Page 60 of The Lost Siren
Wyrren stepped forward from the crowd, bowing lightly.
“Blood wards, using black and white magick. Shouldn’t be hard to snare a few Vampyres for the task.”
I swallowed heavily but didn’t disagree.
“No Lykos. We will reach out to them and try to secretly rebuild our alliance.”
They all bowed their heads.
“The best course of action is a willing sacrifice, similar to Sabien’s, but more powerful.” Gelf’s eyes were far away, fixed on some point I couldn’t see.
“What could be more powerful?”
Wyrren looked away, but Gelf stood straighter; taller.
“Sabien was a willing sacrifice, but scared and young. We need an older Draken with nerves of steel, committed completely to giving his life to protect the rest of the colony.”
Dead silence blanketed the hall.
“I volunteer.”
Gelf’s eyes were steady, his chin held high. Pirth pushed through the crowd and stood next to him.
“I also volunteer.”
An awed hush fell over us, and I didn’t know what to say. Gelf smiled.
“I hung on long enough in the hopes I would one day see the lost siren. You have brought me more joy than I thought possible. It would be my honor to lay down my life for the future of the Draken race.”
My eyes felt hot, so I shifted them to Pirth.
“What he said.” His yellow scales glittered, the color of the sun.
I found Domik in the crowd, his eyes fearful. I swallowed back everything I was feeling, stuffing it down for later, when I could break down in private and grieve for these brave, brave men.
“When should we leave?” I asked him bluntly.
“Sabien’s sacrifice should hold for a few hours."
I nodded, then addressed the rest of the Drakens.
“We leave inone hour. Be ready to fly.”
The hall descended into loud cheers and organized chaos. I turned towards Kieran and Ronan, who looked like they were barely holding onto their sanity.
“Justhold on. I’m needed.” A bit of the heat cleared from Kieran’s eyes, and he took my hand in his, turning it over to admire the pattern of my scales.
“I have waited for the day I would lay eyes on the lost siren for most of my life. I can wait a little longer for the honor of being one of her mates.”
He kissed my knuckles, emotion swimming his eyes. He dragged Ronan off with him, who was still mooning after me like he was lost. My lips twitched, then hardened into a flat line. There was work to do, and I had an entire species to save.
Thoughts of Benedict invaded my head, but I pushed them away.
He stabbed himself to force you to change.
“Is everyone prepared?”
Gelf nodded, his eyes following the mildly organized chaos around us.