Her breath caught in her throat. She would never deserve the love of this man, the devotion he had for her, the way he looked at her. His words floated through her and settled in her core.
As another tear fell to her cheek, she lifted on her toes and kissed him. Every touch, every heartbeat, every breath was for him. For the life they’d had together and the life they would create.
He broke their kiss and smiled against her mouth. “What do you say we go back to our cabin?” He nodded to the crew’s quarters as the last of the sunlight dipped below the water.
She winked and took his hand.
Chapter Forty-Five
Isla
Islasmiledasshewatched Kai and Aidan slip off into the rooms below deck. “Those two look awfully cozy.”
“Incoming,” Bri whispered in her ear.
Isla looked to the right. Rynn was heading toward her, a book tucked under his arm, stoic concentration on his face.
Isla sighed internally. She’d been avoiding him for the past few days, using Bri as an excuse. She knew it was childish, but the vortex of thoughts and feelings swirling in her mind made it impossible to figure out what needed to be said between them. She was too mentally exhausted to deal with another argument that would inevitably end in his heartfelt apology and urgent kisses that begged for her forgiveness.
But then, perhapssheneeded to be the one apologizing. For her secrets, her lies, her time with Sebastian.
Ugh, she couldn’t think about him right now.
Rynn approached the two girls. “Would you mind giving us a moment?” he asked Bri.
She looked sideways at Isla and reached out to quickly rest her hand on Isla’s shoulder. “I see a handsome, innocent man over there who needs some ruining, anyway,” she said as she nodded to Damien, her eyes flashing.
Isla snorted.
Rynn filled the space Bri had occupied and took Isla’s hand in his, setting the book down on a barrel beside them. “I’ve missed this smile,” he said, his fingers touching her upturned lips. “We have not had much time to talk, and for that I’m sorry. But I need to know that you are alright.”
His last statement left a sour taste in her mouth.Heneeded to know she was alright. Why was it not about whatshemay need? Was she ridiculous for questioning him, for twisting his words in her mind? She had never felt this hesitant around him.
Isla pushed aside her bitter, confusing thoughts and squeezed Rynn’s hand. She expected to feel the buzz of electricity that usually pulsed between them,triedto feel it, but her guilt and anxiety over everything that had passed and what was yet to come stifled her senses. She was left feeling stuffed and hollow at the same time.
She decided he deserved honesty, as much as she was willing to give.
“I don’t know,” she said truthfully, looking out into the sea. “I suppose I’m alright, just scared, mostly. That’s pretty much overpowered anything else.”
He brushed her knuckles with his thumb. “I think we all are.”
“You never seem scared of anything,” she said with a light laugh.
“I’m glad I give you that impression, but you’re very wrong. I’m terrified that something will happen to you. That something alreadyhashappened to you.”
Isla turned her head to look at him, knitting her brow. “What do you mean?”
“Ever since the king took your family and you met with him that night, you seem different. I have been worried about you, Isla.”
At the mention of her meeting with Sebastian, she instantly froze, then quickly recovered herself. He must have meant the night in the clearing in Lockhurt, not the night she drank the king’s blood and kissed him.He doesn’t know about that.Her heart decelerated, but the claws of self-reproach crept back in.
He must have noticed the shift in her demeanor, for concern lit his gray eyes. He smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear, keeping his hand cupped around her cheek. “You claim nothing happened when you were with him, but you have not been yourself since. Did he hurt you?”
If only.That would have been much simpler.
Isla shook her head in response, trying to clear away Sebastian’s face. “No, I already told you he didn’t.” She needed to direct the conversation away from the king. “I just hate not knowing what will come next. I mean, I still can’t believe my ancestors are from Iona! That they were kings and queens, and that youknewthem. It seems unreal. How am I supposed to feel when I see it? This land holds so much past for my bloodline, but it’s notmyhome. I’ll be a…a stranger there.”
The words kept flowing now that she had unlocked them. “I also think about whether we'll be able to find the dagger. Will it…mess with my mind the way it did my ancestors? And how do we even use it? What if I hurt one of you?” Her shoulders slumped. “I wish we had more of a plan. A way to get my family back and stop Sebastian.”
