Chapter 26

Icursed as I rolled over in my waterbed at Aqua House, the mattress sloshing slightly beneath me and making Gerry bounce where she lay peacefully beside me.

"Just go, you wiffling cad," she murmured, not bothering to open her eyes and I stilled, surprised to find she wasn't asleep at all.

"Go?" I questioned innocently.

"I am no fool, Maxy," she said, still not moving an inch or opening her eyes. "I know well the ways of your Order and since deciding to tangle in your nets on a more permanent basis, I have educated myself further still. I am well aware that on occasion you will need to leave our bed during the night and head out to enrapture another with your wily ways. Fear not, I can cope with a few hours alone in bed. What I cannot cope with is the flip flopping of you resisting it."

She was right. It had been three nights now and I was past the point of resisting the need to release my Siren Song. It was a part of me to do so. When I had first Emerged into my Order form, I'd been compelled into Siren spelling other Fae most months, but as my power grew, the need had become less frequent, and I had only been compelled to do so a handful of times in the past year. But once the need arose in me, there was no stopping it. Somewhere out there, a Fae needed to hear a truth from me and I was going to have to give it to them.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" I began, but she waved me off.

"I can cope with you kissing another when your gifts demand it, dear Maxy. If it would make you feel better, then I could kiss someone else too."

"No," I growled, knowing that was unreasonable of me but still balking at the suggestion.

She huffed a laugh. "Fine. Perhaps you would do me the favour of skidaddling then? Because I require my beauty sleep this night and your floundering is stopping that from happening."

I smiled, leaning in to press my mouth to hers before I went. "The only lips I want to kiss are yours, Gerry," I promised her and she batted me off with a smile, her eyes still shut. She'd been sleeping better the last couple of nights, and I hated to be the one to disturb her.

"You are quite the romantic crustacean when you wish to be, aren't you?"

I let out a relieved breath, wondering why I'd even been holding off on this in the first place. I'd convinced myself that Geraldine might be pissed at me when she realised I was going to have to kiss another Fae, but I shouldn't have been. She was all I wanted and she knew it. Order needs were nothing in the face of that.

I dressed in jeans and a black sweater, kicking on a pair of boots then drawing a deep grey wool coat over the top. It was as cold as a polar bear's balls outside, one glance at the domed window which made up my room showing a spiderweb of ice clinging to the top of it where the lake had begun to freeze in places. This was the only time of year where I ever felt a little slice of jealousy for the fire Elementals.

I kissed Gerry once more, hoping she would get some well-earned sleep while I was gone. I swear she only slept a few hours some nights, rising long before dawn to start her daily ritual of preparing breakfast and the stars only knew what else. But I couldn't talk her out of it, and my attempts at getting her to rest more were often met with a clip around the ear. Even now, I barely ducked away as she batted a hand at me and called me a lingering lamprey. Then I headed out of my room and stalked along the corridor, the need of my gifts rising like a desperate ache in my chest.

I tugged my Atlas from my pocket as I walked, looking to distract myself from the nagging sensation in my gut.

I didn't waste much time with social media these days but I did keep up with the news, mostly forcing myself to read the propaganda bullshit that Lionel was spreading out into the world. We needed to keep an eye on him and read between the lines of what he was releasing for hints to anything we might be able to use against him.

There hadn't been much of anything lately - which was worrying in itself - but as I scrolled through pieces supporting both sides of the war, various ideas and ideals being discussed by journalists who seemed to know very little about it, I did spot one small article which caught my attention.

Entire buildings have disappeared in the city of Kerendia after a violent earthquake woke citizens at 2am last night. What at first was thought to be a sinkhole opening up across the city and swallowing buildings whole, has now been declared as sabotage after sightings of a mass of Questian Rabbits were reported subsequent to the tragedy.

Among the buildings lost were two schools, a vault containing gold bullions for citizens across the kingdom, a museum full of priceless artefacts spanning centuries, and a care home for the elderly. A new Inquisition Centre is under construction to deal with the mass of Questian Rabbits thought to be involved in digging deep burrows beneath the city to cause such a catastrophe, and anyone with further knowledge of the plot is encouraged to come forward.

Mary Tyler:

I knew those Rabbits were shady. Never did trust my neighbour, Jim. Always digging burrows in his back garden. Sounds like he was training for this moment if you ask me. #creepycritter #rottentail

Liana Ramirez:

This is not true! Us Rabbits are gentle souls! #bunnyblame #respectablerabbits #fluffspiracy

Carson Alvion:

This is a fucking lie constructed by the False King to claim those gold bullions and the artefacts in that museum. He took out the other buildings and murdered innocents to make you hate the Questian Rabbits. If you swallow this bullshit, you'll get what's coming to you in a world of pain that I will personally deliver to your door. I'm noting down every name of every fucker who supports this post.

