“How does the tribunal even work?” I asked. “Explain it to me like I’ve been human my entire life and have absolutely no idea what it is.”
“Har-har.” Eryn rolled her eyes, then sighed as she gathered her thoughts. “It’s supposed to be a governing body made up of representatives from each faction. They meet and vote on laws that help our people grow and thrive as the world changes. But each faction is too busy trying to one-up each other, and too many power-hungry bastards think they have the only correct opinion on how things should be done.”
“The seats are generational, though, right?” I ask. “That means every time a member is replaced, there should be a shuffle.”
“You’d think. But the heirs are basically brainwashed from birth to believe exactly what their parents want them to, which transforms old grievances into feuds that span the generations.”
“Like the witches and djinn.”
She nodded. “The djinn want nothing more than to be in power. The witches strive for it, too, but only because they don’t want to be subject to the whims of another faction who took more than their share of the pie. We’ve seen what happens when the djinn are the heavyweight in the tribunal. My people were lost because of it.”
The conversation turned heavy fast. Eryn walked with pain on her shoulders, she always had from the moment I met her. Only now, I knew what caused it. Even if I could never truly understand the breadth of it, it made me admire her all the more for the strength it took to live with the weight of something that would never go away.
“Now the djinn are vying for that power again,” she continued, solemn. “And their target is the sirens.”
“Why doesn’t anyone do something about it?” I growled. “If their power grab is so obvious.”
“Weare. We vote them down, but the stronger a faction gets, the easier it is for them to threaten and manipulate the smaller ones to get what they want. It’s why Kai works so hard with the other heirs to maintain alliances.”
Political talk only made my headache worse. It was hard enough to understand the basics of how this new world worked, let alone jump headfirst into a silent war for power. Despite how it affected me. My life would never be the same now that I wasn’t human. Before, that bothered me, but I understood my change a little better, and I was excited to see how I could use my magick and a marine biology degree together to help our oceans. Our world.
A degree I wouldn’t have unless I finished college. Classes I couldn’t take if the djinn branded me and accomplished whatever evil plans they still had in mind. I stuck my hand intothe bag of chips, noticed it was empty, and sent a hard frown at Eryn as she licked the last of the crumbs off her fingers.
She was lucky Ezra had another bag in the kitchen. The trash can was kept outside since the cottage was so small, but I didn’t mind the brief trip into the overgrown garden that nearly covered the walls. The bright colors and buzzing insects were a welcome balm to the pounding in my head.
Hair rose on the back of my neck when I turned from the trash to find two sets of eyes staring at me. One brown and one blue, the teenagers they belonged to could have been twins. Their blond hair was the exact same shade—the girl’s a tad longer—but it was the matching scowls that really nailed it home.
They didn’t bother to hide and instead stood right out in the open.
“Can I help you?” I asked, glancing around for a car or bikes.
How had they gotten out here? This cottage wasn’t exactly a close stroll to other houses. They had to be witches, since we were on witch land, but what were a couple kids doing all the way out here? Lost, maybe? No, that wasn’t it. The way they scrutinized me from head to toe was far too intentional.
They were looking forme.
Magick swelled in my gut, reacting to the surge of adrenaline. I could take down a couple of teenagers. I didn’twantto, but I would if they threatened me. And the little bitchy one with the upturned nose definitely wanted to, I could tell.
“Aunt Mira said she was fully human before,” the boy whispered, ducking to reach his sister’s ear. “Perhaps that will make a difference.”
The girl didn’t move, only her brows, which narrowed over pursed lips. “She doesn’tfeelvery powerful. I wouldn’t be surprised if she drains it all from him because she can’t manifest her own.”
Aunt Mira? Why would they call Kai’s mother—fuck. Were these his other cousins? The fully witch, fully accepted, obviously annoying-as-fuck children everyone respected instead of Ezra? Their little comments about my power made more sense now. Mostly. I got that it was meant to be an insult at least. Stupid kids.
“You guys are real cute,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. “But your brother isn’t here, and I wasn’t paid to babysit, so…”
I shooed them with a hand, like one did a puppy lingering around for scraps, and worked my way back through the tangled plants to get to the front door. Their glares burned a hole into the side of my face the entire time. Seriously, the intimidation game wasn’t going to work. It was kind of cute that they thought it would.
“We just wanted to see the whore our brother brought home and thank her for giving us what we’ve always wanted: his weakness.”
That stopped me dead. The likelihood of Ezra being hurt by a teenage tantrum, even a double one, was slim, but I picked up on the pompous threads in their tone and knew it was more than young invincibility and bravado that made them say that shit. Their grins weren’t helping either. The fact that they called me a whore didn’t even register as part of the threat.
“The amount of dead djinn back at the beach house would have to disagree with you,” I replied and smirked at the way their complexions paled. “And if you know anything about your brother, you know that targeting me as his weakness will only get you killed.”
No, Ezra wouldn’t kill his little brother or sister, but it didn’t hurt to play into the horrible view they had of him. Maybe they’d wise up and start respecting him.
“Who is Ezra killing?” Eryn asked, smoothly sliding out the front door like she wasn’t hiding in the shadows listening the entire time. Sneaky bitch. “Oh, them.”
The twins burned red at the dismissal, and I hid a smile behind my hand. Eryn stepped beside me, her brows scrunched and jaw tight, looking so much like an annoyed nanny who was about to send her charges to time out that I couldn’t help but laugh. It only pissed the twins off more.
