Page 144 of Silk and Sirens

I took a deep breath and held it, face perfectly calm while my nephews climbed out of their beds to poke my cheeks, tickle my sides, and try every trick they could think of to make me break. Their giggles filled the room as they counted loudly, growing more impressed with every passing second. When I finally exhaled after nearly four minutes, both boys stared at me with pure awe.

“That’s so cool,” Oscar whispered, eyes wide.

August’s face lit up. “Can you teach us?”

“Maybe when you’re older.” With a wink I kissed both their heads and tucked them back into each bunk. “Now go to sleep, otherwise your mum won’t let me come over again.”

“Does that mean you’re going now?” August asked, looking up to exchange a quick, excited look with Oscar, who hung his head over the side. This lasted only a moment before they both dissolved into another fit of giggles. “Is Uncle Caden here? Are you going on a date?”

I narrowed my eyes playfully. “What are you two plotting?”

“Nothing!” they chorused, which only made them laugh harder.

“Please don’t go,” Oscar said. “I want you to read the story again!”

“You said you didn’t like it!”

“The mermaid should have married the prince,” August added solemnly. “It would have made the story better.”

“I want to marry the prince!” Oscar declared, sitting up like he wasn’t tired at all.

I honestly didn’t understand how my sister did this every night. And this was only two out of the three!

“You want to marry the prince?” I laughed, completely giving up.

“Yeah.” Oscar’s brows drew together in thought. “Or maybe I’ll marry a dragon!”

“I hope you’ll wait until you’re older.”

“If the prince had chosen the mermaid, then it would have been a happy ending,” Oscar continued, clearly still caught on the story’s conclusion. “I thought everything has a happy ending?”

Something in my chest tightened unexpectedly.

“It’s just a story,” I said, having serious regret in choosing one of the original tales rather than a prettier retelling.

“Well, what about you?” Oscar asked, folding his arms over the safety guard.

“What about me?”

“Do you get a happy ever after?”

The question caught me off guard. I opened my mouth, but before I could answer, a deep, familiar voice came from behind me.

“She does.”

Both boys gasped dramatically as Caden leaned against the doorway, sleeves rolled up, dark hair still damp from the rain outside. He was dressed in a shirt and trousers, looking every bit the dangerous man the rest of the world feared.

Yet the moment our eyes met, heat curled low in my stomach.

“I love you,” I mouthed, and Caden’s lips curved into that rare, devastating smile meant only for me.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I finally had a voice that belonged entirely to me. I wasn’t lying, wasn’t manipulating, or simply just surviving.

I was … happy.

And all it had taken was tricking one beautiful, dangerous man to be mine.

Epilogue Part 2