Biting my lip, I contemplated the sleeping girl lying next to me. Her presence was an unanticipated setback. I prayed to the goddesses that someone would be able to reunite this child with her family. And quickly, so I could get on with my task.
Speaking of which, what had happened to the prince? Hadhe been amongst those who fled on a lifeboat? I certainly hoped he’d made it. As the Crow said, there’d be no undoing the curse without Prince Tarben.
The storm had been a cataclysmic disaster that I’d been completely unprepared for. In the aftermath, I couldn’t help but second guess my decision to come here. Was this all a mistake? Should I return to Vantillios and abandon what could very possibly be a fool’s errand? Tail between my legs, I could beg for forgiveness and spend the remainder of my long-life atoning for my actions. Eventually, I would be forgiven and things would return to exactly how they were.
How they were.
No. Irefusedto return to a life imprisoned and isolated from the rest of the world. I needed to see this through. If I didn’t, my subjects would think I was incapable of seducing one mortal man. I could never live with the shame.
The little girl stirred, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her eyelashes fluttered as she slowly blinked. When, at last, her gaze met mine, her eyes filled with fear as she tried to sit up.
I panicked, realizing that I didn’t know how to speak to her. I had hardly spent any time with children, including when I was one myself.
“It’s alright,” I said with forced gentleness. As slowly as if I was talking to someone who did not speak the common tongue, I said, “You are safe.”
She looked around the boulder-bestrewn beach in a daze. “Where am I?”
“Outside of Barvik. After the shipwreck, I pulled you out of the ocean and swam you back to shore.” I waved my arms in a swimming motion. When it occurred to me how ridiculous I must have looked, I let my arms drop to my sides. “We ended up on this beach. Here, drink this.” I handed her the flask.
A furrow formed between her fair brows. I continued inthat over-the-top gentle voice, “It’s alright, it’s only water. You need to drink; your body will be dehydrated.”
She examined my face as if trying to decide whether or not to trust me. Finally, with shaking hands, she accepted the water and guzzled it down.
“Good.” I flashed her what I hoped was my most benevolent smile. She only looked more uneasy. “You’re going to be alright. Someone’s gone to get help.” Awkwardly, I patted her arm.
As if my words had summoned them, three figures emerged out of the bushes and descended down the dunes towards us. I recognized one of them as the hobbling form of the fisherman. He was flanked by two men who rode horses that appeared to be having great difficulty navigating the pathway towards the beach. The men were wearing uniforms of cobalt blue and white. Stitched to the front of their uniforms was a silver emblem of a skate. They looked like guards.
My shoulders drooped in relief. Partially because we were being rescued and partially because I could stop fumbling my way through comforting a child.
“These are the girls from the shipwreck,” the fisherman said, pointing to us.
“What’s happened here?” asked one of the guards, dismounting from his horse. His gaze swept over me, lingering on the soaking dress that clung to my every curve and left little to the imagination.
“Like the man said, we survived a shipwreck,” I said, getting to my feet.
“Is that right?” said the guard to my breasts.
Oh, for goddesses’ sake. Placing my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes at him, I spoke with the same command I used with my own guards. “She needs to be seen by a healer.” I tilted my chin towards the child. “And soon.”
The man pulled his gaze away from me and fixed it on thegirl. His expression changed from mild disinterest to shock in an instant. He turned to his bored-looking companion. “It’s the princess.”
The princess?Thishadto be a joke.
“Blimey, you’re right,” said the companion. He vaulted off his horse and rushed over to where we sat. He addressed the girl, “Your Highness, are you hurt?”
Confusion clouded her pretty face. “I don’t think so.” She glanced at me. “You… you saved my life.”
I tried not to openly gape at the revelation, but my mind was spinning. The little girl I had rescued was aprincess? The princess ofthiskingdom? What a bizarre stroke of luck. Fate was clearly on my side.
“I did,” I said. Our eyes met in understanding for a moment and my heart rate quickened. What exactly did she remember from the night before?
“Let’s get you back to the castle, Your Highness. Your family is beside themselves,” said the first guard as he reached for her. But the princess did not make a move towards him.
She looked at the wound on my arm—now barely a scratch. “You’re hurt,” she said, concern lining her face.
“I’ll be fine,” I replied. The only reason it had taken this long to heal was because I was so drained of magic.
“You need to see a healer at the castle before it gets infected. Come with us? Please?”
