Page 76 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

ODESSA, PRESENT

F inally, the rain slows and reality creeps back in.

Kastian explains briefly that Jett and Connell are here, and that we don’t need to worry about Magnus anymore. I’ve said before that I don’t like torture, but after what happened to Kastian, I hope Jett enjoys himself.

I stand up and go in search of something to cover myself with, finding the shreds of the discarded wedding dress tangled in the rocks along the water, and drape the ruined fabric around myself like a dress, securing them with a bit of discarded rope.

“You look ridiculous,” Kastian laughs, eyeing my makeshift dress up and down. “No other woman on the continent could pull off wearing that.”

I grin and spin around to show him the back. “So what you’re saying is I’m pulling it off?”

He laughs again, and picks me up, spinning us both around before he lowers me back down to the ground, letting my body slide down his chest, and pressing his lips to the side of my throat, nipping at my pulse.

I grin, but shove him away. “Stop. We have forever for that, we need to go inside.”

“We don’t need to do anything. At least, not immediately.”

“We should find Jett, and Lyra, I suppose. Is she on our side?”

Kastian shakes his head. “No idea. If I wasn’t so focused on you I’m sure I’d be more shocked to see her again after so long. Did you know she’s a doppler?”

I nod. “She’s the one who helped me escape the tower—although it sounds like if I’d just waited a little longer for you to find me we could have avoided a lot of this.”

Kastian looks toward the ocean. “What do you think will happen to them now?”

“To whom? The sirens?”

He nods. “It’s ironic, but it was Magnus of all people who told me nearly everything I know about sirens. They have the capacity for independent thought, obviously,” he nods to me, “but they don’t use it. They’re a hive mind controlled by a single queen.”

I bite my lip, thinking of how the sirens reacted when I screamed—how the tentacled queen warned me over and over that there could be only one ruler of the sea.

“I think…” I clear my throat. “I think I could lead them if I wanted to. I can’t hear them now that we’re on land, but I still feel them I think.

They’re awake for the first time in who knows how long. ”

It’s one of the many things I love about Kastian that he doesn’t immediately tell me what he thinks I should do. Instead, he just asks: “Do you want that? To be their queen?”

I laugh. “No. All I’ve ever wanted was to be right here with you…but I suppose it’s good to know the sirens are there if we ever need them.”

He cocks his head. “What would we need them for?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Why do Daemon and Alix have an army when we’re not at war? It’s always good to be prepared.”

“Fair enough.”

“We can all discuss it at the next council meeting back in Vernallis. There’s so much we’re going to have to explain, and even if Magnus is subdued I still think?—”

“Wait,” Kastian interrupts. His eyes shift, suddenly darkening, and his face falls. “Shit. I have to tell you something.”

His tone is serious and I pull back again, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“We can’t go back to Vernallis. At least, I can’t…not right now.”

“Did you want to stay here? That’s fine. I assumed you still didn’t want the crown, but it’s rightfully yours so?—”

“No,” he interrupts again. “I definitely don’t want to rule Hydratta, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I can’t stay here with you. I can’t stay in Ellender . At least, not all the time.”

My eyes narrow and I drop his hand. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“In order to survive and come after you I had to make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“A permanent one. Connell offered me a way to live and I accepted it. He gave me his ship.”

“What do you mean he gave you his ship?”

“ The Sea Witch needs a captain, and now that captain is me. According to Connell, I have to spend at least six months out of the year on the ship. He didn’t have a lot of time to explain the details.”

My eyes grow wide, and I turn to stare out at the stormy water in disbelief. On the horizon, I see a large ship I swear wasn’t there before. I shiver. “I assume I can’t go with you or you wouldn’t sound like this was so dire.”

Kastian straightens. “What?”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “You’re saying you’re going to be gone six months out of every year and I can’t go with you, right?”

“Would you want to go with me?”

My eyes widen and for a long second I fail to speak, then words come flooding back all at once.

“You fucking idiot!” I screech. “Come in the water with me, I need to hit you so you can feel it.“

“What? No.” Kastian’s eyes widen and he yanks his hand away before I can drag him toward the water.

“You’re immortal, you can take it,” I snap. “You deserve it if you didn’t think I’d want to go with you?”

“It would be a long time away from Vernallis,” he says. “I wasn't sure?—”

I grab his face and pull it down so he’s looking me directly in the eye. “Listen to me. I don’t care about anything else, wherever you go, I go.”

His answers is when I pull his mouth back down to mine.

