“That is enough.” Ilryth’s tone is so sharp that it’s Fenny’s turn to lean away, looking wounded.
“I just want you to take these matters seriously,” Fenny says, calm but direct.
“I assure you I do,” he says with a note of exhaustion. “But I must focus on the anointing right now. Not your games.”
“You are trying to use one responsibility to avoid another.” Fenny still doesn’t look at him. “You are twenty-five now—”
I didn’t realize that he was only a year older than me. Ilryth always seemed so much more mature and put together. Timeless in appearance.
“—and you arestillwithout an heir or wife to give you one. I know you have always been a late bloomer. I know you have always come into responsibility in your own time.” Ilryth winces. She doesn’t see it because Fenny turns her gaze back to him after the fact. “But you must act sooner rather than later. The Eversea is not the safe place it was in our parents’ time. Krokan’s rage worsens with every passing month. The rot threatens the well-being of all, children included. We all need strong leaders with capable heirsnow.”
“I know.” Ilryth sighs heavily. “Listen, let me take Victoria back to her room and then I’ll return to the ladies you have brought for me to consider. I will make amends, and I will be the epitome of charming.”
“Good.” She smiles proudly. How quickly Fenny’s tone shifts when she gets what she wants—what she clearly thinks is right. “I know you will find your songmate soon and she will make you as happy as Mother made Father.”
Ilryth barely hides a flinch. “My happiness will be found when everyone else is happy.” The words echo mine from weeks ago. A deep sadness stirs in me. Is he covering up the same complex emotions I was? “Now go and entertain the ladies until I return.”
She nods and swims away, leaving just the two of us. Ilryth rolls his neck, as if trying to release the remnants of tension that conversation left in him. Judging by his shoulders being nearly up by his chin still, I don’t think it works.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says finally.
“It’s all right,” I say softly. “I…I can understand better than you think.”
He looks at me with obvious confusion. “You know what it’s like to be obligated to marry for the good of your people?”
I laugh lightly. “All right, no. I don’t knowthat… But I do know how frustrating it is for people to try and tell you to fall in love, set you up, tell you to do this or that, what youshould befocusing on…when you clearly have everything under control. When you know what your headway is in life but no one else seems to accept it because they always suggest you should have or be something more. Like, you could do everything right and yet—”
“It would never be good enough,” Ilryth finishes, staring at me for a long moment, blinking, as if seeing me for the first time. “I didn’t expect to find camaraderie with you in this way.”
“Neither did I.”
“You had expectations to marry?” He swims over and takes the lead once more. I follow at his side, undoing the wrapping from around my legs to swim in just my shorts.
“I wouldn’t call themexpectations…” I release the silken fabric, allowing the current to pull it away. Someone will find it. “But I did have a good many people asking if I would find a suitor. It was hard for them to imagine a successful woman not being in want of a man to ‘complete’ that area of her life.”
“I imagine many men were drawn to your success.” It’s amazing that he seems to really mean those words, believing they’re true.
“Some were,” I admit. “Many were intimidated. I was interested in neither. Like you, I had responsibilities. Unlike you, I had the convenience—if I look at it that way—of knowing that my days were numbered. I never had to worry about growing old and being alone.”
“Sometimes being alone sounds like a luxury,” he says dryly.
I laugh. I know I’m going to sound like my sister, but I can’t help but ask, “You have no interest in a wife, or husband?”
“It is not a matter of interest. It is a matter of choice. Of which I have none. I have two main duties to the Eversea—beyond anointing you.” He counts on his fingers as he lists them. As he moves his arms, his elbow brushes mine slightly. “Protect my people from the wraiths, demented emissaries of Lord Krokan, and whatever other horrors creep up from the Abyss. And procure an heir, so the Granspell line lives on to carry Dawnpoint and continue protecting these lands.”
I stare out at the open water, thinking about his words. Trying to find my own. “I know it is not my place…” I stop and he stops with me.
“Why do I get the impression that you’re going to say whatever it is anyway?” He doesn’t seem genuinely annoyed. If anything, he sounds amused.
I smirk. “Because I am.” Because I must. If I can stop just one other person from making the same mistake I did… “Marriage is an oath that should never be taken lightly, nor should it be taken without the proper thought, or if you feel like you are forced into it. It will only yield heartbreak. But I also understand responsibility… So if it is something youmustdo, make sure the woman you choose knows the design of your heart. Make sure you both go into it with open eyes.Talkto each other, treat each other well. Even if it is not love, at least ensure she is someone you respect and be her friend.”
He studies me thoughtfully. I expect him to be offended by my sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. To tell me off. But instead, he nods.
“That is sage counsel, Victoria. Are you sure you’re not married?” He grins slightly.
“Quite sure I’m not.” It’s a little strange to say so, but it feelsso goodat long last. It’s a reminder of just how free I am.
“Then you are a wise individual by nature.” He smiles, looking down at me over the swell of his cheeks. Yet again, the siren doesn’t seem to consider I might have been married once. I suppose divorce isn’t something that’s done in the Eversea. “Savvy, strong, intelligent, capable, honest, and loyal… I lucked into quite the woman that night in the sea.”
