The Forgotten Crown (2019) Book 1 of The Broken Crown Series

32. Mirage

Sirena curled up on the divan and ran her hands over the rich brocade. Thergo, even in his anger wanted to show her what she could have, what she was missing. She watched in silence as her friends gorged themselves on the lavishly appointed table. Sirena nibbled suspiciously at a piece of rich brown bread. The bread tasted real. Her friends remained worn and haggard, dirt smudged and weary and yet they smiled. Reaching out tentatively Sirena stroked a smudge of dirt off of Syrus's nose. He squirmed under her ministrations but gave her a sweet smile. He felt real.

Sliding over to Donovan she ran her fingers lightly down his arm, rubbing her thumb across a silvery faded scar. He froze at the contact, she had never touched him in such a familiar way before. Every muscle in his body stood rigid with tension as she leaned into him and whispered in his ear. "What is my name?"

Utterly perplexed at her behavior he opened and closed his mouth several times. Sirena pleaded with her eyes. As he began to speak she cautioned him with a quick glance at the guards. Brow raised he picked up on her gimmick. Relaxing his posture a bit, Donovan slid closer to her, sliding an arm about her shoulders. Confused glances were mirrored around the room until Sirena repeated her silent message once more. Letty and Beatrice distracted Syrus with a game scratched into the floor and Jarsha slid into a pretend nap.

Tracing the scar once more, Sirena leaned in for her answer. "Sirena." She looked at him expectantly, he leaned forward once more and watched as rash of goosebumps flew down her arm as his warm breath bathed her neck and ear. "Sirena Mondragon."

She relaxed and let the warmth of their company finally wash over her. A great loud sigh escaped her lips and she allowed herself a moment to enjoy his arm about her. His intense curiosity battered at her like a physical force. "I did not wish them to think us plotting." She said as she brushed a stray curl from his forehead. "Better they think us to be...familiar."

Donovan's fingers danced about her hair and the back of her neck, each gentle touch sending her into paroxysms of delight and confusion and embarrassment. "Aye" Heat suffused their faces as they continued the ruse. "Are we?" He stammered on when he saw her shock. "Are we plotting that is?" Locking eyes they both let a moment pass in silence until their breathing resumed its normal cadence.

"I- I had to be sure this was real."

Donovan's brow creased with a question. "Does this explain your disappearance last night?" Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear he dropped his fingers to her collarbone, gently plucking at the fabric. "And the wardrobe change?"

Sirena colored. "Aye. Thergo...his mages...He had me bathed and primped like a...like a princess. I feared he had learned my secret." A glimmer of understanding dawned in his eyes. "They showed me things...made me believe things. Tricked me into thinking I was..."

"You were...?"

"I thought I was with you Donovan." Her violet eyes drank in his gaze before returning to her lap. "He wanted me to trust him. To tell him things...to DO things..."

Donovan's gentle touch grew hard and tight as his fingers clutched the back of her neck. He forced her chin up when she refused to look at him. Seeing the tears in her eyes, Donovan began to rise to his feet in his fury. Capturing his face in her hands she whispered to him urgently. "It was a betrayal of trust, nothing more Donovan. I saw the farce for what it was, I saw through his magic before it went any further."

Sirena shuddered at the memory of Thergo's hands pawing at her. Hands he had wanted her to believe were Donovan's. How he had known to take Donovan's likeness upon himself and not Jarsha's remained a mystery. He had overestimated their familiarity by a great deal however.

Though he had looked like Donovan and sounded like him, though shockingly she yearned for Donovan to touch her the way Thergo had, there was no mistaking the way he made her feel or the knowledge they shared. There was no faking the expressions on his face, the ones she knew so well. Sirena had realized the deception but not before feeling a horribly deep wound open in her heart. Sirena had not realized the depths of her feelings for her mentor until that moment. Once she had realized her eyes were not to be trusted, Donovan's beloved face melted away like a desert mirage, replaced by a vulgar, coarse mouth twisted in a cruel sneer. Thergo had stolen nothing more than a moment's confusion and yet she felt violated beyond measure.

A great wave of sound washed into the chamber, a sound like thunder. Stomping feet and the screams of a thousand men and women rode through her like a tidal wave. Goosebumps nagged at her flesh once more, this time out of fear. Donovan's hands softened and drew her close once more, he lay her head against his chest, the rapid thump of his heart betraying his own fear. His chest rumbled pleasantly as he spoke, "You don't have to do this lass."

Sirena settled into his embrace, feeling safer than she had in months. Perhaps she would attempt a nap. A small sigh escaped her. "Yes I do."