Lina Kay:

Ah it all makes sense now, those mangey little creatures are showing their true colours at last #lesserOrdersneedtogo #thenewdawniscoming

Caitlin Sisko:

Don't swallow this shit! #thetruequeenswillprotectus #rabbitsrule #furryfury

I shoved my Atlas back into my pocket, making a mental note to offer help to any fleeing Questian Rabbits in the coming days. When Lionel tarred an Order with his brush, it wasn't long before they were turned on, and they were going to need our assistance to avoid being carted off to an Inquisition Centre.

I made it to the exit of Aqua House then walked out to my favoured clearing where there was a particularly well-formed rock for me to perch on.

The Siren Song was already rolling up the back of my throat and I shifted as I walked, falling into the trance of the purest magic of my kind. I stripped out of my coat as I went, sighing at the caress of my scales rippling over my skin.

I could distantly feel the bite of the cold, but the call of my Order magic insisted on exposing at least some of my scales to the starlight overhead.

I took off my sweater and dropped it at the foot of the rock before using a pulse of air magic to lift myself onto it.

I got into the perfect position at the top then exhaled in relief as I finally allowed my Siren Song to spill free of me in earnest. The ethereal cry of my song wound its way from my lips in a secret symphony intended for none besides myself and the Fae destined to hear its call.

Anticipation grew in me as I waited on my rock, the power of the song drawing an unsuspecting Fae to me while the magic built and built, desperate to be sated.

I had feared this magic once, the unknown inevitability of releasing my song into the world and waiting for fate to choose a soul to listen for it, but over time, I had come to relish these nights, embracing the purity of the magic and offering up the gift of a kiss to whoever I summoned.

The thick stalks of bamboo which lined one side of this clearing rustled, heavy footsteps approaching and announcing the arrival of the Song-Spelled.

I tipped my head back, allowing the moonlight to spill over me in the most flattering way, tensing my muscles just a little to show them off and give the summoned Fae a good show when they arrived.

"Stop posing, asshole, it's me."

I turned at the sound of Darius's voice, sighing as he disparaged a perfectly impressive Siren Spelling and folding my arms in protest to his flippant tone.

"You're supposed to be all awed and impressed, staring at my mouth and desperate for this kiss," I told him, scowling in irritation.

"Yeah, well maybe I was the first few times, but it kinda loses its shine on round four."

I huffed out a breath, then hopped down from my rock, but I didn't go any further because he was the one who had been Song Spelled so he should come to me.

"If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have put it off for the last few days," I muttered.

"No, you'd have been up on that rock since the crack of dawn, desperate for night to fall so you could lure me to your special boulder," he taunted, beckoning me to him, but I just narrowed my eyes and held my ground.

"I've lured you here, asshole. Come to me or spend the night stuck in this circle of magic. That's how it works," I said.

Darius sighed like this was all some hassle to his precious time, then stalked the remaining distance to me. He didn't waste time, grabbing hold of my cheeks and stamping his mouth to mine in a firm demand for the magic to be sated and this interaction to be over.

His no-nonsense approach beat Seth's though. The last time I'd summoned him to me, he'd brought candles to try and set the mood.

Our magic met and I offered him up a memory as my part of this exchange, my gifts urging me towards the sort of thing he needed to know and landing on a memory of the four of us Heirs as kids, racing through the pine trees outside my family manor. We were whooping and hollering at each other, firing wooden crossbows loaded with magical darts between the thick trunks. Every time one of the darts struck something, a pop of brightly coloured magic erupted from it, staining the object or person it had hit and offering out a small shock of electrically charged power.

We were covered in a rainbow of magical dust and splattered with mud, our smiles filled with the wide and pure joy that only children could claim so fully.

I relaxed into the memory, letting him see it all, neither of us pushing or pulling towards anything more than that. But something kept tugging on the corner of my attention, something which howled and screamed and thrashed for my focus.

I tried to ignore it, my routine with the Heirs for getting though the magic of the Siren Song set and simple. We enjoyed sharing a childhood memory and then it was done.

Except tonight it didn't seem done. It felt like the magic had a bigger purpose in drawing us together, like the power of my Siren gifts demanded more of me and wouldn't relent until I turned my focus the way it was aiming.

I gripped Darius's biceps as the power took root, the song that surrounded us growing louder and more insistent, the memory of our childhood falling away and a wretched sound filling its place.

My heart skipped a beat, my lungs chilling as though ice had crawled inside of me and was burrowing into my core.

Darius's muscles tensed where I held him, our kiss utterly still, nothing between us aside from that chilling call of distant power.

With our focus fixed on it, my power lashed out, reaching towards the agonising pain of whatever it was that had heard my song, its screams of torment begging me to help it.

My limbs began to tremble, my gifts thrumming in my blood and taking hold of my flesh.

Something was out there. Something more terrible and more captivating than anything I had ever known. And it needed me. It needed us.

Darius jerked away from me, breaking the kiss and severing the bond between us, the magical dome which held us captive shattering too, releasing us from the magic. But the call of that undeniable power didn't relinquish me.

"I have to go to it," I gasped, my feet stumbling over one another as I headed for the far side of the clearing, a leash forming around my power, coiling tighter and yanking me towards whatever held the other end of it.

