The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,103
“Who is the last one?”
Brody took another sip of water, then set his cup down. “He’s dead, so there’s no need to discuss him.”
Leo sat back, narrowing his eyes. Brody seemed to be protecting the last member. Who would he . . . ? “By the Light, was it the Seer?”
Brody winced. “Don’t tell anyone. The poor man only wanted to bring peace and prosperity to the world. His mistake was trusting Cahira enough to confide in her. She was the one who twisted his idea into her own plan for world domination. She also raised the Chameleon and financed the other members of the circle. The Embraced army was her idea.”
“I understand. So you’re planning to kill her after she lifts the curse?”
Brody hesitated, staring at his plate of food.
“Is there a problem?” Leo asked. “Is she too powerful?”
“She’s Maeve’s mother.”
Leo drew in a long breath. “Crap.”
“Exactly.”
“And Maeve knows everything?” Leo asked. “Is she all right? Her sisters are worried sick about her.”
“She’s fine.” Brody took a bite of cheese. “She will be fine. She’s strong.”
“That’s good.” Leo thought back to what Brody had said about the Seer having an affair with Cahira. “Then the Seer is Maeve’s father?”
Brody nodded. “Aye. You saw my note about the Chameleon?”
With a grimace, Leo balled his fists. “If you don’t kill him, I will. He murdered Tedric.”
“And his own father,” Brody added. “By the way, I saw his true form tonight. He actually looks quite a bit like you.”
Leo scoffed. “That bastard.”
“So I’ll deal with Cahira and the Chameleon. Nevis and my sister are training the rejected Embraced children. They’re going to take out the castle guards.” Brody leaned forward. “Once your ships are sighted, the Embraced army will try to destroy you.”
With a frown, Leo nodded. “We figured that.”
“I heard you arrived with twelve ships?”
Leo nodded. “Five Eberoni ships, six Tourinian ships, and Captain Chapman’s ship. There are two more from the Isle of Moon, making a total of fourteen.”
“And when you add the six elfin ships, you have an armada of twenty,” Brody concluded.
“You know about those?”
“Aye. One of the Embraced children, Bettina, has the gift of communicating with birds, so she’s keeping us informed.”
“Excellent.” Leo smiled. That was one less problem to worry about.
“Are you leaving in the morning?” Brody asked.
“Midmorning,” Leo clarified. “Silas is keeping Dimitri apprised of the elfin navy’s progress. We believe they can make it to the Isle of Secrets by noon. So we are planning to arrive at roughly the same time.”
“Then the battle will begin at noon.” Brody stood. “I’ll fly back and let Nevis know.”
Leo rose to his feet. “Be careful.” As he strode toward the door to open it, he grew increasingly worried about Brody trying to eliminate both Cahira and the Chameleon. He glanced back at Brody, but the shifter had already turned into a dog. “Brody, you should let Nevis help you. Or I could send one of the dragons to back you up.”
But Leo wasn’t sure Brody heard him, since the dog dashed onto the deck, then shifted into an eagle and flew away.
* * *
In a dream, Maeve found herself floating over the sea, headed toward Aerie Castle. She flew through the open doors of the balcony, then floated toward the Great Hall. This time, the castle seemed familiar to her. She noted the purple curtains fluttering in the breeze, the mosaic floor that resembled the ocean, the dais with its golden octopus throne and colorful glass decorations in the shapes of clams and underwater plants.
Suddenly, all the glass exploded, and colored shards flew about the room. Maeve screamed and covered her head.
Everything went black for a moment. When she came to, she saw her mother lying on the floor by the dais, her throat slit, her eyes glassy.
Dead? Had Brody killed her?
A surge of pain erupted inside her, doubling her over. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed on the floor. What was this awful pain? Had she been stabbed? Was she going to die?
A sudden clashing noise drew her attention, and although her vision was blurred with pain, she could see Brody and the Chameleon engaged in a swordfight. The Chameleon slashed his sword down, slicing Brody’s thigh. As Brody fell to the floor, the Chameleon raised his sword to deal the fatal blow—
“No!” Maeve woke up, her heart pounding. “No.” She shook her head. Brody couldn’t lose the battle. He couldn’t die.