out of the room with another raucous laugh, followed by the sound of crashing.

The guardian let out a low frustrated groan and a few of his tentacles reached up to rub his head. “Ignore those two, some species rivalries will never end. Although I believe it might settle once their bonds have been completed.”

Kezia knelt on the armchair and looked in the direction of where the other two exited, concern on her face. Even if she might not see it yet, the soul bonds between them were building rather quickly. During this time none of them would like being apart from each other for long, so I had no doubt they would be back.

“Hisceas, should I go check on them?” Kezia asked. “You don’t think Imp would actually eat Rhun’s soul, do you?”

Hisceas reached out to his newly found soul mate and scooped her out of the armchair to sit with him. He was quite a bit larger than her, even in his shrunken size, so she seemed small when he settled her in the crook of his arm. One of his tentacles gently wrapped around her neck like a unique piece of jewelry as he rested his forehead against hers.

“Be at peace, Little Siren, Grieth knows he can’t do anything to Rhun without hurting you. All he has is these petty games to play so that’s what he’s going to do. They have been lost to the madness for far longer than they realize, meaning their mental age doesn’t match their physical age,” Hisceas explained, setting his mate at ease with impressive skill.

I would need to study his interactions with Kezia so I could do that for her as well. The deeper we got into her learning about our world I knew some things might upset her. It would be a valuable skill to heal her mental wounds as much as her physical ones. When she returned her attention to me the guardian relaxed into the chair, perfectly content to have her right where she was.

“I believe I was going to start at the beginning of the tale about the madness. Would you still like for me to do that or are there other matters you would like to discuss instead?” I offered, not wanting to bore her if she no longer wanted to listen to my story.

She smiled and gestured for me to continue. “Now might be our best chance, if the other two were still here I feel like they’d get bored and start another fight to entertain themselves.”

While I didn’t know any of them well, I had to say based on the limited interaction, she was probably right.

“This will be information they already know anyway,” I pointed out. “If you are willing and the guardian gives his support, I’d rather show you instead of having to tell you. I’ll be sharing a memory with you so you’ll be seeing it from my perspective and give you a better sense of all that went on.”

Looking up at Hisceas with a questioning look he studied me for a moment. “I don’t see any harm in this, I would be able to break his hold on your mind with ease, Little Siren. As you’ve granted me access to your thoughts, I can join you to ensure all that he shows you is truthful and not some made up farce.”