An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)(29)

Amara shook her head then lifted onto her toes and kissed his chin. “I’ll fight. I don’t know if I can do exactly what needs to be done, but maybe words will be enough.” She didn’t look like she believed it, but Tristan nodded then met Seth’s gaze. Yes, both of them understood. Amara wouldn’t have to kill the queen if that’s what it came down to. Tristan and Seth would. They were warriors, and Amara was not. Yet. There was no reason she should have to do something that hurt her when they could do it for her. As for a war between realms, that could possibly be avoided. If the queen were really out of favor like the others thought, and Tristan figured that had to be the case from what he knew, then his people as well as Seth’s should be safe.

He turned away from them once more and held out his arms. The portal shimmered once before fading away again.

“Well, hell.” He cursed again and closed his eyes, only to stop when Amara put her hand on his arm.

“I think it needs to be me.” She frowned as he looked down at her. “I don’t know how I know that, but I think I need to be the one that opens it. You need to preserve your energy, and Seth is still tired from fighting the school.”

“I’m not that tired,” Seth grumbled but sighed. “But I think Amara is right. She’s a siren and she’s going home, for lack of a better word, for the first time. It needs to be her.”

“And if the queen notices?”

“She’s going to notice my presence one way or another, we might as well get into the realm before we freak out.” With that, she held out her hands and scrunched her face. She had no idea what she was doing, but at least she was trying. Tristan couldn’t be prouder.

When she opened her mouth and began to sing, Tristan took two staggered steps backwards.

Her voice. The beauty. Holy shit.

“Amara,” he whispered in awe. Seth came to his side and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Holy f*ck,” his mate said softly. “Now I know why men eagerly went to their deaths. Her song, Tristan. Her song.”

Her hair fanned around her, and though he couldn’t see her face, he knew he’d see the ink on her body, on her soul. She was a true siren, her song that of purpose and eternity. When the portal shimmered back into existence, she held out one arm and made a motion with her hand to bring them forward. He and Seth stepped toward her, gripped her hands, and took another step with her. Between one breath and the next, they found themselves within the siren realm, the portal shutting tightly behind them. Amara had stopped singing, her breath coming in pants.

“That was…unexpected,” she said softly.

He met Seth’s gaze and knew the other man’s thoughts were on the same path as his. If that was her power when she had no training, it was no wonder the queen wanted Amara’s line gone. Amara’s song spoke of a magic and ability that was immense in both greatness and strength. He’d wanted to fall to his knees and let her take him wherever she wished. It was only because he knew who she was beneath that power and how scared she would be to find out the depth of it alone, that he’d stayed on his feet. They would have to get her trained as quickly as possible. His friend Malik might be able to help with that as he trained many paranormals, no matter what realm they came from. But first, they had to deal with the queen.

Thankfully, the inn that he’d seen before still stood, and not much else had changed in this part of the realm. It looked like any part of the human realm, with its large fields and far off forests. However, the purple sky with swirls of moving stars was the only thing that spoke of the differentness.

“The queen’s castle is behind that tree line,” Tristan said. “We should be able to get a room in the inn tonight and head there in the morning. It will give us time to reenergize.”

“Let’s get it done, then,” Amara said, her voice still breathy. “I can’t believe I just sang. I didn’t know I could sing like that.”

“It’s inherent in you, and you will learn to control it,” Seth added. “But damn, honey, you were magnificent.”

Tristan agreed and took their hands. “Let’s get inside before we’re seen.” They went inside and met the innkeeper, a small older siren that looked at him curiously but kept her mouth shut. They got a room on the second floor—one where it would still be easy to jump out of the window if needed—and paid.

Seth sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as they walked into the room and locked the door behind them. “I’m going to go soak in the tub for a bit and reclaim the rest of my energy. I know it’s not the ocean, but it’s fine.” He shrugged, and Tristan walked over to him and kissed him deeply.

“We’ll be out here when you’re done.”

Seth winked, and Tristan relaxed. It seemed his mate wanted to make sure Amara and Tristan had time alone together. Goddess he loved that man.

Seth closed the bathroom door behind him, and Tristan slid the pack off his shoulders so he could face Amara. “You were beautiful out there. Powerful. I want you to understand that. Even with no training, you were power. I was in awe of you, Amara. I am in awe of you.”

She smiled at him then. “I kind of kicked ass, didn’t I?”

He licked his lips and leaned forward. “Yeah, you did, and you’ll only get stronger as you learn to use your gifts. I’m proud of you, Amara. I hope you know that.”