The Silver Siren (31 page)

Faraway quickly anchored me back into
the present by nuzzling my shoulder.

I don’t know if I’m strong
enough for what’s to come.

You were born with all the
strength you’ll need,
he
stated.

Chapter 30

We
converged upon Sinnendor’s gates in record time. We should have
been cut down immediately when our heavily armed warriors appeared.
But we weren’t. It might have helped that I left the Valdyrstal
clan a half mile behind me. But I knew that scouts would have seen
our army no matter what.

The castle was locked up tight. I
convinced my father that my resemblance to my mother may be our
only chance of getting into the castle. He agreed to let me
talk.

Only my father escorted me to the
gates, watching over Siobhan who was in front of him, still
unconscious. Odin had been doing his best to keep her heavily
medicated. Now we just had to convince our enemy to let us into
their gates. Yes, it was an impossible feat, and I was not keen on
letting my clan act as sitting ducks between the approaching
forces.

“
Gideon!” I called out
loudly. “Gideon, we need you!”

“
A strange way to ask for
help,” Gideon called back down to me from the battlements. “With a
full army.”

“
No, we’ve come to offer
help as well as ask for it. Talk to Xiven. You know as well as I do
what was on the horizon. It has come to your own door, but it’s not
us. The enemy you’ve been worried about and preparing for is close
on our heels. We ask you to help us with one of our own and to
accept our help in the coming war.”

Gideon disappeared from behind the
wall, and breathing became difficult. I couldn’t help but feel
terrified that the gates wouldn’t open. Raven and his army would
appear any minute and cut us down.

It was many anxious minutes later
before King Tieren appeared, surrounded by more guards. I held my
breath and prayed that today was a sane day. Tieren peered over the
wall and saw me. His eyes lit up with excitement.

“
Thelonia! You’ve come
back! How I knew you would, but you did something with your hair. I
don’t like it dark like that. Oh, and what did you bring
me?”

My hands started to shake in anger.
What a time for the madness to consume him! When I was trying to
save his kingdom and his own hide. How could I help protect him
when he couldn’t protect himself?

But my brain quickly formulated a
plan. “I’ve come bearing gifts. I’ve brought you an army,” I yelled
back coyly.

King Tieren frowned and looked out
over the field to stare at the mass of armed men behind me. “But
I’ve already got one of those,” he pouted. “I don’t need
another.”

Bearen turned his head and whispered
angrily. “What is this mad game you’re playing? He is not fit to
defend this castle. We could easily take it.”

“
No sooner would you have
won it, then you would have to defend it.” I hissed back. “Do you
think you can fight a whole army of men and Denai? If I remember
right, the Sinnendor line does not have a great history of winning.
Today we need to choose our enemy, instead of fighting
two.”

I turned my attention back to King
Tieren who was in a deep discussion with Gideon. I could see that
Tieren was shaking his head, and then his hands pointed angrily to
me. Gideon’s face was getting flushed. King Tieren’s guard seemed a
little wary of us and our talk of war. I could see the reflections
of spyglass lenses trained on the road behind us. I could tell from
their hurried discussions and antics that they knew we were
speaking the truth. They probably could see the dust cloud from the
army miles away. We were asking for a miracle.

Gideon leaned back over.
“How do we know you are speaking truth? We would let
you
in, but him and
them?” He pointed to my father and the army. “No.”

I gritted my teeth so hard, my jaw
hurt. “You said yourself that the answers to your future lie with
me. Here we are, our whole clan, at your disposal, ready to fight
not each other, but our common enemy. The same enemy that we’ve
been battling for eternity. It’s once again come down to a battle
between the Denai and the Sirens and we have made our choice which
side to fight for. We know that alone, you are not strong enough
for them, but I have here with me another Siren. My cousin. Proof
that our gifts can be unlocked. Help me help her. We may be your
only chance against your foe.”

Even as I said the words, I could feel
my heart speeding up. It was as if deep down inside me, something
was waking up, reaching for the surface at the promise of a coming
battle with the Denai.

Bearen sat still on his horse. He
stroked his long black beard which hid his lips and he spoke again
only to me. “It’s not working, Thalia. We must leave now, before we
are trapped.”

“
We can’t. If the Septori
take Sinnendor, there’s no stopping them. They’ll capture more
Sirens. Create better warriors. It will be our doom. No one will be
safe. Not even Calandry.”

King Tieren danced up to the wall
again, and I seized my chance. “Tieren,” I called out. “I’m tired
and wish to come inside where it’s warmer. Your army is getting
hungry and cold too. It’s bad form to not take care of your own
men.” Tieren’s forehead puckered as he looked down at me in
confusion. He turned to Gideon for explanation.

“
She’s right, your
highness. We can’t leave our men out there unprotected.” Gideon
spoke slowly. I could hear his unease.

Tieren turned and waved at me. “All
right. Bring them in, but make sure that they are ready tomorrow. I
think I shall send a message to my brother-in-law Bearen. I would
like to visit my niece. I wish to know if she looks anything like
you, Thelonia.” He stepped down and disappeared.

Bearen turned to me, his dark eyebrow
arched so high in surprise it got lost in his messy
mane.

I shrugged my shoulders and turned to
watch the gate. It was another five minutes before Gideon was able
to convince the soldiers to let us in. Thankfully, Bearen had
stayed quiet during the exchange.

There wasn’t enough room for all of
our clan, so Bearen and Odin split our army into three divisions.
Two would head north and take a wide berth around Merchantstown,
keeping to the outskirts. They would be part of the army that would
pin the Septori, once the attack had begun. Valdyrstal’s main clan
quickly fell into line with Sinnendor’s Elite. When men of battle
came together for a cause, it didn’t take long to put differences
aside. Especially when they all knew that they were truly
brethren.

