Casper threw Jem’s hand off his shoulder and stomped towards his ship. “I guess we’ll find out at midnight.”
“Casp, wait! I really think you’re making a mistake. If you would just go talk to her—”
He whirled around. “It’sCaptainto you, Jem. And the only mistake I made was going along with your scheme and believing that this time would be any different.” His heart throbbed painfully in his chest.
Jem’s jaw hardened. “Loving someone is never a mistake.”
Perhaps, but it certainly feels that way when it is so one-sided,
His first mate continued, “I’m sure the two of you can work things out.”
“There’s nothing to work out. I might have fallen for her.” Hard and fast, despite all of his efforts to remain detached. “But she obviously doesn’t feel the same. I’m not going to subject myself to that kind of rejection and failure again. And besides,” his voice broke. “She deserves better than me. She deserves someone who can actually be there for her.”
“But Captain—”
Casper held up a hand to silence him. “This conversation is over. Our holiday is over. We have work to do.”
Chapter seventeen
Jump
Sienna
Asearing headache was the first thing that Sienna noticed as she regained consciousness.
The second was that she was lying on something hard and cold.
She blinked, slowly bringing the world into focus. Gray rock flickering with the light of a burning lantern met her eyes on all sides. The smell of the sea and the sound of the waves confirmed her location. She was in the cave.
She tried to lift a hand to her pounding head, then froze when she realized her hands were bound. With a rush, the happenings at the Festival came back to her—Erik, Casper’s identity, his hasty exit, and…
Erik.
“Ah, you’re awake.” As if summoned by her thoughts, the elf in question appeared in her field of vision.
She scowled at him and used her elbows to push herself up to a seated position, realizing as she did so that her legs were tied together as well.
Casper was right. It was Erik the whole time.
“What’s going on? Why are we here?” If she got him talking, perhaps it would buy her a little time. Hadn’t Jem said that he knew they were moving the music at midnight? How long would it be before they arrived? She twisted her wrists against the ropes that bound her, trying to work them loose.
“We’re here for you to experience your final moments.”
Sienna rolled her eyes and shook her head, the action sending a line of pain shooting through her temples. “And you said I was being dramatic.”
“Oh, I’m not being dramatic,” Erik answered ominously, crouching down in front of her. He brushed the hair from her face, the tender action completely at odds with the malice in his eyes. “You’re going to die here. I’m making sure of it this time.”
This time.
Her veins filled with ice as the implications of his words registered in her mind.
He chuckled softly. “You’re surprisingly difficult to get rid of, though I suppose it was my mistake the first time in sending a Siren to find you. I should have waited another fifteen minutes.”
“That was you?” At this point, Sienna was numb to the betrayal, instead absorbing his confession with a calm objectivity. “But why?”
Erik looked up and around at the rough stone that surrounded him. “This spot really is perfect. It’s enough out of the way that ships can come and go without being seen, and yet close enoughto Nivem to be easily accessible. I really can’t thank you enough for showing them to me.”
She deadpanned, “You wanted me to die for showing you the caves?”
