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And yet you still want her. Nox’s laughter echoed in my skull. “Then I will have your oath, witch,” Nox said while snarling at Shirina. “You will use your siren voice to make sure you are first to open the book of names. You will destroy the page with my name, and you will not ever speak my name to anyone.”
“Very well,” Shirina grumbled while sharing a look with her mates. “Let’s get this over with.”
Shiri
I RESTED MY HEAD AGAINST Drae’s shoulder, his wings rapidly flapping while we followed Isa and Blaze across the moonlit sky. I worried that we weren’t making the right decision, though I feared we had no choice. I was only glad Nikkos was watching the children. At least he wouldn’t have to sign the blood oath. I wished my other mates were with him, too. It wasn’t fair subjecting them to this so that Helian could have his body back when he wouldn’t be in this predicament if he’d stayed loyal to my sister.
Isa surprisingly let Esther and two beefy satyrs ride on her back while she clutched Helian in her claws, rattling him perhaps a little too hard, her dark chuckle reverberating through the humid air. Radnor let out an angry roar from somewhere below, though he didn’t attempt to stop Isa.
I don’t like this, Shiri. Drae’s rumble resonated in my mind as we flew over the treetops.
Blaze concurred with lots of cursing.
Neither do I, I answered, feeling as if the weight of the world was pressing on my chest.
Demons are tricky, Blaze grumbled. We shouldn’t bargain with them.
What choice do we have if my siren call can’t control this undead army?
And that was the crux of the problem. The demon left us with no other options. I knew he wasn’t lying about the army. He couldn’t lie to my siren. What would happen if I couldn’t stop them? And how could Tari kill them if they were already dead? We needed those books.
What happens when we’re faced with killing this demon while being boiled alive? Drae asked.
I turned up my chin, looking in his eyes while the wind blew back my hair. Tari will kill him.
His eyes narrowed. Do you trust your sister?
With my life, I answered without hesitation.
If not, Nikkos can kill him, Blaze said.
Nikkos? No! He didn’t have powerful magic like Tari. There was no way he could go up against a demon wyvern.
Ash and Finn can help him, Blaze added.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Drae said, the rattle in his voice setting me on edge.
We landed at the mouth of a cave which was at the base of the island’s blackened volcano, whose top was obscured by a low-hanging fog.
When Isa dropped Helian on the ground, two satyrs scrambled off her back and picked him up, dragging him up stone steps carved into the side of the volcano.
Blaze helped Esther dismount, and we followed after Helian. I scowled at the black, sooty soil covering the stones, knowing my slippers would be ruined. Blaze was kind enough to sweep me into his arms and fly me up the stairs, following after Isa while Drae flew after us. We landed at the mouth of a cave carved into the volcano.
Isa’s head barely cleared the cavern, and she tucked her tail in tight as we followed her inside. The cave was surprisingly cool inside as a musty odor wafted from the indigo walls. But what was most surprising was the flow of white mist that obscured our feet. My gaze traveled to the origin of the mist, a raised stone bed that reminded me of a fire pit, but as I approached, I realized it was a pool of water. My first thought was that the water must’ve been especially cold to have produced so much mist. My second thought was that the pool was magical. If so, how? What were these mists?
Helian’s guards dropped him on the floor beside the pool. The Fae hung his head, his hands chained in front of him.
I spun a slow circle, entranced by the threads of mist that crawled up the walls like moving vines. “What is this place?”
Esther nodded toward the raised pool as three robed figures emerged from the shadows, their hooves clomping on the hard earth, their heads bowed. I couldn’t see their faces, though I noticed their furry hands crossed in front of them. “The mists have been here since the time of Kyan.” The high priestess motioned toward the robed satyrs. “These priestesses have been protecting the mists since their first blush of womanhood.”
Drae scratched the back of his head. “What do the mists do?”
“Many things if the witch using them is powerful enough,” Esther said. “We were able to use them to see you and Tari approaching our islands a few weeks past. Tonight, they will help us conduct the ceremony to extract the demon from Helian and put it in Enso.”
As if he heard the summons, a loud squawk sounded behind us, and Enso appeared, walking into the cavern with his head bowed and wings pinned behind him.
Helian looked up, his eyes flashing red. “And don’t forget your blood oath,” he said in a sibilant tone that made my gooseflesh rise.
