The Lost Siren: Rise of the Drakens Book 1

by Raven Storm

  “The task will be tomorrow then?

  He held up one finger, shaking it delicately at me.

  “And ruin my fun before it’s begun? I think not.”

  D’Arcy rose from his chair, his eyes running up and down the length of my body. I made sure to wear one of the sheer dresses today, making sure only the barest essentials were covered beneath the flimsy gauze. I wasn’t proud of it, but I would do what was needed. He found what he was looking for, a cruel grinning tweaking the corners of his mouth.

  “Three days.”

  I turned to dismiss him, but he was quicker. One hand shot up and grabbed my jaw in a vice grip, forcing my face to his. I tried to relax, or at the very least not fight him. It was difficult; images of Bair bleeding out flashing before my eyes. He pulled my bottom lip with his teeth, his fangs too close for comfort. He drew away quickly as someone growled from behind me.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  I went white as Benedict’s frame filled the passageway. D’Arcy beamed at him, and I wanted to smack the smirk from his face.

  D’Arcy gave a mild bow. “Not at all. Just negotiating for the next round of the Games.”

  He dropped me and strode past Benedict as though he were the king. Benedict slammed the passageway shut behind him. I looked away as we stood in front of each other, the tension thick and heavy.

  “Kieran guilted me into spending time with you, but I see it appears to be unnecessary. Therefore, this will be quick, and I certainly won’t enjoy it. My kingdom won’t suffer because I’m not physically at my best.”

  “What—”

  He seized me around the waist with one hand, flipping me around so my back was against his broad chest. He pushed me down across a chair, and before I could get a word out, I felt him pushing against my buttocks. My body roared in immediate approval, arousal flooding my core with wetness in greedy anticipation. His hands easily tore the flimsy gauze aside, and with a quick adjustment, he thrust straight into me from behind. I gasped, more in surprise than pain. His hands dug mercilessly into my hips, holding me down as he moved rhythmically behind me. I hated how much I loved the feel of him inside me; he had a dark roughness to him that Kieran and Ronan didn’t, that I craved. I relaxed against him, meeting his thrusts as a warm, delicious heat spread from my core to the rest of my body. He made a grunting sound, and then his pace increased. I kept up with him, sinking into the feeling of his flesh slapping against mine. I felt his hand tangle in my hair and pull, arching my back towards him even as the other held me hard in place. He bit down on the back of my neck and I lost it, my orgasm powerful as my inner walls clenched down hard around him. He groaned his own release, his teeth still buried in my neck. I felt the vibrations of his voice in my skin, and we both rode the last waves of our own pleasure together.

  Then he let go, dropping me to land on my stomach across the chair. A stinging pain on the back of my neck had me wince, and I tentatively felt two large fang marks with my fingers. That asshole! In a way though, the pain felt like a proper punishment for what he caught me doing with D’Arcy, and what I planned to do. In a way, I was becoming every bit the calculating little whore he accused me of being. I focused on evening out my breathing and ignoring the two marks on my neck that throbbed in agony the closer he got.

  “What do you want now? You got what you wanted,” I spit at him.

  He grabbed my arm and spun me around. The rings under his eyes were gone, and the edges of exhaustion that had lingered around him the past week were nowhere to be found.

  “Let’s be clear; I don’t want you.”

  I looked away; all the fight gone from me. The pain from the fang marks felt like it was traveling to my head, and I rubbed my temples.

  “Fine, yes, we all are very much aware of how you hate me and use me for nothing other than carnal pleasure. Any other breaking news you feel compelled to share?”

  My nonchalant attitude irritated him, but I hurt too much to care.

  “Give me one reason not to watch you bleed out on my floor the way you did to Bair.”

  I lifted my head, glancing at him. Fear would be easy; it would be familiar. But it wouldn’t fix any of the things that felt irrevocably broken.

  “Again, I did it to save you. He’d made a deal with Severn to become King after you were dead. I never want to see you dead.”

  Something flickered in his eyes, but then it was gone. Benedict reared back, his purple skin darkening as his claws and fangs slid out from beneath his skin.