I heard the whispers that spread like
wildfire about Bearen. The true descendent of King Branccynall, the
king that was banished. They were amazed at Bearen’s size and his
apparent sanity. I could tell that it wouldn’t take long for the
two lost families to merge into one.

I had even seen Bearen speaking with
Gideon. Gideon bowed in respect and moved to obey, not Tieren’s
orders but my father’s. If we won this upcoming war, Bearen might
not even have to fight for the throne of Sinnendor. It might just
be thrust upon him, by Sinnendor’s people.

But I was running out of time. I
needed Xiven and Sevril to help my cousin. As soon as I entered the
palace, I called out for a servant to prepare a room for
Siobhan.

Syrani followed me into the dark main
hall and looked around and whistled. “It could use a female
touch.”

“
The danger is not only
outside the castle, but it’s inside as well. Stay far away from the
two princes,” I warned.

I thought Syrani would make some sort
of snide remark about handsome princes, but Fenri distracted her.
His face was pale, which made his reddish hair take on an even
darker hue. He entered the hall with an unconscious Siobhan in his
arms. I knew he was probably still physically weak from his attack,
but this seemed to be a matter of pride. A servant came and pointed
to a room upstairs, and he quickly followed. I couldn’t help but
feel sorry for Syrani, since she couldn’t pull her eyes away from
him.

“
You know he kissed me,”
she whispered delicately to me. Her eyes took on a soft, vulnerable
look.

“
I figured he might have,”
I answered.

She turned and shot me an angry look,
and I felt I needed to explain. “It’s not like that…I can just tell
he really likes you.”

The resentment dropped from her eyes
and she moved closer to the stairs as if she were going to follow
him up. “I’ve never felt like this before. At first I hated him. I
mean, I really, really hated him, because he humiliated me. He
wasn’t much nicer when I went to stay with his family. I tried, I
really did, to do what his mother asked of me, but I couldn’t do
anything without making a mess of it. I burned the bread, served
them raw meat, and I even put more holes in the sock instead of
mending them. I threw the biggest fit of my life. I was terrible, I
said nasty things, and do you know what he did?”

I could easily picture everything
Syrani was saying, even down to her temper tantrum. “What did he
do?”

Syrani tucked a strand of stray blonde
hair behind her ear and her cheeks turned red as she continued, “He
laughed at me. I showed him my worst and he laughed at me and told
me that my bark was worse than my bite. Then he sat down and showed
me how to darn socks. Can you believe it? A strong warrior knew how
to sew and I didn’t. I was mortified and humiliated.”

There was a time I’d have cheered at
her misfortune, but I found it surprisingly pleasant that we were
beginning a tentative friendship “What did you do?” I
asked.

“
I did everything I could
to get back at him after that. I put too much pepper in his bowl of
soup. I put wood glue in the bottom of his boots. I even went so
far as to cut more holes into every pair of socks he
had.”

I started to chuckle at her and she
just shrugged her shoulders. “But he didn’t tell his mother or
demand I leave their home. Instead, he cornered me in the stable. I
thought he was going to yell at me or beat me.” She brushed her
fingers across her lips in memory. “He said he knew a cry for
attention when he saw it. And then he kissed me! It was the most
mind blowing kiss ever and now…” Her eyes flew to the
stairs.

The sound of footsteps proceeded
Fenri’s walk down the stairs. At the bottom, he halted and looked
at Syrani. Confusion and guilt laced his green eyes, and he quickly
turned his attention to me.

“
Uh, Siobhan’s still
sedated. You said that there was someone who may be able to
help?”

“
Yes, we need Xiven. Ask
for the man named Xiven and see if he’ll take a look at
her.”

Fenri looked down at the ground and
then back at me—ignoring Syrani completely. “What do you think the
chances are she’ll come out of this unscathed?”

“
We’ll all bear scars when
this is through. I held up my forearms to show him. But only time
will tell. Fenri, what happened between
you
two after I left?”

Fenri looked horrified at my question,
but he saw my stubborn gaze and glanced over at Syrani
apologetically. “Your father told me about your betrothal to Kael,
since he won the Kragh Aru. I knew then that I would have no chance
with you. When it was obvious that you were taken, Siobhan started
to show interest toward me. But she quickly left under the pressure
of her father’s traitorous actions, before either of us could
ascertain our feelings. I swore to myself that, if she returned, I
would find out if she truly loved me and if I returned those
feelings.”

Syrani sucked in her breath and took a
step back from Fenri. It looked like she was going to try and make
a dignified exit before hearing anymore. I felt ill for her,
because I was the one who’d started this.

“
No wait!” Fenri turned
and grabbed for Syrani’s hand, but she pulled away from him hard.
Tears ran down her cheeks.

“
Let me go!” she cried
out. “I stayed because of you. I was willing to give up my whole
family and heritage because of you.” She yanked hard but was she
was no physical match for the warrior Fenri. I knew how strong he
was. She raked her nails across his hands, but he refused to let
her go. “I was so stupid,” she seethed.

“
No, I won’t let you go!”
He raised his voice. “We may not have another day together, because
tomorrow is not guaranteed. So I will not wait for what could have
been. Yes, I felt guilty when I saw Siobhan and what has happened
to her. It hit me that it might have been my fault. If I had
approached her with my intentions to court her, she may have
stayed. She wouldn’t have been captured and turned into that…thing.
What are you calling it?” he asked.

“
It’s not an it. We’re
Sirens.” I spoke irritably.

“
Okay, whatever. Siren. I
saw her and I felt overwhelmingly guilty for my lack of action, so
I wanted to make it up to her. But since then, on the journey here,
I’ve had time to think.” Fenri reached to grasp Syrani around the
shoulders and pull her closer to him. In a last ditch effort of
feminine ire, she slapped him.