An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)(32)

And with that, she sang.

It wasn’t a song of healing nor one to open a portal. Those had a beauty that called to her soul. This one had a dark beauty of its own, but it wasn’t her soul it called to.

The queen wanted the other realms, wanted to show the world she had power. She would stop at nothing to take what she wanted, and Amara couldn’t allow that to happen—even if it broke a part of her to do so.

Her men held her hands, bringing her strength she hadn’t known she craved as she sang the shadowed melody of darkness. The queen’s eyes widened and she clutched her throat, unable to continue her own song.

It seemed the queen had been right to fear Amara’s line. For Amara was far more powerful than she. Amara continued to sing, her melody reaching the queen’s hardened soul. Amara changed the lyrics then, twisting when she could have soothed. It broke her to think about what she was doing, so she didn’t think, she only acted. She would deal with the consequences, the mark on her soul and the fallout with Seth and Tristan when the time came.

The queen screamed and fell to her knees. Sweat dripped down Amara’s spine and temples as she continued her song. When her men held her close, whispering soothing words and running their hands through her hair, she knew she could lean on them.

Soon, she closed her mouth, her song finished. The queen no more.

Her legs gave out and tears spilled down her cheeks. She’d just killed someone. Ended their life so she could live…so her family could live. Perhaps if the queen hadn’t attacked Seth as she had, Amara might have found another way. But with that one act, the queen had set her fate.

“Little siren,” Tristan whispered before kissing her softly. “Darling. It’s okay. You can breathe. We’re here.”

Seth whispered much of the same, his hands on her back as he kissed her neck. “We’re here.”

She didn’t know how long she let herself sway in their arms. Her body hurt, her soul a bit tired from what she’d done. She didn’t know the ramifications, the effect on her own future after what she’d done, but hopefully, no matter what happened, her men were safe. They were all that mattered.

She opened her mouth to speak, but froze as something so sweet, so hot, so everything snapped into place.

“The bond,” Seth gasped.

Amara smiled despite what had happened moments before and threw her arms around her men’s shoulders. “The bond.”

Tristan smiled as well before kissing her. “I feel you, darling. I feel both of you. You’re mine now. Now and forever.”

“I never knew it would feel like this,” Seth said in awe.

She could feel their souls tangle with hers, as if the world had stopped and it was only the three of them. While she would have stayed there, letting the bond settle as she got to know her men all over again, someone cleared their throat from beside them. Then the reality of where they were and what had happened with the queen settled into her.

She turned toward a group of thirty people or so and swallowed hard as they each knelt in front of her.

“My queen,” one of the men in front said. “I am David, a siren of a different line. We…we wanted to say thank you for freeing us. The former queen held our lines hostage for far too long, and none of us were powerful enough to stop it.”

Her men stood on either side of her, though they didn’t hold her hands. It was enough that she could feel them at her sides and in her heart.

That was something she would have to get used to, but hell, she loved it. She loved them.

Wait. “Did you just call me your queen?” She shook her head. “I’m no queen. I’m just me.”

“There’s nothing just about you,” Tristan said softly before addressing the others. “Because she killed the former queen, are you saying she is the new monarch?”

David nodded. “That’s how it’s always worked.” He frowned. “I know you’re new and have no idea about our realm, but we need a king or queen. It’s not just for decisions, but how our songs work. There needs to be order, and frankly, we have been in chaos for too long with the former queen.”

Amara shook her head and licked her lips. Seth put his hand on her back and she settled ever so slightly. “I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’ve been in the siren realm for all of a day. I’m not fit to be queen.”

“That makes you the perfect queen,” David insisted. “We don’t need someone to rule with an iron fist. We need a voice, a song of reason.” He held up his hands when she opened her mouth to counter. “I’m not saying you should jump on the throne right now, but when you feel ready to come back to the realm, we will be here. And when you do come back, if you still feel you cannot be here as a presence of hope for small amounts of time, then we will see how we can move the crown to another. We aren’t a fighting people, Amara. We just need some form of order for our songs to be melodic.”

It was all too much for her, but she knew if she said no right then, she might hurt the others in the room that had such hopeful expressions on their faces.

“I…I need time to think.”

“Of course,” David said and nodded at the others around them. As one, the sirens stood up and smiled at her.

It was all so surreal. She was a siren, a mated siren. And now, a freaking queen? Not to mention the fact that the dead body of the former queen lay a few feet away and no one had done anything about it. No love lost there, apparently. Maybe one day she would wake up from the dream, but if that meant she would lose Tristan and Seth, then maybe she wanted to stay asleep.