  “You’re lying! He’d never! Severn said you were just one of Crullfed’s agents, that you worked for—"

  “Bair told Severn where the drakens are hiding! Didn’t Kieran mention that? Or did you stop listening and start throwing bodies into walls?”

  Benedict went rigid, the light from the torches reflecting off his scales. I felt light-headed as my neck and head throbbed, but Benedict needed to believe me. It had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the safety of every draken hiding in this mountain.

  “Look,” I began, my posture wilting, “I know you can’t stand me, and brought me here only because Severn told you to, but I’m not lying about this!”

  His eyes were purple again, but they glared at me with mistrust. I tried one more time.

  “Are you willing to risk the lives of every draken on this mountain on whether or not I’m lying?”

  He twitched, gritting his teeth in anger. I knew he wouldn’t risk his people; they were the only thing he truly cared about. The part of my heart that hurt throbbed in time with my head and neck, and suddenly I felt as though I’d give anything to have him care half as much about me as he did his drakens. Then the moment passed, and I just felt empty.

  I snagged one of Domik’s maps and trudged over to my bed.

  “You should come to the Games in a few days; I hear it will be quite a show.”

  He stormed out without another word, and I cried myself to sleep, both my heart and body filled with pain.

  SIXTEEN

  The next day was awful and the day after that. I hadn’t seen Kieran or Ronan since Benedict had left me, and that was strange. I wondered if it had anything to do with what I told Benedict. Hopefully, they were just busy with Benedict, planning and figuring out a solution.

  D’Arcy was taking advantage of the absence of my mates, enjoying the power he held over me by catching me in the hallways and groping my body in dark corners. I became afraid to leave my chambers alone, but he simply followed me there, knowing somehow that the others were busy and couldn’t be bothered with me. Not even Georg was coming around.

  “How the mighty have fallen.”

  I sat dully in front of my fireplace, restless as the marks on my neck twinged in pain when I moved. Benedict was such an ass.

  D’Arcy’s hands dug into my shoulder blades, but it was anything but soothing as his fingers probed too close to Benedict’s wound, reveling in my pain as he jabbed and poked at it.

  “My my…someone is very displeased with you.”

  I ignored him, my strategy of choice. His hands continued to caress my face, my neck, and reached lower. My skin crawled in revulsion, but I forced my body to be limp. I needed him to come through on this last task, so that I could prove myself to Benedict and all the other drakens. It was stupid and infantile, but it was the only bit of hope I could latch onto. I couldn’t bear the look of hate in Benedict’s eyes when he looked at me.

  D’Arcy yanked my head back, his hands running up and down my throat as he lowered his lips to mine. I went stiff, unable to relax even if I had decided to let him do what he wanted. I was secretly afraid he would force the issue the entire way, but every time he’d come close, he’d merely sniff at the wounds on my neck, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Perhaps it was a good thing Benedict had hurt me. If I was honest, I wanted to hurt. Everything was such a mess.

  “You’re hardly any fun when you don’t fight back,” D’Arcy sulked, his hands dropping to the sides of the
chair.

  “Just leave me alone,” I whispered. He made a sound of disdain in the back of his throat, but blessedly let me be. I wasn’t sure how much longer I sat there, staring at the fire. At some point, I became aware of another presence. The turquoise coloring made me flinch, but it wasn’t D’Arcy.

  “Hey.”

  Sabien pulled up a chair next to me, folding in his wings and melding seamlessly into his human form. He didn’t sit, not yet.

  “Did you come to get a swing in at me too, since I murdered your cousin?” I didn’t bother lifting my eyes from the dancing flames in the grate before me.

  “I find it hard to believe a little thing like you nearly decapitated him, and with his own sword.”

  I didn’t answer, and he crossed his arms.

  “Did you seduce him? That would be the only thing that would have worked against a warrior like him. We’re all warriors, yet you’ve come out on top again and again so far. Why is that?”

  Silence.

