Immediately Calivan pasted on a smooth smile and an expression of warm welcome.
“Forgive me,Myerialanna,” he said in crisp Eru, “Welcome to the Calbernan Isles. Warmest of greetings to your new home.” He held out his hands, palms up.
After a quick, tentative glance up at Dilys, Gabriella placed her hands in Calivan’s. “Thank you, Chancellor Merimydion.”
“I was horrified,leili,to hear of the capture of you and your sisters, and devastated—as were we all—to learn of your sisters’ untimely and tragic deaths.”
“Thank you.” Gabriella gave a flawless smile, gentle, understanding, serene. It was the smile Dilys had come to recognize as part of her “court face.” Calivan’s accusatory greeting had put her on edge, and she had retreated behind her most polite mask in response.
“TheMyerialand theDonimariawait us at the palace. I’ve arranged for a watercoach to take us. It’s just over here.” Calivan released one of Gabriella’s hands and tucked the other on his arm as he turned and led the way. “I must apologize again for the rudeness of my initial greeting,leili,” Calivan said as they walked. “It’s just that I have spent a lifetime looking after my twin’s happiness, and I know how much she was looking forward to planning and attending your wedding.”
“I’m sorry. It was not my intention to have robbed Dilys’s mother of a long-awaited joy.”
Dilys didn’t like hearing Gabriella apologize for wedding him, and he certainly didn’t want her entertaining any regrets about it. “Our vows were spoken on the sea and bound in blood and salt,” he said, “but I see no reason why we could not have a second ceremony at Cali Va’Lua or perhaps Merimydia Oa Nu. I’m sureNimawould enjoy it just as much.”
“Of course,” Calivan said. “That is what many of theCalbernariwho returned with theirlianashave already done.”
“Problem solved, then.” Dilys told himself he shouldn’t bristle. His uncle had, after all, devoted his life to Alysaldria’s happiness. And it was true Dilys’s mother probably would be at least a tiny bit upset that her son had already spoken his vows on the sea, without the ceremony and celebration she had always envisioned for him. “I only have one son, and he will only wed once,” she’d always told him when they spoke about her plans for his wedding. He had long ago resigned himself to a huge court affair, complete with parades, balls, fire ships, and more. Still, no matter what his mother wanted, that didn’t excuse Calivan from voicing his displeasure in front of Gabriella.
“What reason did you give for evacuating theoulanifrom our waters?” Dilys asked to change the subject. There wasn’t a single foreign ship in the harbor. That didn’t surprise him. Alloulaniships would have been sent away the instant Gabriella’s Siren Shout had reached Calbernan shores.
“We told them there was a tsunami coming and that all foreign vessels needed to head out to sea.”
“Ah.” Gabriella’s Shout had, in fact, generated a tsunami, so the warning hadn’t been a lie. The Calbernans had simply dissipated the wave before it could make landfall. “And what will we say to keep them from returning?”
“The matter is still under discussion with the Council.”
“You plan to isolate Calberna from the rest of the world?” Gabriella interrupted. “Why? Just because I’m a Siren?”
“Not just because you’re a Siren,” Calivan replied. “But because you’re theonlySiren—and the first born to this world in thousands of years. Your protection is of paramount importance. Especially given the recent unpleasantness.”
“But my kidnapping had nothing to do with me being a Siren. Mur Balat and the Shark didn’t know what I was. If they had, I doubt Balat would have sold me to Solish Utua.”
“All the more reason to be extra cautious now. Calbernans have done everything in their power to erase all record of the Sirens and to dismiss the memories of them as fanciful folklore and myth, but it is possible there are those in the world who still know the truth, who would do you harm if they knew what you were. The Sirens were slaughtered precisely because Calberna allowedoulaniinto their lands and waters. We will not let that happen again. You are here with us now, and we intend to protect you in every way possible.”
She pulled her hand off Calivan’s arm and stopped walking. “You’re proposing that I should be—what?—imprisoned here in Calberna for the rest of my life? Cut off from the outside world? Cut off from myfamily?”
“Of course not. Your sister Khamsin and her husband will always be welcome to visit. But do not forget that Dilys is your family now,” Calivan said. “As are theMyerialand I.”
Dilys recognized the flare of rebellion sparking in Gabriella’s eyes and the determined tilt to her chin, and he grew alarmed. Calivan was making a muck of things. “No one is talking about imprisoning anyone, least of all you.” He shot his uncle a hard look. “But my uncle is right about the dangeroulaninow pose to you.Moa haleah,you know about the Slaughter. You know why the truth about your gifts must never be revealed outside of Calberna. We cannot risk such a thing ever happening again.Iwill not risk such a thing happening to you.”
“I understand that, and I’m not proposing that we run around shouting what I am to all corners of Mystral. But I just spent weeks being held against my will, and that will never happen again. I may be a Siren and I may have married you, but I will be returning to Wintercraig to visit my sister Khamsin and her husband and their children. And I also intend to hold you to your promise to show me the world.”
“And I will keep my promise, as I keep all of them. We will return to Wintercraig within the week, if you like.” Now that the Shark and Mur Balat were gone, the most immediate danger had passed. Others would need time to prepare before they dared launch an attack. But even if that weren’t the case, if she needed to see her family, he would make it happen. He took her hands and pressed her palms to his chest, willing her to feel his sincerity, willing her to believe that no matter what his uncle or even his mother said, Dilys’s first loyalty was to Gabriella now. Now and forevermore. “Whatever you want,moa haleah,whatever you need, so shall I provide.”
“All right,” she said. “All right.” She took a breath and grew visibly calmer. “As for isolating Calberna from the rest of the world because of me, I believe that is precisely the wrong thing to do. People fear the unknown. If Calberna closes its harbors and no longer welcomes foreigners to its shores, all you will succeed in doing is rousing suspicion and distrust.”
“I’m sure theMyerialand her Council would welcome your input as they decide the way forward,Myerialanna,” Calivan said.
Gabriella looked as if she was about to argue more, but instead, she swallowed it back and gave another of her polite court smiles. “Then I shall be sure to speak with them, Lord Chancellor.”
They began walking again, chatting about less volatile subjects as they went. Gabriella did not take Calivan’s arm again, but instead remained close by Dilys’s side. He liked that after the argument with her uncle her first instinct was to make it clear she and Dilys were a unit: Dilys and Gabriella, a mated pair.
“Ah, here we are. Your watercoach,Myerialanna.” Calivan gestured to a lacquered blue-green boat, open at the front, and shaped to resemble a cresting wave, complete with silver fringe and accents made to resemble sea foam.
“How beautiful,” Gabriella said as Dilys helped her into the fanciful canal boat. “I almost feel as if it should be pulled by along by a harnessed team of dolphins.”
“That’s only for when we take the coach for a spin on the open sea,” Dilys said. Her eyes widened, and he laughed. “I’m joking,moa kiri.Although now that you mention it, such a mode of transportation would, no doubt, delightNima,although she doesn’t do as much sailing as she used to.”