“ W ait!” A harsh voice yells across the courtyard. “Stop right there!”

Kastian and I look at each other, then pivot slowly toward the green-jacketed guard rushing toward us across the castle courtyard.

“Yes?” Kastian says, mildly.

The guard skids to a halt, looking equal parts indignant and confused. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he blurts out.

I raise my eyebrows. “We’re not? On whose orders.”

The guard’s eyebrows furrow. “The king, he?—”

“—doesn’t need you to speak on his behalf!”

I stiffen, but don’t move an inch as King Magnus walks out of the palace. Beside him, walks Jett, smiling his usual mischievous smile.

I feel Kastian stiffen beside me as my mouth falls open.

Jett catches my eye and grins wider. “ Nice dress, ” he mouths.

I look at Magnus again, and understanding dawns. I grip Kastian’s hand, squeezing hard.

The guard looks as confused as Kastian, looking to his king, then back to us. Finally, he takes a step back. “Oh, my mistake.”

“Get out,” Magnus snaps.

The guard turns on his heel and scampers away, while Magnus moves into his place in front of Kastian and I.

My shoulders tense, my muscles coiling with a nervous energy that I can't quite shake, despite the fact that I keep reminding myself there's no real threat.

Kastian senses my unease and gently clasps my hand, his fingers warm and reassuring against my skin.

“Your tone is off,” Kastian says.

I let out a relieved sigh. I should have known that if I realized this wasn’t really Magnus, then Kastian would too.

As if to emphasize the point, Magnus cocks a hip and rolls his eyes. “I know it is. I can do the voice right if I really have to, but it feels wrong.”

“Fair enough,” I reply. “It must feel strange to use his body. Where did you put the real Magnus?”

Magnus’s eyes widen in a pointed way, and I swear I see Lyra’s expression bleeding though. “Come on, let’s go into one of the offices so we can talk. There are spies all over this damn castle and I don’t want to be overheard.”

I smile slightly, thinking that just because we lock ourselves in an office doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be safe from spies.

I’ll have to check under the desk.

W e follow Lyra in the shape of Magnus back into the castle and into the very same office I once hid in.

Jett closes the door behind us and Kastian turns in a circle, eyes darting over the bookshelves, the arched windows and the dark oak desk.

“It looks exactly the same. I’m surprised he didn’t use my father’s office. ”

“He never touched any of your rooms,” Magnus says in Lyra’s voice. They let out a frustrated breath. “Hang on a moment.”

Before our eyes, Magnus’s skin ripples, bubbling as if overheated. His body shrinks, and Lyra stands before us in too-large clothing, shaking out her arms. “That’s better,” she says in her normal voice.

Jett gapes at her. “That is the most amazing fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

Lyra gives him a hint of a smile, then looks back at Kastian. “Sorry, I was saying that my father never touched any of your rooms.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but as far as I know, your bedroom, your sister’s rooms, your parent’s offices…they’re all still there.”

I glance up at Kastian trying to read his feelings about that, but his face remains stonily unchanged. He doesn’t say anything and finally I cut into the uncomfortable silence. “So, where’s the real Magnus?”

“Under the castle,” Jett answers darkly.

“Alive?”

“For now,” Jett nods, then exchanges a meaningful look with Lyra of all people. “He’s sedated, but still breathing. I figured we might need him. Daemon might want to question him, or…what about you, Kas?”

“What about me?” Kastian asks.

“I don’t know. If it were me, I’d want revenge.”

Kastian looks pensive. “I have revenge. I’m free and he’s locked in his own dungeon.”

“But did you want to do anything specific to him? Ask him anything?” Jett asks, incredulous.

“I want to never think about him again,” Kastian says flatly. “But I don’t know…maybe I’ll have some other ideas when we come back in six months. Keep him alive just in case.”

I glance at Lyra, wondering if she’ll have any issue with that, but she says nothing. Apparently she doesn’t care one bit about her adoptive father…and I can’t say I blame her.

“Alright, that’s settled for now,” I say slowly. “What about Connell?”

“What about him?” Jett asks.

I shrug. Kastian’s mention of our returning in six months just made me realize that he isn’t here. “Well, for one, where is he?”

“Lying down in one of the guest suites,” Lyra answers. “He doesn’t look like he’s feeling too well.”

“Did giving up the ship hurt him?”

Kastian frowns. “It must have. Is he going to live?”

“He’ll be fine,” Jett grumbles. “I’ll handle him.”