Page 30 of A Siren of Beasts

Reaching out she cupped my cheek and I gasped at the jolt of electricity that shocked me. Then I was surrounded in warmth and the feeling of love I’d craved and never experienced. The all consuming love of a mother to her child flowed through me, bringing tears to my eyes at the overwhelming sensation. “Mother,” I sobbed.

She pulled me into her arms and held me, stroking my head, soothing me as I clung to her. I’d struggled all my life trying not to care that I didn’t know where I came from or if I’d ever been loved. Now I had my answer and it was a balm to my soul on a wound I hadn’t known I’d suffered from.

“My sweet child, I’m so sorry and I had no idea the bind I put on your magic would keep me from coming to you in your dreams like I’d promised. I’ve been waiting here though, waiting for the day you would return to your home and take up your rightful place. You’ve already come so far, even without my guidance, and I couldn’t be more proud.” Pulling back she cupped my face in her hands, holding my gaze with hers. “The fate that I’ve seen for you isn’t an easy one but you are so much stronger than you know. Trust your spirit and your magic. They will guide you to what is true as they have up till now. Your call has gone out far and wide across our land, drawing those you need to your side.”

“How many of them will there be? I think I already have three of them, maybe a fourth, but I’m not sure. If I knew how many soul mates I have it would help guide me,” I pleaded, hoping this was something she could answer.

She smiled and kissed my forehead. “Trust yourself, my little flower, you’ve blossomed into a stunning woman. The life you had to lead might not have been what any mother wishes for their child, but it taught you so much. Think of all that you had access to, the skills you acquired learning to navigate so many people, and the full understanding of humans. No monster before you has ever been blessed with that knowledge. I’ve seen your fate, my little flower, there will be hardships, but also so much joy and love that you will be showered with. Don’t make my mistake and withhold your heart from those who deserve it.”

Letting me go she backed away, tears freely flowing down her cheeks even as she had the most serene look on her face. “I love you, Kezia, don’t ever doubt that.”

“Wait, Mother,” I yelled, reaching out for her when a massive hand appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around my waist. “No, Mother, I have so many more questions. You want me to cure the madness but I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Don’t worry, my little flower, I sent you a guide. He just needs to learn to accept all parts of himself and he will be all you need to get you started on your path.”

Her image shimmered and vanished just as I gasped, snapping my eyes open, my lungs burning as if I was drowning once more in the depths of the sea. I grasped my throat as I coughed, gulping in air, only to make myself cough some more.

“Easy, Little Siren, I’ve got you,” Hisceas crooned, as the feeling of someone rubbing my back in soothing motions helped me to focus on something other than my panic. “There you go, focus on the sound of my voice as well as my touch. Ground yourself in the real world, listen and tell me what you hear.”

I did as he requested and closed my eyes, sinking into his touch as I focused on hearing my surroundings. “Someone is fighting,” I pointed out, eyes springing open as my hand gripped Hisceas’s arm tightly.

“Grieth is not at all pleased with the ent for entering your mind and taking you so deep within yourself that I feared I might not be able to get to you,” Hisceas explained, his eyes reflecting his concern as his tentacles twined around my waist pulling me to him snugly. “What happened?” he whispered, clearly just as upset by what happened.

My head hurt like someone was using my skull as a drum the way it pulsed. “My mother wanted me to see something,” I murmured, lifting a hand to my head. “She wanted to show me something and explain why she did what she did.”

The hissing snarl that came out of my gentle giant had me smoothing a hand over his skin. “The queen set a trigger in your mind so when Milin made the connection it activated the spell. Those are incredibly dangerous since they can be cast at any time but the longer it’s been the more violent the magic becomes. It’s even more of a miracle I was able to remove you from the spell before anything happened.”

“I’m okay, at least I think I am,” I assured him. “My head is pounding but I’m sure Milin might be able to fix it. Is he alright?” I asked, realizing he’d said we both got pulled into the memory.

