The Silver Siren (Iron Butterfly, #3)(61)

“What about the Septori?”

Xiven leaned forward. “My story was similar to yours. All I know is the Septori—they are my family. Or were.”

“You admit this and yet you want me to trust you?”

“No, I just want you to listen.”

I was about to say more but pinched my lips together and crossed my arms.

“I have no memories before my time with them. I don’t even know how old I am.” Xiven paused and stared at the back of his hands as he held onto his knees.

I nodded my head in encouragement for him to continue. Having no memories was something that I could relate to.

Xiven continued, “They ingrained in me their convictions, their mantra, and their cause for a better future for the Denai. I had no reason to argue with them. They convinced me that they had the key to helping the Denai regain their former glory.” Xiven stood up, lifted up his shirt and turned around to show me the Septori brand on his upper back. “We have to be willing to be branded, to show that we are willing to inflict pain as well as endure pain for the good of Denai kind.”

I flinched and had to look away. It was uncomfortable for me to hear this, making me feel sympathy for those who did this to me. I couldn’t allow my feelings to be swayed. But his words made sense, they were doing this for the good of Denai and the map with the tokens centered around Haven filled my mind.

Xiven saw my hesitation and spoke. “Thalia, if you don’t want me to continue, I’ll stop. Just say the word.”

“No, I need to know what else happened. I want to know what you know,” I answered.

Xiven looked grim but kept going. “I think I was a scholar’s apprentice or something before I lost my memories, because I know how to read complex formulas, translate ancient texts and languages, and build things.” He clenched his hands together in frustration. “They used me to translate these journals and I was kept on a tight leash. I didn’t complain, because I was completely fascinated by the whole idea and process. Of course I wanted to see if it worked. I was only allowed to set it up and watch. It didn’t take long to figure out that what they were doing was wrong.”

“Of course it’s wrong. People died.” I stated. My skin crawled when I looked at Xiven—and at the realization that he may have seen me being tortured.

“Not you! Not Kael,” Xiven answered, a knowing look appeared in his eyes.

“Luck,” I said.

“I had heard about you long before I met you. You surprised the Raven, Talbot said. You reacted differently than the others, differently than the Denai. Sirens thrive on pain, anger, and destruction. Your anger made you stronger. More volatile, and that was intriguing. I heard that in one of the sessions, you actually destroyed the machine.

“No, I didn’t. I would remember that.”

“I’m just telling you what I heard. You didn’t show evidence of any Denai traits at the time, because you were definitely not Denai. That’s what alerted the Raven to the existence of the Sirens here in our world. I had found the name of the race repeated over and over in the Horden journals. You were just proof that they truly existed.”

“I thought I was turning into a monster,” I sighed and rubbed my arms, trying to make the goose bumps running up my spine go away.

“All I can say is that the news of your escape traveled fast. The Raven wanted you captured quickly and silenced. There was even a bounty placed on your head, but the attempts to collect you kept failing. Thanks to the SwordBrother.” Xiven smiled slightly.

“Yeah, Kael takes his job very seriously.”

Xiven wiped his palms on his pants and looked at me. “They didn’t know he was a SwordBrother. They thought he was part Denai, so you could just imagine their shock when they accidentally bonded the two of you. Now you are a hybrid of the two races. Which made the Raven value your gifts even more. Not only were you collecting more traits than any of the others, your Siren powers were coming through and you were bonded to a SwordBrother. You were the ultimate threat,” Xiven started to chuckle wanly.

“Why did you leave? Why are you here?”

“I didn’t want to be a part of what the Septori were doing. I started to feed the Septori false information in the translations of the journals. Which unfortunately led to more failed experiments.”

“Deaths of innocents.” I snapped. Xiven flinched as if my words physically hit him.”

He licked his lips and continued, “Raven was beginning to distrust me, so he sent me with Talbot and Mona for collection.”

“Collection?” I let the word slip out.

“Kidnapping. It was all the same. We needed Denai.” He shrugged his shoulders and gazed at the ground. “What the machine actually did was slowly strip a person’s power and convert it into a liquid serum. Ultimate power in a bottle. Sometimes the Denai lived through it and sometimes…” Xiven shivered. “All that was left was a hollowed shell of a being.”

“Why? Why would you do something so horrible?”

Xiven stood up, his eyes blazing in indignation. “I didn’t know any better. I felt trapped. I stayed until I learned all I could. I pretended to go along with everything, translating the books, writing up plans, and then I watched what they did and I felt sick to my stomach. When I saw with my own eyes how powerful you were, I realized the Raven wasn’t going to stop with just you. There were hints, things said, that lead to a much larger plan. And since the secret of the Sirens was out, I had to act. In Skyfell, in that moment of chaos when I thought I’d killed you. It was my only chance.”