The Silver Siren Read Online Free PDF

hands
to cover my face in horror.
    Kael tore a band of cloth from the
bottom of his shirt and dipped it into the cold river. He began
wiping away the dirt and ashes from my face.
    Jerking from the coldness, I tried to
pull away. Kael held me firmly but gently. “How am I supposed to
tell you what you look like if you are covered in
ashes?”
    Keeping my eyes closed, I let Kael
wipe all of the dirt and soot from my face. The act was in itself
kind, sensual, and completely out of character for the
SwordBrother.
    When he finished, he ran his fingers
down my face and cupped my cheeks. “Thalia, open your
eyes.”
    “ I’m scared
to.”
    “ I’m here, remember? I’ll
keep the bad things away,” Kael said softly. “I’ve kept my promise
so far haven’t I?”
    He had.
    Besides, if my eyes really were that
grotesque, he could handle it.
    I opened my eyes, keeping my head
down. I raised them to focus on Kael’s knees and slowly, ever so
slowly, worked my way up. This was the first time that I had looked
at him since last night. He was covered in soot and ash as well.
One arm was bandaged, and blood seeped from a wound on his bicep.
His neck had a large scratch on it and his chin was
burned.
    My eyes froze on his lips as I
remembered the kiss we’d shared, and a longing came over me to kiss
him again. But I pushed it aside and traveled higher until I met
his eyes.
    Kael’s eyes widened in surprise and
his breath caught in his throat.
    I had startled the
SwordBrother.
    My hands started to tremble and I
grasped his shirt for dear life. “Tell me.” My voice shook. “Tell
me what you see.”
    Kael started to breathe again, though
his gaze never left my eyes. His thumb gently rubbed my
cheek.
    “ I see you, Thalia. You.”
    “ What else, Kael? What’s
wrong with my eyes?”
    “ Nothing’s wrong. It’s
beautiful.”
    “ It?” I cried,
confused.
    “ It’s silver. One of your
eyes turned silver.”
    I didn’t believe him.
    “ Thalia, one is blue and
one is silver.” He chuckled still holding my face.
    “ Eww!” I scrunched up my
face at him in disgust. “How horrible.” I would have said more, but
Kael’s eyes turned stormy in disapproval.
    “ I think I’ll be the judge
of that.”
    He was mere inches from me and I
couldn’t help but reach out to him and touch the burn mark on his
face. A powerful current raced through my arm, overwhelming me as I
healed the blister.
    “ Ouch!” Kael jumped and
stood back. Reaching up he touched his face and found the burn
gone, along with the scratch on his neck. In disbelief, he checked
his arm and the wound was gone.
    “ I’m sorry.” I winced when
I realized the power had rushed from me and shocked him.
    “ This could be useful,” he
grinned.
    Have you noticed that
power is starting to draw to you? Faraway
spoke up. It comes to you almost naturally
now. You hardly ever have to pull from me.
    Unfortunately, yes. And
I’m scared about what it might mean. That I’m still changing, still
transforming? I thought as I mounted
him.
    Kael swung himself up behind me and
took the reins from my hands.
    “ He’s my horse,” I
grumbled, pulling the reins back from him.
    “ Do you know where we are
going?” Kael argued, a little more stern than he had
been.
    Looking around me, I couldn’t even
tell where we were.
    “ Um, no,” I said
sheepishly.
    “ That’s what I thought,”
Kael said. He tugged the reins back from me and steered Faraway
onto a northerly route. Embarrassed, I had no choice but to let
Kael wrap his arms around me and to lean into his broad chest. He
kept a quick pace and we seemed to make good time.
    Unfortunately, I fell asleep against
him and woke up a few hours later. The sun was starting to set and
I had yet to see Fanny, Joss, Hemi, or Darren. I tried to clear my
throat but it was dry and scratchy. Kael handed me my water bag.
After taking a drink, I wiped my mouth and asked him about
them.
    “ I don’t know. I told them
to take Mona and