Hisceas nuzzled his cheek against me as he slowly drew back his tentacles for me to sit back. “For the moment he is alive, but if Grieth or Rhun have any say in the matter, he won’t be. When I pulled you out, it did the same for him, only since I wasn’t protecting him, he was hit with the backlash of the spell.”

Shifting I moved to get off his lap, but he hauled me back against his body, tucking me in the crook of his arm as he stood. Apparently, he wasn’t ready for me to leave his grasp and he was large enough there was nothing I could do about it. Secretly, I rather enjoyed having him worry about me, it was a new experience and made a smile tug at my lips. That smile faded the moment I saw the destruction in the sitting room and the broken glass of one of the floor to ceiling windows near the piano. Miraculously, that was the only thing still standing in the wake of their fight.

Now it made sense why Hisceas didn’t want me to navigate my way through this mess. I’d tried to clean up a plate and ended up causing a whole ordeal. When we got to the window he shifted his body sideways and slipped through, shielding me with his other hand. Back out in the forest I heard the sound of their fight and the vicious accusations flying around.

“Fucking Ent, I’m going to rip you apart and use your wood to fuel the fire to roast your heart,” Rhun snarled as I saw the flash of flames illuminate the forest.

There was a crackle and then a blast that shook the ground and pulsed through the air. Hisceas twisted and turned his back protecting me from the worst of it, only my hair was ruffled in the wind.

“Stay the fuck out of my way, fleabag, this gnarled asshole of a tree is mine,” Imp’s voice sliced through the air as deadly serious as his magic.

When we rounded the large fir tree my jaw dropped. Rhun swirled with flames as blood dripped from his mouth and his fur was matted on one shoulder, making me think he was bleeding. Imp’s feathers were scattered on the ground like flower petals at a celebration, but otherwise it was hard to tell if he was hurt. Meanwhile, Moreth had scorch marks on his cheek, and chest, and gouges across his abdomen that oozed amber liquid. Impressively, all three of these monsters were equally matched in skill and brutality, and none of them were holding back.

The three of them clashed together in a flurry of claws, teeth, and rage the likes of which I’d never seen before. My heart squeezed at the sight of them fighting but at a loss for what to do. I needed to get to them, this had to stop or one of them was really going to get hurt or worse—killed. Throwing myself out of Hisceas’s hold I dropped to the ground, landing on a knee and catching myself with a hand before I was up and heading right for them.

“Kezia, no,” Hisceas roared, but I didn’t stop.

Calling to my magic, I trusted my instincts and prayed to the gods it would understand my intention as I whipped it out in their direction. Silver coils wrapped around them then cinched tightly, preventing them from moving or using their magic. They’d all been mid-action so they fell to the ground in a heap. Imp thrashed his talons, carving into the dirt as he fought to free himself. Rhun snarled and his flames burned even hotter as if he thought that would break my hold on them. Moreth surprisingly just lay there breathing heavily, staring up at the sky like he didn’t mind being tied up at all.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, my anger causing my magic to swirl around me as if trying to soothe me, but I didn’t want to be soothed.

Just as I was going to step closer, something wrapped around my neck and my wrists. “That. Is. Close. Enough, Little Siren,” Hisceas bit out as his body molded to mine from behind, arms locking around me like steel bands. “I don’t care how strong you are, running into a fight with monsters like these three is asinine. You have no idea the damage they could do and how much restraint they—we—use when we interact with you. I did not save you just to let you run headlong towards death itself.”

I’d had people upset with me before, displeased with something I’d done, my appearance, or just for being a whore. None of that had bothered me or hit me as hard as hearing Hisceas with actual fear mixed in with his anger. No one had ever cared to get mad at me for doing something dangerous, but hearing it now had my stomach sinking at the thought of Hisceas being mad at me or even more so—disappointed.

His thundering words had snapped the other three out of their rage-induced haze and had their eyes locked on me. Now they were able to witness my humiliation firsthand for trying to keep them from killing each other.

“Release them, Little Siren,” Hisceas ordered.