He nodded. “I see. Well, if the sirens are sokindto you, then I should really get to work on this instrument. You know, to return the favor. After all, your comfort seems important to them.” Then he began loosening the strings quickly, unstringing the instrument. He was slowing his repair.
A heart-faltering smile sliced across his face as he looked back at me.
He was so handsome.Toohandsome. And bloody smart. Thank the Guardians. He would earn us more time together and I would look for a way out for all of us.
But there was something I needed to do first. I owed it to Arlo to tell him the truth.
“There is something else I should tell you that the sirens already know,” I said, swallowing my fear. “The reason I was on your ship.”
He turned back to me, waiting.
“My name is ElowynBlackthorn.I am the king’s daughter.”
Arlo searched my face for meaning. “But why would the king allow his only daughter to be transported on a cargo ship?”
“Because he doesn’t care about me and—” Nothing in me wanted to claim the truth, but I had to. “I was on my way to marry my betrothed, Sir Cedric Gyldford, at Whiterok.”
Arlo took a step back, like the words were a physical blow.
“It was against my will,” I answered quickly.
He remained tense, thoughts lingering in his honey-soaked eyes.
“And I was an accomplice in this forced betrothal.” His voice dipped into a lethally low octave.
“There was no way for you to know,” I said softly, taking a step closer. It was not his fault.
“No one should be forced to be with or without someone against their will.”
“Unfortunately, that isexactlythe fate of a king’s daughter, legitimate or not,” I said with a weak smile, looking down.
Softly, Arlo brushed a curl behind my ear, sending sparks of pleasure across my skin. His hand lingered there for a moment. I looked up at him.
“It shouldn’t be anyone’s fate. You only have one life. You should be with who you choose.”
Our eyes met, and it felt like he’d poured sunlight into my soul. Then his gaze shifted from my eyes to my mouth.
Did he feel it too? This strange attraction?
I leaned in closer.
“Elowyn, I … I can’t.” He pulled away, taking all his warmth with him. “There’s someone else—they’re waiting for me.” The sentence was like an arrow stuck in my chest.
“Oh.” I took a step back too, shoving down every feeling this man that I hardly knew made me feel. “Of course.” I smiled cheerily, despite wanting to die of sheer embarrassment. “My apologies for being so forward.”
Dumb. Iwas so fucking dumb.
He reached for my wrist, but I maneuvered out of his reach. “Elowyn, please don’t be ¼ It’s not like that, it’s—” he started, making the situation all the more mortifying.
“Okay, you land-loving lot,” Morvyn said from the top of the staircase, a platter of food in hand.
Thank the Guardians above. A distraction. For the first time, I was thankful for that annoying, pale buffoon. “Terra grub is served.” He glanced between us. “Oh, great … more sexual tension.Brilliant.”
Arlo huffed, then returned to his work at the virginal.
Morvyn escorted me back to my room soon after, thankfully. The time after that horrendous situation was unbearable. I tried my best to pretend like I didn’t wish every window in Naiadon would shatter so I could drown to death to avoid sharing the same space as Arlo after I’d completely misread his feelings for me.
At least the blue journal was in my grasp, safely nestled between two other books as Morvyn and I walked the empty halls of Naiadon.
