“Get away from me!” I yelled at him and whacked his hand. He moved suddenly, and I fell onto my backside.

Instead of keeping a serious face, Xiven started laughing. Even Sevril began to chuckle, their moods easily tempered apparently. Mine was too far gone.

“Stop laughing,” I said in warning. I tried to focus on my uneven breathing.

The laughing continued and my hands began to shake.

“Knock it off!” I yelled out loudly and stood up, my whole body trembling with the beginning of the power again.

Sevril snorted which caused Xiven to howl.

My ears burned red, my temper loosed, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The anger at my situation, my attempted assassination by Tomac. There’d been too much. I was helpless in finding the solution to my disease, which is what I was now calling it. I was more than frustrated over not knowing what was happening with Kael and Joss. I shouldered guilt over not saving the innocent Denai. It was too much for me to contain, and I let it go with a throaty yell.

I opened my eyes and turned my wrath on the trunk. The power seeped out like a trickle of water through a fissure in a mountain side—escaping even though the rock tried to keep it prisoner. That is how I described what was happening with me. The Siren blood was too loose—too powerful—in me now. It pounded at and weakened the Sinnendor barrier like it had when I splintered the knife. Only this time I wasn’t afraid for my life.

Just furious.

The trunk blasted into a hundred flaming pieces, all of the contents scattered. Apparently, it had been packed with books. Pages of paper fluttered to the ground as they turned to ash. I looked at Xiven triumphantly between half-closed eyes and smirked.

He just clapped his hands in joy. Then he turned to Sevril and said, “You know she is showing you what an unleashed Siren’s gifts are. It’s not too late to reverse your process.”

Sevril stared at the blackened spot, where his trunk had sat in front of the door. He shook his head, “No way. That is too much power for one person to have. Especially me.” Sevril’s eyes sadly left the carnage of burning books to give me a pitiful look. “At least I’m sane enough to know that.”

The smile fell from my face.

Chapter 27

It was easier than I’d expected to leave the castle.

I walked out of Sevril’s room. I listened at every bend for the maniacal laughter of Tomac and followed a group of servants out the front door. My remaining anger fueled my determination as I stormed into the stable and demanded a horse to be saddled. The stable master stuttered, bobbed his head, and ran for a saddle. I was counting on my current palace attire to curb any forthcoming questions.

A few of the Elite gathered outside of the stables to watch my departure with interest. I ignored them, as any lady of a royal house would, and acted impatient. I was surprised when a very large destrier was brought out and presented to me. By no means was he as stunning as Faraway, but he was the largest horse I had ever seen. Sixteen hands tall and well muscled.

Gideon’s head popped around from behind him, and he handed me the reigns. My cheeks flamed red. I was about to explain my actions but he just shook his head.

“You’ll need a reliable companion to see you home.” He smiled wanly.

“A suitable mare would have been fine, but you give me a war horse. Why?”

“I hope that you will one day personally return him. But if it comes down to courage and strength of will, there isn’t any finer than Loker.”

“I may beg to differ.” I said, again wishing for my own friend and companion. The leather reigns of Loker in my hand felt like shackles being snapped around my ankles. All the more reason to leave and leave now. “I should leave. I should have left earlier. If I don’t, you may have the whole Valdyrstal clan on your doorstep. Unanswered questions were all that kept me here.”

Gideon came over and kneeled, politely offering me the boost I needed to get up on the large beast. I stared at the cupped palms he was offering me and hesitated only a moment.

“I’m assuming that since now you are leaving, you’ve gotten your answers.” He adjusted the stirrups on Loker to accommodate my shorter legs.

“All but one.” I took a deep breath and prayed for guidance. “Is King Tieren going to send any more men to attack my village?”

This time Gideon turned red and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve heard that your own family line is not affected the way we are. I’m hoping that with time we can find a cure to help King Tieren and his sons. And I think the answer lies with you. You will see us again, hopefully under better circumstances. We would like to see an understanding between the two great families once again, because our future depends on it.” Gideon pinched his lips in a solemn expression.

I supposed it was the closest I would get to an answer. I didn’t wait. I spurred the horse on and headed toward the gate before I lost my nerve, or before King Tieren had a mood swing and I ended up back in the dungeon.

I neared the gate, and Gideon motioned for the guards to let me through. Sitting straight and tall in the saddle, I looked neither right nor left but continued on my journey. Unlike the palace in Calandry, Sinnendor’s castle was nestled in a small mountain range. The closest town, Merchantstown, was a good three miles away and located along the river Sterling. I could either take the main road into Merchantstown or bypass it and head into the forest that lay south of the castle. I was hoping to continue south and meet up with a road that would lead me back into Calandry.

I could see barely see the outline the Shadow Mountains from where I was, and I could envision King Tieren staring out of his castle into that very mountain range and wishing desperately for his sister’s return.

No wonder he became obsessed with getting her back.

I spurred the horse forward toward the trees, hoping that I could put some distance between me and the castle before it became dark and Tieren sent Gideon back after me. I didn’t really know whom to trust. It wasn’t long before I found a path and followed it. Any time it forked, I took the road that seemed to head south.

Hours passed and the sky darkened. I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder every few minutes, looking for Gideon’s form or one of the Elite to come barreling after me.

My stomach growled but I ignored the rumbling until it no longer cried out in protest. I was cold, shivering. By now I was fighting to keep from falling asleep. My eyes grew heavy and every few minutes, my head nodded off to the side. I would instantly jerk awake and stare into the night. I couldn’t help it, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted, and even my flight instinct wasn’t kicking in to keep me awake.

I must have dozed off again, because I awoke to something poking me in the side. Maybe I had rubbed against a brambleberry bush. Loker stopped moving and the poke in the side dug deeper.

I opened my eyes to the edge of a sword pointed at my face.

Chapter 28

I was instantly alert. It must be the Elite. Tieren must have sent them back for me. My hand reached for a weapon but I came up empty. The forest was unnaturally quiet, except for the whispers I could hear from my ambushers. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the sword pointed toward my throat, and I recognized the pain in my side as another knife. I saw black shapes moving about, dark cloaks, and more swords appearing.