Page 6 of The Deep End of Death (Twilight Lake #4)
“You’ve spent most of your life sleeping in a soldier's tent, on a cot made of netting.” Tormalugh followed his lead and stood up, brushing the front of his leather tunic for invisible crumbs. “I’m certain that Captain Oran’s accommodations are more than adequate.”
Until that moment, I hadn’t known the captain’s name. I supposed I’d slept through the introductions.
Rainn leaned over, shooting me a conspiring look. “Want to share a room?” He waggled his brows.
A dull throb echoed through my chest at his familiar flirting. He hadn’t so much as smiled at me since Cruinn. I didn’t know if it was guilt or pity.
Sharing a room meant being alone with Rainn, and though the Selkie was the least stressful option of the four Princelings, I had a feeling he had reached his breaking point.
Rainn Shallows had no intention of letting me run from him anymore.
I wasn’t tired, but that didn’t seem to matter to Rainn, as he placed his arm around my shoulders like a drunk after too much Fíon Fola. I shot him a glare, and he responded with a bright grin, the sharp edge of his canine teeth glinting in the Faelight.
My wounds ached with the movement, but I didn’t say a word, even when I felt the back of my linen shift stick to my skin with blood.
I allowed him to lead me to the room at the end of the narrow hall, each step rocking with the motion of the ship. I was certain he would let me go if I voiced my displeasure, but I remained silent, if sullen, as Rainn steered me to one of the ‘bunks.’
There were three doors at the dead end of the corridor. Rainn chose the door on the right, though I couldn’t gauge a reason behind the choice. The doors were wooden, pockmarked with age, and unadorned.
Inside, a single porthole rimmed with brass showed a glimpse of the horizon and the subtle color shift.
The Merrow hadn’t been lying when he’d call the rooms ‘bunks.’ There were bunk beds built of splintered wood. Each was covered with a flimsy blanket and secured with a strap to keep the furniture in place.
If Rainn Shallows, the youngest of the Selkie royal family, was bothered by the accommodations, I would never know.
The door drifted closed behind me, though I hadn’t moved to push it.
Suddenly, the room felt tiny.
Rainn faced the small window, his shoulders tense as he stood silently.
It wasn’t like him to be lost for words.
“I feel like I’m going mad,” Rainn stated plainly, his back to me as he spoke. “I don’t know what to do to make this better.”
“This?” the word came out as a snarl.
He glanced over his shoulder, his brow quirked expectantly. I didn’t know what he wanted me to say.
“My back hurts.” I sat, turning to the closest bunk.
I sank onto the hardwood, pushing the blanket to the side.
I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t want to talk.
Not really. Everything I wanted to say was designed to insult him, and though Rainn had abandoned me when I needed him, deep down, I didn’t want to hurt him.
“Tell me what happened?” Rainn’s voice was husky. “That night. After you went to get wine.”
“You know what happened.” I sat back, resting against the headboard. Closing my eyes and folding my hands over my stomach. Hopefully, if I feigned sleep, he would let it go.
“Assume I don’t know anything.” His tone was playful, but there was something darker under the surface. A desperation I didn’t quite understand.
I didn’t open my eyes as I spoke.
“I went to fetch the wine.” I exhaled, keeping my voice low, and my emotions bolted behind a thick vault door as I spoke.
“When I returned, Balor was alone. She said that you and the others were in the harem. She attacked me and took me to the throne. She forced me to sit on it. I don’t remember what I saw.
What I said. I just remember that it hurt.
Then, I woke up, and the Siren Queen was there. ”
“We went to the Hall of Silvers,” Rainn interjected, his voice dull. “We begged the Siren Queen for help. I remembered Irvine calling her ‘The Queen of Air and Darkness, Irvine was frightened of her. I hoped Elaine would be too.”
“And the harem?” I cracked open an eye, ignoring how my blood turned hot and cold, and my fingers tingled with jealousy.
“Cormac found us wandering the halls.” Rainn sat at the end of my bunk, resting his elbows on his knees. He did not look at me as he spoke. “I didn’t know what Balor intended, but we were enchanted. Caught in a spell.”
“Hmm.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. “So, you didn’t—”
“No.” Rainn’s jaw clenched. “Is that why you refused to let Shay treat your wounds? I know you’re still in pain.”
“I—” I tried to think of an explanation other than the truth, but I couldn’t.
“We looked for you.” Rainn tightened his hands into fists. “We combed that castle.”
My teeth locked together.
“And after all this time, you believed that we had been, what? Gallivanting about as you bled on the High Throne.”
“Yes.” I snapped. “Yes, that’s exactly what I thought.”
Rainn said nothing as he stood up and left the room.