Siren Awakened - C.R. Jane Page 0,63

we settled in. I hungrily picked up the sandwich from my tray and started to dig in.

“Good to see a smile on your face again, sweetheart,” he murmured, and I blushed at the way he was looking at me.

Maybe it was possible for me to be happy. Maybe these four men were the universe’s penance for all the shit it had dragged me through.

I really needed to find some wood to knock on after thinking something good like that.

Laz kept me laughing and smiling throughout lunch. He had a dry sense of humor that always kept me guessing, and I found myself laughing more than I had in maybe forever throughout the meal.

I was smiling the entire walk back to my cell, and it took me a second to realize that my cell door shouldn’t have been wide open. I’d definitely closed it before leaving this morning. I hurried inside, freaking out about the crystal. I couldn’t carry it around with me, just in case one of the resident pickpockets targeted me, so I’d hidden it behind a loose stone I’d found in the wall under my cot.

Crouching down and reaching for the rock that held my hiding place, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the crystal was still there. I didn’t have anything else in my cell of value to worry about besides this. But this was a very big thing to worry about.

I squinted my eyes when it seemed that the crystal was glowing more than usual. I reached out and grabbed it. As soon as the smooth stone touched my skin, everything around me went black.

I found myself in a beautiful room, the walls made up of glimmering marble, and the floors were an obsidian black. A man wearing a frosted crown stood in front of me, and he looked vaguely familiar. I realized why he looked so familiar when Seth strolled in. A healthy, vibrant looking Seth who took my breath away. He had a shine to him like sunlight was following him with every step he took. I noticed he had what looked like a golden wand attached to a belt around his waist.

“Father,” he said respectfully, bowing his head slightly. The king smiled and touched two fingers to his son’s cheek. “My son.”

The scene changed just then. The king was standing at a window, a pensive look on his face. I watched as a fae with long ebony hair and face that held some of the same features as the king and Seth approached him from behind. The king didn’t make a move to show that he’d heard him. The fae held up what looked like Seth’s golden wand above his head. The king finally heard him and had just turned his head when the fae’s hands came down, stabbing the king right in his chest.

I gasped watching it, my pulse beating rapidly as the king looked at the male in shock and then sunk to his knees, pulling at the weapon lodged in his chest. He finally collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Only then did I notice that the fae was wearing a pair of gloves.

I came awake with a start, swaying slightly as the room came back into focus.

Seth. I needed to tell him what I saw. But who was the male that I saw?

I stood up, covering the crystal, still swaying slightly and went to leave my cell. But just as I did, a guard appeared in the doorway. Unease sliced across my chest. “The warden wants to see you now!” he barked.

Panicked at what he’d want now, I followed the guard out of my cell.

Keon was waiting outside of the warden’s office, a grim look on his face.

“What’s this about?” I whispered to him, but before Keon could answer, the guard ushered me inside the office.

The warden was sitting at his desk. When he heard me, he lifted his head and stared at me for a long moment, something that looked a little bit like regret in his gaze.

He blinked and the look was gone, probably nothing but my imagination.

“You’ll be escorted out of the prison today for a leave day,” he announced.

“What?” I asked, flabbergasted.

He cleared his throat. “Your mother is dead. Julian murdered her after what happened the other day. Her funeral is being held this afternoon.” There was a pause, and I could almost hear the apology in that silence.

The warden cleared his throat again as my knees