Sirensong by Jenna Black Page A

bully,” he said. “I’d never pick on someone who couldn’t defend himself.”
    Keane made a growling sound and stepped closer to us. The sensation of magic built even more, and I suspected Keane was responsible for at least some of it.
    “Who the fuck says I can’t defend myself?” Keane asked, green eyes flashing.
    Geez, could he take the bait any easier? I wondered if I’d get myself hurt if I stepped between the two of them. Neither one of them would hurt me on purpose, but I had a feeling if they started fighting, there’d be collateral damage.
    Ethan’s grin widened. He was really getting a kick out of pushing Keane’s buttons. Not that Keane was making it hard for him.
    “Far be it from me to insult your manhood,” Ethan said. “I’m sure you’d have no trouble whatsoever defending against my magic.”
    Keane sneered. “Just like you’d have no trouble whatsoever defending yourself in a fair fight. Right?”
    They both seemed to have practically forgotten I was there. They met each other’s eyes in furious alpha-male stares, and the magic was so thick in the air it was hard to breathe. I wanted to say something to them, to get them to back off, but so far nothing I’d said had made a dent in their animosity. In fact, my very presence was probably making things worse.
    “Whoever throws the first punch, magical or otherwise, gets to deal with me,” Finn said, and we all jumped.
    We’d all been so focused on the looming fight we hadn’t heard him coming. I checked over my shoulder and saw that my father and Kimber were only a few steps behind him.
    Ethan and Keane both turned to Finn, the belligerence far from gone. And now there was a third person’s magic stealing the oxygen from the air. I hoped they’d all cut it out soon, or they’d start to wonder what was wrong with me as I did my gasping fish impression.
    Keane opened his mouth as if to say something smart—or stupid, as the case may be—but he wasn’t a complete idiot. I’d seen him fight his father once before, when Finn was teaching him a lesson about the difference between a skilled teenaged self-defense instructor and a trained Knight of Faerie. It hadn’t been pretty.
    Ethan didn’t back down quite as fast, though I’d seen signs before that he respected Finn’s power. Maybe he was too hopped up on testosterone to remember that at the moment. Finn grabbed hold of Keane’s arm and gave it a yank.
    “Go tend to your horse,” he snapped, giving Keane a shove. Keane was practically trembling with rage now, but he knew when he was beat. He turned and stomped back into the crowd of Fae who bustled around our makeshift camp. Probably just as well that the rest of the caravan was ignoring us.
    With Keane out of the picture, Ethan finally relaxed, shaking out his hands and letting the magic slip away. I didn’t think Finn had done Keane any favors by intervening. I could only imagine what kind of crap Ethan would give Keane for it whenever he had a chance.
    “The last thing we need is the two of you acting like children,” Finn said to Ethan in his sternest voice. “You don’t like each other. Fine. I don’t give a damn. But you’re both supposedly here to help guard Dana, and getting into pissing matches with each other isn’t helpful.”
    To my surprise, color rose to Ethan’s cheeks, Finn’s rebuke taking root. He wasn’t usually one to take criticism gracefully.
    “Sorry,” he mumbled. “You’re right. It won’t happen again. But you might want to give Keane the same reminder.”
    Finn made a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. “Don’t worry, I will. Now why don’t you get yourself something to eat before we hit the road again?”
    Ethan gave me a quick sidelong glance that said he’d rather stay here with me and pick up where we’d left off. But I was pretty annoyed at him and Keane both, so instead of speaking to him, I polished the apple Keane had given me and took a bite. Ethan took the hint