“Would Balor punish the sirens for giving us sanctuary?”
“I’m so fucking tired, Rainn.” Shay dropped his chin to his chest and exhaled a shaky breath. “But if we don’t move right now, there won’t be much of a stronghold left by the time we climb those stairs.”
Together, the two males turned to the stairs carved into the side of the cliff, zigzagging nonsensically. So many steps.
The air smelled of smoke and burning flesh.
Shay had seen so much on the front line, but one thing was comforting.
The bodies in the water turned to foam.
He didn’t want to think of what happened when a Siren was burned alive.
Chapter Four
Maeve Cruinn
Covered in bruises, my eye swelling shut, and the scratches down my face stinging from the salt water, I knew I wouldn’t be injured for long.
I hide behind a large rock, marking the boundary between the lagoon and the forest bordering the sand. My breath caught in my chest, and my muscles ached, but they had already started to heal.
Cormac was well and trulypissed,and I was certain he’d attempt to beat me to death—again—if he caught me.
The Tuatha Dé Danann had protected me, healing my wounds.
As much as I wanted to fight back, in a way, his anger was warranted. I had killed him because of my foolishness. My addiction to the promise of power—the Kraken’s eye.
I had told myself I would get rid of the stone. Of the cursed piece of the High Throne that had twisted my mind like the tangled limbs of an octopus—but in the final moment, I hadn’t been strong enough.
My weakness had killed Cormac.
My weakness had killedme.
“There you are, Princess.” Cormac’s face was streaked with mud, and his long, golden hair sported several leaves. He poked his head around the boulder, though it was apparent he had spent some time searching the forest.
I scrambled away from him, kicking up sand and dried leaves. Cormac gripped my ankles, and I fell face forward. My mouth filled with blood, as my teeth scored my tongue.
Still reaching, clawing at the ground to get away. Cormac’s weight pressed me into the sand, and I couldn’t move. My breath locked in my chest, his weight too much as he pressed his muscular body against mine, leaning down to speak directly into my ear.
“Caught you.” He breathed.
My nostrils flared. “Come back to kill me, huh? Hurt me? Just get it over with, you overgrown fish!” I snapped, my tangled hair falling in my face, stealing my vision. I bashed my fists against the forest floor, feeling the ground give way under the blow. Mud splattered over my face.
Cormac laughed, but the sound was bitter. Mocking. “You know where we are, don’t you?”
I closed my eyes, jaw clenched as I inhaled shakily. “I know,” I told him. “I guessed.” Though the blood on my face was dry, the wound above my eye closed. “I fucking hate you, Cormac Illfinn.”
He rocked his hips, grinding once against my backside, almost unintentionally, as he pushed himself to stand. Cormac brushed the forest debris from his chest. The black scar over his heart was gone.
“Tuatha Dé Danann.” Cormac nodded sagely.
I rolled off my front, pushing myself onto all fours. It took a moment to catch my breath. To recover from the heavy male who had knocked the wind from my lungs.
“I thought you were going to kill me.” I wheezed.
Cormac scoffed. “What gave you that idea?”
I waved a flaccid hand to the blood on my face.
