Page 25 of Songs of Vice
“You mean this about my magic, but the only things sirens do are manipulate and harm others. We have dark magic.”
Sai chuckled, so quiet I doubted someone standing a dozen cobblestones down would hear it. It brushed along my flesh, coursed through my limbs, and settled in my belly. “Dark magic.” He gave his head a shake. “So, Seelie ideas have poisoned you.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled which highlighted the sharp lines of his jaw and the texture of his trim beard. My fingers itched to touch it. He’d touched my hair and my bare flesh. I wouldn’t even know how to ask. My whole life I’d never known how to request what I wanted and that was never as true as this moment.
“I mean,”—his voice came as a deep hum that vibrated through me—“the Seelie would label us both as practitioners of dark magic because they fear it and us. But we choose how to use our powers. It can be a blessing as much as a curse. I used mine tonight to right something that had gone wrong, to save both the people of this town,”—he gestured to the buildings where smoke snaked into the sky from chimneys—“and the owner of the fighting act.”
“Sirens only use their magic for evil.”
“You really believe that?” His lips pulled up crookedly in nearly a smile. “You know so little of your kind. You fascinate me, Lira.”
Oh. He was intrigued with me because I was a curiosity. It wasn't attraction. Of course he wouldn’t feel drawn to me the way I did to him. He was tall, broad shouldered, with smooth brown skin and eyes that sparkled like he had a hundred interesting stories to tell. I couldn’t even imitate the confidence he had. He’d never see me as anything more than the mousy, spineless siren. Soon he’d realize I was as useless as Mother always said. I’d already explained I knew nothing of magic. Mother had scarcely spoken of the fairy courts much less how sirens fit in the fae realm. I suppose there were other sirens outside our group, and Sai must know some of them. God, how embarrassing that he seemed to know more about my magic than I did.
“We should catch up with your group,” I said.
“My group or our group?” He cocked an eyebrow. His gaze hadn’t left me, and my body shivered even as my brain tried to tell it to stop. He wasn’t interested. And I shouldn’t want him to be, anyway. I wanted a quiet life far from magic. Sai had just unleashed powers I didn’t know existed while gathering fae members of his heist team. He was the opposite of what I was looking for. “Are you joining us? Or staying here?”
A horse drawn wagon clipped by, the wheels crackling against the road. “You may find I’m more of a burden than a help.”
“I doubt it,” he whispered, and he stood close enough to me that his breath brushed against my cheek.
“I already messed up once.”
He smirked. “As you must already be aware, if I let the beings in our group go after one misstep, no one would remain on this team. Including me.”
“Are you certain you want me?” As soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, heat flamed across my nose. I pressed my hands against my tight skirt and longed for a flouncy dress with extra fabric to bury my fists into.
But Sai’s sharp gaze only intensified. “I do.”
I couldn’t form words, so I bobbed my head and started walking towards the trees. My brain didn’t work around this man, and if he looked at me like that again I was certain my body would catch on fire and dissipate into ash and smoke.
Sai remained behind me the entire walk, as though he needed separation as well. We trailed through the village and its quiet, nighttime sounds of shutters locking and an owl hooting in the distance. We reached the forest and swept into the darkness of it again. When we joined the group who all perched on stones and fence posts, another person had joined. He had a head of dark hair and smooth brown skin. He wore a navy outfit that was covered in intricately sewn patterns and gleamed in the light of the lantern Luz held.
Sai clapped the man’s arm. “Ishir. Finally, someone who knows how to show up and wait at the meeting spot.”
Ishir pressed his hands together and bowed. “It’s an honor.”
“Let me talk with you for a minute alone.” Sai patted his back as he shifted towards the group. “And then we’ll discuss the job.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
SAI
Ishirand I crunched far enough into the forest to separate from the group, and I stopped in a ray of moonlight the moment his taut posture slumped. I turned and clapped his hand, earning a grin from him. “It’s good to see you.”
“Did the journey here go all right?” I asked.
“It was fine.”
“I appreciate your willingness to join us for this job.”
Ishir shrugged, and his guard uniform wrinkled with the motion. “I mean it, Sai. It’s an honor to serve the Maharani in this and Shaan as well.”
We hesitated for a moment as we both considered the reality of the situation and the reason we took such a risk as to invade the Seelie palace. Ishir leaned back against a tree, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.
This was part of the reason I wished to speak with him alone. Publicly, even in front of the group, he’d show deference. His guard training demanded it, and he was excellent at his role. He wasn’t the best, however. He was too young for that. But he was someone I trusted. Also, he saw me as Sai first and my magic and role secondary. That was rare among the guard. Plus, he worked in the Prasanna palace. He never would have received that role if he wasn’t talented and deeply trusted. His voice held a laugh as he spoke. “With your team gone for the last few months, the palace grounds have been fairly dull.”