Louisa nodded. “We can onlyhope.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Hope—the forge of greatness or the fool’s sweet poison.
It was freezing when I left the bookstore, and I ducked into the corner shop at the end of Saltmarsh Row to grab a stash of candy for Skye and me.
I’d hoped to find her waiting inside when I returned to Granddad’s little house, but she wasn’t there.
Granddad was stoking a crackling fire in the living room, and I strode into the kitchen to begin making us dinner: fresh fish with vegetables. It was his staple diet, and it was good for him that I’d acquired a taste for the white, fleshy meat while under the sea.
As we ate our dinner, my foot tapped a restless rhythm under the table, matching the swirling in my stomach.
“You okay?” Granddad surveyed me with dark eyes.
“It’s my friend—she was supposed to come over.” I looked at the old wooden clock. It was 6 p.m. “I might give her a call.”
Leaving my barely touched meal, I raced upstairs and grabbed her cell number from where I’d written it down. I returned to the home phone anddialed, but got a busy signal. I tried again and again—the same signal. She must not have reception.
Dread pooled in my stomach. She had gone on the yacht.
I put my half-eaten dinner in the fridge, then did the dishes before climbing the narrow, winding steps to my tower and crawling into bed.
There was nothing I could do but lie there, my stomach churning. Skye had gone on the yacht... Helplessness consumed me as I stared at the ceiling for hours, unable to sleep.
The books on my dresser caught my attention:Mythical Creatures of the OceanandMyths and Legends of Ruadán’s Port. A fine layer of dust coated their covers. It seemed so long ago that I’d bought them from Aranare’s bookstore.
I threw off my patchwork duvet and grabbed the one on Ruadán’s Port, dragging it back into bed with me. If sleep wouldn’t come, reading might help.
I flipped the cover open, skimming the pages. Aranare must have given me this book for a reason. He’d wanted to tell me who he was, and I had failed to uncover his secret.
My breath caught as my eyes landed on the name I’d been searching for:The Lugh Sirens.
Originally born of the sea, these Sirens interbred with Minoan settlers, who’d come to Orkney to mine copper, and then spread across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Hebrides, blending ancient aquatic magic with human bloodlines and craftsmanship.
I expelled a shaky breath. Aranare’s bloodline went back thousands of years and was connected to the Minoans, whom I had been studying with Louisa—Manannán’s people.
I closed the text, thoughts drifting back to Skye as my stomach clenched.
I padded downstairs to try her phone once more. Again, I was met with the busy signal. She was still out of range. So I returned to bed, staring into the darkness until my eyes burned.
Sleep finally claimed me at some point, fitful and fraught with crashing dark swells and muffled cries forhelp.
8
Skye
Night had fallen, and it was biting cold on the yacht’s stern. I’d slipped inside once or twice, but Parker and his friends barely acknowledged me. The blonde had made sure he didn’t.
This was a mistake. I should have packed that bag and gone to Morgana’s. We would’ve been curled up in her bed eating pizza by now. And tomorrow? Tomorrow, I’d have tagged along to her quarter-life crisis training—or whatever it was—with Aranare.
Maybe he’d have touched my hand to guide my movements. Perhaps he’d have shown me how to beat the shit out of Parker if he ever laid a hand on me again. The thought made me smile.
“How’s the champagne?” A man was standing above me. One of Parker’s friends. Caramel skin, curly black hair, and straight white teeth that came together to make a handsome face.
“It’s okay.” I smiled, tilting my chin toward him as I twirled the slender champagne flute between my fingers. It was more than okay. It was Dom Pérignon, but I was in a sulky mood.
The man slid into the seat beside me. “I’ve been watching you out here. I hope it’s not inappropriate, but I wanted to check on you because you look so... sad.”
I couldn’t find the words to respond as a lump formed in my throat. Instead, I grinned and brushed off his question with a dismissive hand.
