By
USA Today Bestselling Authors
Skye MacKinnon
&
Liza Street

Loving four men is complicated. When the fate of an entire faerie realm is in your hands, it’s even harder.

Avery’s work in the faerie realm of Evermist is far from over. The “pale ones”–mindless, vampiric monsters–continue to wreak havoc. She also wonders whether the Shadow King and Queen are truly defeated. And worse, there’s a traitor somewhere in her ranks.

Unwilling to believe any of her men could be capable of such treachery, yet fearing that it might be the case, Avery is about to embark on her most difficult trials yet.

Melody of Souls is the third and final installment in the Lost Siren series, a reverse harem romance full of heat, humour, and adventure.

Avery has mostly recovered from her ordeal with the Shadow King. She’s been recovering in Faerie, but now King Christophe reminds her it’s time to work on completing the prophesy. If there is any hope of defeating the Shadow king once and for all she’s going to need allies.

King Christophe requests to see his sons Marek and Charles, they’ve been avoiding him using Avery’s recovery as an excuse. Now they will go see him but only if Avery goes with them. The King knows he won’t live to see the end of the prophesy and he wanted to give his blessing to his sons being mated to Avery and to her other two mates.

Now it’s time for her to return to the Sirens, she’s met by Ligeia, the Hevarain and it’s a rather frosty greeting. The thing is Avery doesn’t know everything she should about being a siren let alone Queen of them. Apparently if she had come home to recuperate she may have been able to save more lives. Aside from that there is still the issue that they were betrayed before that battle, and it had to be one of her own kind.

After meeting with Ligeia, Avery and her mates head to the infirmary to visit with the injured. Hopefully with her here now, they could heal faster. It’s here that Avery learns who the traitor is.

This is a favorite scene.

The hospital wing was quieter than I had expected. The occasional groan of pain echoed through the large cavern, but most of the sirens simply lay in their beds without making a sound. The room looked nothing like how I’d imagined the siren version of a hospital. It was more cave than room, dug deep into the mountain. Glowing blue moss covered the walls, giving enough light to illuminate every corner of the cavern. The wooden beds were large and comfortable, nothing like the hospital beds you’d find on Earth. Sirens in flowing green robes moved around, whispering to the patients or holding their hands above the ill, treating them with magic.

One of them spotted us and hurried over. It was a young woman with flowing black hair that had a slight blue sheen, although that may have been due to the glowing moss. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her.

“Your Majesty.” She bowed low. “Thank you for coming.”

Her voice finally told me who she reminded me of. Laope. A relative. Daughter, maybe? Granddaughter? The way sirens aged was still a mystery to me.

Her eyes glowed golden for a second before she gave me a frown. “You’re not quite healed yourself yet. Would you like me to examine you?”

I waved her off. “I’m fine. Ligeia said my presence could help the ill and injured. Is there something specific I need to do?”

“No, just having you in the palace will do wonders. But I think the patients would appreciate it if you could talk to some of them.”

“Of course.”

“Avery,” Lysander said, “do you want us to go, or stay…?”

“Go, rest,” I said, giving him a smile. “I’ll meet you later in our rooms.”

He, Tarin, and Charles left, but Marek remained, his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed reluctant to leave me, and I shrugged. If he felt like standing around watching me talk to injured warriors, that was fine with me.

I started with the siren closest to me, a young woman who lay awake on her bed and was watching me with large, glassy blue eyes.

“Hi,” I said, plopping down on the stool next to her bed. “I’m Avery.”

“My Queen,” she breathed. “I’m Amalia. Thank you for being here.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier, Amalia,” I said.

She shook her head. “I’m glad to see you now.”

“May I take your hand?” I asked.

“Of course.”

Amalia’s skin was cold and clammy, but as I held her hand, she seemed to warm.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” I asked.

“No,” she breathed. “It’s simply nice being here with you.”

I sat with her until she drifted off into sleep, and then I visited the next siren, and the next. Some of them wore bandages, but others weren’t outwardly injured, that I could see.

My ass ached from sitting on the wooden stools, but I wasn’t about to complain. At least I was up and walking, when so many others were not. Several hours must have passed before I reached a man who looked about my age. His long, dark green hair fell in damp locks over his shoulders and pillow. His eyes were closed, so I simply sat at his side, hoping my presence might bring comfort in the weird way a siren queen’s magic worked.

Marek approached, his footfalls quiet on the stone floor. “Avery,” he whispered, “you’re exhausted. It’s time to go to bed.”

