Tatiana’s gaze moved between her daughters—suspicious but not closed-minded.
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” Iris said. Shedidmiss the ocean. And shehadbeen wanting to reconnect with her family. The only variability was how much time she meant to spend down there.
It wasn’t a lie. Maybe just a small omission.
“In that case,” Tatiana said, holding open her arms.
The queen was not an overly affectionate woman. When she was offering a hug, you took full advantage of it.
Iris swam into her mother’s arms, letting herself be held, be loved. And for just a moment, she felt the cracks in her heart filling in.
“It was lovely to see you. But you need to get back to your fiancé before he misses you.”
Right.
She was relatively sure Finn wouldn’t miss her until Henry said they needed her for something. Like a real-life doll they could dress and prop up whenever it suited their needs.
“I haven’t been able to see Juna yet.”
“Yes … well.” Tatiana shook her head. There was a ghost of a smile on her lips. “I believe your sister is going to be indisposed until the morning. Perhaps the next time you visit, you can send a message with one of the gulls, so we can be sure to be available to you.”
It was then that it finally sank in that home would never actually be home again.
At home, you didn’t need an appointment; you didn’t need to tell people you would be around, because it was expected.
There was a little wobbling feeling in her heart at that realization. Even if she’d always known that Juna would be the only one of them who would live in the palace for her whole life. She and Shelly would be expected to moveon, marry, have children, and lives of their own. They were meant to make new homes.
It was up to her to figure out where home was now.
Unbidden, the penthouse flashed into her mind. Her books cluttered the surfaces. Checkers was keeping her legs toasty. Selene and Arden were sniping at each other good-naturedly. Monty was perched on the coffee table, telling her the latest scandal involving the rich and famous.
Somehow, between mourning the loss of her life in the ocean and trying her damnedest to get back to it, she’d created a whole new one. With new faces. New connections. New hopes.
She wasn’t sure if Finn simply wasn’t there, or if she was choosing not to allow him to be.
One thing was for sure, though.
Whatever she decided to do with the rest of her life, it no longer involved the palace.
It was time to leave.
This time on her own.
She stayed for a while longer before saying her goodbyes. She visited the kelp gardens, her favorite shipwrecks, and soaked up all the things she loved most about the deep.
Then she made her way back toward the surface.
When she finally broke the surface, it wasn’t just her purse and dress on the sandbar.
It was Finn.
She watched the relief play across his face.
Then he was suddenly moving, reaching into the water, grabbing her at her sides, and pulling her up out of the water.
He looked at her like she was storms and shipwrecks.
