When darkness calls, she cannot answer...
Isolated and alone, Halen Windspeare is in over her head. Sacrificing her soul to save the realms, she must now protect the water stone. But the siren hunters won't relent until she is finally annihilated. H...
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"Asair, get in here—now." Natalie's shouting shattered his thoughts. Asair closed his book, though he hadn't read a word, for his thoughts always wandered to Halen.
His chest ached with longing; a feeling so much more overwhelming since their separation. From his dimension, when he watched over her from the orb, he yearned to know her more intimately. Now, after being a part of her, knowing her every thought, the desire to be near Halen consumed him.
He understood her struggle of having so much power, and yet being tied to a Guardian that had none. Natalie found love with a Hunter, but Halen's heart was lost in the Guardian bond. The connection created a desperate loneliness that would never be filled. When Asair found her, despite the silver beneath her arm, he would find a way to set her free. He owed her at least that much.
"Asair!" Natalie's voice rose shrill.
"I'm coming." He shut the door to his bedroom, even though privacy was moot in the Hunters' fortress. He frowned as the ceiling camera rotated to follow him down the hall. The Hunters claimed the surveillance team worked for their safety and he couldn't argue the fact that he and Natalie needed protection, but he hated the idea of eyes on him twenty-four-seven, recording his every move.
He shuddered at the thought of the dozens of tapes with the day-to-day-dealings of the fortress—most had been innocent, but some tapes had been too gruesome to view. Not all the Hunters murdered sirens with mercy. He couldn't fathom the idea of re-watching their kills. However, with Tage and Halen's mother, the recordings had proved useful. Asair wouldn't have agreed to come, let alone stay at the fortress if he hadn't viewed the tapes himself.
Emil and Natalie stripped their guilt away, replaying the footage in slow motion, claiming nothing could have saved Tage. Asair begged to differ. Instead of pinning the siren boy Ezra to the ceiling, Natalie should have bandaged Tage. Those few seconds may have saved the girl's life. Natalie was quick to remind him had played a part in her death, too. Had he not created the mermaids, then Tage never would have had the venom in her bloodstream. Blame was a game no one would win between sinners.
He crossed the hall and headed toward the arched doorway at the end, where the theatre speakers blared with a newscast. As he entered, Natalie's back was to him, her wavy dark hair cascading over the seat of her wheelchair, her attention fixed on the enormous panoramic screen.
He stepped beside her, not caring about the news since she had already called him in three times that day for minor earthquakes in Indonesia and a flood in Venice, which had nothing to do with sirens or Halen. He figured she just liked the company. Emil, usually by her side, would lasso the moon if Natalie asked, but currently, the Hunter busied himself securing the perimeter with Vita and Jae. "What is it now?"
"I found Halen." She pressed a button on the remote.
His gaze snapped to the blurred images as she flipped through the channels. "Well, stop on one, so I can see." He held his breath as dozens of flame ravaged animal carcasses filled the screen.