“Just a little while longer,” I said, not taking my eyes off the green-haired siren.

“I could have Tarin draw you a bath,” he said, a flirtatious lilt in his voice.

That got my attention… but no. There’d been plenty of time for me to bond with my mates over the past few days. What I hadn’t made time for was my own people, the sirens who were hurting and could get better faster if I were with them.

“Soon, I’ll come to the rooms,” I said.

“Very well.” He sighed and rubbed my shoulders for a moment. It felt heavenly as he worked out some of the knots I’d formed while sitting so long at each bedside.

After a few minutes, the siren in front of me opened his eyes. They were dark green, like his hair.

“My Queen,” he gasped.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m here. What’s your name?”

“My Queen, I must tell you–” His words broke off as he struggled for breath, and his eyes showed panic. His arm flopped as he tried to take something–my hand, I figured.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I said, giving him my hand.

He immediately calmed, then took a deep breath. “I have to tell you about Kerrigan.”

I exchanged a look with Marek. I’d never heard of Kerrigan, and from Marek’s expression, he hadn’t, either.

“All right,” I said. “Tell me about Kerrigan.”

The green-haired siren sighed. “He shouldn’t have… gone.”

I looked over at Marek and mouthed, Did he die?

Marek just shrugged.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “Is he someone you loved?”

The siren frowned and hissed–just like a cat would. “No. No. Kerrigan is a traitor. He is the reason Laope and so many others fell.”

“Tell me more,” I said. “Please. Tell me everything you know.”

“I only know… what I saw and heard,” the siren said. “Kerrigan spoke to the Shadow King through a lunethe. He held it in the forest and I heard him speaking. He told the Shadow King of your plans, of how many we had with us, and our location.”

“He betrayed us,” Marek said, moving to pace at the end of the bed.

“Before I could warn you,” the siren said, “the pale ones had arrived. And Kerrigan made sure I was one of the first to fall. I am so sorry, my Queen, that I was unable to stop him in time. I’ve heard since… that so many of my brothers and sisters are dead…”

He broke down sobbing. I could sense his heartache, and it was so strong that he couldn’t stop shaking.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” I told him. “You are a brave hero, and I thank you so much for all you’ve told me.”

He kept crying, his green eyes full of pain.

“I can help you sleep,” I said. “Would you like that?”

“Yes, my Queen. Please.” I hummed “All the Pretty Little Horses,” infusing it with just a touch of magic to help the poor guy fall asleep.

Once his eyes were closed, I turned to Marek. “It appears we know who betrayed us.”

“We do,” he agreed. “I can’t wait to face him.”

“I don’t know what the rules are here,” I said, “but he must be dealt with before he can betray us again.”

Standing, I left the green-haired siren’s side and went to the door. There, I nearly ran into Ligeia, who was coming in.

“What is it?” she said, likely taking in my grim expression. “Who is that green-haired siren in the corner over there?” I asked, pointing to the man we’d just talked to.

“That’s Ronan,” Ligeia said. “He hasn’t spoken to anyone since the battle.”

“He shared something very interesting with me,” I said.

“Did he?”

“Yes,” I said. “Take me to Kerrigan.”

“Kerrigan? My – my son?” she asked.

Oh, shit.
Skye MacKinnon; Liza Street. Melody of Souls: The Lost Siren Book 3 (Kindle Locations 260-317). Peryton Press.

Know that the traitor is Ligeia’s son doesn’t change the facts. It just changes where they will start their quest for allies. Apparently he’s hiding with the Vampires. Lysander goes first to pave the way, but Avery arrives sooner than he expects. The way she finds him, incurs her anger. Even as she agrees to complete a task to gain the Vampires as an Ally.

That is the first of several interesting quests Avery has to complete prior to facing the Shadow King again.

So many twists and turns, crazy action, and of course that sizzling heat between Avery and her mates, made this a book a couldn’t put down.

A perfect ending for Avery, Charles, Marek, Lysander and Tarin.

5 Contented Purrs for Skye and Liza!

Skye MacKinnon

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose.

She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

When she’s not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.

   Liza Street

Liza got her start in romance by sneak-reading her grandma’s paperbacks. Now she divides her time between freelance editing and writing books about shifters with fierce and savage hearts.

FREE BOOKS–Book 1 in Liza’s Sierra Pride series is free to anyone! Join Liza’s mailing list and get Book 2, Fierce Heartbreaker, FREE, as well as an exclusive Sierra Pride prequel story! Start by clicking here to sign up and receive Fierce Heartbreaker and the prequel story.