  “What would you have me do, die?” I asked softly, my fingertips rapping on the edge of my chair. My eyes were heated.

  “Don’t begrudge me using what meager weapons I have: soft skin and heated looks against scales and claws, teeth and blades.”

  Sabien narrowed his eyes but sat down across from me.

  “Benedict said Bair betrayed us; that he told Severn where we were hiding. Is that true?”

  It would be no more than they deserved if I toyed with him, letting him wonder what information was true, and what wasn’t. I couldn’t do it, however, not to my friends, and not to Benedict. Not even if they hated me. I sat up straighter in my chair, daring to look at him.

  “Benedict believes me?”

  Sabien shifted. “Well, he didn’t at first, but then he recruited me to go on a scouting mission with him, and Kieran and Ronan.” His eyes were wide with wonder.

  “I went outside of the mountain and spread my wings in the open air for the first time in centuries. I couldn’t leave the mountain physically, but it was still something. Benedict said he needed my help for a task, but he didn’t trust my father.”

  Well, would you look at that. Perhaps he did believe me. Sabien gazed past me, his eyes far away.

  “He told us to stay where we were and wait for him to return. If he didn’t come back by morning, he said I was to tell everyone that I was king. I was petrified.”

  I snorted, not blaming him.

  “I’m assuming since you’re here and not making grand announcements in the hall that he came back?”

  My heart thudded with worry as I waited for his answer.

  “Yes, of course. He came back after hours and hours, but he did return. The look on his face…I don’t think I’ll forget it.”

  I leaned forward in my chair, shaken out of my apathy by his tale.

  “Where did he go, Sabien?” He looked up, those breathtaking, turquoise eyes meeting mine.

  “Lyoness.”

  I blew air through my lips, sitting back in my chair. He believed me. He had to if he risked a trip to the draken homeland.

  “What did he find?” I asked, my voice hushed with anticipation. Sabien shook his head.

  “He didn’t say. He came back covered in dirt and ashes, but otherwise not a scratch on him. The look in his eyes…it was just…”

  “What?”

  “Haunted.”

  I rubbed my face with my hands.

  “Benedict does believe me then?” Sabien clasped his hands, playing with the leather straps around his waist.

  “I’ve known Bair since we were infants. We grew up together.”

  I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Sabien. I don’t know what to say.”

  He rested his head in his hands, glancing at me through a slit in his fingers.

  “Just…if Bair truly betrayed us and offered you your freedom, with anything you could possibly want at the Overlord’s side… why would you refuse that?”

  That was the last question I expected.

  “Is that why Benedict doesn’t believe me? He thinks it was a deal I couldn’t refuse?”

  Sabien threw his hands up and mussed his blonde hair. How could someone look so much like someone else, yet be a completely different person?

  “Benedict doesn’t understand your motivations. It’s no secret you don’t get along, despite his claim on you.”

  My hands drifted to the back of my neck, which was still sore. The wounds refused to heal. Sabien went very still when he saw them.

  “Did Benedict do that to you?”

  I nodded as I carefully rubbed the tender skin around the wound.

  “It looks painful.”

  I shot him a murderous look, and he put his hands up.

  “You should go to Benedict; I doubt he’d leave it after finding out you’re not the murderous, lying wench he thought you were.”

  “You have such a way with words,” I grunted, the wheels in my head spinning. If Benedict believed me, maybe the task tomorrow wasn’t needed, was it?

  “Something is going on with you and my father. I just want you to know, you shouldn’t trust him.”

  I swung my eyes back to Sabien’s, honest worry flickering across his face.

  “I don’t trust him. Unfortunately, I need him to bring in a specific task for tomorrow. After that, my…time with him hopefully ends.”

  Sabien stood and bowed.

  “For your sake, make sure it does.”

  This task was big; and no one knew it yet except for me. I had no idea what D’Arcy had planned, but I was going to prove once and for all to Benedict he could trust me.

