Siren Rises (The Rise of Ares Book 3)

by Jade Frances

  Rest, little siren, it is done. His voice laced my thoughts, calming the roar of death that bellowed through me. My only bond that remained.

  Epilogue

  His arms slithered round me and splayed across my stomach as I looked out to the green fields below. The sun was setting low in the sky, spreading life and warmth in its wake. Life. A far cry from what Ares had taken from this world. Our world.

  “We are safe.” His breath on the bridge of my ear was a pleasant feeling. I had struggled to feel anything when I had woken, after Pearce had carried me away from the mountains to the town below, even with his broken body. I still struggled, months later. There was a void in me that I couldn’t fill. Sometimes I wondered if the falls had taken more from me than I had from the scythe. That little bit extra, to ensure Ares stayed in those gloomy depths, hidden among the rubble of what was once sacred mountains. Maybe it was the part of me that I had been willing to sacrifice. The part that kept me down there, accepting my fate.

  Pearce pulled me tighter against him. My bonded mate, I had learned. I think I had always known; it had just been hidden by all the others. The silence in my mind from losing the bond to the girls was hard to adjust to, but eventually I had come to like it. I turned in his arms and raised a hand to stroke back the hair that hung loosely over his eyes. Those piercing gray eyes that had once been cold and distant, now shone with pride and love.

  “Avetta?” I asked, wincing at the ruined moment between us. He shook his head.

  “She has agreed to your terms, she will not come anywhere near you, ever,” he growled. My protector. Ares’s words hadn’t been forgotten, and as soon as I had the mind to do it, I had gone to Avetta to demand answers. Though God knows why, she never could give a clear one.

  “Your fate was decided long ago Evangeline, I only pushed it along,” she had told me. No emotion, no remorse.

  “You killed her. Killer her, and claimed that she was a myth, a legend. You lied to me...” I had snarled in return. We were on the steps of the academy. The barren grounds were silent and empty. Not one student remained. Not after everyone had learned of her part in the war. The way she had cowered and ran. Sacrificing Theodore for her own gain. I still didn’t know if he had gone willingly, but his was another death I would never forgive her for. Zafira’s grief was the first trickle of emotion I had felt since that day.

  “She knew the part she had to play as well. It was not cold-blooded murder like you have been led to believe. The prophecy was what it was, and it never would have come into fruition if it wasn’t nudged along.”

  I had glared at her, deciphering her every word before I realized that nothing she could ever say would matter. She had lost everything, her reign, her academy, her followers. She resided in that massive building, alone. I had simply turned and walked away from her.

  Locking the memory in a deep recess of my mind, I again looked up into Pearce’s eyes, then back out to the grounds. I could see Kady chasing Adam in his wolf form. Her laughter carried on the breeze that lightly whipped around her, her hair flowing and absorbing light from the fading sun. So young and full of innocence and love. She wasn’t my sister. That had been my first thought when Avetta had offered her—Theodore—to Ares. But she was here now, a part of our family. I had asked Zafira if she would mind. But in her own grief, she had merely nodded and said the choice was Kady’s. Her eyes had glistened when I asked if she wanted to be a part of us, of our lives, forever. She hadn’t hesitated, didn’t even want the time to pack a bag. I smiled at the memory, that one I would treasure.

  “Ready?” Pearce gently coaxed. I nodded slowly and tore my eyes from Kady. We walked hand in hand down the stairs and into the dining room. Where each member of my family was waiting patiently for us. I grinned at the sight of them, one that didn’t reach my eyes, but I tried. Rose and Barak were standing in a corner of the room, his hand splayed protectively across her stomach. A little ray of sunshine that they had announced to us only nights before. Sandra, whose glow was back brighter and more beautiful than before, was whispering to Dakota and giggling. She was still healing, would probably never be the same after the loss of Taylor, but like the rest of us she was trying. Darryl and Egan were having a heated discussion seated at the table. Egan more a member of the pack than our family. He liked his solitude, but enjoyed being free with the wolves more, no longer needed as a guardian. Darryl, surprisingly, often visited Quinn and Miles, keeping their whereabouts hidden even from us. I couldn’t imagine Miles being happy at having to relocate, but at least he was alive and free. No longer tied to protecting the mountains. Quinn dropped by sometimes, but he struggled to find his place with us. There was still so much distrust. Cole sauntered past me and Pearce, giving us a small salute as he joined them. These past months had done him well, he fit in like he had been here since the beginning. There were moments I saw flashes of fear in his eyes, the unknown of where Aresollo and Ava were and whether he should try to find them, but like me, he buried that nagging fear and chose to at least try to be happy. Adam stood behind us in the doorway, watching as we were. With our bond gone, our friendship had blossomed into more of a sibling relationship, I no longer had twinges of jealousy or stolen glances that I couldn’t decipher. None of us spoke about the cavern, what each person had endured when we parted to find each other again, the injuries that healers had taken weeks to mend. No one had asked what had overtaken me, what it felt like, or whether a part of it still remained. We came back to Moorway House, not one of us wanting to part just yet. And here we would live until we were ready to branch out separately, or maybe we never would.

  Kady entered the room and pushed her way in between me and Pearce, taking each of our hands she grinned up at us.

  “Is it time to celebrate now?” Her tiny voice sent soothing tones into the room. Pearce leaned down to her level, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Of course, Princess, happy birthday,” he looked at everyone in the room who had gone silent, “here’s to many more.” I watched everyone holla and raise their hands to cheer with invisible glasses. Their eyes shining brightly at the young girl who was slowly healing each of us from the horrors we had endured.

  This was our family, we had survived. And now it was time for us to live.

  The End

  About the Author

  Jade Frances caught the writing bug as a teenager and hasn’t looked back since. As an avid reader and fan of YA fantasy, she looks forward to publishing her own tales filled with adventure.

  These days, beyond chasing after two children and dreaming up new novel ideas, Jade enjoys cooking, travelling, and exploring the picturesque views in and around her suburban River Tay, Scotland home.

  For more information on her books, and to sign up to her mailing list where you can receive exclusive content, and early cover reveals, visit her website here: www.jadefrances.net