Mom waved a hand at me as if I'd just proven her point. “Ellie, honey, try to remember all you've gone through with your husbands. You love them so much that you nearly died for them. That's real, not a spell, and their love has seen you through some of the roughest times of your life.”
I blinked. Verin's hand clenched around mine. I squeezed him back reassuringly but my mind was elsewhere. Flashes of my life played in my head—dancing with Declan at our wedding, making love to Gage in his nest-like bed, bending my neck for Banning to drink from me, walking through Las Vegas with Torin, singing for Slate in his nightclub, and then, the most epic memories of all, making worlds with Darcraxis.
And none of them affected me.
I lifted my chin. “Feelings change, Mom. I don't love them anymore. I'm going to get a divorce. Several.”
“You're what?” my father roared.
“Robert!” Mom snapped.
Dad settled into an irritable silence.
“Can you at least hold off for a little while, honey?” Mom asked me. “Just talk to Vivian. If this love is real as you say, nothing she says or does will make a difference.”
I looked at Verin and he shrugged; he was just as certain in our love.
“If that's what you want, I'll go with you,” Verin offered.
My father looked appeased. “Good man!” He thumped the arm of the couch in approval.
“But first, we need to ensure that Elaria is safe,” Verin added. “We hunt this enemy andthenwe see Vivian.”
My father nodded. “I can't argue with that.”
“It's a miracle.” I rolled my eyes. “Here.” I handed my father the bottle I'd brought with me. “There are only a few drops left.”
“That'll be enough.” My father stood up and headed out of the room. “Stay with your mother. This may take awhile.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The three of us ended up going for a walk down to the beach to pass the time. My mother merrily pointed out her favorite plants as we strolled down the beaten path through the forest. Verin walked between her and me, holding my hand and politely listening to everything Mom had to say. When we reached the beach, he stopped and stared up at the sky.
“There is a certain freedom in having nothing but the sky above you,” Verin murmured.
“Especially when you can fly.” My mother grinned at him. “Do you think you could ever live on land, Verin?”
Verin took a deep breath and considered it. “I think I could. Not constantly, of course, but yes, I think I could get used to this. If it were key to keeping your daughter happy, I definitely could.”
I beamed at him. “I wish I'd had the time to show you my house in Hawaii. I think you would have liked it. It's not as amazing as my parents' place, but I enjoy it.”
“I'd love to see it,” Verin said softly.
“This is where Elaria learned to swim.” My mother interrupted us, waving toward a tidal pool we were approaching. “I'd bring her here as a baby and get in the water with her. People think that Sirens can't swim because of our wings but we can, we just stick to the shallows.”
“I've seen Elaria swim; you taught her well,” Verin said with a smile my way.
“Oh, yes,” my mother agreed. “But I can't take all the credit. It must be in her blood; she learned so quickly. By the time she was a year old, she was swimming on her own. We always joke that Ellie swam before she walked.”
“It sounds as if you're more of fish than bird,” he teased me.
“Sirens are creatures of air who are drawn to water,” Mom said blithely. “But it doesn't mean we can live in it. We crave the freedom you mentioned—the sky rules our hearts.”
“But your daughter was not given wings, she was given music,” Verin said gently. “And she can even sing underwater.”
“Yes,” Mom agreed. “She is far more powerful than me and has much greater needs. There is fire in her as well as air. She needs a man of water who will temper her heat but not confine her. Once we learned about Ellie's soul, I realized that her love of the water began long before she was born—back when she fell in love with a god.”
“Mom,” I chided.