  I donned another set of men’s clothing, making sure my daggers and short sword were secured and within reach. Next, I grabbed my black traveling cloak, throwing it around my shoulders and donning the hood so my face was hidden. I ignored the lavish breakfast laid in the sitting room, plucking only an apple as I headed to the arena. Instead of taking the hallway that would lead me to the balcony, I kept walking until I found an opening into the bleacher area. I took a deep breath and walked into the light.

  I needed to make a quick choice: I could sit by myself, keeping my distance from the others, or I could try to blend in with the crowd. It was tricky to decide what made me more vulnerable; being noticeably alone, or being physically close to the other drakens, who might pick up on my scent. Just decide!

  A draken entered behind me and flared his wings, cuffing me in the back and sending me sprawling forward. The other drakens snickered. So much for not drawing attention to myself.

  “Are you planning on competing for the loyalty test? D’Arcy said an even bigger prize awaits the winner than usual!”

  The draken was large, his bright, lime green scales an odd contrast to the darkness of the mountain. I clutched my hood and nodded. He flashed me a wicked grin.

  “Then let me assist you down.”

  His legs shot out and kicked, the momentum too much as it sent me flying over the railing of the bleachers, and then I was falling, falling. I kept enough of my mind to tuck like Kieran had taught me, rolling once I hit the ground and popping up on my feet. My shoulder hurt like hell, but nothing was broken. I twirled my twin knives from their sheaths, spinning them into my waiting hands as my cloak billowed behind me. I was as prepared as I could be. Luckily, I wasn’t the only ‘draken’ leaping into the pit eager to begin, so no one noticed my fall. D’Arcy strutted to the center of the pit and I crouched down, ready for whatever he had in store.

  “Welcome! We are continuing the Games at the behest of our gracious human guest today, even if she has yet to join us.”

  His eyes flicked to the empty balcony as the drakens erupted in murmurs across the arena. Where was Benedict? What was the point of winning a loyalty test if he wasn’t going to be here to see it?

  “She has offered a generous prize, which will only be revealed once the winner is victorious. Gentlemen! Let’s get to it!”

  He clapped his hands, and a thunderous
rubble was felt in the entire mountain. It grew louder as the ground trembled beneath our feet, and I clutched my head in pain from the sound. The middle of the arena split with a mighty crack, and I scrambled back with the other drakens to keep from falling in. Large fissures cleaved the ground apart, and demons and vampyres streamed forth from the openings, roaring with challenge as a small demon army attacked. I grabbed the nearest draken by the wings, even as he snarled as me.

  “Where is Benedict? We need him here!” The draken fled in terror, and I cursed. D’Arcy stood on a raised island created by the cracked stone, laughing hysterically as fire and blood rained around him. “HERE IS YOUR TEST OF LOYALTY, WREN!”

  I shivered, and then D’Arcy’s eyes hurriedly scanned the arena.

  “SABIEN! COME TO ME!”

  I found him first and knew immediately what D’Arcy planned to do. I threw my knife before my brain could worry and disrupt the steadiness of my hand. The blade sang through the air, slicing into Sabien’s leg and sending him sprawling to the ground, lost to D’Arcy’s gaze as drakens trampled around him. I scrambled to his side, picking up the knife.

  “What the fuck,” he screeched, trying to get away from me. I grabbed his wings and pulled, keeping us both on the ground. I knew from Ronan they were a weak point for most drakens.

  “Shut up and just listen! Your father let a demon horde in here, and you’re just going to come when called? He’s going to kill you, then Benedict, then crown himself king! So, stay fucking down.”

  Dawning horror flickered in his eyes as a demon pounced at us, his horrid mouth spread wide. His skin was charred and black, his eyes a sickening yellow. Sabien’s claws slashed down, raking the horrible creature from neck to chest, and it crumpled and disintegrated.

  “We need to rally the drakens! We need to fight!” I helped Sabien up, and he gratefully accepted my cloak to hide his unique, bright turquoise coloring.

  “You’re our self-styled queen! You do it!”

  “Where the fuck is Benedict?”

  I turned in a circle, frustration threatening to overwhelm me. If I cried out to him, he would likely ignore me. How could I get him here?