When she opened her eyes, his own were studying her with a narrowed intensity. “I see your magic has yet to return.”
Another blow to her heart. Exhaustion and grief pressed down on her. “Is that all you wanted to know?”
“I’m here to look over the property, actually.”
Sienna straightened, at once defensive again as she remembered Celesta’s news. “You’ve seen the lighthouse hundreds of times.”
“Yes, but always as an outside observer.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down at her with an imperious, self-important air. “I want to take a look at things as the future owner of the property. I want to see inside.”
She decided to feign ignorance. “We’re not giving up the lighthouse, Erik. Papa is happy as the keeper here, and I am as well. If you want to change careers, you’ll have to do it somewhere else.”
“You misunderstand—though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. There is a law in Winter that states that any land, building, or structure that provides service to the public must be owned and operated by an elf. Fortunately for me, my family are the only elves in Nivem.”
He slowly edged her back until she bumped into the front door. Sienna felt for the knob and turned it, silently bemoaning the fact that she had locked it. Erik leaned over her, boxing her in. “The lighthouse is as good as mine. Now, be a good little Naiad and open the door.”
Sienna was frozen, looking up into the face of the man she had once loved and trusted.
How could I have been so foolish?
A lone tear of defeat escaped, and she slipped a hand into her pocket, fishing for the key. Her fingers had just closed around the cold metal when the roar of an angry voice interrupted the scene.
“STEP AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!”
She looked past Erik’s arm to see Daland approaching with long, purposeful strides and a storm cloud gathering on his brow. A wave of relief washed over her.
“Papa.”
Chapter six
The Sea Is in Her Eyes
Casper
Casper held out an arm to stop Jem, and they stayed back as Daland charged forward up the pebbled path. From his vantage point, he could see the back and shoulders of a tall fae—an elf, he guessed, based on the lean build and general height—towering over a shorter figure. A pale, floral skirt and sensible boots were all that were visible, but it was apparently enough to be recognizable to his host.
The elf stepped back and turned around, holding his hands up placatingly. His face was irritatingly perfect, the way that all elves were, but there was an air of smug superiority about him that Casper only hoped would help warn the females away. "I was just saying hello, Daland. There's no need to get upset."
As the elf moved, Casper caught a glimpse of fiery red hair and a freckled face. Daland's daughter looked nothing like him, save for the blue-gray eyes that matched the Winter sea, with a round face, button nose, and pink lips that were currently pressed together in an agitated frown.
Jem nudged him with an elbow. “She’s certainly not hard to look at.”
Casper shushed him with an unamused look, focusing his attention instead on what the elf was continuing to say.
"I came by for a neighborly chat and to have a look around the place.”
Daland muttered darkly, "That certainly didn't look very neighborly to me."
"Erik was just leaving." Daland's daughter glared at the elf's back. Her voice lacked the clear tones and musical lilt that tended to accompany fae speech, and was instead strained and slightly rough, as if she were pushing the sound out through a sieve.
Erik's expression soured, and he threw a glare over his shoulder. "Fine. But you can't keep me out of here forever. It's just a matter of time before this lighthouse is mine. You might want to consider the consequences of your lack of hospitality." His eyes finally registered Casper and Jem’s presence, and they narrowed into slits. "Who are you?"
Casper crossed his arms and widened his stance, staring back at the tall elf with all the confidence he could muster. Though he could not compete in height, he was nearly twice as broad in the shoulders, and his body was strong and muscled from decades of hard labor aboard his ship. Jem was a little closer to Erik in height, and Casper could see him mimicking his stance from the corner of his eye.
"This is Captain Helmrud and his first mate, Jem," Daland introduced them, though his attention was focused mostly onhis daughter, treating Erik like a mere bystander in their conversation. "They’ve come to visit for the Midwinter Festival."
Erik took his time sizing the two of them up. His eyebrow took on an unimpressed and patronizing tilt. “Where did you come from?”
Casper contemplated his answer for a moment, thankful for the knit caps that covered the tops of their ears. While he wasn’t ashamed of being human, he appreciated the upper hand that the air of mystery gave them. He didn’t want to lie, but…