"Max," Darius barked, his footsteps crunching across the frost-kissed gravel as he followed me.

"It needs my help," I choked out, unable to stop, unable to even pause.

Darius caught my wrist as I made it to the edge of the clearing and I jerked around to face him, magic sparking from my skin and biting his with an icy kiss in warning.

"I have to go, Darius," I told him.

Even the moment it cost me to say that much burned against my power, the link I had made to whatever was screaming out for help too potent to deny.

I jerked free of his grip and took off once more, the sky singing with that ancient scream, my link to it undeniable now, its need penetrating my flesh and becoming my own.

"Then I'm coming too," he ground out, falling into step with me.

I didn't deny him. I didn't do a damn thing aside from break into a run and start charging for the academy gates.

"Max!" Darius yelled, his voice distant beyond the pounding song of my gifts as it merged with those desperate screams. "I can still feel it too and it's not going to be waiting beyond the academy gates. We need to fly."

The fog of desperation lifted enough for me to take in those words and I stumbled as I turned to look at him, catching his shirt as I found it flying straight for my face. The rest of his clothes swiftly followed and then he was shifting, a beast of pure, metallic gold, bigger by far than any creature ought to be.

His wings snapped out, a gust of air raking over me as the ground shook at the arrival of his full weight, and I found myself looking into the golden eyes of a monster born of myth and legend. A low growl parted his lips, displaying rows of razor-sharp teeth. The huff of breath which washed over me was heated with the power of the fire that resided in the depths of his soul, and I drew in a steadying breath as he dipped a wing in an offer for me to climb on.

I formed a web of ice to carry his clothes then leapt onto his back with a gust of air magic, the pulsing ache of my Siren Song digging into my veins as I hesitated to chase after it. Never before had I been forced to follow it instead of waiting for it to lure the ones to me who heard it, and yet I knew with a keen certainty that I had to answer its call.

I took hold of the wicked spines that protruded along Darius's neck, and with a violent surge, we took to the sky.

The night whipped past us in a ferocious roar, frigid air biting at my skin and pushing into my hair. My scales shimmered where the starlight touched them, the gifts of my Order form protecting me from the cold while we powered through the dark.

The wards parted for us when we reached them, recognising our magic and allowing us through since the twins had granted us that privilege. Though a clang of power let me know that they would be aware of our passage. Perhaps we should have waited to follow this path, discussed it with our queens and the war council, but there was no halting the force of this magic, no hesitating in the face of its call. And as I felt the tumultuous scream of whatever we were hurtling towards passing through my flesh, I knew that we had to follow its summons.

Mountains fell to open plains as we sped on, then forests and foothills, one hour spilling into two, the harrowing screams leading us ever on.

I clung to the rigid spines of Darius's back and simply stared out into the night, hungry for the end of this hunt, needing to find whatever it was which screamed out for my help.

Finally, another mountain-scape reared up before us, its peaks barren and remote, desolate fingers of stone punching up towards an unforgiving sky.

A deep growl rattled through the enormous body of my friend beneath me and a tingle of almost unnoticeable magic brushed against my skin.

"I feel it too," I agreed, the screams closer now, their desperation waning as it felt my presence drawing near.

Darius slowed, his great wings falling still as he glided across the rocky terrain, and I reached out for that kiss of foreign magic, the desire to turn away from this place washing over me. It might have even been powerful enough to make me leave had I not felt the desperation of those screams resonating from the depths of the largest mountain in the distance. Knowing something awaited me there focused my attention onto this place. As I drove my magic against that hint of power, I came up against a barrier gilded in iron, set with such magic that it was almost impossible to counter.

But I had been born into one of the most powerful bloodlines in the whole of Solaria. I was an Heir to that magic and in deference only to the queens who had earned my loyalty. No others would thwart my power.

I gritted my teeth, focusing on one small spot of the shield around this place, driving my own magic against it like a diamond-tipped hammer striking an anvil. At first it held, but I struck again and again.

A crack became a fissure, then suddenly the shield shattered beneath the force of my magic, breaking apart and revealing an army spreading out for countless miles beneath us, a distant palace of jade clinging to the side of the largest mountain like an unsightly barnacle on the hull of a ship of horrors.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my gaze raking over the endless campsite, and I twisted in my seat, fear driving into my flesh and eating me alive.

Lionel's army was five times the size of our most recent estimations, his followers spanning the distance from here to the horizon and beyond. A host of the most bloodthirsty and terrifying beings in our kingdom mixed with those too afraid to stand against him or too blinded by his lies to even want to.

I opened my mouth to voice something of the horror I was feeling as I took in the scope of our enemies, but before I could speak a single word, a creature of pure darkness lunged from the clouds with a bellowing roar loud enough to shake the mountains themselves.

Darius wheeled in the sky as the inky black Dragon dove at him from behind, but his reaction came far too late and the collision of their bodies almost flung me straight from his back.

I cried out as teeth and claws clashed, wings tearing, blood spilling, and between it all, my stomach plummeted with the certainty that we were falling, falling, falling, and there was nothing but death awaiting us below.